Evaluation of current deck design practices

Recent changes in the design code, spurred by previous laboratory studies, have allowed many state agencies to adopt an empirical method for bridge deck design. The empirical method for design takes into account in plane stresses generated by applying load to the deck. These in plane forces, which in traditional design are ignored, act to strengthen the overall response of the deck.;This design procedure has been adopted and employed by the WVDOH as well as many other state agencies. Recent decking issues, specifically extensive full depth cracking, have led to concerns about other bridges in the inventory and future ones to be constructed. Thus, this project was initiated with the goals of assessing the current design practices of WVDOH bridge decks.;This thesis focuses on evaluating the current empirical deck design used by the WVDOH. This objective is achieved by conducting laboratory test on four full scale models. These models were designed and constructed to WVDOH standards and tested to failure. During the testing data was collected, analyzed and used for benchmark purposes in a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) parametric study. The FEA parametric study allowed a broader range of specimens to be analyzed by changing span length and deck thickness. From the results future recommendations were made on based off of the current design practices

Anti-Spoof Reliable Biometry of Fingerprints Using En-Face Optical Coherence Tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a relatively new imaging technology which can produce high-reso- lution images of three-dimensional structures. OCT has been mainly used for medical applications such as for ophthalmology and dermatology. In this study we demonstrate its capability in providing much more re- liable biometry identification of fingerprints than conventional methods. We prove that OCT can serve se- cure control of genuine fingerprints as it can detect if extra layers are placed above the finger. This can pre- vent with a high probability, intruders to a secure area trying to foul standard systems based on imaging the finger surface. En-Face OCT method is employed and recommended for its capability of providing not only the axial succession of layers in depth, but the en-face image that allows the traditional pattern identification. Another reason for using such OCT technology is that it is compatible with dynamic focus and therefore can provide enhanced transversal resolution and sensitivity. Two En-Face OCT systems are used to evaluate the need for high resolution and conclusions are drawn in terms of the most potential commercial route to ex- ploitation

What is austerity?

This is the edited transcript of a conversation between Rebecca Bramall, editor of this special issue, Jeremy Gilbert, editor of New Formations, and James Meadway, who at the time was chief economist of the New Economics Foundation and is currently advising shadow chancellor of the exchequer John McDonnell in a consultancy capacity. The discussion touches on the different meanings of ‘austerity’ in contemporary political discourse, the history of neoliberal austerity programmes and their political and social effects, the uneven implementation of austerity in the UK, and various other issues in understanding the cultural, social and economic politics of ‘austerity’ in contemporary Britain, today and in the future

Working for the economy: the economic case for trade unions [Policy Brief]

Over the last four decades, the decline of trade unions and weakened collective voice of the UK workforce have slowed the motor of the economy - reducing national income by £27.2bn. This paper explains why in seven steps

Working for the economy: the economic case for trade unions

The share of wages in national income has declined across the developed world over the last thirty years. At the same time, and despite political rhetoric, growth in wage rates is significantly down on the levels achieved in the post-war period. The slide in the wage share is, among other factors, the outcome of deliberate government policy, enacted more forcefully in the UK than in much of Europe, to reshape labour market institutions. Trade unions have been legally curtailed and unionisation has declined from a peak of nearly half the workforce (49.9%) in 1981, to its low point today (25%). Research shows that, for nearly all European countries, including the UK, growth is ‘wage-led’. This means that the boost to demand from rising wages outweighs other impacts on profits and international competitiveness; growth in national income is driven by growing wages more than by growing company profits. Declining union presence has, as a result, fed directly into lower growth overall. The evidence we present suggests that the decline in union density, from its peak in 1975 to today, has reduced UK GDP by up to 1.6% – a significant and permanent loss. Restoring union density to the levels seen in the early 1980s would, thanks to the impact on the wage share, add up to £27.2bn to current UK GDP. The UK has paid a heavy economic price for three decades of anti-union policy and law. If the recovery from the recession is to be placed on a secure footing, the status of trade unions as an essential part of sound economic policymaking must be restored