Judy Savageau and Kathy Muhr on Working with Different Data Sources

Blog post to AEA365, a blog sponsored by the American Evaluation Association (AEA) dedicated to highlighting Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources, and Lessons Learned for evaluators. The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness

A parametric study on the axial behaviour of elastomeric isolators in multi-span bridges subjected to horizontal seismic excitations

This paper investigates the potential tensile loads and buckling effects on rubber-steel laminated bearings on bridges. These isolation bearings are typically used to support the deck on the piers and the abutments and reduce the effects of seismic loads and thermal effects on bridges. When positive means of fixing of the bearings to the deck and substructures are provided using bolts, the isolators are exposed to the possibility of tensile loads that may not meet the code limits. The uplift potential is increased when the bearings are placed eccentrically with respect to the pier axis such as in multi-span simply supported bridge decks. This particular isolator configuration may also result in excessive compressive loads, leading to bearing buckling or in the attainment of other unfavourable limit states for the bearings. In this paper, an extended computer-aided study is conducted on typical isolated bridge systems with multi-span simply-supported deck spans, showing that elastomeric bearings might undergo tensile stresses or exhibit buckling effects under certain design situations. It is shown that these unfavourable conditions can be avoided with the rational design of the bearing properties and in particular of the shape factor, which is the geometrical parameter controlling the axial bearing stiffness and capacity for a given shear stiffness. Alternatively, the unfavourable conditions could be reduced by reducing the flexural stiffness of the continuity slab

Dynamic behaviour and seismic response of structures isolated with low shape factor bearings

This study investigates the mechanical behaviour of laminated elastomeric bearings with a low shape factor (LSF) and the dynamic response of structures mounted on them. Axial loads have a significant influence on the mechanical behaviour of the LSF bearings. Most of the existing theories and mechanical models for laminated bearings cannot be employed for LSF bearings because they disregard the important effects of axial shortening and bulging of the rubber layers on the horizontal bearing stiffness. In this study, a simplified model originally developed for slender rubber blocks is employed for describing the mechanical behaviour of LSF bearings, and validated against the experimental results on low-damping LSF bearings manufactured and tested at Tun Abdul Razak Research Center (TARRC). The proposed model is then used to simulate the seismic response of a structural prototype mounted on the low-damping LSF bearings and tested at University of Naples Federico II on a shaking table under horizontal seismic input. Further analyses are carried out to evaluate how the bearing shape factor affects the dynamic and seismic response of the prototype. The study provides some useful insight into the complex mechanical behaviour of LSF bearings and of structures mounted on them

Seeing Recovery Through the Eyes of Ethnic and Cultural Minorities

Describes a study that sought to better understand how persons with mental health conditions from two cultural groups, Latino and Deaf/Heard of Hearing (D/HH), access recovery-oriented and peer support services. Results from this study helped to inform the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health regarding system improvements that could be made to better serve these populations

Linda Cabral, Laura Sefton, and Kathy Muhr on Recruiting People with Mental Health Conditions for Data Collection

Blog post to AEA365, a blog sponsored by the American Evaluation Association (AEA) dedicated to highlighting Hot Tips, Cool Tricks, Rad Resources, and Lessons Learned for evaluators. The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness

Evaluation of the Massachusetts Peer Specialist Training and Certification Program (Phase Two)

Most public mental health systems are shifting to a recovery-oriented system of care; however, offering recovery-oriented and peer support services to various cultural and linguistic groups is challenging. This study sought to better understand how persons with mental health conditions from two cultural groups – Latinos and Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) - access recovery-based services. Interviews with national key informants were conducted prior to data collection to better formulate instruments. Cultural brokers, identified as leaders in their communities who also have mental health conditions, were hired to aid in recruitment and data collection. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with persons with mental health conditions from both cultural groups. Across both cultural groups, language barriers pose the biggest challenge in accessing mental health services. There is a lack of qualified professionals who speak Spanish or use American Sign Language. Among both groups, the preference is to work with someone in the language they feel most comfortable with and to avoid the use of interpreters. Feelings of isolation and stigma are high among persons who are D/HH, while many Latinos cite problems with family members\u27 understanding of mental health. Many are accessing peer support services and value what it has offered them. Access to adequate mental health services, not just recovery-oriented and peer support services, are not widely available for Latinos and persons who are D/HH. Public mental health systems need to adapt and expand services for these and other cultural groups to insure recovery

Continuous Production Mode as a Viable Process-Engineering Tool for Efficient Poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) Bio-Production

Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) constitute promising biomaterials for substituting plastics of fossil origin. Until now, all commercial processes for PHA production were based on discontinuous fed-batch cultivation of prokaryotes. Such processes embody several shortcomings: unpredictable product quality, restricted possibility for supply of toxic carbon substrates, and, most of all, low volumetric productivity. Continuous PHA biosynthesis as a remedy was already investigated on laboratory scale for production of highly crystalline PHA homopolyesters as well as for elastomeric and even functional PHA copolyesters. Apart from enhanced productivity, chemostat processes are a feasible method to elucidate kinetics of cell growth and PHA formation under constant environmental conditions. In order to adapt the process engineering to the microbial kinetic characteristics for growth and PHA accumulation, continuous single- and multistage approaches are reported