Developing a method to search for the causes of uncertainty in a nascent transport planning project

PhD ThesisThe transport planning decision process is, in theory, underpinned by rational analysis of travel behaviour and application of transport economics but project outcomes do not always follow the results of that analysis. Uncertainty is evident at all stages of the project development; as the concept emerges and as it moves through the subsequent assessment and decision processes. This research has investigated and demonstrated a method that identifies uncertainty focussing on the early stages of the project lifecycle and also provides an understanding of the factors that drive it. The method used a backcast scenario to elicit the causal relationships between elements of the planning and decision process in structured interviews with stakeholders. Qualitative analysis techniques were used to identify the active elements of the process, the causality between the elements was explored using the Cross Impact Matrix Model to evaluate their influences and dependencies and identify those driving uncertainty in the planning process. In this research, the Cross Impact Matrix Model was extended to analyse stakeholder opinions both individually and collectively, and investigation was undertaken into the parameter sensitivity of the analysis method. The case study was based on a disused railway where several studies into re-opening it have resulted in contradictory views on its mode of use and on the achievable benefits. In the scenario used in the case study, the rail service is re-instated for light rail use in conjunction with a new sustainable urban area anchored on an existing small village. The findings in this case study were that presence of strong leadership and collaboration between Local Authorities were the most influential determinants for progress and the prime causes of uncertainty were the economic environment, planning policies, and perceptions of passenger utility. Although these results emerged from a specific scenario, the methodology was demonstrated to be a powerful generic tool to identify the elements that create criticalities in planning for any scheme

Key health impacts and support systems for informal carers in the UK: A thematic review

Introduction: The economic contributions made by informal carers in the UK per year mount up to £132 billion. This is equivalent to the total amount of the health care costs, yet the health and wellbeing of carers are often not prioritised. This review paper aims to determine the key health impacts of informal caregiving and evaluate support/control methods in the UK. Methods: This thematic review was conducted in accordance with an adapted version of the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. Of the 6,482 articles identified through Pubmed/ Medline, CINAHL, SpringerLink, Summon, and grey literature, 38 studies were included in the review. Results: The key health impacts of being an informal carer were identified as musculoskeletal disorders and psychological issues (such as depression, stress and anxiety), which were categorized as ‘high-risk impact’ areas. The review further identified cardiovascular disease and early mortality as ‘low to moderate risk impact’ areas and a thematic area that revolves around positive impacts on health of informal carers. Financial help, proper respite care, availability and accessibility of information and advice, provision of equipment in a timely manner and adequate support networks were found to be key factors useful in minimising musculoskeletal and psychological disorders. Discussion and Conclusions: There is a need for policy makers and program implementers to recognize and accommodate the ever-changing role of carers on different stages of caring. There is also a need to review key health policy documents to include informal carers’ needs and improve support systems available. The lack of evidence-based research on the psycho-physical impacts of caring and the lack of evaluation of services that impact the health of carers also needs to be addressed with priority

Securing the well-being and engagement of construction workers: an initial appraisal of the evidence

Construction sites pose unique challenges for employers who are seeking to develop interventions to improve outcomes for workers. The contractors who constructed the infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games were encouraged by the client organisation to actively engage their workers and promote their well-being. This paper examines how scholarly research has approached well-being and engagement in the construction industry. A literature review identified a total of 21 papers that have examined either well-being or engagement in construction and only a single paper examined both subjects. There has been very limited research into this area. The existing papers highlight a number of gaps which could be filled through future research. The concept of well-being in construction is poorly defined and predominantly focuses on stress and work-life balance. There is a lack of clarity or certainty about whether and how some of the recommendations for improving wellbeing can be realistically implemented in construction, such as giving workers more flexible working arrangements. It is also unclear what specific benefits construction companies, and their clients, could expect to see from engagement or well-being strategies. Consequently, it is currently difficult to make a convincing business case or plan for the introduction of well-being or engagement strategies in construction. Nonetheless, there is evidence that engagement and well-being strategies can improve outcomes for individual construction workers and professionals, such as maintaining or improving health or promoting safety or skills development. Many of the practices that engage individuals also promote well-being: They do not need to be approached as completely separate issues. The extant research suggests that construction companies could usefully review; how they allocate and use resources on projects; the leadership and coaching skills of site managers; how workers can influence the planning of their work, and; their human resources procedures

Conceptual frameworks and terminology in doctoral nursing research

Aim: To define conceptual frameworks and their inherent dichotomies, and integrate them with concomitant concepts to help early nursing doctoral researchers to develop their understanding of and engage with discourse further, so that nursing can demonstrate its ability to contribute to the meta-theoretical debate of doctoral research alongside other practices and theory-based disciplines. Background: Conceptual frameworks are central to nursing doctoral studies as they map and contextualise the philosophical assumptions of the research in relation to paradigms and ontological, epistemological and methodological foundations. They shape all aspects of the research design and provide a structure for theorising. They can also be a challenge for researchers and are under-discussed in the literature. Review methods: Literature review. Discussion: The key aspects of the conceptual framework debate in terms of objectivist, subjectivist paradigms and the wider paradigm debate, including retroduction and abduction, are reviewed here together with consideration of how these apply to nursing doctoral research. Conclusion: Conceptual frameworks are pivotal to nursing doctoral research as they clarify and integrate philosophical, methodological and pragmatic aspects of doctoral thesis while helping the profession to be seen as a research-based discipline, comfortable with the language of meta-theoretical debate. Implications for research/practice: Conceptual frameworks should form the methodological foundation for all nursing doctoral research

Excitation spectrum of bosons in a finite one-dimensional circular waveguide via the Bethe ansatz

The exactly solvable Lieb-Liniger model of interacting bosons in one-dimension has attracted renewed interest as current experiments with ultra-cold atoms begin to probe this regime. Here we numerically solve the equations arising from the Bethe ansatz solution for the exact many-body wave function in a finite-size system of up to twenty particles for attractive interactions. We discuss the novel features of the solutions, and how they deviate from the well-known string solutions [H. B. Thacker, Rev. Mod. Phys.\ \textbf{53}, 253 (1981)] at finite densities. We present excited state string solutions in the limit of strong interactions and discuss their physical interpretation, as well as the characteristics of the quantum phase transition that occurs as a function of interaction strength in the mean-field limit. Finally we compare our results to those of exact diagonalization of the many-body Hamiltonian in a truncated basis. We also present excited state solutions and the excitation spectrum for the repulsive 1D Bose gas on a ring.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure

The Story Circle as a Practice of Democratic, Critical Inquiry

The authors of this essay have been committed practitioners and teachers of Philosophy for Children in a variety of educational settings, from pre-schools through university doctoral programs and in adult community and religious education programs. The promotion of critical thinking has always been a primary goal of this movement. But communal practices of critical thinking need to include other kinds of democratic conversation that prompt us to see others as full-fledged persons and to be curious about how our being in community with them makes growth and self-correction possible. As we continue to experiment and innovate in new contexts we see ourselves continuing the inquiry around expanding the inclusivity of conversations about basic human concerns. In this essay we describe an inclusive strategy called the story circle, that was first developed as a method of popular education in Denmark and was then adapted as a tool of social change among poor and dis-empowered American citizens in Appalachia. Story circles were later utilized in a philosophical living-learning community and most recently coupled with Lipman and Sharp’s dialogue method of the community of philosophical inquiry (CPI). The authors of this paper have combined story circles with the community of philosophical inquiry in a variety of contexts. In each iteration, telling one’s own story and listening carefully to the stories of others can be equally revelatory actions

Modelling extreme concentration from a source in a turbulent flow over rough wall

The concentration fluctuations in passive plumes from an elevated and a groundlevel source in a turbulent boundary layer over a rough wall were studied using large eddy simulation and wind tunnel experiment. The predictions of statistics up to second order moments were thereby validated. In addition, the trend of relative fluctuations far downstream for a ground level source was estimated using dimensional analysis. The techniques of extreme value theory were then applied to predict extreme concentrations by modelling the upper tail of the probability density function of the concentration time series by the Generalised Pareto Distribution. Data obtained from both the simulations and experiments were analysed in this manner. The predicted maximum concentration (?0) normalized by the local mean concentration (Cm) or by the local r.m.s of concentration fluctuation (crms), was extensively investigated. Values for ?0/Cm and ?0/crms as large as 50 and 20 respectively were found for the elevated source and 10 and 15 respectively for the ground-level source