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This paper aims to present a reliability analysis of the slab panel method (SPM) for the design of composite steel floors in severe fires. Rather than seeking to accurately define failure levels, this paper highlights areas of uncertainty in design and their effect on design results, whilst providing approximate reliability levels.

A Monte Carlo simulation has been conducted using the SPM design procedure to produce probability density functions of floor capacity for various floor layouts. Statistical input variables were obtained from the literature. Different configurations, geometries and fire severities are included to demonstrate how predicted floor capacities are influenced.

From the research presented, it is clear that the predicted reliability of SPM systems varies relative to a large number of criteria, but especially parameters related to fire loading. Predicted capacities are shown to be conservative compared to results of furnace and large-scale natural fire tests, which exhibit higher fire resistance. Due to distinct fire hazard categories with associated input values, there are step discontinuities in capacity graphs.

Limited research has been done to date on the reliability of structures in fire as discussed in this paper. It is important to verify the reliability levels of systems to ensure that partial and global factors of safety are adequate. Monte Carlo simulations are shown to be effective for calculating the average floor capacities and associated standard deviations. The presentation of probability density functions for composite floors in severe fires is novel.

The purpose of this paper is to report the first of four planned fire experiments on the 9.1 × 6.1 m steel composite floor assembly as part of the two-story steel framed building constructed at the National Fire Research Laboratory.

The fire experiment was aimed to quantify the fire resistance and behavior of full-scale steel–concrete composite floor systems commonly built in the USA. The test floor assembly, designed and constructed for the 2-h fire resistance rating, was tested to failure under a natural gas fueled compartment fire and simultaneously applied mechanical loads.

Although the protected steel beams and girders achieved matching or superior performance compared to the prescribed limits of temperatures and displacements used in standard fire testing, the composite slab developed a central breach approximately at a half of the specified rating period. A minimum area of the shrinkage reinforcement (60 mm²/m) currently permitted in the US construction practice may be insufficient to maintain structural integrity of a full-scale composite floor system under the 2-h standard fire exposure.

This work was the first-of-kind fire experiment conducted in the USA to study the full system-level structural performance of a composite floor system subjected to compartment fire using natural gas as fuel to mimic a standard fire environment.

This chapter reviews and critiques the recent evolution of place-based entrepreneurship policy in the United Kingdom, in particular the governance of policies targeted at the regional level to promote economic development and competitiveness. The focus of the chapter is the evolution occurring from 1997, when the Labour government came to power, through to the period leading to the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government, which came to power in 2010.

A review and critique of key academic and policy-based literature.

The chapter shows the way in which governance systems and policies aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship have permeated regional development policy at a number of levels in the United Kingdom. In general, the overarching themes of enterprise policy are similar across the regions, but the difference in governance arrangements demonstrates how emphasis and delivery varies.

Place-based enterprise policy needs long-term commitment, with interventions required to survive changes in approaches to governance if they are to prove effective; something which has been far from the case in recent years. Whilst the analysis is drawn from the case of the United Kingdom, the lessons with regard to the connection between regional modes of governance and effective policy implementation are ones that resonate across other nations that are similarly seeking to stimulate the development of entrepreneurial regions.

Evidence of ongoing disparities in regional economic development and competitiveness, linked to differences in regional business culture, suggest the continuance of market failure, whereby leading regions continue to attract resources and stimulate entrepreneurial opportunities at the expense of less competitive regions.

The time period covered by the chapter – 1997 onwards – forms an historic era with regard to changing regional governance and enterprise policy in the United Kingdom, with the emergence – and subsequent demise – of regional development agencies (RDAs) across English regions, as well as the introduction of regional governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which were handed certain powers for economic and enterprise development from the UK central government.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the economic viability of a new and innovative seismic damage resisting system (SDRS) device by conducting a feasibility study. The SDRS device has been patented and specifically designed to be implemented in multi-storey modular buildings in seismic regions such as New Zealand.

Using a case study approach, two sample modular multi-storey buildings were purposively selected for the study. A cost-comparison analysis was conducted using the SDRS device in the two buildings, by carrying out a measure and price exercise of the construction elements.

The research results showed that the SDRS device is an economically viable option for mitigating seismic damage in modular multi-storey buildings in New Zealand. There is an average of 7.34 per cent of cost reduction when SDRS is used in modular multi-storey buildings when compared to other seismic resistance systems such as base isolation, moment resisting frames and friction damper systems.

The economic viability of the SDRS presents an opportunity for its usage in modular design and construction of multi-storey buildings. SDRS system is also applicable to other building typologies and construction methods. The use of SDRS also aligns with the current national objective to provide more affordable and resilient housing within a limited time; the opportunity is considered significant in New Zealand, including for export and manufacturing.

The confirmation of the SDRS device’s economic feasibility is the original contribution of the authors.

Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).

It has often been said that a great part of the strength of Aslib lies in the fact that it brings together those whose experience has been gained in many widely differing fields but who have a common interest in the means by which information may be collected and disseminated to the greatest advantage. Lists of its members have, therefore, a more than ordinary value since they present, in miniature, a cross‐section of institutions and individuals who share this special interest.

The food standards of the Indiana State Board of Health, which appear on another page, show that it is quite possible to lay down official definitions of various articles of food; and a study of these regulations may be of assistance to those authorities who are striving to arrive at some form of order out of the chaos which at present exists in this country in matters relating to food standards. With reference to milk, it will be seen that not only is the question of composition dealt with, but strict directions are given that milk derived from a cow which can in any way be considered as diseased is regarded as impure, and must therefore, says the Board, be considered as adulterated. In regard to butter and margarine, limits are given for the total amount of fat—which must consist entirely of milk‐fat in the case of the former substance—water, and salt; and not only are all preservatives forbidden, but the colouring matters are restricted, only certain vegetable colouring matters and some few coal‐tar colours being permitted. All cheese containing less than 10 per cent, of fat derived from milk must be plainly labelled as “ skim‐milk cheese”; and if it contains fat other than milk‐fat, it must be described as “ filled cheese.” Some exception is taken to the use of preservatives in cheese, inasmuch as it appears that cheese may contain a preservative if the name of such preservative is duly notified upon the label ; and the rules for the colouring of cheese are the same as those which apply to butter and margarine. All articles of food containing preservatives are considered as adulterated unless the package bears a label, printed in plain type and quite visible to the purchaser, stating that a preservative is present, and also giving the name of the preservative which has been used. Articles of confectionery must not contain any ingredient deleterious to health, such as terra alba, barytes, talc, or other mineral substance, nor may they contain poisonous colours or flavours.

It is understandable that, after a decade of oil worries, consumers and their governments should find joy in today's oil market. According to Department of Energy data, the real cost of a barrel of internationally traded oil has fallen somewhere between 25 and 40 percent over the past two years. While this poses problems for the international banking community and a number of oil‐producing nations, most experts are convinced that for the world as a whole it means higher economic growth and lower inflation.

In small group settings, is it the position in social networks or the content of communication that constitutes a leader? Studies focussing on the content suggest that leadership consists in creating and promoting meanings, whereas studies focussing on the connections stress that it is the network position that ‘makes a leader’. These two dimensions of leadership communication style have not been compared yet. To fill this gap, this chapter applies an emerging approach – socio-semantic network analysis – to jointly consider the content of, and the connections, in leaders' communication. Using a multisource dataset, we empirically study the social network positions (social network analysis) and the content of communication (semantic network analysis) of three leaders in a creative collective. Our findings reveal that different styles of leadership make diverse use of the content and the connections in a small group. The academic and practical implications are outlined.

This chapter discusses the cross-sectional relationships between national and local government, citizens and hybrid organisations via a historical case study, that of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) during its existence 1933–1948. It finds that the LPTB was a good example of hybridity located in an earlier time period than most research examines, and that the arrangements by which it was governed resulted in some counter-intuitive outcomes which challenge the findings from research located in more recent periods concerning the performance of hybrid organisations. However, it supports other research proposing that the role of elites as well as institutional contexts is a key factor in the creation and operation of semi-autonomous organisations, and it accepts that objectively measuring the performance in order to make meaningful comparison is not only extremely problematic but may even inhibit performance.