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In the past, engineering geology mainly focused on soil and hard rocks, with little attention paid specifically to weak/soft rocks, defined by a UCS below 25 MPa (ISRM in Int J Rock Mech Min 18:85–110, 1981 ). Weak rock is an intermediate, which is difficult to analyze, and requires application of both soil and rock mechanics principles. The Sherwood Sandstone Group (SSG) in Nottinghamshire (UK) is often characterized as weak rock, containing extremely weak members, which display a UCS between 0.6 and 1 MPa according to the definition from BS 5930:2015 (British Standards Institution 2015 ). Little research has been conducted on the locally extremely weak members of the Sherwood Sandstone Group, in particular the Nottingham Castle Sandstone Formation, and engineering projects within this unit can face major design challenges. This study aims at investigating the intact material, characterizing the SSG and analysing the stability of a slope in a quarry between two water-filled silt lagoons at the Two Oak Quarry, close to Mansfield. Laboratory testing, including UCS tests, triaxial tests, tensile tests and Slake Durability tests, is conducted on the two geological units present on site, the Nottingham Castle Sandstone Formation and the Lenton Formation. From the analysis presented herein it is observed that the strength decreases as the degree of saturation increases, which can lead to a complete disintegration of the rock. In addition, the durability of the rock is determined, ranging from very low to moderately high, which has major implications on the longterm stability of the slope. The impact of the weathering on the long-term stability is difficult to establish and an estimation of the disintegration is conducted by comparing block sizes. A structural assessment confirms that failure along discontinuities is possible and requires further investigation. The Finite Element Analysis and the Limit Equilibrium Method are used for the assessment of the stability. Since similar factor of safety (FoS) are determined, both methods are considered applicable to the project, with limitations being detected when modelling discontinuities, impacting the design and the FoS. A suitable slope geometry is proposed, based on the intact material properties, the weathering characteristics, the heterogeneity of the material and structural features.

Assessing the health of and maintaining civil infrastructure has been an increased concern in the wake of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the summer 2007 flood events in the UK. The variability of properties within geotechnical systems makes predictions of soil behavior extremely difficult, especially when soil models are not calibrated with field-measured performance. Unfortunately the current state of the art in geotechnical system health assessment is either based on very expensive monitoring systems for real-time information or on periodic measurement of ground surface displacements. Accordingly, a need has arisen for a system capable of in situ, real-time monitoring of levees, embankments, and other earthen structures. The work presented herein highlights the development of novel, affordable sensing technologies for use in a framework to monitor, manage and ensure the safety of geotechnical infrastructure. MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems)-based in-place inclinometer system, Measurand’s ShapeAccelArray (SAA), is now established as a sensing tool for simultaneous measurement of 3D soil acceleration and 3D ground deformation up to a depth of one hundred meters, with an accuracy of ±1.5 mm per 30 m. Each sensor array is connected to a wireless sensor node to enable real-time monitoring as well as remote sensor configuration. This system is now being further developed to include digitally integrated pore pressure measurement in the form of vibrating wire piezometers equipped with microprocessors (called SAAPs). The SAAPs are able to convert vibrating wire data to digital data downhole, and they integrate easily into the SAA system. In situ testing was conducted in a levee in England subjected to significant tidal loading (up to 6 m of fluctuation during spring tides) through collaboration with the European Union’s UrbanFlood project. In addition to the SAAs and SAAPs installed in three sections of the levee, the site was also instrumented with other sensors from Alert Solutions and TenCate, providing values for comparison. The likelihood of this levee to experience deformation and the density of instrumentation installed in the bank made this the ideal location to test the new SAAP system. The additional insight into subsurface behavior provided by the SAAPs is integral in the development of a comprehensive system for monitoring and management of civil infrastructure. The preliminary testing indicates the suitability of this new multi-parameter system for inclusion in a multi-scale monitoring and health assessment framework, which will be implemented in New Orleans, LA in 2012.

This book discusses steps helping professionals should take in order to prepare for a crisis in their schools and community. The author introduces a Crisis Management Plan, which discusses ways to restore a school/community to its pre-crisis equilibrium. The author also includes information on how schools should talk to media personnel and parents in times of a crisis, checklists, assessment instruments, and sample documentation forms that can be used in times of a crisis.

Maintaining a balance between managing and assessing risk and upholding the required high standards of practice in health and social care can be demanding, particularly in the current climate of increased preoccupation with the difficult tensions between rights, protection and risk-taking. Good Practice in Assessing Risk is a comprehensive guide to good practice for those working with risk, covering a wide variety of health, social care and criminal justice settings including child protection, mental health, work with sex offenders and work with victims of domestic violence. The contributors discuss a range of key issues relating to risk including positive risk-taking, collaborating with victims and practitioners in the design of assessment tools, resilience to risk, and defensibility. The book also explores the role of bureaucracy in hindering high quality professional practice, complex decision-making in situations of stress or potential blame, and involving service users in assessment. This book reflects the latest policy and practice within health, social care and criminal justice and will be an invaluable volume to all professionals working in these fields.

Contaminated land and the methods and legal controls governing its reclamation for subsequent development and use are of great current interest and concern. This 16th volume of Issues in Environmental Science and Technology covers aspects of this subject, ranging from the origins and extent of contaminated land problems, including effects on human health, through investigative measures, to specific techniques of remediation.

This book, written by international experts, discusses the various waste disposal options that are available (landfill, incineration, composting, recycling) and then reviews their impact on the environment, and particularly on human health. Comprehensive and highly topical, this book will make a strong contribution to scientific knowledge in the area, and will be of value to scientists and policy-makers.

Purpose - This paper aims to discuss and present research findings from a proof of concept pilot, set up to test whether a teaching intervention which incorporated a dual reporting and learning approach from adverse incidents, could contribute towards individual and organisational approaches to patient safety.Design methodology approach - The study formed part of a series of six iterative action research cycles involving the collaboration of students (all National Health Service (NHS) staff) in the co-creation of knowledge and materials relating to understanding and learning from adverse incidents. This fifth qualitative study involved (n=20) anaesthetists who participated in a two phase teaching intervention (n=20 first phase, n=10 second phase) which was premised on transformative learning, value placed on learning from adverse incidents and reframing the learning experience.Findings - An evaluation of the teaching intervention demonstrated that how students learned from adverse incidents, in addition to being provided with opportunities to transform negative experiences through re-framing learning, was significant in breaking out of practices which had become routine; propositional knowledge on learning from adverse incidents, along with the provision of a safe learning environment in which to challenge assumptions about learning from adverse incidents, were significant factors in the re-framing process. The testing of a simulated dual learning reporting system was indicated as a useful mechanism with which to reinforce a positive learning culture, to report and learn from adverse incidents and to introduce new approaches which might otherwise have been lost.Practical implications - The use of a \"re-framed learning approach\" and identification of additional leverage points (values placed on learning and effects of dual reporting and learning) will be of significant worth to those working in the field of individual and organisational learning generally, and of value specifically to those whose concern is the need to learn from adverse incidents.Originality value - This paper contributes to individual and organisational learning by looking at a specific part of the learning system associated specifically with adverse incidents.

The FAO/WHO Consultation on Health Implications of Acrylamide in Food has undertaken a preliminary evaluation of new and existing data and research on acrylamide. The Consultation provided a range of recommendations for further information and new studies to better understand the risk to human health posed by acrylamide in food. The Consultation also provided some advice to minimize whatever risk exists, including avoiding excessive cooking of food, choosing healthy eating, investigating possibilities for reducing levels of acrylamide in food, and establishing an international network on acrylamide in food. The Consultation reviewed the methods of analysis available to test for acrylamide in foodstuffs and food ingredients, and for acrylamide and its metabolites as haemoglobin adducts in blood. Of the limited range and number of foods analysed to date, acrylamide levels are highest in potato and cereal-based products subjected to heat processing such as frying, grilling or baking. However, only a limited range of food types have been tested to date and these belong to the Western diet. The range of foods investigated needs to be extended to include staple foods from different regions and diets. Considered collectively, data on the absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion of acrylamide suggest that toxicological findings in animals should be assumed to be relevant for extrapolation to humans. The Consultation would encourage transparent and open risk assessment and risk management processes and recognises the importance of involving interested parties (consumer, industry, retail etc.) in this process.