Analysis and visualisation of digital elevation data for catchment management

River catchments are an obvious scale for soil and water resources management, since their shape and characteristics control the pathways and fluxes of water and sediment. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are widely used to simulate overland water paths in hydrological models. However, all DEMs are approximations to some degree and it is widely recognised that their characteristics can vary according to attributes such as spatial resolution and data sources (e.g. contours, optical or radar imagery). As a consequence, it is important to assess the ‘fitness for purpose’ of different DEMs and evaluate how uncertainty in the terrain representation may propagate into hydrological derivatives. The overall aim of this research was to assess accuracies and uncertainties associated with seven different DEMs (ASTER GDEM1, SRTM, Landform Panorama (OS 50), Landform Profile (OS 10), LandMap, NEXTMap and Bluesky DTMs) and to explore the implications of their use in hydrological analysis and catchment management applications. The research focused on the Wensum catchment in Norfolk, UK. The research initially examined the accuracy of the seven DEMs and, subsequently, a subset of these (SRTM, OS 50, OS10, NEXTMap and Bluesky) were used to evaluate different techniques for determining an appropriate flow accumulation threshold to delineate channel networks in the study catchment. These results were then used to quantitatively compare the positional accuracy of drainage networks derived from different DEMs. The final part of the thesis conducted an assessment of soil erosion and diffuse pollution risk in the study catchment using NEXTMap and OS 50 data with SCIMAP and RUSLE modelling techniques. Findings from the research demonstrate that a number of nationally available DEMs in the UK are simply not ‘fit for purpose’ as far as local catchment management is concerned. Results indicate that DEM source and resolution have considerable influence on modelling of hydrological processes, suggesting that for a lowland catchment the availability of a high resolution DEM (5m or better) is a prerequisite for any reliable assessment of the consequences of implementing particular land management measures. Several conclusions can be made from the research. (1) From the collection of DEMs used in this study the NEXTMap 5m DTM was found to be the best for representing catchment topography and is likely to prove a superior product for similar applications in other lowland catchments across the UK. (2) It is important that error modelling techniques are more routinely employed by GIS users, particularly where the fitness for purpose of a data source is not well-established. (3) GIS modelling tools that can be used to test and trial alternative management options (e.g. for reducing soil erosion) are particularly helpful in simulating the effect of possible environmental improvement measures

‘Conscientous Objectors: A Matter of Conscience or Freedom Expression?

One of a series of posters for public exhibition as part of Plymouth History Month 2018 'Legal Tyranny: Conscientious Objection in the Three Towns 1853-1914' explaining how the concept of 'conscientious objection' later came to be associated with the Great War and the Military Act 1916. The exhibition also highlighted some of the powerful modern echoes with the contemporary resistance from some parents to the MMR vaccine Presentation date: 05 May 201

Assessing the feasibility of using value management to accelerate the implementation of sustainability

The present demand for economically viable buildings in the Saudi Public Sector is coupled with the need to maximise the efficient use of Saudi Arabian natural resources. The lack of consideration paid to sustainability issues during the concept phase has resulted in higher consumption of materials and energy during both the construction and operational phases of many building projects. Although there is extensive Value Management (VM) knowledge and experience, many who work in the Saudi Public Sector appear to have less experience of sustainable development, consequently sustainable construction is all too often not a major consideration. This paper is part of an ongoing research which aims to exploit the VM experiences and skills of those in the Saudi Public Sector in order to accelerate the understanding and implementation of sustainable development in the country. It provides an overview of the current situation of VM and sustainability in the Saudi Public Sector by investigating in-depth the: application of VM and sustainability; clients’ attitudes towards both subjects; identification of the barriers that impede their application and the determination of the level of existent knowledge about both topics in the Saudi Public Sector

A framework for implementing sustainable construction in building briefing project

The current demand for economically viable buildings in the Saudi Public Sector is coupled with the need to maximise the efficient use of Saudi Arabian natural resources. The lack of consideration paid to sustainability issues during the conceptual phase has resulted in higher consumption of materials and energy during both the construction and operational phases of many building projects. This paper proposes a theoretical framework to implement sustainable construction principles in briefing process. It integrates Soft Value Management (SVM) to sustainable construction to enable the client and project team to put into action sustainability principles in the briefing process. The proposed framework was synthesised from a review of literature and current best practice. This paper is part of an ongoing research which aims to exploit the VM experiences and skills of those in the Saudi Public Sector in order to accelerate the understanding and implementation of sustainable construction in the country

An overview of sustainability in Saudi Arabia

The present demand for economically viable construction projects in the Saudi Public Sector is coupled with the need to maximise the efficient use of Saudi Arabian natural resources. The aim of this paper is to investigate sustainability in Saudi Arabia in terms of strategies, policies, barriers and enablers associated with its implementation and as perceived by key decision makers. It also endeavours to define sustainable construction principles as currently being applied in the country. The data used in this study were obtained through a review of related literature, reinforced with information distilled from interviews conducted with people working in or possessing significant experience of the Saudi Public Sector. The findings show that the Saudi government has made significant efforts towards protecting the environment by enacting a number of regulations and policies and by joining a number of global conventions over the past few years. However, the lack of consideration paid to sustainable construction principles during the conceptual phase of design has resulted undesirable consumption rates of materials, water and energy during the construction, operating and maintenance phases of projects. Moreover, there currently appears to be are lack of awareness, regulation, policies, information and leaderships with regard to implementation of sustainable construction. Several relevant principles for sustainable construction in terms of environmental, economic and social have been elaborated upon; and enablers that could accelerate its understanding and implementation in the country have been highlighted

Realizing sustainability through stakeholder management

A main driver in the creation of sustainable value is the need to satisfy stakeholders in the process of the delivery of the functional unit through the project or service. Clients may well be satisfied when the project is delivered but if users, occupants and suppliers are poorly consulted new ideas and improvements will not be produced and the project may fail to meet local needs. Each construction project has its own stakeholders who have often different and conflicting interests associated with the project objectives. Moreover, insufficient stakeholder consultation and management frequently leads to conflicts and controversies about the implementation of construction projects and the achievement of best value in that projects. Thus, the management of vested interests of stakeholders is very paramount for the successful of the project. This paper provides a methodology for stakeholder analysis during strategic briefing to help implement sustainable construction. It integrates value management and sustainability in one study and utilises tools and techniques of value management to realise the principles of sustainability in a projects

Exploring conceptual linkages between value engineering and sustainable construction

There has been increased awareness of the importance of value engineering (VE) and sustainable development within the construction industry. Both subjects play crucial roles in realising quality, reliability and durability as well as enhancing performance throughout the life of a project. They also help to: improve service related outcomes within budget constraints: achieve a more efficient use of resources; and accomplish an optimum combination of whole-life cost and quality to satisfy the user requirements. This paper reviews VE and sustainable construction and explores conceptual linkages between the two that relate to achieving best value over the whole life of a building project. It also suggests six steps for applying VE principles and tools to help implement sustainable construction within early stages of a project. This paper also traces the belief that VE is an appropriate technique to diffuse sustainable construction principles among its team members. Furthermore, it explores the concern that many sustainable construction dimensions are already inherent as part of VE workshops, but with the level of consideration differing from one workshop to another depending on the knowledge of the team themselves. Moreover, the paper concludes that the degree of integration of between the two topics is relatively untapped due to a lack of information and understanding of the underlying concepts

Decision Making Analysis for an Integrated Risk Management Framework of Maritime Container Port Infrastructure and Transportation Systems

This research proposes a risk management framework and develops generic risk-based decision-making, and risk-assessment models for dealing with potential Hazard Events (HEs) and risks associated with uncertainty for Operational Safety Performance (OSP) in container terminals and maritime ports. Three main sections are formulated in this study: Section 1: Risk Assessment, in the first phase, all HEs are identified through a literature review and human knowledge base and expertise. In the second phase, a Fuzzy Rule Base (FRB) is developed using the proportion method to assess the most significant HEs identified. The FRB leads to the development of a generic risk-based model incorporating the FRB and a Bayesian Network (BN) into a Fuzzy Rule Base Bayesian Network (FRBN) method using Hugin software to evaluate each HE individually and prioritise their specific risk estimations locally. The third phase demonstrated the FRBN method with a case study. The fourth phase concludes this section with a developed generic risk-based model incorporating FRBN and Evidential Reasoning to form an FRBER method using the Intelligence Decision System (IDS) software to evaluate all HEs aggregated collectively for their Risk Influence (RI) globally with a case study demonstration. In addition, a new sensitivity analysis method is developed to rank the HEs based on their True Risk Influence (TRI) considering their specific risk estimations locally and their RI globally. Section 2: Risk Models Simulations, the first phase explains the construction of the simulation model Bayesian Network Artificial Neural Networks (BNANNs), which is formed by applying Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). In the second phase, the simulation model Evidential Reasoning Artificial Neural Networks (ERANNs) is constructed. The final phase in this section integrates the BNANNs and ERANNs that can predict the risk magnitude for HEs and provide a panoramic view on the risk inference in both perspectives, locally and globally. Section 3: Risk Control Options is the last link that finalises the risk management based methodology cycle in this study. The Analytical Hierarchal Process (AHP) method was used for determining the relative weights of all criteria identified in the first phase. The last phase develops a risk control options method by incorporating Fuzzy Logic (FL) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to form an FTOPSIS method. The novelty of this research provides an effective risk management framework for OSP in container terminals and maritime ports. In addition, it provides an efficient safety prediction tool that can ease all the processes in the methods and techniques used with the risk management framework by applying the ANN concept to simulate the risk models

Positive Solutions for Nonlinear q

The problem of positive solutions for nonlinear q-fractional difference eigenvalue problem with nonlocal boundary conditions is investigated. Based on the fixed point index theory in cones, sufficient existence of positive solutions conditions is derived for the problem