Uncertain futures: people with learning difficulties and their ageing family carers

Overview of research, policy and practices relating to service responses to adults with learning difficulties living at home with older family carers

The world turned upside-down : architects as subcontractors in design-and-build contracts

The traditional role of the Architect on UK building projects is well-known and has been the subject of much study and comment. However, recent surveys indicate that design-and-build arrangements now exceed traditional procurement in terms of their share of total UK construction. On such projects, architects and other designers are engaged, not by the employer, but under sub-contract to the main contractor. The question arises as to the effect this has had. This has been approached by considering architects and other design consultants as professional contractors, as opposed to trade contractors - a term adopted to describe the more traditional type of subcontractor. Within these distinctions there are contractual, managerial and cultural implications for the relationships between the parties. To explore this further, representatives of five main contractors were questioned on their relationships with the two types. Clear differences emerged in matters such as contract formation, price-setting, payment and claims; the treatment of selection, work scheduling, and defects / omissions was more complicated. Within trade contractors there is a strong argument for recognising a further category of specialist contractors, who include a design service in their work package. Within the professional contractor category, architects were clearly differentiated from other design team members. The findings are analysed to suggest a theoretical framework with four dimensions that relate to process/product, attitude/motivation, working culture and relative power. The concern is not to be definitive at this stage, but to suggest an agenda for future research into the issues that have emerged

The lack of design quality focus in construction: a case for examining suitable design processes

A large number of projects in UK construction now involve contractor-led design and are thus very different from the traditional approach which formed the basis of the original Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Outline Plan of Work. Such integrated and contractor-led approaches support the reform agenda of the late 1990s that was introduced to tackle process inefficiency. However, within the design professions there has been concern that this resulted in buildings that were designed-down to a cost rather than designed-up to a value. An attempt to address this resulted in the formation of the Commission for Architecture and Built Environment (CABE) in 1999 and the launch, in 2003, of the Design Quality Indicator (DQI) which measures how well a building satisfies stakeholders. This paper presents the early phases of doctoral research which will examine the impact of integrated design management approaches upon Design Quality

Comparative thermal performance test for GGBS and OPC concrete mixes

The research investigates the effect of heating two concrete types and profiles to evaluate the most effective material during diurnal heating and cooling cycles. Plain and finned concrete slabs were manufactured from concrete with a 100% - PC binder (CEM 1) and a binder using 50% - PC and 50% GGBS (CEM 111). The slabs were subject to mainly radiative heat for a 7.5 hour daytime period and left to cool for 16.5 hours. Comparative readings were taken to measure the temperature difference between the two types of concrete during heating and cooling. The findings showed concrete manufactured with GGBS had a lower heat build up and release when compared to concrete manufactured with 100% CEM 1 binder. The research was limited to one comparative test at a single concrete strength with a single water cement ratio, and 50% GGBS cement replacement. Various GGBS cement replacement percentages could be tried to evaluate heat build up and release. Further research on U and Y values are also worthy of further investigation. Thermal mass could be improved thus reducing the need to use energy intensive air conditioning systems

Cryptic Variation in the Human Mutation Rate

The mutation rate is known to vary between adjacent sites within the human genome as a consequence of context, the most well-studied example being the influence of CpG dinucelotides. We investigated whether there is additional variation by testing whether there is an excess of sites at which both humans and chimpanzees have a single-nucleotide polymorphism ( SNP). We found a highly significant excess of such sites, and we demonstrated that this excess is not due to neighbouring nucleotide effects, ancestral polymorphism, or natural selection. We therefore infer that there is cryptic variation in the mutation rate. However, although this variation in the mutation rate is not associated with the adjacent nucleotides, we show that there are highly nonrandom patterns of nucleotides that extend similar to 80 base pairs on either side of sites with coincident SNPs, suggesting that there are extensive and complex context effects. Finally, we estimate the level of variation needed to produce the excess of coincident SNPs and show that there is a similar, or higher, level of variation in the mutation rate associated with this cryptic process than there is associated with adjacent nucleotides, including the CpG effect. We conclude that there is substantial variation in the mutation that has, until now, been hidden from view

Exponential integration algorithms applied to viscoplasticity

Four, linear, exponential, integration algorithms (two implicit, one explicit, and one predictor/corrector) are applied to a viscoplastic model to assess their capabilities. Viscoplasticity comprises a system of coupled, nonlinear, stiff, first order, ordinary differential equations which are a challenge to integrate by any means. Two of the algorithms (the predictor/corrector and one of the implicits) give outstanding results, even for very large time steps

From differential to difference equations for first order ODEs

When constructing an algorithm for the numerical integration of a differential equation, one should first convert the known ordinary differential equation (ODE) into an ordinary difference equation. Given this difference equation, one can develop an appropriate numerical algorithm. This technical note describes the derivation of two such ordinary difference equations applicable to a first order ODE. The implicit ordinary difference equation has the same asymptotic expansion as the ODE itself, whereas the explicit ordinary difference equation has an asymptotic that is similar in structure but different in value when compared with that of the ODE

Promoting Component Reuse by Separating Transmission Policy from Implementation

In this paper we present a methodology and set of tools which assist the construction of applications from components, by separating the issues of transmission policy from component definition and implementation. This promotes a greater degree of software reuse than is possible using traditional middleware environments. Whilst component technologies are usually presented as a mechanism for promoting reuse, reuse is often limited due to design choices that permeate component implementation. The programmer has no direct control over inter-address-space parameter passing semantics: it is fixed by the distributed application's structure, based on the remote accessibility of the components. Using traditional middleware tools and environments, the application designer may be forced to use an unnatural encoding of application level semantics since application parameter passing semantics are tightly coupled with the component deployment topology. This paper describes how inter-address-space parameter passing semantics may be decided independently of component implementation. Transmission policy may be dynamically defined on a per-class, per-method or per-parameter basis.Comment: Submitted to ICDCS 200

A theoretical model of a new electrostatic transducer incorporating fluidic amplification

This article concerns the design of a new electrostatic transducer whose backplate consists of a series of drilled pipes. A new one-dimensional model is derived which considers the interaction of the membrane with the air load, the air cavities, and the drilled pipes in the backplate. Dynamic equations for the impedance in each component of the device are calculated analytically and connected using interface conditions of continuity of pressure and radiation conditions into the air load. The model is able to produce solutions to the mechanical impedance of the device and the displacement of the membrane as a function of the device's design parameters. Model results for the output pressure compare well with previous experimental data. The inverse problem of retrieving the design parameters for a desired output is discussed