Time Series Analysis of Pavement Roughness Condition Data for use in Asset Management

Roughness is a direct measure of the unevenness of a longitudinal section of road pavement. Increased roughness corresponds to decreased ride comfort and increased road user costs. Roughness is relatively inexpensive to measure. Measuring roughness progression over time enables pavement deterioration, which is the result of a complex and chaotic system of environmental and road management influences, to be monitored. This in turn enables the long term functional behaviour of a pavement network to be understood and managed. A range of approaches has been used to model roughness progression for assistance in pavement asset management. The type of modelling able to be undertaken by road agencies depends upon the frequency and extent of data collection, which are consequences of funding available. The aims of this study are to increase the understanding of unbound granular pavement performance by investigating roughness progression, and to model roughness progression to improve roughness prediction methods. The pavement management system in place within the project partner road agency and the data available to this study lend themselves to a methodology allowing roughness progression to be investigated using financial maintenance and physical condition information available for each 1km pavement segment in a 16,000km road network

Optimal Policy Intervention and the Social Value of Public Information

Svensson (2006) argues that Morris and Shin (2002) is, contrary to what is claimed, pro-transparency. This paper reexamines the issue but with an important modification to the original Morris and Shin framework. Recognizing that central banks impact the economy not only indirectly via public announcements, but also directly through policy actions, we consider the social value of public information in the presence of active policy intervention. Our results strengthen Morris and Shin's conclusions considerably: in particular, we find that public disclosure of the central bank's information is unambiguously, i.e., regardless of parameter values, undesirable. (JEL D82, D83, E52, E58)

Abortion Legalization and Child Living Circumstances: Who is the "Marginal Child?"

We estimate the impact of changes in abortion access in the early 1970s on the average living standards of cohorts born in those years. In particular, we address the selection inherent in the abortion decision: is the marginal child who is not born when abortion access increases more or less disadvantaged than the average child? Legalization of abortion in five states around 1970, followed by legalization nationwide due to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, generates natural variation which can be used to estimate the effect of abortion access. We find that cohorts born after abortion was legalized experienced a significant reduction in a number of adverse outcomes. Our estimates imply that the marginal child who was not born due to legalization would have been 70% more likely to live in a single parent family, 40% more likely to live in poverty, 50% more likely to receive welfare, and 35% more likely to die as an infant. These selection effects imply that the legalization of abortion saved the government over $14 billion in welfare expenditures through 1994.

Feasibility Of Augmenting Brief Interventions With Text Messaging To Reduce Adolescent Alcohol And Marijuana Use: A Pilot Study.

Background - Alcohol and marijuana use in adolescents remains widespread, pervasive and recognized as a major public health concern. This pilot study aimed to test the feasibility of a novel health intervention that adds a 4-week series of text messaging to the Brief Negotiation Interview (BNI; a brief motivational technique) for 13-18-year-olds with high-risk alcohol or marijuana use in an emergency department or primary care setting. Methods -13-18-year-old patients presenting to a Children\u27s emergency department or a primary care clinic in the Northeast were screened with the CRAFFT substance use screener. Adolescents who scored 2+ on the CRAFFT were asked to participate in this study. After obtaining written consent and/or assent and parental permission, adolescent participants completed baseline surveys, participated in a BNI with a trained research assistant, and enrolled in the 4-week text messaging program, which consisted of weekly goal setting and reflection exercises. Participants completed an in-depth interview to assess satisfaction at 4 weeks post-enrollment. Feasibility measures include enrollment, retention, and satisfaction. Results - Between November 2017 and May 2018, we screened 71 adolescents. We obtained parental consent and adolescent assent to enroll 10 of 27 eligible participants (37%), of which 8/10 (80%) completed the 4-week text messaging intervention. Analysis of the 494 reflection and goal setting text messages sent during the program demonstrated that participants completed a higher proportion of alcohol reflection and goal setting text message exercises (85% and 70%, respectively) than marijuana exercises (both 64%). From the open-ended interviews, 43% of active participants believed the exercises gave good ideas on how to quit alcohol and marijuana use. Further, 100% liked the content of the messages received and would recommend the program to a friend. Conclusions - These data indicate that, although it is challenging to identify and enroll adolescents with high-risk alcohol and/or marijuana use in medical settings, adolescents who enroll are generally satisfied with the intervention, supported by high levels of retention. The feasibility data suggest that text messaging programs may need to improve parental engagement models and refine texts to enhance motivation to change marijuana use. Future research is needed to continue exploring the sophisticated role of tailored texting in improving adolescent behavior

Dimension- and shape-dependent thermal transport in nano-patterned thin films investigated by scanning thermal microscopy

Scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) is a technique which is often used for the measurement of the thermal conductivity of materials at the nanometre scale. The impact of nano-scale feature size and shape on apparent thermal conductivity, as measured using SThM, has been investigated. To achieve this, our recently developed topography-free samples with 200 and 400 nm wide gold wires (50 nm thick) of length of 400–2500 nm were fabricated and their thermal resistance measured and analysed. This data was used in the development and validation of a rigorous but simple heat transfer model that describes a nanoscopic contact to an object with finite shape and size. This model, in combination with a recently proposed thermal resistance network, was then used to calculate the SThM probe signal obtained by measuring these features. These calculated values closely matched the experimental results obtained from the topography-free sample. By using the model to analyse the dimensional dependence of thermal resistance, we demonstrate that feature size and shape has a significant impact on measured thermal properties that can result in a misinterpretation of material thermal conductivity. In the case of a gold nanowire embedded within a silicon nitride matrix it is found that the apparent thermal conductivity of the wire appears to be depressed by a factor of twenty from the true value. These results clearly demonstrate the importance of knowing both probe-sample thermal interactions and feature dimensions as well as shape when using SThM to quantify material thermal properties. Finally, the new model is used to identify the heat flux sensitivity, as well as the effective contact size of the conventional SThM system used in this study

Exploring leadership styles and behaviours in the medical field

Defining leadership has proven to be quite difficult, as no universal definition currently exists. Leadership is a complex concept described by many theories, each taking a different viewpoint on what makes a leader successful. As an aspiring medical student and pediatric physician with a passion for leadership, I sought to understand which leadership theory, if any, has resulted in more success over others when used in a variety of medical settings. To answer this question, I completed an Individual Study course during the Fall 2021 semester. For this course, I conducted research on various leadership topics within a medical context and wrote four papers that summarized my findings and critically reflected on how they could inform my personal leadership style. Research topics included determining if leader-member exchange theory or transformational leadership is more effective; how a leader can employ servant leadership behaviours to improve the confidence of others; and why a leader being friends with their colleagues can make it very difficult for them to fulfill their leadership duties. Results were then interpreted in terms of personal, team, organizational, and patient outcomes. Finally, an informational interview with a prominent Canadian leader in a medical profession was conducted to understand how my research findings apply to real-world scenarios. It became clear from my research that the most effective leadership incorporates concepts from multiple theories to develop one’s own leadership style. In doing so, a leader should understand and develop their personal core values and lead by them daily

Exploring leadership styles and behaviours in the medical field

Defining leadership has proven to be quite difficult, as no universal definition currently exists (Northouse, 2021). Leadership is a complex concept described by many theories, each taking a different viewpoint on what makes a leader successful (Northouse, 2021). As an aspiring medical student and pediatric physician with a passion for leadership, I sought to understand which leadership theory, if any, has resulted in more success over others when used in a variety of medical settings. To answer this question, I completed an Individual Study course during the Fall 2021 semester. For this course, I conducted research on various leadership topics within a medical context and wrote four papers that summarized my findings and critically reflected on how they could inform my personal leadership style. Research topics included determining if leader-member exchange theory or transformational leadership is more effective; how a leader can employ servant leadership behaviours to improve the confidence of others; and why a leader being friends with their colleagues can make it very difficult for them to fulfill their leadership duties. Results were then interpreted in terms of personal, team, organizational, and patient outcomes. Finally, an informational interview with a prominent Canadian leader in a medical profession was conducted to understand how my research findings apply to real-world scenarios. It became clear from my research that the most effective leadership incorporates concepts from multiple theories to develop one’s own leadership style. In doing so, a leader should understand and develop their personal core values and lead by them daily. References: Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc

Quaternary Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin films for solar cells applications

Polycrystalline thin films of Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) were produced by selenisation of Cu(Zn,Sn) magnetron sputtered metallic precursors for solar cell applications. The p-type CZTSe absorber films were found to crystallize in the stannite structure (a = 5.684 Ã… and c = 11.353 Ã…) with an electronic bandgap of 0.9 eV. Solar cells with the structure were fabricated with device efficiencies up to 3.2%