bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Web-based Learning Resources – New Opportunities for Competency Development
Authors: Moen Anne  , Nygård Kathrine A.  , Gauperaa Torunn
Published: February 2025

Creating web-based learning environments holds great promise for on the job training and competence development in nursing. The web-based learning environment was designed and customized by four professional development nurses. We interviewed five RNs that pilot tested the web-based resource. Our findings give some insight into how the web-based design tool are perceived and utilized, and how content is represented in the learning environment. From a competency development perspective, practicing authentic tasks in a web-based learning environment can be useful to train skills and keep up important routines. The approach found in this study also needs careful consideration. Emphasizing routines and skills can be important to reduce variation and ensure more streamlined practice from an institution-wide quality improvement efforts. How the emphasis on routines and skills plays out towards the individual's overall professional development needs further careful studies.
An Electronic Portal to Support Using Information to Improve Healthcare
Authors: Strachan Heather  , Dallest Kathy
Published: February 2025

The Scottish Government supports a culture of knowledge management and organisational learning for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (NMAHP). To help facilitate this the National eHealth Programme has developed a portal, Using Information – Improving Healthcare, to enable sharing of international and national good practice in information use. The portal provides short stories of how information has been used to improve healthcare or services via text, sound bites or video, with links to resources and people connected with these examples. Evidence based user success criteria and governance arrangements ensure that the site remains a high quality resource.
Leveraging Technology for Research
Authors: Vlasses Frances  , Malliaris Mary  , Androwich Ida  , Caspers Barbara  , Dominiak Mary
Published: February 2025

One of the most exciting promises of technology lies in the potential to support research on complex questions through the capture, maintenance and analysis of large data sets. This is especially true in cases where research involves multiple contextual variables such as organizational research. The possibilities for increasing our scope and reaching to global proportions when designing research projects is within reach. This paper reports the results of research conducted within the United States and yields useful lessons for application in other settings and countries.
Implementation of Information Technology in Nursing Practice – Challenge for Management in Psychiatric Nursing
Authors: Koivunen Marita  , Hätönen Heli  , Välimäki Maritta
Published: February 2025

The implementation of information technology (IT) applications in nursing practice requires systematic investments and guidance. A collaborative organisational culture, and systematic and close clinical and administrative cooperation during the implementation process support the acceptance of IT among users in organisation. Although knowledge of IT projects management exists, there is a lack of knowledge about nursing management in IT implementation processes in psychiatric nursing.
Empowerment among Athletes – an e-survey Design
Authors: Pallesen Bodil  , Engberg Axel  , Barlach Anders
Published: February 2025

This study focus on a healthcare system integrating citizens orientation towards a healthy sports active lifestyle in combination with an individual health information, to prevent them from sports injuries and to empower them in an everyday context. Sports give quality of life, but often result in injuries. In this survey population of 1320 athletes, 90% had sports related injuries and 80% had received medical treatment. An e-survey investigates how the athletes use IT in relation to health and is a descriptive research into investigating specific indicators of individual empowerment.
Omaha System Data: Methods for Research and Program Evaluation
Authors: Monsen Karen A.  , Martin Karen S.  , Christensen Jean R.  , Westra Bonnie L.
Published: February 2025

Researchers are developing methods to evaluate health care quality and effectiveness using health informatics data sets. Standardized taxonomies such as the Omaha System are being used in computerized documentation systems to generate data on client assessments and health care services. Questions such as prevalence of client problems, care utilization, differential intervention effectiveness, and problem-specific client outcomes can be investigated. Approaches for analyzing Omaha System data are emerging in the literature and in practice settings, and will be described in this poster.
Usability Testing of a Falls Prevention Toolkit for an Inpatient Acute Care Setting
Authors: Goldsmith Denise  , Zuyev Lyubov  , Benoit Angie  , Chang Frank Y.  , Horsky Jan  , Dykes Patricia
Published: February 2025

Efforts to prevent falls in the hospital setting involves identifying patients at risk of falling and implementing fall prevention strategies. This poster describes the method and results of Performance Usability Testing on a web-based Fall Prevention Tool Kit (FPTK) developed as part of a research study, (Falls TIPS–Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety) funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [1].
Nursing Informatics in Sweden – the Agenda for the Future
Authors: Ehrenberg Anna  , Angsmo Ewa  , Ehnfors Margareta  , Florin Jan  , Fogelberg-Dahm Marie  , Liljequist David  , Midboe Lars  , Nilsson Gunilla  , Wärn-Hede Gunnel  , Östlinder Gerthrud
Published: February 2025

With the purpose of getting an overview of the current research and development in information systems and terminology for nursing practice and outline strategies for the future, an initiative for a workshop was taken at the national level in Sweden by the Section for Nursing Informatics, the Society of Nursing and the Association of Health Professionals in 2007. For the workshop around 30 nurses were invited, representing clinical practice, education, and research. The workshop resulted in recommendations for future strategies to support the development of nursing informatics in Sweden.
Shared Genomics: High Performance Computing for distributed insights in genomic medical research
Authors: Hoyle David C.  , Delderfield Mark  , Kitching Lee  , Smith Gareth  , Buchan Iain
Published: February 2025

The study of the genetics of diseases is entering a new era. Increasingly, genome-wide association studies are being used to identify positions within the human genome that have a link with a disease condition. The number of genomic locations studied means that High Performance Computing (HPC) solutions will have to increasingly be used in the statistical analysis of these data sets. Understanding the biomedical implications of the statistical analysis will also require heavy use of bioinformatics annotation tools. In this paper we report the outcome of developing HPC statistical genetics analysis codes for use by clinical researchers. Statistical results are automatically annotated with relevant biological information by calling multiple web-services orchestrated via pre-existing scientific workflows. Access to the HPC codes and bioinformatics annotation processes is via a client Workbench which hides as much as possible from the user the HPC infrastructure and bioinformatics annotation processes, whilst aiding the exchange of ideas and results between stakeholders.
Discovering Tutorial Dialogue Strategies with Hidden Markov Models
Authors: Boyer Kristy Elizabeth  , Ha Eun Young  , Wallis Michael D.  , Phillips Robert  , Vouk Mladen A.  , Lester James C.
Published: February 2025

Identifying effective tutorial strategies is a key problem for tutorial dialogue systems research. Ongoing work in human-human tutorial dialogue continues to reveal the complex phenomena that characterize these interactions, but we have not yet seen the emergence of an automated approach to discovering tutorial dialogue strategies. This paper presents a first step toward establishing a methodology for such an approach. In this methodology, a corpus is first annotated with dialogue acts that are grounded in theories of tutoring and natural language dialogue. Hidden Markov modeling is then applied to discover tutorial strategies inherent in the structure of the sequenced dialogue acts. The methodology is illustrated by demonstrating how hidden Markov models can be learned from a corpus of human-human tutoring in the domain of introductory computer science.
Interactive Paraphrase Training: The Development and Testing of an iSTART Module
Authors: McNamara Danielle S.  , Boonthum Chutima  , Kurby Christopher A.  , Magliano Joe  , Pillarisetti Srinivasa  , Bellissens Cedrick
Published: February 2025

Comprehension of science texts is challenging, particularly when the reader lacks the skills or knowledge necessary to fill in conceptual gaps in the text content. The iSTART system was developed to help readers learn and practice reading strategies to improve their ability to comprehend challenging text. This study describes a new iSTART module recently developed and tested, called Interactive Paraphrasing (IP), in which students are interactively and adaptively taught how to paraphrase sentences. We compared the effects of iSTART to iSTART with IP (IP-iSTART) with high school students on their strategy use and ability to comprehend text. IP-iSTART increased skilled readers' self-explanation quality, improved their ability to answer online comprehension questions, and increased their use of paraphrases after training. Less skilled readers benefited most in self-explanation quality from the original version of iSTART. Results are discussed in terms of tailoring reading strategy training to the needs of the reader.
Automated Assessment of Oral Reading Prosody
Authors: Mostow Jack  , Duong Minh
Published: February 2025

We describe an automated method to assess the expressiveness of children's oral reading by measuring how well its prosodic contours correlate in pitch, intensity, pauses, and word reading times with adult narrations of the same sentences. We evaluate the method directly against a common rubric used to assess fluency by hand. We also compare it against manual and automated baselines by its ability to predict fluency and comprehension test scores and gains of 55 children ages 7–10 who used Project LISTEN's Reading Tutor. It outperforms the human-scored rubric, predicts gains, and could help teachers identify which students are making adequate progress.
An Evaluation of Sociocultural Data for Predicting Attitudinal Tendencies
Authors: Blanchard Emmanuel G.  , Roy Marguerite  , Lajoie Susanne  , Frasson Claude
Published: February 2025

Cultural profiling involves a complex interplay of multiple dimensions that are virtually impossible to wholly address. This paper explores several cultural (nationality and its associated Hofstede dimensions, religious beliefs), and demographic (gender, age) variables to evaluate if each of these are good candidates for predicting behavioural as well as cognitive attitudes related to computer use and learning activities. Results indicate that each variable taken individually will lead to limited success in attitudinal predictions. Several combinations of variables however could allow an interesting degree of prediction.
Error-Based Simulation to Promote Awareness of Errors in Elementary Mechanics and Its Evaluation
Authors: Hirashima Tsukasa  , Imai Isao  , Horiguchi Tomoya  , Toumoto Takahito
Published: February 2025

Error-based simulation (EBS) has been developed to generate phenomenon by using students' erroneous idea and also it is considered as a promising method to promote the students be aware of their errors. In this paper, we used the EBS in learning of “normal reaction force” in a junior high school, and then compared the EBS class (where students learned the concept with EBS) and the usual class (where students learned the concept as usual) by using the results of a pre-test, post-test, delayed post-test and an interview after the delayed post-test. The results suggest that EBS contributed to generalization and retention of the learned concept as for “normal reaction force”.
Self-regulated Fading in On-line Learning
Authors: Kemp Raymond  , Kemp Elizabeth  , Todd Elisabeth
Published: February 2025

Self-regulation and scaffolding are two important techniques for improving student performance in on-line learning systems. An experiment was carried out to see whether students could effectively regulate their own scaffolding and fading when using a system for improving their understanding of OO programming. During the learning phase, students were given the opportunity of either controlling their fading, or using all the support available to carry out the tasks. In a subsequent test phase, when all scaffolding was removed, students who had regulated their use of fading performed significantly better than those who had practised with all the scaffolding turned on.
Consultation of Misconceptions Representations by Students in Education-Related Courses
Authors: Johan Rasyidi  , Bull Susan
Published: February 2025

This paper considers learner misconceptions information which is presented to the learner in an open learner model. We suggest that specific information about misconceptions may be of benefit to the learner, to help them reflect on their knowledge and understanding. We investigate acceptance of their misconceptions presented as animations and step-by-step text descriptions by two groups of users: trainee teachers, and computer engineering students taking an educational technology course. Our study revealed mixed findings.
Different forms of Scaffolding, Different Learning Outcomes
Authors: Molenaar I.  , van Boxte C.A.M.  , Sleegers P.J.C.
Published: February 2025

The study examined the effects of dynamic scaffolding of metacognition on learning outcomes of students in primary schools. In an experimental study two experimental groups and one control group were compared. The experimental groups differed in the form of scaffolding used; structuring scaffolds vs. problematizing scaffolds. We analyzed the effects of dynamic scaffolding and of different forms of scaffolding on learning outcomes. The results showed a small effect of scaffolding on the group performance, no effects on declarative knowledge and a significant effect on procedural knowledge. With respect to the effects of different forms of scaffolding, we found significant effects on group performance, the procedural knowledge acquired and on transfer of knowledge.
Explicit Social Goals and Learning in a Game for Cross-cultural Negotiation
Authors: Ogan Amy  , Kim Julia  , Aleven Vincent  , Jones Christopher
Published: February 2025

Games motivate through challenge, which is often supported by giving proximal, task-related goals. In an educational game for social skills, however, these may not be the most appropriate goals. We ran an experiment in which 54 students played a game designed to teach cross-cultural negotiation skills, with either negotiation task goals or with an additional social goal. The group not given the social goal performed significantly better on most measures. However, students who reported having social goals, regardless of condition, learned significantly more than students who did not report social goals. This experiment provides evidence that while explicit goals may not be the right scaffold, social goals are important in learning cross-cultural negotiation from an educational game.
Learning from Feedback In BioWorld
Authors: Naismith Laura  , Lajoie Susanne P.
Published: February 2025

Technology-rich environments provide the opportunity for medical students to develop expertise in clinical reasoning through deliberate practice with appropriate feedback. This study investigates whether feedback from intermediates may result in higher learning gains for novice medical students than feedback from experts.
Development of Production System for Anywhere and Class Practice
Authors: Miwa Kazuhisa  , Nakaike Ryuichi  , Morita Jyunya  , Terai Hitoshi
Published: February 2025

The authors have developed a web-based production system that users can use whenever and anywhere by the Internet. The authors held two cognitive science introductory classes with the system. In our class activities, participants were required to construct running cognitive models on the production system architecture that can solve pulley problems. The participants not only constructed cognitive models but also produced original problems, which were distributed to the other class members. The participants found the defects in their models while trying to solve the problems from other members and trying to improve their models. A posttest indicated that the participants who successfully constructed high performance models revealed deeper understanding of pulley systems.
Off-Task Behavior in Narrative-Centered Learning Environments
Authors: Rowe Jonathan P.  , McQuiggan Scott W.  , Robison Jennifer L.  , Lester James C.
Published: February 2025

Recent years have seen increasing interest in narrative-centered learning environments. However, the same qualities that make them engaging can also introduce seductive details that invite off-task behavior. This paper examines off-task behavior in the CRYSTAL ISLAND narrative-centered learning environment. Results from an empirical study examining the relationships between student test performance, individual differences, and off-task behavior are presented. The study found negative correlations between off-task behavior and test performance, as well as significant gender effects on the total amount of off-task behavior. Initial conclusions from a path analysis conducted on students' action sequences are also presented.
Enhanced site characterization of covered karst with surface and borehole seismic imaging
Authors: Whiteley R.J.  , Stewart S.B.
Published: February 2025

Covered karst is highly problematic ground with major geohazard potential. Use of a modified OUT Principle approach, termed the OTU Principle (Observation, Technological Development, Understanding) is advocated to enhance site characterisation of covered karst areas. This involves combining boreholes, material observation and geotechnical testing with surface and borehole P-wave seismic technologies. Use of the OTU principle is demonstrated with a building settlement problem that occurred at a school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. OTU identified and mapped a large sinkhole and pinnacle or overhang karst feature beneath the school and a substantial thickness of low velocity soils or fill materials beneath the foundations that were partially on shallow limestone at the sinkhole margin. This improved site characterization, led to greater understanding of the differential settlement processes and stimulated investigation of the surrounding area that identified significant de-watering of a nearby construction site and provided a likely explanation for the settlement. In this example, OTU been shown to improve the effectiveness of responses to geotechnical incidents in covered karst.
Design of anchored retaining structures by numerical modelling
Authors: Szavits Nossan A.  , Sokolić I.  , Plepelić G.
Published: February 2025

The use of advanced and widely available commercial finite element computer programs in design of anchored retaining structures confront designers with several challenges that may, if not properly accounted for, lead to poor and even unsafe design. The paper addresses this issue and proposes a strategy for numerical modelling of retaining structures in medium stiff to stiff soils. The proposed strategy is verified on three case histories and a good agreement is achieved between calculated and measured displacements of the retaining structures. Measures the designers could take to ensure the structural safety, particularly with regard to its brittleness, are also proposed.
Stability modeling of old railway embankments on very soft ground
Authors: Salokangas J.-P.  , Vepsalainen P.
Published: February 2025

The stability of a 130 year old railway embankment built on very soft clayey ground was studied under train loads. The analysis was made by different computer programs based on limit analysis and FE-method with different material models. The assumptions and results were mutually compared.
Behavior and geotechnical properties of lahares and volcanic ashes in the Baba River Valley, Ecuador
Authors: Marín-Nieto L.  , Herbozo-Alvardo E.  , Rivera-Guapulema J.R.  , Avecillas-Andrade M.J.
Published: February 2025

During the excavations to lay the foundations of the spillway of a dam on the Baba River, located to 200 km Southwest of Quito, Ecuador's Capital, the previous explorations were confirmed when there was discovered a “volcanic waste” produced by the eruptions of Quilotoa Volcano during the Recent Holoceno. The Quilotoa, volcano today off, have 4000 meters height and located 60 km to the East of the site of the dam. During the recent Holoceno, a series of volcanoes, including the Quilotoa, spilled their volcanic materials on Los Andes buttress, particularly by where the Baba River runs from North to South.
Modeling unsaturated soil behavior under multiaxial stress states
Authors: Hoyos L.R.  , Laikram A.  , Pérez-Ruiz D.  , Puppala A.J.
Published: February 2025

This paper presents the results from a preliminary series of conventional triaxial compression (CTC) and triaxial compression (TC) tests conducted on compacted silty sand (SM) under constant-suction states. The experiments were conducted by using a novel, servo-controlled, true triaxial (cubical) apparatus that is suitable to test 3-in (7.5-cm) per side, cubical specimens of unsaturated soil under controlled-suction states and for a wide range of stress paths that are not achievable in a conventional cylindrical apparatus. The equipment is a mixed-boundary type of device, with the specimen seated on top of a high-air-entry ceramic disk and between five flexible (latex) membranes on the remaining sides of the cube. The cell features two independent pore-air (ua) and pore-water (uw) pressure control systems via a PCP-5000-UNSAT pressure panel. Target suction levels are induced and kept constant during testing using the axis-translation technique. The technique is implemented by utilizing the s = uatesting concept (uw= 0), which plays a fundamental role in characterizing unsaturated soil behavior under multiaxial stress paths that are likely to be experienced in the field. Results from suction-controlled tests under axisymmetric conditions (σ2= σ3) were used for calibration and further fine-tuning of the original elasto-plastic, critical state based framework postulated by the Barcelona Model (Alonso et al. 1990). Matric suction was found to exert a noticeable influence on the soil's stress-strain-strength behavior under multiaxial stress states. Numerical predictions of experimental stress-strain response of silty sand under axisymmetric conditions, using the Barcelona Model, were proved to be reasonably accurate.
Soil matric suction as an indicator of the mud flow occurrence
Authors: Petkovšek A.  , Maček M.  , Kočevar M.  , Benko I.  , Majes B.
Published: February 2025

The Slano blato landslide is one of the largest landslides in Slovenia with a volume of more than 1 MIO m3. In dry periods the landslide behaves as a group of several slow moving landslides. In wet periods it moves mainly as a viscous earth flow with occurrences of rapid mudflows. The transformation from the slow moving landslide to the much faster mud flow depends strongly on the combination of the rainfall infiltration at the landslide territory itself as well as the water influx from the bedrock. Instead of monitoring the ground water level and horizontal ground inclination in the short life time inclinometers, a new monitoring system, using soil suction measurements with the Watermark sensors was installed in 2007. The soil suction and the ground temperature data are taken continuously, together with the data from the weather station and the GPS position of sensors. The measured data are available online, together with the TV camera shots observing the landslide surface 24 hours/day. Field monitoring data show clear connection between rainfalls, soil suction and the development of the surface soil instabilities.
Effects of deep excavations in soft clay on the immediate surroundings
Authors: Kullingsjö A.
Published: February 2025

When excavating in an urban environment, evaluation of the magnitude and distribution of ground movements is an important part of the design process, since excessive movement can damage adjacent buildings and utilities. In order to minimize the movement of the surrounding soil, a retaining wall support system is used to provide lateral support.
Field test for reduction of maintenance of railway transition zones
Authors: Hölscher P.  , Verweij A.  , Coelho B.  , Kremer A.  , Powrie W.  , Priest J.
Published: February 2025

Transition zones between embankments and rigid structures (e.g. a bridge) generate high maintenance costs for railway companies. In order to reduce maintenance, better understanding of the behaviour of these zones is required. The research described in this paper focuses on a field test on a transition zone at a typical soft soil site. An initial review identifies the most probable mechanisms of failure, selected from both literature and expert opinion. The field survey and results of short-term measurements and long-term measurements are described. The lessons learned are then discussed.
Mechanical performance of different stabilised soils for application in stratified ground
Authors: Marzano I.P.  , Osman A.A-M.  , Grisolia M.  , Al-Tabbaa A.
Published: February 2025

To achieve homogeneity in soil mixing along the depth of a column in a non-homogeneous layered soils, it is necessary to understand the effect of soil type on the treatment and to adapt the treatment for the different soil strata. For this purpose, an extensive laboratory testing programme was carried out to examine the effect of different soils and cement content on the mechanical and physical properties of the resulting treated soils. Four different soils, namely gravely sand; silty clayey gravely sand, silty clay and a pure clay were tested. Different grout constituents, constituent ratios, dosages and water content were used in order to improve the performances of the mixes using Portland cement as the main binder. The tests performed included unconfined compressive strength, from which the elastic stiffness was also calculated, and permeability at 28 days. The results show that relatively homogenous results in terms of compressive strength and permeability may be reached by modifying the cement-bentonite ratio in granular soils and the binder dosage in fine-grained soils. The results constitute a preliminary useful guide to adapt in the construction techniques in field applications.
Mass stabilization – a method for the reuse of TBT-contaminated sediments as a part of the harbour field in Helsinki, Finland
Authors: Havukainen J.  , Leppänen M.  , Piispanen A.
Published: February 2025

In Helsinki, at the new Vuosaari Harbour a 90 hectare area was to be filled from the sea. The analyses starting in the spring 2003 indicated high tributyltin (TBT) concentrations in surface sediments at a 75 hectare area. All the soft sediments were to be dredged from the harbour area before structural filling. The mass stabilization of contaminated sediment was considered to be the most economical and environmentally safe method to solve the environmental problem. The contaminated area was isolated from the surrounding sea by permanent protective embankments and a temporary silt curtain. The former Niinilahti Bay in the inner harbour area was prepared to receive the contaminated sediment to be stabilized. The surface dredging was carried out by accurate techniques and the contaminated sediment was transported into the stabilization area by barges and by pumping. In 2006 the five metre sediment layer, about 0.5 million cubic metres of material was spread over 10 hectares. The sediment was stabilized with cement and utilized as a harbour field structure. During the mass stabilization work the stabilized sediment was immediately covered by a fabric and one meter sand embankment (first stage preloading). Later the stabilized area was covered by a higher preloading. The QC/QA procedure was approved by the environmental authorities and it was based on the controlling of permeability and shear strength. Also the settlements under preloading were carefully observed. After preloading the stabilized layer was covered with a drainage and surface layers with an asphalt layer on top.
Ground improvement under historical buildings: a case history
Authors: Passalacqua R.
Published: February 2025

The soil improvement technique, used to deepen a large excavation in adherence to an historical building into an urbanized area, will be herein presented. The building suffered relevant damagement yet when any excavation activity had still to be started; thus, the excavation's sequence and the retain structure had to be redesigned, because the marked sensitivity of the wet sandy-silt soil did not allow any activity in proximity to the building's foundation.
An Account of Deep Excavations using Steelworks in Hong Kong
Authors: Sze James W.C.  , Ho Albert N.L.
Published: February 2025

Basement and other forms of underground structures commonly formed part of the building and infrastructure developments in the built areas of Hong Kong. To facilitate the construction of these underground structures, lateral support works are usually required. Steel embedded walls and shoring systems are being the commonly adopted forms of lateral support works for these deep excavations. This Paper gives an overview of the commonly adopted steel embedded walls and steel shores in Hong Kong with an illustration by a few case histories.
A Study on Field Test of Information Gathering Vehicle for Slope Maintenance Management
Authors: Jung S.J.  , Kim Y.S.  , Ahn S.R.  , Lee S.H.
Published: February 2025

Rockfalls and landslides bring about great social loss such as traffic obstruction, damages in crops and even casualty. Currently most slopes, except the one under a real-time monitoring system, are managed via field investigation. However, the interval and frequency of investigations are different between slopes due to the problems in workforce and budget. Therefore, management and maintenance task should be improved. The purpose of this study is to develop a vehicle for collecting field information and its operating method for an effective daily inspection of the slopes. For this purpose, a basic development model for an information gathering vehicle is defined, and its feasibility is evaluated. In addition, the command module is designed to support the effective collection of information via computerized task and inspection schedule. The operation of an information gathering vehicle will support quicker acquisition of information on rockfalls and landslides according to standardized and objective criteria. In addition, it will prevent casualty and property loss before it happens. It is expected to clear out any inconvenience in connecting work between dangerous area information, computerized information and initial input data overload, all of which have been the bottleneck for field information collection and computerization
Education and practice: The Peruvian experience
Authors: Carrillo-Gil A.  , Carrillo A. A.  , Donayre C. O.  , Carrillo D. E.
Published: February 2025

This paper describes the Peruvian experience which proposed a change in the curricula of the career of Civil Engineering at the Ricardo Palma University from Lima, Peru. With a more special focus on the teaching-learning of Geotechnical Engineering by the development of field survey workshops and seminars with the students of Engineering Foundations and Geotechnical Design. The experience focused in the Geotechnical Design and effective field practice, workgroups development, organizational maintenance and oral and written communication skills as well as in the application of the Geotechnical Engineering in the seismic prevention and geotechnical risk. This experience was carried out on the popular human settlements of Metropolitan Lima, where the effects of an earthquake with Magnitude 8.7 (Mw) or higher, would originate a very considerable amount of human and economical losses. This paper summarizes some important surveys accomplished by the students, which show precarious foundations due to poor technical and professional knowledge on loose granular soils, non compacted landfills and soft geotechnical materials. Finally, this paper discusses the on-going research about these precarious foundations on loose materials made of original rocks from the site, called “pircas”.
State of the art report: Analysis and design
Authors: Simpson B.  , Morrison P.  , Yasuda S.  , Townsend B.  , Gazetas G.
Published: February 2025

This paper is concerned with analysis and design across the breadth of geotechnical engineering. Sections by individual experts relate to Codes and standards, Deep foundations, Embankments and slopes, Underground construction and Seismic design. Each considers recent developments, including economy and sustainability. Recent geotechnical codes and standards from Europe, North America and Japan are compared. All adopt forms of limit state design and address familiar geotechnical problems of uncertain ground behaviour and complex interaction of loads with frictional materials. Some topics which are still under debate are discussed. Design of deep foundations is a blend of empiricism and theory. Developments including drilled and grouted piles in rock and offshore driven piles are presented. Topics considered include assessment of ultimate capacity and the environmental benefits of pile re-use and piles as heat transfer elements. Design of embankments and slopes depends on empirical rules and observation, as well as theory. In Japan, tolerance to displacements following earthquakes is a particular consideration. Embankments used as transport corridors or as building platforms are discussed. Failures involving uncontrolled fills are particularly noted. For construction underground, understanding of the fundamental physics is imperative, along with comprehensive process of checking during both design and construction. Greater use of cement replacements would aid sustainability. The final section of the paper considers performance-based design of foundations against two seismic hazards: emergence of a rupture underneath a structure, and bearing capacity mechanisms for slender structures on shallow foundations.
Settlement analysis of foundation soil over a long time and comparison with field performance
Authors: Karim M.R.  , Gnanendran C.T.
Published: February 2025

This paper models the consolidation of the foundation soil of a wide geogrid reinforced embankment close to its centre-line. An elastic viscoplastic model has been used for the analysis. A creep function that takes into account of the non-linear nature of creep has also been incorporated in this model. The predicted results are compared with the field measurement data and with the analysis results obtained using two other models (i.e. Kutter and Sathialingham, 1992 and modified Cam-Clay).
Simulation of liquefaction of unsaturated sand using porous media theory
Authors: Uzuoka R.  , Kazama M.  , Sento N.  , Unno T.
Published: February 2025

Numerical simulations of unsaturated soil triaxial tests were performed using the porous media theory and a simplified elasto-plastic constitutive model for sand. In the tests, cyclic shear strain was applied to fine clean sand with the same dry density but with different initial suction under undrained conditions. The zero skeleton stress state (i.e. liquefaction) for unsaturated sand was achieved when both the pore air pressure and the water pressure built up to the initial total pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to consider pore air pressure for the proper simulation of liquefaction of unsaturated sand. In the simulation, three phases with a soil skeleton, pore water, and pore air were considered on the basis of porous media theory. The simplified elasto-plastic constitutive model for the soil skeleton was based on the non-associated flow rule and the nonlinear kinematic hardening rule. The simulations provided a satisfactory reproduction of the triaxial test results in the cases where the initial degree of saturation was higher than about 70%.
Analyse microscopique des mécanismes de dessiccation et de gonflement des sols argileux
Authors: Maison T.  , Laouafa F.  , Delalain P.  , Fleureau J.M.
Published: February 2025

L'analyse des mécanismes physico-chimiques à l'échelle locale ou microscopique lors du retrait et du gonflement des matériaux argileux est une étape indispensable pour la compréhension et la caractérisation de la sensibilité de certains sols ainsi que leur prédisposition vis-à-vis des phénomènes de retrait et de gonflement. Afin de mieux comprendre ces mécanismes, des analyses expérimentales sont menées à différentes échelles, mais principalement à une échelle microscopique en utilisant un Microscope Electronique à Balayage Environnemental (MEBE). Ce dernier permet l'analyse de certains aspects du comportement ou les propriétés physiques de différents « échantillons »d'argiles soumis à des conditions d'hygrométrie contrôlées. Dans cette étude, deux argiles naturelles, la montmorillonite grecque, homogène, et l'argile verte de Romainville, hétérogène, sont analysées sous forme de poudre. Ces deux argiles sont soumises à des cycles d'humidification/séchage dans la chambre du MEBE. Leurs comportements sont analysés et une comparaison est effectuée en se basant sur leur composition minéralogique. Les principales observations montrent des différences importantes dans la cinétique du gonflement. L'argile homogène présente un taux de gonflement important; l'adsorption nécessite un temps d'humidification long et un temps de séchage court. L'argile hétérogène, présente un faible taux de gonflement, pas ou peu d'adsorption, un temps d'humidification court et un temps de séchage long. Les différences significatives semblent être dues à la présence de minéraux non gonflants ou non déformable comme les carbonates, le quartz, la kaolinite et l'illite, dans l'argile hétérogène. Tous ces faits expérimentaux sont décrits et illustrés.
Studies on development of an innovative type sheet-pile-bulkhead
Authors: Cai Z.Y.  , Li J.L.  , Xu G.M.  , Liu Y.X.
Published: February 2025

A study on the development of a new-type sheet pile bulkhead is presented by means of centrifuge model tests. As one of the most typical waterfront constructions of the bottom-fixed port marine pier structure, the sheet pile bulkhead has been widely used in small piers or medium-sized piers. It is usually composed of two rows of sheet pile walls connected by tie-rods, namely, the front wall for retaining soil and the anchor wall. As the front wall will be subject to enormous thrust of earth pressure of retaining soil when the bulkhead is of substantial height, it is used to retain soil height of lower than 7-8 m. An innovative type of sheet pile pier structure, with retaining structure up to 32 m, is being devised in China in the construction of new berths especially where the muddy or sandy seashore is prevailing without rock foundation or very stiff soil foundation. The distinct feature of this new sheet pile pier structure is to add a row of barrier piles between the two rows of sheet pile walls. In order to establish the most reasonable connection between the barrier piles and the front sheet-pile wall and to optimize the design for one prospect pier structure, the innovative structure is firstly studied by use of the centrifuge model tests.
Instability behaviour of Changi sand in plane-strain tests
Authors: Wanatowski D.  , Chu J.
Published: February 2025

Flowslide is a common type of failure of granular soil slopes. Although many flowslides can be explained using static liquefaction or instability behaviour of sand under undrained conditions, some of the failures might have occurred under essentially drained conditions, e.g. the Wachusett Dam case in 1907. Recent laboratory studies on Changi sand under axisymmetric conditions have shown that sand can become unstable under completely drained conditions. Based on these laboratory studies, new failure mechanisms for granular slopes were proposed. However, to date, most of the experiments on the instability behaviour of granular soils were carried out under axisymmetric conditions even though slope failures can only be simplified into plane-strain conditions. Although the behaviour of sand under plane-strain conditions has been studied by a number of researchers, the instability of sand under plane-strain conditions has seldom been investigated. In this paper, experimental data obtained from plane-strain tests are presented to illustrate the unstable behaviour of sand under both undrained and drained conditions. A comparison between the instability conditions observed under axisymmetric and plane-strain conditions is made. A unified instability condition which is applicable to both axisymmetric and plane-strain conditions is presented.
Inevitable Components of and Steps for ADE Management Systems: The Need for a Unified Ontological Framework (UOF) and a More Effective Collaboration in Medication Safety
Authors: Eryilmaz Esat N.  , Dündar Gül  , Sari Senem Özgür
Published: February 2025

In this article, we will try to address the most basic requirements for facilitating the knowledge management challenges through the elaboration of medical documentation/ record keeping with several implications on patient safety/medication safety and research quality aspects, the main purpose being the simplification of utilizing the usable outputs of ontology development efforts. This simplification is of vital importance from KM implementation in medical and healthcare domains. Because, as Ceusters et al [3] elaborate, reaching consensus on even the most basic concepts will become an intricate work in terms of the wide-scale implementation of ontology-based KM solutions in clinical practice and other healthcare related processes. EHR (Electronic Health Records) standards developed by various SDOsSDOs: Standards Development Organizations
Biomedical Data Management: A Proposal Framework
Authors: Teodoro Douglas  , Choquet Rémy  , Pasche Emilie  , Gobeill Julien  , Daniel Christel  , Ruch Patrick  , Lovis Christian
Published: February 2025

The expansion of biomedical knowledge, reductions in computing costs and spread of IT facilities have led to an explosion of the biomedical electronic data. However, these data are rarely integrated and analysed because of lack of tools. The integration process is complex due to technical and semantic heterogeneity as well as lack of reliability in such distributed system. In addition, for the specific case of biomedical data, privacy is a crucial constraint. This paper presents a pilot system that will be used in the European FP7 DebugIT project to integrate biomedical data from several healthcare centres across Europe.
Interoperable Electronic Patient Records for Health Care Improvement
Authors: Balas Andrew  , Al Sanousi Ali
Published: February 2025

Pressing needs of cost-effectiveness in healthcare and opportunities of emerging electronic health record technologies offer unprecedented chance for progress. Ongoing health care improvement and patient safety initiatives demand new information collection and communication technologies (e.g., Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, Joint Commission, National Patient Safety Foundation, public health surveillance). Particularly, desire for faster action and cost-effective health care drive unprecedented investments in electronic patient records worldwide. Recognizing these opportunities, many countries and the World Health Organization have launched several major health care improvement initiatives that are driven by new electronic record technologies. In the United States, historic $19 billion investment is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Models of sharing electronic patient data and citizen expectations for personal electronic health records will be reviewed. Regional health information networks and other information sharing initiatives depend on the interoperability of systems. Ultimately, the recent flood of health information standards needs to be balanced with actual interoperability opportunities. It is anticipated that the current policy discussions on the “meaningful use” of electronic health records will have major beneficial technical and also reimbursement implications.
Ontology-Driven Health Information Systems Architectures
Authors: Blobel Bernd  , Oemig Frank
Published: February 2025

Following an architecture vision such as the Generic Component Model (GCM) architecture framework, health information systems for supporting personalized care have to be based on a component-oriented architecture. Representing concepts and their interrelations, the GCM perspectives system architecture, domains, and development process can be described by the domains' ontologies. The paper introduces ontology principles, ontology references to the GCM as well as some practical aspects of ontology-driven approaches to semantically interoperable and sustainable health information systems.
Building eHealth National Strategies – The Romanian Experience
Authors: Mihalas George I.  , Farcas Dan D.  , Lungeanu Diana  , Focsa Mircea
Published: February 2025

A description of the newest Romanian eHealth project is presented. The SIUI project – Integrated Unique Information System of the National Health Insurance House was tested on three pilot units in 2007 and generalized in 2008, becoming mandatory for all healthcare units in 2009. The implementation process revealed some difficulties and the user acceptance is still low. A couple of supporting measures, including educational programs, are finally discussed.
The Use of Open Source and Web2.0 in Developing an Integrated EHR and E-learning System for the Greek Smoking Cessation Network
Authors: Konstantinidis Stathis Th.  , Konstantinidis Evdokimos  , Nikolaidou Maria M.  , Boutou Afroditi K.  , Havouzis Nikos  , Argyropoulou Paraskevi  , Bamidis Panagiotis D.
Published: February 2025

Technologies of information and communication are incrementally integrated with all facets of healthcare practice and education. Although Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have long been used in healthcare the introduction of open source tools has empowered their further expansion of use. Simultaneously the use of Web 2.0 tools has opened up new ways of enhancing both healthcare practice and education. In this paper, we describe our approach towards the development of an integrated system supporting the smoking cessation network initiatives in the Greek public hospitals. The system combines the availability of an open source, web based EHR subsystem, with a Web 2.0 facilitated e-learning component for supporting continuing medical education and promoting public awareness.
Requirements Regarding Quality Certification of Electronic Health Records
Authors: Hoerbst Alexander  , Schabetsberger Thomas  , Hackl Werner  , Ammenwerth Elske
Published: February 2025

Quality assurance is a major task with regard to the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Currently there are only a few approaches explicitly dealing with the quality of EHR services. The objective of this paper is to present the results of an expert survey that was conducted in 2008 including 29 experts from various European countries and different areas. The experts were questioned about requirements regarding quality certification, important areas for certification, known certifications and important sources for the establishment of a certification. The results clearly showed, that there is the need for certification and confirmed the initial assumption that additional research has to be conducted in this field.