The social consequences of minor innovations in construction

Innovation studies in construction focus on a desire to increase economics and efficiency at a large scale. This has resulted in a skewed perspective that sees only major corporations with substantial R&D resources, complex projects, or national interests at the heart of innovation. By adopting anthropological methods, it becomes possible to examine the two aims of this paper: to demonstrate that an accumulation of minor innovations can have significant consequences; and to show that these are inherently social rather than purely economic. Results come from fieldwork studying the improvisatory house-building practices of the Kelabit people of rural Borneo, tracing changes to the technologies used for roofing and foundations, and describes how these are mutually entangled with new social structures. The conclusion is that we should think more broadly about the forms and effects of innovation in construction, and recognise the significance of improvisation at the level of the individual or small group

Conservation data parameters for BIM enabled heritage asset management

Key BIM concepts such as parametric modelling, database formulation and structured information management could offer huge benefits and efficiencies to the built historic environment in the operation and maintenance phase (O&M) of a building’s lifecycle (lifecycle BIM), such as heritage asset management, and particularly conservation repair and maintenance (CRM) programming. Despite these potential benefits, practical examples of the use of BIM for O&M in a heritage context are limited in the published literature. This paper considers known barriers to the general implementation of lifecycle BIM, in particular the identification of critical information requirements, and introduces an Antarctic case study that sought to establish a framework of data parameters, limited specifically to BIM-enabled heritage asset management. Research findings suggest that while developing a framework of conservation data parameters is a relatively simple task, it is the retrospective compilation of historic building information for the development of a structured Asset Information Model (AIM) that presents more of a challenge. Furthermore, it is highlighted that adoption of the information management process is critically affected by socio-technical dimensions, and that working practices within the heritage sector need to be carefully aligned to a BIM philosophy for successful implementation. The key challenges and findings of this research should be considered when developing guidance for the implementation of BIM-enabled heritage asset management

Spectral line shape of resonant four-wave mixing induced by broad-bandwidth lasers

We present a theoretical and experimental study of the line shape of resonant four-wave mixing induced by broad-bandwidth laser radiation that revises the theory of Meacher, Smith, Ewart, and Cooper (MSEC) [Phys. Rev. A 46, 2718 (1992)]. We adopt the same method as MSEC but correct for an invalid integral used to average over the distribution of atomic velocities. The revised theory predicts a Voigt line shape composed of a homogeneous, Lorentzian component, defined by the collisional rate Γ, and an inhomogeneous, Doppler component, which is a squared Gaussian. The width of the inhomogeneous component is reduced by a factor of √2 compared to the simple Doppler width predicted by MSEC. In the limit of dominant Doppler broadening, the width of the homogeneous component is predicted to be 4Γ, whereas in the limit of dominant homogeneous broadening, the predicted width is 2Γ. An experimental measurement is reported of the line shape of the four-wave-mixing signal using a broad-bandwidth, "modeless", laser resonant with the Q1 (6) line of the A2 Σ - X2 Π(0,0) system of the hydroxyl radical. The measured widths of the Voigt components were found to be consistent with the predictions of the revised theory

Res Medica, Autumn 1964, Volume IV, Number 3

[NB Issue published incorrectly as Autumn 1964, Vol. 5, No. 1]TABLE OF CONTENTSASPECT OF OBESITY: J.A. Strong AETIOLOGICAL FACTORS IN CONGENITAL ABNORMALITIES: A.M. DavidsonRES MEDICASOME ASPECTS OF ABDOMINAL PAIN: T.J. McNairLOCALISATION OF RENAL FUNCTION: D.I. NewbleOBSERVATIONS ON LIPID METABOLISM: R.B.L. Ewart

Stress-Biased Anisotropic Microcracking in Zirconia Polycrystals

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65263/1/j.1151-2916.1990.tb05152.x.pd

Behavior of Metallic Inclusions in Uranium Dioxide

The mobility of micron-size powders of refractory and noble metals in UO{sub 2} was investigated under isothermal and temperature gradient conditions, The metal particles were initially placed between two polished surfaces of UO{sub 2} and any movement which occurred during high temperature annealing was determined microscopically. Tungsten and molybdenum particles 1 to 10 {micro}m in diameter were immobile in UO{sub 2} at 2500°C in a temperature gradient of 1400°C/cm. Ruthenium, however, dissolved into and spread through hypostoichiometric, polycrystalline urania and was found after isothermal annealing as the U-Ru intermetallic compound in the grain boundaries of the oxide. The mechanism does not involve bodily motion of the metal particles. Rather, ruthenium dissolves in the grain bmmdaries of the oxide, migrates as atoms via the same pathway, and reacts while migrating to form URu{sub 3}, This product grows as layers in the grain boundaries. Isothermal ruthenium spreading followed simple diffusion theory, and apparent solubilities and effective diffusivities were obtained from the data for the temperature nmge 2000 to 2300°C. In a temperature gradient, ruthenium moves to the hot zones of UO{sub 2}; the mechanism appears to be the same as found for isothermal spreading, but the extent of movement up the temperature gradient cannot be explained by simple diffusion theory, even with an appreciable Soret effect

Fatigue of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia: II, Crack Propagation, Fatigue Striations, and Short-Crack Behavior

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65604/1/j.1151-2916.1991.tb04089.x.pd

Addressing nanomaterial immunosafety by evaluating innate immunity across living species

The interaction of a living organism with external foreign agents is a central issue for its survival and adaptation to the environment. Nanosafety should be considered within this perspective, and it should be examined that how different organisms interact with engineered nanomaterials (NM) by either mounting a defensive response or by physiologically adapting to them. Herein, the interaction of NM with one of the major biological systems deputed to recognition of and response to foreign challenges, i.e., the immune system, is specifically addressed. The main focus is innate immunity, the only type of immunity in plants, invertebrates, and lower vertebrates, and that coexists with adaptive immunity in higher vertebrates. Because of their presence in the majority of eukaryotic living organisms, innate immune responses can be viewed in a comparative context. In the majority of cases, the interaction of NM with living organisms results in innate immune reactions that eliminate the possible danger with mechanisms that do not lead to damage. While in some cases such interaction may lead to pathological consequences, in some other cases beneficial effects can be identified

Thermodynamic controls on element partitioning between titanomagnetite and andesitic–dacitic silicate melts

Titanomagnetite–melt partitioning of Mg, Mn, Al, Ti, Sc, V, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf and Ta was investigated experimentally as a function of oxygen fugacity (fO2) and temperature (T) in an andesitic–dacitic bulk-chemical compositional range. In these bulk systems, at constant T, there are strong increases in the titanomagnetite–melt partitioning of the divalent cations (Mg2+, Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Zn2+) and Cu2+/Cu+ with increasing fO2 between 0.2 and 3.7 log units above the fayalite–magnetite–quartz buffer. This is attributed to a coupling between magnetite crystallisation and melt composition. Although melt structure has been invoked to explain the patterns of mineral–melt partitioning of divalent cations, a more rigorous justification of magnetite–melt partitioning can be derived from thermodynamic principles, which accounts for much of the supposed influence ascribed to melt structure. The presence of magnetite-rich spinel in equilibrium with melt over a range of fO2 implies a reciprocal relationship between a(Fe2+O) and a(Fe3+O1.5) in the melt. We show that this relationship accounts for the observed dependence of titanomagnetite–melt partitioning of divalent cations with fO2 in magnetite-rich spinel. As a result of this, titanomagnetite–melt partitioning of divalent cations is indirectly sensitive to changes in fO2 in silicic, but less so in mafic bulk systems.Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The attached file is the published pdf