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To provide a computational strategy for highly accurate analyses of non‐linear inelastic behaviour for heterogeneous structures in civil and mechanical engineering applications

Adapts recent developments on mathematical formulations of multi‐scale problems to the recently developed component technology based on C++ generic templates programming.

Provides the understanding how theoretical hypotheses, concerning essentially the multi‐scale interface conditions, affect the computational precision of the strategy.

The present approach allows a very precise modelling of multi‐scale aspects in structural mechanics problems and can play an essential tool in searching for an optimal structural design.

Provides all the ingredients for constructing an efficient multi‐scale computational framework, from the theoretical formulation to the implementation for parallel computing. It is addressed to researchers and engineers analysing composite structures under extreme loading.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the computational tools for solving a strongly coupled multi‐scale problem in the context of inelastic structural mechanics.

In trying to maintain the highest level of generality, the finite element method is employed for representing the microstructure at this fine scale and computing the solution. The main focus of this work is the implementation procedure which crucially relies on a novel software product developed by the first author in terms of component template library (CTL).

The paper confirms that one can produce very powerful computational tools by software coupling technology described herein, which allows the class of complex problems one can successfully tackle nowadays to be extended significantly.

This paper elaborates upon a new multi‐scale solution strategy suitable for highly non‐linear inelastic problems.

Global Mindset (GM) is a multifaceted construct that has received broad interest among practitioners and academics. It is a fragmented construct at this point in time, due to definitional overlap with other constructs such as global leadership and cultural intelligence. This overlap has created complexity for research that attempts to understand GM in isolation. Lack of clear boundaries in defining and conceptualizing this construct challenges researchers who are attempting to capture fully what constitutes GM. Our work seeks to better understand and explain what underlines the individual GM construct and how does this impact the development of global competencies in individual managers.

We systematically review and analyze the individual GM literature thematically to provide an overview of the extant research from a broad array of scholarly sources dating from 1994 to 2017. Our work offers a thematic analysis that provides a visual guide to GM by tracking the corpus of individual-level GM studies. We categorize the research according to its theoretical groundings and basic concepts and proceed review how GM has been operationalized at the individual level and measured. Next, we integrate major dimensions in the GM research and propose a framework to enhance understanding of the phenomenon. Finally, we discuss the implications of our review for the development of GM for practitioners, coaches and trainers.

This paper examines the effects of virtual advertising in a sports broadcast setting. We analyse the conspicuousness of virtual advertising and match the results with explanatory variables like brand awareness, duration of exposure and frequency of exposure. Furthermore, we measure the role of attitudes towards advertising in general and its impact on attitudes towards virtual advertising of the respondents. Our results indicate that most respondents recognise virtual advertising as such. Advertising effectiveness is driven to a large degree by the frequency of exposure. A positive attitude towards advertising in general leads to a positive attitude towards virtual advertising of the participants.

Violence is a common problem in secure residential units for young people. Group workers often think that young people have to learn to behave by means of punishment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether this approach is effective in these settings, and, if so, under what circumstances. Furthermore, it aims to provide alternatives to punishment when dealing with violence.

Recent evidence on the effectiveness of punishment in secure residential units is reviewed. In addition, methods which are promising in dealing with violence are described.

The review shows that punishment is often used to regain control by group workers or, alternatively, is a result of professional helplessness in the face of escalating problems. Only when the living group climate is marked by trust and cooperation can punishment be effective.

Punishment in secure residential settings can have severe negative consequences. Nevertheless, group workers are tempted to use it as a response to violence in an attempt to gain control.

Today, about 30 per cent of European existing buildings can be entitled as “historical buildings”. Nowadays, their energy retrofit is important to reach the ambitious European CO₂ emissions’ reduction objectives. The purpose of this paper is to outline a methodology to investigate the potential energy savings and the enhancement of historical buildings’ liveability by acting only on their operation, so that the building fabric could be maintained as much as possible as the original evidence.

The paper describes the framework’s theoretical phases and their application in two real case studies. The methodology was conceived with a pre-test and post-test design approach.

The research demonstrated that the elaborated methodology is flexible and allows the adoption of different energy retrofit strategies for the different cases.

Limitations arise out of the circumstance that the methodology is based on occupants and technicians willingness to engage in the strategies, so it is not possible to quantify its efficacy ex ante.

Practical implications can be found in the way of addressing energy retrofit strategies through a user-centric approach with minimum impact on the building itself.

At the same time, the methodology has a strong social aspect with its potential to change people’s attitudes towards energy usage and behaviour.

This study not only represents the first attempt of applying a systematic energy retrofit strategy based on occupants and technicians behavioural change in historic buildings, but also is one of the first studies dedicated to occupants’ comfort and behaviour assessment in this context.

This paper aims to describe and evaluate the impact of a compassion-focused therapy (CFT) group for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID).

People with ID are commonly subjected to stigmatising experiences that can contribute to feelings of shame. CFT targets shame and self-criticism by helping people to cultivate self-compassion. There is evidence to suggest that CFT can be meaningfully adapted for people with ID. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using a mixed-methods design, aiming to gain a rich evaluation of the CFT group. Eight adults with ID were referred by their local community psychology team. An 11-week group protocol was based on materials from previous research. The protocol included the development of a “compassion box”, aiming to make CFT concepts more concrete and tangible. Questionnaires measuring psychological distress, self-compassion and negative social comparisons were completed pre- and post-group. Feedback from participants and carers were collated and facilitators’ observations were recorded.

Questionnaire findings were mixed, and some participants found the measures difficult to understand. Participants’ qualitative feedback and facilitators’ observations suggested that the group created feelings of safety and connectedness whilst facilitating engagement and action with shame and self-criticism. Several participants highlighted the usefulness of the ‘”compassion box”, although some barriers were noted.

This paper provides a rich description of how group CFT can be adapted to meet the needs of adults with ID and is the first study of its kind, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to evaluate the incorporation of the “compassion box”.

The fertilizer industry (FI) is well known for its high energy needs, reliance on limited natural resources, and negative environmental impacts (EIs). The consumption of 14.2 billion tons (BT) of materials and the extraction of 1,580 tons of resources per acre are solely attributed to the FI. Because of FI's resource and energy-intensive nature, it becomes crucial for FI to adopt a Circular Economy (CE) to improve efficiency, energy, and resource reuse. However, FI needs to strengthen its progress toward CE adoption. The proposed study comprehends and examines the barriers that inhibit the adoption of CE in FI.

A total of 15 barriers obstructing the CE in FI are identified and categorized into seven different categories. The barriers were identified by performing a comprehensive literature review and expert input. The study employs the DEMATEL approach to analyze the barriers and establish a causal relationship between them.

The study reveals that the most significant challenge to implementing CE in FI is governmental restrictions, which are followed by a lack of awareness and understanding and a need for a steady supply of bulk materials. The results comprehensively comprehend the pivotal factors that jeopardize the CE in FI and furnish a robust foundation for the methodology and tactics to surmount the barriers to CE adoption.

The literature review encompasses the barriers to the transition to CE and offers management and policy perspectives that help the FI's policy and decision-makers surmount these barriers with future research endeavors.