Human response to vibration in residential environments (NANR209), technical report 2: measurement of response

Based on a review of the literature and the best practice guidance available, a social survey questionnaire was developed to measure residents’ self-reported annoyance and to provide data suitable for establishing exposure-response relationships between levels of annoyance and levels of vibration. The development of the questionnaire was influenced by a number of previous studies such as: the social survey questionnaire developed for the NANR172 Pilot Study of this research (Defra, 2007); best practice guidelines for the development of socio-acoustic surveys issued by ICBEN and presented in the current International Standard (Fields et al., 2001; ISO/TS 15666:2003); the Nordtest Method (2001) for the development of socio-vibration surveys, and a peer review of the social survey questionnaire by international experts in the field. In order to avoid influencing responses and reasons for participation in the research, the survey was introduced as a survey of neighbourhood satisfaction. The questionnaire design, through the use of sections, enables new sections to be added to the questionnaire so that specific vibration sources can be investigated in more depth. In addressing the ‘response’ component in the ‘exposure-response’ relationship, the questionnaire was designed to yield interval-level measurement data suitable for analysis with vibration measurement data via two response scales: the five-point semantic and the eleven-point numerical scales. This decision was largely founded upon the ability of the two scales to meet the criteria established by ICBEN (Fields et al., 2001) for socio-acoustic survey design. Detailed procedures were documented, following the field trial of the questionnaire, in terms of the role of the interviewer, the recording of information and the transfer of the data to the relevant database for subsequent analysis and to inform the vibration team responsible for the ‘exposure’ component of this research project

Human response to vibration in residential environments (NANR209), executive summary

The aim of the Defra-funded project NANR209 ‘Human response to vibration in residential environments’ was to develop exposure-response relationships for vibration experienced in residential environments from sources outside of the residents’ control. The project was performed at the University of Salford between January 2008 and March 2011. The final report was published on the Defra website on 6th September 2012. The NANR209 Final Report consists of the following documents: • Executive summary • Final project report • Technical report 1: Measurement of vibration exposure • Technical report 2: Measurement of response • Technical report 3: Calculation of vibration exposure • Technical report 4: Measurement and calculation of noise exposure • Technical report 5: Analysis of the social survey findings • Technical report 6: Determination of exposure-response relationships This document is the Executive summary

Level-Based Analysis of the Population-Based Incremental Learning Algorithm

The Population-Based Incremental Learning (PBIL) algorithm uses a convex combination of the current model and the empirical model to construct the next model, which is then sampled to generate offspring. The Univariate Marginal Distribution Algorithm (UMDA) is a special case of the PBIL, where the current model is ignored. Dang and Lehre (GECCO 2015) showed that UMDA can optimise LeadingOnes efficiently. The question still remained open if the PBIL performs equally well. Here, by applying the level-based theorem in addition to Dvoretzky--Kiefer--Wolfowitz inequality, we show that the PBIL optimises function LeadingOnes in expected time $\mathcal{O}(n\lambda \log \lambda + n^2)$ for a population size $\lambda = \Omega(\log n)$, which matches the bound of the UMDA. Finally, we show that the result carries over to BinVal, giving the fist runtime result for the PBIL on the BinVal problem.Comment: To appea

Human response to vibration in residential environments (NANR209), Technical report 6 : determination of exposure-response relationships

This technical report presents the development of exposure-response relationships for the human response to vibration in residential environments. The data used to formulate the relationships presented in this report are those which were collected for the Defra funded project “NANR209: Human response to vibration in residential environments”, the main aim of which was the development of exposure-response relationships. Vibration caused by railway traffic, construction work, and internal sources outside of the residents’ control were considered. Response data was collected via face to face interviews with residents in their own homes. The questionnaire was presented as a neighbourhood satisfaction survey and gathered information on, among other things, annoyance caused by vibration and noise exposure. Development and implementation of the questionnaire used for the collection of response data is discussed in Technical Report 2 and Technical Report 5. Vibration exposure was determined via measurement and prediction in such a way that, where possible, an estimation of internal vibration exposure was established for each residence in which a questionnaire was completed. The measurement procedures and methods employed to estimate vibration exposure are detailed in Technical Report 1 and Technical Report 3. Estimations of noise exposure were also derived for each residence using the methods detailed in Technical Report 4

Efficacy of a progressive resistance exercise program to increase toe flexor strength in older people

Background: Reduced toe flexor strength is an independent predictor of falls in older people. However it is unknown whether strengthening programs can restore toe flexor strength in older individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a progressive resistance training program, focused specifically on the foot muscles, could improve toe flexor strength in community-dwelling older people. Methods After baseline testing, 85 men and women (age range 60¿90 years) were randomized to either a supervised, progressive resistance training (n = 43) or a home-based exercise (n = 42) group for 12 weeks. A further 32 participants were recruited for a control group. The primary outcome measures were hallux and lesser toe flexor strength pre- and post-intervention. Secondary outcome measures were exercise compliance, components of the Foot Health Status Questionnaire and single-leg balance time. Findings Average class attendance was 89% with 68 participants from the two intervention groups (80%) completing the follow-up assessments. Participants in the supervised, progressive resistance training group significantly increased their toe strength (up to 36%; P \u3c 0.02), whereas there was no change in toe strength in either the home-based or control groups. This increased toe strength was accompanied by a significant improvement in perceived general foot health and single-leg balance time compared to the other groups (P \u3c 0.05). Interpretation Progressive resistance exercises are a viable intervention to increase toe flexor strength in older adults. A clinical trial is now required to determine whether this intervention can reduce the number of falls suffered by older adults

Correlation between clustering and degree in affiliation networks

We are interested in the probability that two randomly selected neighbors of a random vertex of degree (at least) $k$ are adjacent. We evaluate this probability for a power law random intersection graph, where each vertex is prescribed a collection of attributes and two vertices are adjacent whenever they share a common attribute. We show that the probability obeys the scaling $k^{-\delta}$ as $k\to+\infty$. Our results are mathematically rigorous. The parameter $0\le \delta\le 1$ is determined by the tail indices of power law random weights defining the links between vertices and attributes

Human response to vibration in residential environments (NANR209), technical report 5: analysis of the social survey findings

Social survey questionnaires were carried out with 1431 residents in order to explore the human response to vibration in residential environments. Three different sources of vibration were investigated – railways (931 respondents), construction activity (350 respondents), and internal sources of vibration (150 respondents). This report provides an overview of respondent characteristics for each sample, a review of self-reported vibration and noise annoyance ratings for each of the three sources, whilst exploring how contextual and other personal and social factors may shape residents’ responses to vibration in their homes. Differences between sources of vibration and the responses elicited are also discussed.Annoyance responses were gathered on five-point semantic and eleven-point numerical scales (see Technical Report 2: Measurement of Response for the development of the social survey questionnaire). Drawing on the recommendation of Schultz (1978) to take the top 27-29% of a response scale to create highly annoyed categories, those respondents giving a rating of 8, 9, or 10 on the eleven-point numerical scale (27.3% of the scale) for vibration and noise were considered to be highly annoyed. For vibration from railways (N = 931) 9.7% were highly annoyed and for vibration from construction activity (N = 350) 37.9% were highly annoyed. For internal sources of vibration (N = 150) a highly annoyed category could not be created as no respondents gave a rating of 8, 9, or 10 on the eleven-point scale. Such findings can be explained by the levels of vibration residents of vibration were exposed to (see Technical Report 6: Determination of Exposure-Response Relationships). However, other factors such as the daily activities vibration disturbs, how acceptable levels of vibration and noise are perceived to be, how sensitive respondents report they are to vibration and noise, and other qualitative data about the respondents relationship with their residential environment, further understandings of annoyance ratings given by those living near railways and construction activity

MM Algorithms for Geometric and Signomial Programming

This paper derives new algorithms for signomial programming, a generalization of geometric programming. The algorithms are based on a generic principle for optimization called the MM algorithm. In this setting, one can apply the geometric-arithmetic mean inequality and a supporting hyperplane inequality to create a surrogate function with parameters separated. Thus, unconstrained signomial programming reduces to a sequence of one-dimensional minimization problems. Simple examples demonstrate that the MM algorithm derived can converge to a boundary point or to one point of a continuum of minimum points. Conditions under which the minimum point is unique or occurs in the interior of parameter space are proved for geometric programming. Convergence to an interior point occurs at a linear rate. Finally, the MM framework easily accommodates equality and inequality constraints of signomial type. For the most important special case, constrained quadratic programming, the MM algorithm involves very simple updates.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur