title: Numerical and experimental study on non-destructive measuring method of axial load and natural frequency of rails

authors: Sun, Yulu

subjects: Railroad tracks -- Dynamics -- Measurement

abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate a simple, non-destructive method for monitoring the natural frequencies of the railway tracks subjected to the axial loads. In this study, two kinds of methods are used to obtain the relationship of the axial loads and the natural frequencies. One is the numerical method, and another one is the laboratory experimental method. For the numerical studies, two different numerical analysis methods are used, namely the Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis, and the Rayleigh-Ritz method analysis. The laboratory method has two different equipment to collect signals, one is an accelerometer and the other is a microphone sensor. They both are processed by using the dynamic analysis instrument.
In order to simply and comprehensively verify the practicality, we consider three simply supported beams, which can be considered as a simplified model of the railway track, with different materials and cross-sections. Through the numerical studies, the critical loads and the natural frequencies of the beams are calculated by using the two methods. The results obtained by using the finite element method show a good agreement with the results obtained by the Rayleigh-Ritz method. Through the experiments, it is proved that the laboratory methods can be used to find the natural frequencies of the beams subjected to the axial loads.
The methods used in this study could be put into practical use to simulate and detect the axial load and natural frequency of the railway tracks. With further research, the methods would contribute to development of non-destructive testing methods for the railway tracks.

text: Numerical and experimental study on non-destructive measuring method of axial load and natural frequency of rails The purpose of this study is to investigate a simple, non-destructive method for monitoring the natural frequencies of the railway tracks subjected to the axial loads. In this study, two kinds of methods are used to obtain the relationship of the axial loads and the natural frequencies. One is the numerical method, and another one is the laboratory experimental method. For the numerical studies, two different numerical analysis methods are used, namely the Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis, and the Rayleigh-Ritz method analysis. The laboratory method has two different equipment to collect signals, one is an accelerometer and the other is a microphone sensor. They both are processed by using the dynamic analysis instrument.
In order to simply and comprehensively verify the practicality, we consider three simply supported beams, which can be considered as a simplified model of the railway track, with different materials and cross-sections. Through the numerical studies, the critical loads and the natural frequencies of the beams are calculated by using the two methods. The results obtained by using the finite element method show a good agreement with the results obtained by the Rayleigh-Ritz method. Through the experiments, it is proved that the laboratory methods can be used to find the natural frequencies of the beams subjected to the axial loads.
The methods used in this study could be put into practical use to simulate and detect the axial load and natural frequency of the railway tracks. With further research, the methods would contribute to development of non-destructive testing methods for the railway tracks.

year: 2021

title: How young people talk about their variations in sex characteristics: making the topic of intersex talkable via sex education

authors: Lundberg, Tove

abstract: Classrooms are important spaces for young people with variations in sex characteristics and their classmates. Sex education can promote agency and well-being by helping young people make sense of their embodiment and form rewarding social relationships and by changing societal understandings about variations in sex characteristics. Realising this potential however may hinge on how sex education makes intersex (un)talkable. We draw on interviews with 22 young people on how and why they try to make their variation in sex characteristics talkable with others. By focusing on how they talk to others and why they do not talk to others, this research highlights how participants ?fear rejection? but need to talk to others about their variation in the process of ?dealing with it?. Participants also struggle with ?secrecy versus privacy? and how to ?communicate strategically.? Findings acknowledge the emotional work required of people with variations in sex characteristics when making intersex talkable. The analysis points to the role of both talking and silence. We conclude by envisaging a norm-critical sex education that engages with the responsibilities of both talking and listening, shifting the burden away from individual young people with variations in sex characteristics and working towards more mutual social relationships.

text: How young people talk about their variations in sex characteristics: making the topic of intersex talkable via sex education Classrooms are important spaces for young people with variations in sex characteristics and their classmates. Sex education can promote agency and well-being by helping young people make sense of their embodiment and form rewarding social relationships and by changing societal understandings about variations in sex characteristics. Realising this potential however may hinge on how sex education makes intersex (un)talkable. We draw on interviews with 22 young people on how and why they try to make their variation in sex characteristics talkable with others. By focusing on how they talk to others and why they do not talk to others, this research highlights how participants ?fear rejection? but need to talk to others about their variation in the process of ?dealing with it?. Participants also struggle with ?secrecy versus privacy? and how to ?communicate strategically.? Findings acknowledge the emotional work required of people with variations in sex characteristics when making intersex talkable. The analysis points to the role of both talking and silence. We conclude by envisaging a norm-critical sex education that engages with the responsibilities of both talking and listening, shifting the burden away from individual young people with variations in sex characteristics and working towards more mutual social relationships.

year: 2021

title: Collective Indigenous approaches to centring Pacific voices of leadership for our futures

authors: Uasike Allen, JM

abstract: Education systems in western nations are often built on a long history of centralising the western canon of knowledge and colonial norms. These norms are perpetuated and reinforced via western research which amplifies the voices of the dominant, while working to silence the values, practices, and knowledges of minority groups. As a colonial nation, Aotearoa New Zealand continues to be impacted by its colonial histories, where colonial (read white) ways of being, knowing, and understanding dominate initial teacher education, schools, tertiary institutions, research, and our everyday lives. However, within education and research more generally, Indigenous and Pacific researchers and practitioners have been working hard to carve out space in institutions to challenge colonial hierarchies of knowledge and make space for Indigenous ways of being, knowing, seeing, doing, and feeling. This article contributes to the work being done by Indigenous and Pacific scholars in Aotearoa New Zealand by detailing our collective, relational approach to convening the special issue of Shifting the System for the Ethnographic Edge journal. Convening a special issue is not unique and groups of academics do it regularly across a range of academic journals and fields. However, our experiences of convening this special issue were quite different. Here we share the journey and reflect on how our focus on privileging the often-marginalised voices of Pacific school leaders was underpinned by an Indigenous, collective approach embedded in the pedagogical practice of Indigenous Storywork. Employing collaborative critical autoethnography, we articulate the ways in which our engagement with each other and the authors within this special issue disrupted western power relations often present in interactions between ‘researchers’ within the university and ‘practitioners’ at the coalface. Furthermore, we demonstrate how engaging in relational practices builds a space that encourages the principles of respect, responsibility, reverence, reciprocity, holism, interrelatedness, and synergy.

text: Collective Indigenous approaches to centring Pacific voices of leadership for our futures Education systems in western nations are often built on a long history of centralising the western canon of knowledge and colonial norms. These norms are perpetuated and reinforced via western research which amplifies the voices of the dominant, while working to silence the values, practices, and knowledges of minority groups. As a colonial nation, Aotearoa New Zealand continues to be impacted by its colonial histories, where colonial (read white) ways of being, knowing, and understanding dominate initial teacher education, schools, tertiary institutions, research, and our everyday lives. However, within education and research more generally, Indigenous and Pacific researchers and practitioners have been working hard to carve out space in institutions to challenge colonial hierarchies of knowledge and make space for Indigenous ways of being, knowing, seeing, doing, and feeling. This article contributes to the work being done by Indigenous and Pacific scholars in Aotearoa New Zealand by detailing our collective, relational approach to convening the special issue of Shifting the System for the Ethnographic Edge journal. Convening a special issue is not unique and groups of academics do it regularly across a range of academic journals and fields. However, our experiences of convening this special issue were quite different. Here we share the journey and reflect on how our focus on privileging the often-marginalised voices of Pacific school leaders was underpinned by an Indigenous, collective approach embedded in the pedagogical practice of Indigenous Storywork. Employing collaborative critical autoethnography, we articulate the ways in which our engagement with each other and the authors within this special issue disrupted western power relations often present in interactions between ‘researchers’ within the university and ‘practitioners’ at the coalface. Furthermore, we demonstrate how engaging in relational practices builds a space that encourages the principles of respect, responsibility, reverence, reciprocity, holism, interrelatedness, and synergy.

year: 2022