Acquisitions and the accelerated shift to digital in academic libraries in the UK: reflecting on the Covid experience at De Montfort University and Imperial College London

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Alan Brine ◽  
Andrew Knight
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Imperial College ◽  
The Uk

The KNOO Research Consortium: Work Package 3—An Integrated Approach to Waste Immobilisation and Management

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Biggs ◽  
Michael Fairweather ◽  
James Young ◽  
Robin W. Grimes ◽  
Neil Milestone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Imperial College ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Atomic Scale ◽  
Engineering Properties ◽  
Work Package ◽  
Process Scale ◽  
Research Consortium ◽  
The Uk

The Keeping the Nuclear Option Open (KNOO) research consortium is a four-year research council funded initiative addressing the challenges related to increasing the safety, reliability and sustainability of nuclear power in the UK. Through collaboration between key industrial and governmental stakeholders, and with international partners, KNOO was established to maintain and develop skills relevant to nuclear power generation. Funded by a research grant of £6.1M from the “Towards a Sustainable Energy Economy Programme” of the UK Research Councils, it represents the single largest university-based nuclear research programme in the UK for more than 30 years. The programme is led by Imperial College London, in collaboration with the universities of Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff and the Open University. These universities are working with the UK nuclear industry, who contributed a further £0.4M in funding. The industry/government stakeholders include AWE, British Energy, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Executive, Doosan Babcock, the Ministry of Defence, Nirex, AMEC NNC, Rolls-Royce PLC and the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Work Package 3 of this consortium, led by the University of Leeds, concerns “An Integrated Approach to Waste Immobilisation and Management”, and involves Imperial College London, and the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield. The aims of this work package are: to study the re-mobilisation, transport, solid-liquid separation and immobilisation of particulate wastes; to develop predictive models for particle behaviour based on atomic scale, thermodynamic and process scale simulations; to develop a fundamental understanding of selective adsorption of nuclides onto filter systems and their immobilisation; and to consider mechanisms of nuclide leaving and transport. The paper describes highlights from this work in the key areas of multi-scale modeling (using atomic scale, thermodynamic and process scale models), the engineering properties of waste (linking microscopic and macroscopic behaviour, and transport and rheology), and waste reactivity (considering waste hosts and wasteforms, generation IV wastes, and waste interactions).

scholarly journals Sub-national forecasts of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance across the UK: a large-scale cross-sectional spatial modelling study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. de Figueiredo
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Imperial College ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Highest Posterior Density

IntroductionThere is evidence of decreasing uptake of routine immunisations in the UK in recent years. As the United Kingdom begins a mass vaccination campaign with a novel COVID-19 vaccine, it is unclear whether refusal of the vaccine in some regions and among some socio-economic groups will pose challenges for achieving herd/community immunity against SARS-CoV-2.MethodsThis study estimates uptake of a COVID-19 at unprecedented spatial resolution across the UK using a large-scale survey and state-of-the-art Bayesian statistical methods for estimating public opinion. Between 24 September and 14 October 2020, 17,684 individuals are surveyed in a cross-sectional online survey design. Regions and socio-economic groups who may be more resistant towards a new vaccine are identified using multilevel regression and poststratification. Gibbs sampling is used for Bayesian model inference, with uncertainty in parameter estimates captured via 95% highest posterior density intervals.FindingsThis study predicts that clusters of non-vaccinators will likely emerge in many regions across the UK, most notably in London (which has 13 of the 20 lowest ranking regions) and the North West (which has four, including Greater Manchester and Liverpool). Males are much more likely to state intent to accept the vaccine than females (OR 1·59, 1·47 to 1·73); while Muslims are less likely than atheists / agnostics (0·75, 0·57 to 0·96), Black / Black British are less likely than Whites (0·47, 0·38 to 0·60), and Polish speakers (0·45, 0·31 to 0·63) are less likely than those who primarily speak English or Welsh. Across the UK, 8·7% (8·2 to 9·2%) state that they would “definitely not” accept a vaccine, but less than half (47·5%, 46·5 to 48·5%) say they would “definitely” accept a COVID-19 vaccine, with a substantial proportion unsure.InterpretationThe study findings are extremely important in the context of achieving herd/community immunity. Low predicted acceptance rates in parts of London and the North West are of particular concern as many of these regions have among the highest rates of COVID-19 infection across the UK: low vaccine uptake in these regions may result in disease “hotspots” that amplify the spread of the disease and require increases in vaccination levels in adjacent regions to provide nationwide herd/community immunity. It is therefore extremely important to identify such regions, and to engage with communities within them in advance of vaccination rollout to the population at large. Encouragingly, intent to accept a COVID-19 vaccine is higher among older age-groups, who are among the first to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.Declaration of InterestsThe Author is involved in Vaccine Confidence Project collaborative grants with GlaxoSmithKline outside the submitted work.FundingThis project was funded by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Fund.Ethical ApprovalApproval for this study was obtained via the Imperial College Research Ethics Committee on 24 July 2020 with reference 20IC6133.

The Use of Fly Ash in Concrete - A European View

1989 ◽  
Vol 178 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. L. Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Fly Ash ◽  
Pozzolanic Reaction ◽  
Imperial College ◽  
Open Pit ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Black Coal ◽  
Building Research ◽  
Natural Pozzolans ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Uk

AbstractA European view of the use of fly ash in concrete, if there is one, is very confused. Mehta [1] produced figures for the production and utilisation of fly ash in the cement and concrete industries for 1984, ranging from 10% utilisation in the UK where the cement makers are not enthusiastic, to 80% in the Federal Republic of Germany and even 94% in the Netherlands according to Fraay, Bijen, de Haan and Larbi [2]. Looking a little deeper into these figures the CEGB Ash Marketing Board says that it sells over 40% of its production of fly ash of some 14 million tons/year, much of it for landfill, while the figures for Germany relate only to the 2.6–2.9 million tons of ash from black coal; 70% of the German ash comes from brown coal, and all of this is returned to the open-pit mine for dumping. This paper will review some of the European papers in the Third CANMET/ACI International Conference on Fly ash, Silica Fume, Slag and Natural Pozzolans in Concrete held in Trondheim in June 1989 and some more recent work funded by the Ash Marketing Division of CEGB at Imperial College and the Building Research Establishment, Garston. Four specific aspects of the effects of fly ash on concrete will be considered: rheology and workability; the pozzolanic reaction and the effects of curing; the development of microstructure; and the development of strength and some aspects of durability.

One size does not fit all: user surveys in academic libraries

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Creaser
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
User Survey ◽  
Validity Of Results ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Management ◽  
Different Response ◽  
The Uk

PurposeUser surveys in academic libraries are not generally widely publicised. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and comment on the results of a variety of user surveys and draw together some of that work.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the work of LISU at Loughborough University, which has analysed two main instruments – the LibQual+ surveys as they have been applied in the UK, and the standard Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) user survey template. The paper considers the implications of different response rates and sample sizes on the validity of results and issues concerning benchmarking with user survey data.FindingsOne aim of user surveys must be to improve the services provided to users. High overall satisfaction levels are good for publicity, and may persuade institutional management that all is well with the library, but they should not lead to complacency within the service. It is important to drill down into the detail of the results, to make comparisons within or between services, and to investigate examples of good practice.Originality/valueThe paper provides a useful overview of UK academic library user survey methods.

scholarly journals Copyright Literacy in the UK: a survey of librarians and other cultural heritage sector professionals

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (121) ◽  
pp. 75-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Morrison ◽  
Jane Secker
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Staff Training ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Institutional Level ◽  
Copyright Policy ◽  
Training Activities ◽  
Information Professionals ◽  
The Uk

Based on a survey of UK library and information professionals and those who work in the cultural heritage sector, carried out in December 2014, this research sought to examine the levels of copyright ‘literacy’. The survey aimed to obtain responses from all sectors, however most responses were received from academic libraries. The research examined their knowledge of national and international copyright issues as well as copyright policies at an institutional level. The survey also explored the need for copyright education for new and existing professionals and suggested topics for inclusion in training activities. The findings suggest that levels of knowledge amongst UK professionals are higher than those in other countries who participated in the first phase of the project. UK institutions are also more likely to have a copyright policy and an individual with responsibility for copyright. The results should be of interest to library managers, library educators and those with responsibility for staff training.

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