Microstructural evolution in solution heat treatment of gas- atomised Al alloy (7075) powder for cold spray

Cold gas dynamic spray is being explored as a repair technique for high-value metallic components, given its potential to produce pore and oxide-free deposits of between several micrometers and several millimeters thick with good levels of adhesion and mechanical strength. However, feedstock powders for cold spray experience rapid solidification if manufactured by gas atomization and hence can exhibit non-equilibrium microstructures and localized segregation of alloying elements. Here, we used sealed quartz tube solution heat treatment of a precipitation hardenable 7075 aluminum alloy feedstock to yield a consistent and homogeneous powder phase composition and microstructure prior to cold spraying, aiming for a more controllable heat treatment response of the cold spray deposits. It was shown that the dendritic microstructure and solute segregation in the gas-atomized powders were altered, such that the heat-treated powder exhibits a homogeneous distribution of solute atoms. Micro-indentation testing revealed that the heat-treated powder exhibited a mean hardness decrease of nearly 25% compared to the as received powder. Deformation of the powder particles was enhanced by heat treatment, resulting in an improved coating with higher thickness (* 300 lm compared to * 40 um for untreated feedstock). Improved particle–substrate bonding was evidenced by formation of jets at the particle boundaries

Teaching effective collaborative information delivery and management

This paper explores a pedagogical approach to teaching construction students how to plan, execute and monitor an efficient collaborative information delivery plan from the perspective of managing scope of work, time, resources and communication. This study extends the work of similar studies that tasked students with developing BIM process maps to gauge any shift in the students’ perception on their ability to map the process. In this context, students in the final year of an undergraduate construction management program participate in a team-based project to plan, execute, update and evaluate the efficiency of their collaborative information delivery plan. To plan this process, the students use references including both UK-based BIM Level 2 standards and US-based CIC BIM Project Execution Planning Guide. Through a semester-long sequence of modeling and planning activities, the students specifically aim to address the following learning objectives: (i) define and allocate project- and information delivery responsibilities; (ii) identify information workflows and respective tasks with estimated durations, and (iii) execute and update their plan to record actual tasks, durations and outcomes. Comparing the initial and executed plan would provide the students with the basis to reflect on the influence of formal planning guides on their understanding of efficient collaborative information management and delivery. In this aspect, the study contributes to the knowledge of how to pedagogically deploy industry-oriented process planning approaches for effectively teaching roles and responsibilities for engaging in interdisciplinary teams

Digital strategies to a local cultural tourism development: Project e-Carnide

Digital humanities and smart economy strategies are being seen as an important link between tourism and cultural heritage, as they may contribute to differentiate the audiences and to provide different approaches. Carnide is a peripheral neighbourhood of Lisbon with an elderly population, visible traces of rurality, and strong cultural and religious traditions. The academic project e-Carnide concerns its tangible and intangible cultural heritage and the data dissemination through a website and a mobile app, with textual and visual information. The project aims to analyse the impact of technological solutions on cultural tourism development in a sub-region, involving interdisciplinary research in heritage, history of art, ethnography, design communication and software engineering and the collaboration between the university and local residents in a dynamic and innovative way. Framed by a theoretical approach about the role of smart economy for the cultural tourism development in peripheral areas, this paper focuses on a case study, dealing with documents, interviews and observations, in order to understand how the e-Carnide project evolves. The study comprises an analysis about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) of the project in view to realize its social and cultural implications and to appreciate how it can be applied in other similar and enlarged projects. Results of the research indicates that the new technological strategies can promote the involvement of the population in the knowledge of its own heritage as a factor of cultural and creative tourism development centred on an authentic and immersive experience of the places

Using system dynamics for collaborative design: a case study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to facilitate the collaborative design, system dynamics (SD) with a group modelling approach was used in the early stages of planning a new stroke unit. During six workshops a SD model was created in a multiprofessional group.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>To explore to which extent and how the use of system dynamics contributed to the collaborative design process.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A case study was conducted using several data sources.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SD supported a collaborative design, by facilitating an explicit description of stroke care process, a dialogue and a joint understanding. The construction of the model obliged the group to conceptualise the stroke care and experimentation with the model gave the opportunity to reflect on care.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>SD facilitated the collaborative design process and should be integrated in the early stages of the design process as a quality improvement tool.</p

Grundständige Ausbildung von schulischen Heilpädagoginnen und Heilpädagogen (SHP)

Die grundständige Ausbildung von Schulischen Heilpädagog(inn)en ist in Deutschland verbreitet, in der schweizerischen Bildungslandschaft jedoch ein Novum. Im ersten Abschnitt wird eine Begründung für deren Einführung auch in der Schweiz gegeben, bevor in einem weiteren Teil grobe Leitlinien für ein Ausbildungskonzept skizziert werden. Als ein Element dieses Ausbildungskonzeptes wird anschliessend ein Hilfsmittel zur Wahrnehmung von mehr Eigenverantwortung in der Planung und Durchführung persönlich bedeutsamer Lernprozesse vorgestellt