UK construction research is too fragmented… …a new approach is needed

2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Lorch
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Funding Mechanisms ◽  
The Uk

Framing the question of a research and innovation (R&I) strategy for the UK construction industry requires careful consideration of several key issues: pluralism, vision and recognition of the significance of product (place and its constituent components) as well as process. Much of the groundwork for specific research topics has been undertaken and identified elsewhere (Macmillan, 2002), so this paper does not reinvent the wheel or list all the relevant research issues. Any discussion informing an R&I strategy should provide continuity and not jettison previous work in order to provide continuity. Too much structural change in past funding mechanisms has led to uncertainty for researchers and has adversely affected medium- and long-term projects.

Durability of potential plutonium wasteforms under repository conditions

2012 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 2911-2918 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Deissmann ◽  
S. Neumeier ◽  
G. Modolo ◽  
D. Bosbach
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Reactivity ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
Aqueous Environments ◽  
Safety Case ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Level ◽  
Radionuclide Release

AbstractSeparated stocks of UK civil plutonium are currently held as a zero value asset in storage, as there is no final decision about whether they should be treated as a resource for future use as nuclear fuel or as waste. Irrespective of future UK government strategies regarding plutonium, at least a portion of the UK civil plutonium inventory will be designated for geological disposal. In this context, we performed a high-level review of the performance of potential wasteforms for the disposal of separated civil plutonium. The key issues considered were the durability and chemical reactivity of the wasteforms in aqueous environments and the long-term radionuclide release under conditions relevant to geological disposal. The major findings of the review, relevant not only to the situation in the UK but to plutonium disposal in general, are summarized in this paper. The review showed that, in the event of a decision being taken to declare plutonium as a waste for disposal, more systematic studies would be required to constrain the wasteform performance under repository conditions in order to derive realistic source terms for a safety case.

BIM

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 50-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Considerable Impact ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has made a considerable impact on the construction industry and the way in which building design information can be accessed and interrogated. This impact is now being seen in the Schools of Architecture in the UK. Academia is beginning to see the feasibility and benefits of converting to such a new technology; will this inevitably start to filter into teaching BIM to architecture students? The concern by many in academia is that design will become secondary to pedagogy of building design. This viewpoint is based on the impact of CAD, where the art of hand drawing was feared lost forever. The use of computers in schools of architecture has become the norm, and the creative moving of a pen across paper has been replaced, to a degree, by the cursor across the CAD screen. As academia moved to respond to this change, the need to teach CAD became increasingly important. Therefore, will the paradigm shift of BIM require the inevitable move to a new approach in the design and construction of buildings? There are many misconceptions of BIM and the dilemma is that those teaching within the schools need to understand how BIM can readily interface with the design process and allow interrogation of the design are far earlier stages of the concept. Will academia ensure that BIM is used to enhance the creative process not hinder it?

scholarly journals Fifteen-minute consultation: Management of the infant born to a mother with toxoplasmosis in pregnancy

2020 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 262-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Saso ◽  
Alasdair Bamford ◽  
Karen Grewal ◽  
Muna Noori ◽  
James Hatcher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Congenital Infection ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Clinical Consequences ◽  
Initiation Of Therapy ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Key Aspects

Congenital toxoplasmosis occurs following transplacental transfer of Toxoplasma gondii. Irrespective of symptom status at birth, infants with congenital infection may develop serious long-term sequelae, including learning disability, seizures, hydrocephalus, motor and hearing deficits, chorioretinitis and retinal scarring with impaired vision. Timely diagnosis facilitates early initiation of therapy, aimed at prevention or amelioration of adverse clinical consequences. Diagnosis can be difficult, however, since acutely infected mothers are often asymptomatic and laboratory testing can be complex. Moreover, any decision to start treatment in the newborn must include careful consideration of the benefits and risks. This paper outlines a structured approach for managing an infant born to a woman with possible or confirmed T. gondii infection during pregnancy, including key aspects of the antenatal history, interpretation and timing of investigations, treatment and appropriate follow-up. Our recommendations are based on current evidence in the literature, consensus from two UK paediatric infectious disease centres and the UK specialist Toxoplasma Reference Unit.

The Long-Term Clinical Assessment of Heart Valve Substitutes

1987 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Drury ◽  
M M Black ◽  
P V Lawford ◽  
R Kay
Keyword(s):  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Heart Valve ◽  
Clinical Assessment ◽  
Surgical Techniques ◽  
Data Bank ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
Artificial Valve ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Uk

This paper describes the organization and routine management of the UK Multicentre Valve Trial. Details are given of the present data bank comprising information on 9859 artificial valve implants collected from 44 surgeons in 22 centres. The paper discusses various analyses of the long term performances of different valves. The validity of these analyses and this approach to valve performance assessment is discussed with reference to: (i) the limitations of the present statistical techniques, (ii) the inherent variability of data arising from differences in patient/prosthesis selection and surgical techniques amongst the various participating centres, and (iii) a new approach for the estimation of the failure rates of valve implants taking such inherent variability of the data into consideration.

Immigration after Brexit

2016 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
pp. R13-R21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Portes
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Migration Flows ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New System

This paper examines the short and long-term impacts of the UK referendum on migration flows and migration policy. Even in the short term – before any policy change – the vote will affect migration flows directly and indirectly through both economic and other channels. Post Brexit, two key issues will need to be addressed. Will the UK preserve a substantial measure of preference for EU citizens in any new system? And will policy tilt in a liberal or restrictive direction?

scholarly journals Interdisciplinary Research Funding Mechanisms of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Their Implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 2008058-0
Author(s):  
Wencong Li ◽  
Jin Xu ◽  
Jie Shen ◽  
Juanjuan Liu ◽  
Yingjie Fan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Funding Mechanisms ◽  
The Uk

Recruiting long-term healthcare missionaries

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-95
Author(s):  
John McVay ◽  
Christopher L. Place ◽  
David L. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Student Loan ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Personal Interaction ◽  
Medical Missionaries ◽  
Or Team ◽  
Or Organization ◽  
Negative Factors ◽  
Mission Field

Background: The CMDA/MedSend Healthcare Missions Leadership Summit is an annual gathering of 75 mission sending agencies who share Christ through healthcare missions. The summit is jointly sponsored by MedSend and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA). The purpose of the meeting is to network, examine relevant research issues (such as recruiting), etc.   Objective: The purpose of the 2015 Launch survey was to learn from medical missionaries how to more effectively recruit and launch new healthcare professionals and their families into long-term missions. The objective of the 2016 Relocating for the Gospel survey was to learn from students and other aspiring healthcare missionaries the obstacles they perceive in their journey into long-term missions. Results were presented at the 2015 and 2016 Healthcare Missions Leadership Summits. Methods: Two multiple-choice surveys were developed to ascertain the positive and negative factors involved in the decision making process to launch into the healthcare mission field. Participants were invited to participate in the surveys via email. Results: The 2015 Launch survey analyzed 177 responses from healthcare missionaries with 63% of respondents still currently serving as long-term missionaries. 37% of the respondents are former missionaries. Participants included millennials (39), Gen Xers (54), and baby boomers (84). Responses indicated that key positive factors include personal interaction with a long-term worker as well as a supportive agency, leader, or team to join. The 2016 Relocating for the Gospel survey analyzed responses from students and other aspiring missionaries who are millennials (79). The strongest overall factor that discouraged missions involvement was student loan debt. Other key obstacles include concerns over being lonely or isolated overseas, as well as difficulty in finding a good fit with a team or organization. Conclusion: The overall findings from the two surveys include four main points. First, effective launch into missions service is more relationally dependent than informationally dependent. Second, launching into missions service is more like a marathon than a sprint. Third, those who are exploring missions want to join a team so they will not feel lonely or isolated. Finally, aspiring missionaries want a placement that fits them well even if that does not match the top priorities of the agency.

scholarly journals Open Innovation of New Emerging Small Economies Based on University-Construction Industry Cooperation

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zane Rostoka ◽  
Jevgenijs Locovs ◽  
Elīna Gaile-Sarkane
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Personnel Selection ◽  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Cooperation Model ◽  
Current Article

This research is to analyse the existing cooperation between universities and the construction industry and to investigate what is the most effective model for long-term cooperation between an academic university and the private construction sector. The current article describes the human resources management tools to be used by employers to create interrelations between the paid salaries and productivity, thus providing both individual and corporate results. The suggested different tools contribute to keeping employees satisfied and motivated, simultaneously properly balancing productivity and individual earnings. The researchers conclude that it is necessary to create a new model for personnel selection and a new approach to stimulate motivation and maintenance within the construction industry. In order to respond to the needs of the sector for professionals and the required increase of the qualifications of the mentioned specialists, it is necessary that the country improves the level of education of the future professionals for the construction industry and changes the system of testing their professional qualifications, which means cooperation between the educational institutions and the industry. The suggested cooperation model by authors may provide a general guideline for further detailed researches and its implementation may help similar-sized economies to make possible national adjustments. The implementation of this model in bigger and/or developed economies should be justified by separate additional research.

scholarly journals Delivering a better natural environment? The Agriculture Bill and future agri-environment policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Payment For Ecosystem Services ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Environment Policy ◽  
Farming Policy ◽  
Public Money ◽  
Term Management

This article reviews the options for delivering a new approach to agricultural support post-Brexit, and in particular the development of a new approach to delivering environmental protection and biodiversity improvement through future farming policy. It considers the options for developing a policy based on 'public money for public goods', and argues for the development of an approach based on payment for the ecosystem services provided by land management and by farming. If a 'payment for ecosystem services' approach is to be successful, however, careful consideration must be given to the reform of land tenure law in order to secure a stable platform for the long term management of ecosystems and landscapes. And new legal models will be needed for capturing multi-party obligations for the purchase and sale of ecosystem services. Brexit offers many opportunities for developing a new and innovative approach to agri-environmental policy, but the development of a market for the sale and purchase of the important ecosystem services provided by agriculture will present significant challenges.

Development and Implementation of Technology for the Treatment and Encapsulation of Operational Intermediate Level Wastes

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Butcher ◽  
Rob Caldwell ◽  
Hugh Godfrey ◽  
Martin Hayes ◽  
Eric Miller
Keyword(s):  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Encapsulation Methods ◽  
Implementation Programme ◽  
Selection Of

Since 1982, BNFL Research and Technology has run an extensive research, development and implementation programme to define suitable materials and processes for the long-term containment of a wide variety of Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) streams arising from nuclear operations. This has provided both the empirical and underpinning data required to allow regulatory approval for the construction, commissioning and operation of four waste stream specific, cement-based encapsulation plants at the Sellafield site. The research and development programme has also succeeding in producing a team of highly skilled and experienced specialist researchers and technical staff equipped with a detailed database of knowledge concerning encapsulation methods applicable for a wide variety of ILW streams of concern within the UK and abroad. The objectives of this paper are to: • review the systematic, phased approach taken to assess potential encapsulants and develop suitable wasteforms and processes for ILW treatment that lead to the selection of a cement-based matrix as the preferred option for current ILW arisings, • discuss the key issues associated with the development of successful waste treatment systems and wasteforms, which have been encountered and addressed, • introduce ongoing work to confirm the longer term properties of archived full scale cemented wasteforms and provide additional information on the fundamental mechanisms which dictate waste-encapsulant interactions and wasteform behaviour.

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