Assistive Technology (AT) helps address social and economic barriers and can positively impact the lives of people with disabilities. Single-entry point (SEP) systems have been…
Abstract
Assistive Technology (AT) helps address social and economic barriers and can positively impact the lives of people with disabilities. Single-entry point (SEP) systems have been shown as successful models for reducing barriers encountered when acquiring and using AT. This chapter highlights a mixed method case study in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), which sought to explore barriers consumers faced in acquiring and being satisfied with AT, as well as the potential for an SEP system in NL. NL is an Atlantic Canadian province characterized by a small population dispersed over a large island and remote mainland. Data were collected using individual interviews with disability service providers in community and post-secondary settings across the province and a survey to assess barriers to accessing AT, AT utilization, and satisfaction among consumers with disabilities. Many consumers and service providers demonstrated that they recognized the benefits of AT but expressed dissatisfaction with existing programs and services citing cost, lack of knowledge, training, and funding subsidies as the most significant barriers to access. Improving access to AT is a necessary step toward enhancing education and employment opportunities, facilitating social inclusion, and optimizing overall health for people with disabilities. Investigating the feasibility of SEP programs modeled after American and Australian initiatives should be part of future planning for Canada, especially in small urban, rural, and remote areas where demand for provision of AT is under-resourced.
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Benchmark Problem 3 of the International Workshops for Eddy Current Code Comparison is an aluminum plate with two holes, the Bath Plate. Currents are induced by a coil carrying…
Abstract
Benchmark Problem 3 of the International Workshops for Eddy Current Code Comparison is an aluminum plate with two holes, the Bath Plate. Currents are induced by a coil carrying time harmonic currents of 50 or 200 Hz. Results from seven groups, using seven different computer codes, are compared with experimental measurements. Different methods treated the holes in very different ways, but all produced generally acceptable results. The good results of the two methods that treated the conductor as a thin sheet suggest that the problem is basically two‐dimensional.
Benchmark problem 5 of the TEAM workshops consists of four aluminium blocks placed in the space between the jaws of an electromagnet. Three dimensional eddy currents are induced…
Abstract
Benchmark problem 5 of the TEAM workshops consists of four aluminium blocks placed in the space between the jaws of an electromagnet. Three dimensional eddy currents are induced by 50 Hz time‐varying flux. Eleven sets of results from nine groups of contributors are compared with experimental measurements. The results from most of the computer codes tend to converge to common limits. These limits are in some places slightly different from some of the measured results. The reason for this discrepancy is thought to be due to the idealised boundary conditions, ignoring any losses in laminated iron, which are assumed in all the computer models.
A series of six workshops was held to compare eddy current codes, using the six benchmark problems described in the following six papers. The problems include transient and…
Abstract
A series of six workshops was held to compare eddy current codes, using the six benchmark problems described in the following six papers. The problems include transient and steady‐state ac magnetic fields, close and far boundary conditions, magnetic and non‐magnetic materials. All the problems are based either on experiments or on geometries that can be solved analytically. The workshops and solutions to the problems are described. Results show that many different methods and formulations give satisfactory solutions, and that in many cases reduced dimensionality or coarse discretization can give acceptable results while reducing the computer time required.
Nirmal Paudel, Subhra Paul and Jonathan Z. Bird
The purpose of this paper is to validate dynamic analytic force modeling techniques with experimental results. The performance of previously presented 2-D and 3-D eddy current…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to validate dynamic analytic force modeling techniques with experimental results. The performance of previously presented 2-D and 3-D eddy current models will be assessed when the steady-state models are coupled to a dynamic mechanical model.
Design/methodology/approach
The previously presented 2-D analytic model was formulated in terms of the magnetic vector potential in conductive region and magnetic scalar potential in non-conductive region whereas the 3-D model was formulated in terms of the magnetic vector potential in both the conductive and non-conductive regions.
Findings
This paper experimentally confirms that incorporating the heave velocity term is important for accurately predicting the forces under dynamic mechanical motion while using a steady-state eddy current solution. A close agreement between the experimental and the dynamic analytic-based eddy current solution was achieved.
Research limitations/implications
The force results presented from the previously developed 3-D analytic model assume that the width of the guideway is larger than that of the magnetic source and the magnetic source is placed at the center of the guideway along the z-axis.
Practical implications
The rotational and translational motion of a permanent magnet rotor above a conductive plate create lift and thrust force that are suitable for magnetic levitated (maglev) transportation. The previously developed 2-D and 3-D analytic models are fundamental to such maglev research as the models can quickly compute the electromagnetic forces acting on the maglev vehicle. This paper is of immense importance as the paper experimentally validates the analytic models.
Originality/value
The quasi-static analytic eddy current force models that are validated in this paper are different to analogous models developed by prior authors in that the heave velocity as well as the translational velocity of a magnetic source is incorporated into the eddy current force equation.
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P. Alotto and I. Perugia
An enhanced version of a mixed field‐based formulation for magnetostatics previously developed by the authors is presented and its features are discussed. The formulation…
Abstract
An enhanced version of a mixed field‐based formulation for magnetostatics previously developed by the authors is presented and its features are discussed. The formulation minimises the residual of the constitutive equation, and exactly imposes Maxwell’s equations with Lagrange multipliers. Finite elements satisfying the physical continuity properties for both the magnetic and the magnetic induction fields are used in the numerical approximation. The possibility of decoupling the formulation in two separate sets of equations is discussed. A preconditioned iterative method to solve the final algebraic linear system is presented. Finally, a very natural refinement indicator is defined to guide an adaptive mesh refinement procedure.
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The benchmark problem 4 (the FELIX brick) defined in the International Workshops for Eddy Current Code Comparison is solved by 11 different computer codes. This problem is…
Abstract
The benchmark problem 4 (the FELIX brick) defined in the International Workshops for Eddy Current Code Comparison is solved by 11 different computer codes. This problem is time‐dependent and three dimensional eddy current problem with a hole. 13 sets of results in total are presented. The results are in fairly good agreement although the formulations and methods in the codes are different from each other. The problem of the hole (multi‐connectivity) is successfully solved in the results.
Tula Brannelly, Anjali Bhatia, Arezoo Zarintaj Malihi, Lucie Vanderpyl, Buster Brennan, Leo Gonzalez Perez, Fahima Saeid, Eleanor Holroyd and Nadia Charania
The purpose of this paper is to examine community based, trauma informed to support refugee mental health and wellbeing, recognising that refugee status is met through forced…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine community based, trauma informed to support refugee mental health and wellbeing, recognising that refugee status is met through forced displacement in which refugees have experience of personal human rights abuses and have survived atrocities in which family and community have been lost.
Design/methodology/approach
A co-production approach was taken to review existing literature and policy to produce a position statement on how to better meet the needs of people who experience mental distress who are refugees. The co-production was between refugee and mental health researchers and refugee representatives.
Findings
Understanding the mental health needs of refugees has conventionally focused on incidence of mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. If mental health and illness are understood as a continuum, diagnosis of mental illness indicates a significant problem, and furthermore access to services is predicated on risks associated with mental illness. When accessing mental health services, refugees have an added issue in a lack of communication availability and recognition of the trauma that they have survived.
Originality/value
In this paper, a different position is advocated, that understanding the mental health of refugees can be framed more effectively as a process of recovery from trauma that emerges during resettlement, and over a long period of time before people are able to talk about the trauma they experienced. Community-based responses that enable recovery from trauma are more readily able to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of refugee communities.
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Jinghan Xu, Shengguo Xia, Lixue Chen, Anbang Gu, Hongdan Yang and Chengxian Li
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moving boundary conditions on the sliding armature and rail (A/R) interface. As the computational domains involve both moving and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moving boundary conditions on the sliding armature and rail (A/R) interface. As the computational domains involve both moving and stationary conductors, Lagrangian description and backward difference schemes are adopted for spatial and temporal discretization, arising discontinuities in variables. The proposed formulation can compute the current distribution under high velocities (∼km/s) without numerical oscillations and avoids mesh re-generation, saving computational resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The governing equations in Lagrangian description, backward difference schemes and derivations of moving boundary conditions are shown in detail. The interface matrix is explicitly enforced on the whole domain matrix and pseudocodes are presented for implementation. Moreover, shifted interpolated quantity method is proposed to deal with unevenly sized mesh, which can calculate acceleration scenarios and save computation resources under high velocities. Comparative calculations with previous methods under low velocities are conducted to verify the correctness of computational and physical models.
Findings
The current distributions with constant velocities are consistent with previous two-dimensional and low-velocity studies, further verifying the correctness of the method. The three-dimensional high-velocity results show that the current tends to concentrate near the trailing edge of A/R interface and diffuses into the bulks over time, with higher velocity contributing to less significant current diffusion. The velocity skin effect precedes the magnetic diffusion, conductivity and other factors that influence the current distribution.
Originality/value
The proposed methods can compute the current distributions in railgun under velocity accelerated to over 2,000 m/s, and the results provide more comprehensive understandings of the current evolution process under velocity skin effect in railgun.
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Kadri Ojaperv and Sirje Virkus
This study aims to increase the understanding of the pregnancy-related information behavior (IB) of pregnant women in Estonia.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to increase the understanding of the pregnancy-related information behavior (IB) of pregnant women in Estonia.
Design/methodology/approach
The research involved a quantitative research methodology consisting of a semi-structured questionnaire. Data was collected from pregnant Estonian women through a self-administered Web-based questionnaire using a convenience sampling during the period from January to February 2019. A total of 300 pregnant women answered the questionnaire. The data were analysed using statistical analysis and the results of the study were compared with the results of previous studies.
Findings
The three topics on which information was most frequently sought were: fetal development, use of medicines during pregnancy and symptoms of pregnancy. The main sources of information were the internet and the midwife. The most reliable and valuable source of information was a midwife. Health-related information was sought mainly because it helped women make decisions related to pregnancy and childbirth. A number of factors facilitate the information seeking process. In addition, widespread access to the internet and technological skills facilitated IB. The following factors hindered the search for information: the controversy and/or ambiguity of information published on the internet and the time spent searching for information. Most women used wearable technologies during pregnancy.
Research limitations/implications
This study has several limitations. First, the weakness of online surveys is the potential lack of representativeness, as it excludes from the survey those who do not have access to or ability to use the internet for various reasons (Evans and Mathur, 2005; Limbu et al., 2021). Second, as most recruitment for the study took place online, there was a risk that those who did not use the internet could be excluded from the survey. Third, as the questionnaire was also shared in the Facebook news feed by the Women’s Clinic and Maternity Hospital of the East Tallinn Central Hospital, it may be that the respondents recruited through it more often used the support provided by medical professionals. Fourth, due to the volume limits of the study, it is not possible to present all the results of the study on the basis of socio-demographic characteristics and stage of pregnancy. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to the broader population and future studies should explore a larger and more representative populations.
Practical implications
This study will give some useful information to help to improve the services offered for pregnant women in Estonia.
Social implications
The findings of this study may inform how to better support this target group.
Originality/value
There is a lack of research in Estonia that focuses on the IB of pregnant women and this research fills this gap.