Using measured microcomponent data to model the impact of water conservation strategies on the diurnal consumption profile

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kowalski ◽  
D. Marshallsay
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Demand Reduction ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
Environment Agency ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

A recent collaborative research project by the Water Research Centre (WRc), involving 13 water companies and the UK Environment Agency, has yielded further information on the microcomponents of water use in domestic properties in the UK. Investigating the uncertainty and diurnal variations of the data has allowed the investigation of demand reduction strategies at household and supply area levels. The paper expands on these issues and discusses how this approach can be used to help plan and manage water supply in the future.

The Impact of International Collaboration on UK University—Industry Links

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 264-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Pike ◽  
David Charles
Keyword(s):  
International Collaboration ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Collaboration Networks ◽  
Industry Research ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
University Industry ◽  
International Collaborative Research ◽  
University Industry Linkages

The authors examine the impact of international collaborative research programmes on university—industry links in the UK, with particular reference to the relations involved in the European Union's Framework Programme research. The evidence presented in the paper suggests that international collaboration has generated benefits as well as significant costs for UK university—industry linkages. More importantly, it is argued that the alleged general convergence in university and industry research needs has been somewhat illusory in the UK due to the rationalization of its R&D activity. In addition, these tendencies have been supported to a degree by EU funding rules, the internationalization of UK universities and the ‘repeat’ nature of international collaboration networks. In conclusion, the authors suggest that many of the problems may be specific to the UK and that policies are needed to strengthen links between UK universities and industry within such collaborative projects.

Evaluating environmental benefits from changes in water abstraction and waste water disposal

Water Policy ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 439-458
Author(s):  
K. G. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Water Abstraction ◽  
Institutional Practice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Water Disposal ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
The Government ◽  
Environment Agency ◽  
The Uk

Water companies are regional monopolies in the UK. The minimum standards of service and prices they can charge for water supply and sewage, are set by the government and the regulator OFWAT. This paper outlines the scope for the Environment Agency (EA) to impose higher standards on water companies than the statutory minimum, in order to generate greater environmental benefits. It investigates how the inappropriate application of the technique to assess environmental benefits by the EA leads to too many environmental schemes passing a cost–benefit test and hence how too much investment may be channelled into environmental schemes in relation to the benefits the public really receive from the improvements. By inappropriate application of environmental valuation methods, the EA is shaping public policy through institutional practice.

scholarly journals Evaluation of a patient and public involvement training programme for researchers at a large biomedical research centre in the UK

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e047995
Author(s):  
Rosamund Yu ◽  
Bec Hanley ◽  
Simon Denegri ◽  
Jaber Ahmed ◽  
Nicholas J McNally
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Patient And Public Involvement ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Major Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

ObjectivesTo design, deliver and evaluate a programme of training workshops for biomedical researchers aimed at building confidence and skills in actively involving patients and the public (PPI) in research.DesignA bespoke programme of training workshops in PPI aimed at researchers.SettingA large National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre in London and several partner organisations.Participants721 scientists, clinicians and research managers attending dedicated training in PPI at a major London NHS (National Health Service)–university partnership.InterventionsA programme of 72 training workshops, designed to build practical skills and confidence for researchers working with patients and the public in research, was delivered at a major research-active NHS:university partnership. An iterative approach was taken to the programme, with the content of the workshops continually reviewed and refreshed to respond to the needs of researchers. Surveys before, immediately following and 6 months after training investigated the impact on researchers’ confidence and skills in PPI work, and the kind of PPI they subsequently carried out.ResultsTraining brought about immediate marked increases in researchers’ self-reported confidence to carry out PPI activities within their research, and in their knowledge of good practice. The evaluation indicates that workshop attendees were more likely to involve patients in their research following training. Researchers tended to involve patients and the public in a range of areas, including input to study design and patient information, in particular.ConclusionsWhen positioned within a broader organisational strategy for PPI in research, such training has an important role to play in progressing PPI in a major research partnership. Training appeared to provide the confidence needed to carry out PPI which enabled further development of confidence and skills. Involving researchers who have attended the training in the ongoing development of the programme and bringing in patients to the training programme are key next steps.

scholarly journals Health of mothers of children with a life-limiting condition: a protocol for comparative cohort study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. e034024
Author(s):  
Lorna Katharine Fraser ◽  
Fliss E M Murtagh ◽  
Trevor Sheldon ◽  
Simon Gilbody ◽  
Catherine Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Clinical Practice Research Datalink ◽  
Comparative Cohort Study ◽  
Limiting Condition ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionThere are now nearly 50 000 children with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition in the UK. These include conditions where there is no reasonable hope of cure and from which they will die, as well as conditions for which curative treatment may be feasible but can fail, for example, cancer or heart failure. Having a child with a life-limiting condition involves being a coordinator and provider of healthcare in addition to the responsibilities and pressures of parenting a child who is expected to die young. This adversely affects the health and well-being of these mothers and affects their ability to care for their child, but the extent of the impact is poorly understood.This study aims to quantify the incidence and nature of mental and physical morbidity in mothers of children with a life-limiting condition, their healthcare use and to assess whether there is a relationship between the health of the mother and the child’s condition.Methods and analysisA comparative cohort study using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and linked hospital data will include three groups of children and their mothers (those with a life-limiting condition, those with a chronic condition and those with no long-term health condition total=20 000 mother–child dyads). Incidence rates and incidence rate ratios will be used to quantify and compare the outcomes between groups with multivariable regression modelling used to assess the relationship between the child’s disease trajectory and mother’s health.Ethics and disseminationThis study protocol has approval from the Independent Scientific Advisory Committee for the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Database Research. The results of this study will be reported according to the STROBE and RECORD guidelines. There will also be a lay summary for parents which will be available to download from the Martin House Research Centre website (www.york.ac.uk/mhrc).

scholarly journals The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on the experiences and feeding practices of new mothers in the UK: Preliminary data from the COVID-19 New Mum Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Vazquez ◽  
Sarah Dib ◽  
Emeline Rougeaux ◽  
Jonathan Wells ◽  
Mary Fewtrell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Professional ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Delivery Mode ◽  
Breastfeeding Initiation ◽  
Street Hospital ◽  
Great Ormond Street Hospital ◽  
Skin Contact ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID-19 New Mum Study is recording maternal experiences and infant feeding during the period of UK lockdown. This report from week 1 of the survey aims to (1) provide information relevant for those supporting this population; (2) identify groups currently under-represented in the survey.MethodsWomen living in the UK aged ≥18 years with an infant ≤12 months of age completed an anonymous online survey (https://is.gd/covid19newmumstudy). Information/links are shared via websites, social media and existing contacts.ResultsBetween May 27th and June 3rd 2020, 1365 women provided data (94% white, 95% married/with partner, 66% degree/higher qualification, 86% living in house; 1049 (77%) delivered before lockdown (BL) and 316 (23%) during lockdown (DL). Delivery mode, skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding initiation did not differ between groups. DL women had shorter hospital stays (p<0.001) and 39% reported changes to their birth plan. Reflecting younger infant age, 59% of DL infants were exclusively breast-fed or mixed fed versus 39% of BL (p<0.05). Thirteen % reported a change in feeding; often related to lack of breastfeeding support, especially with practical problems. Important sources of feeding support were the partner (60%), health professional (50%) and online groups (47%). 45% of DL women reported insufficient support with feeding. Among BL women, 57% and 69% reported decreased feeding support and childcare, respectively. 40% BL/45% DL women reported insufficient support with their own health, 8%/9% contacted a mental health professional and 11% reported their mental health was affected. 9% highlighted lack of contact and support from family and distress that they had missed seeing the baby.ConclusionLockdown has had an impact on maternal experiences, resulting in distress for many women. Survey participants are currently not representative of the population; notably, groups at greater risk are under-represented. Increasing the diversity of participants is a priority.Survey fundingNone. All research at Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health is made possible by the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and investor sentiment influence on the US and European countries sector returns

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-386
Author(s):  
Pedro Manuel Nogueira Reis ◽  
Carlos Pinho
Keyword(s):  
Stock Returns ◽  
Trading Volume ◽  
Investor Sentiment ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Us ◽  
Country Factors ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sector Returns

Although some studies recently address the association between COVID-19 sentiment and returns, volatility, or stock trading volume, no one conducts an analysis to measure the impact of investor rationality or irrationality on the influence on countries and sectors’ returns. This work creates a text media sentiment and combines its influence with the outbreak cases on the stock market sector returns of the US, Europe, and their main countries most affected by the pandemic. This allows us to perceive the ranking impact of rationality or irrationality on country and sector stock returns. This work applies a random-effects robust panel estimation, with an M-estimator. This paper concludes that US returns are more sensitive to sentiment, and thus more prone to irrational factors than confirmed cases compared to Europe and that country factors influence the returns differently. In Italy and Spain as the most punished countries in Europe apart from the UK, present sector indexes return more reactive to verified cases, or rationality, namely, tourism, real estate, and the automobile (this last one in Italy). The importance of this work resides in providing a new in-depth analysis of irrational behavioral metrics among countries, which allows for comparison. Moreover, it allows observing which sectors’ and which countries’ asset returns are most sensitive to rational or irrational expressions of events, allowing for arbitraging, financial planning for investors, decision-makers, and academia on an in and out of pandemic context. AcknowledgmentThis work is funded by National Funds through the FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the project Refª UIDB/05583/2020. Furthermore, we would like to thank the Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD) and the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu for their support.

The Constructed Wetland Association UK database of constructed wetland systems

2007 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Constructed Wetland ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Domestic Wastewater ◽  
Industrial Effluents ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Road Runoff ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Design Construction

There are now more than 1,000 constructed wetland systems (CWs) in the UK. The first UK CW database was constructed by Water Research Centre (WRc) and Severn Trent Water Ltd to accompany a book on the design and performance of these systems. In that database, constructed by Gareth Job et al. (1996), only 154 beds were listed, most of which were tertiary sewage treatment sites in Severn Trent Water. The Constructed Wetland Association (CWA) was formed in 2000 as a UK water industry body in response to problems caused by unscrupulous constructors. A group of experienced, reputable designers and constructors formed the CWA to bring together best UK practice in order to counteract this problem. The group contains major water companies, designers, constructors, academics, plant growers and operators. They decided that one of the best ways of countering the problem was to assemble a database of design and performance from well-designed systems. After negotiation the CWA group took over responsibility for the database from WRc. The CWA has produced eight updates of the database which now contains information from more than 900 beds. It contains examples of the different variants of CWs in use in the UK. Most of these sites treat sewage/domestic wastewater but the database also includes examples of systems for the treatment of minewater, sludge, landfill leachate, industrial effluents, surface runoff and road runoff. Particular treatment applications are illustrated by case studies which are summary articles describing design, construction and performance.

scholarly journals Predicting impacts of water conservation with a stochastic sewer model

2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 2148-2157 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Bailey ◽  
T. C. Arnot ◽  
E. J. M. Blokker ◽  
Z. Kapelan ◽  
J. A. M. H. Hofman
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Water Region ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Discharge Patterns ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Scenario Testing

Abstract Population growth and climate change put a strain on water resources; hence, there are growing initiatives to reduce water use. Reducing household water use will likely reduce sewer input. This work demonstrates the use of a stochastic sewer model to quantify the effect water conservation has on sewer hydraulics and wastewater concentration. Probabilistic discharge patterns have been developed using SIMDEUM WW® and fed into hydraulic modelling software InfoWorks ICM® to produce likely flow and quality profiles for five future water use scenarios. The scenarios tested were developed to outline how commercial and political factors may change water use in future. Scenario testing revealed that 15–60% water reduction reflected a 1–48% drop in the morning peak flow. The water use reduction was predicted to increase wastewater concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and total phosphorus (TPH) by 55–180%, 19–116% and 30–206% respectively. The sewer flow model was developed, calibrated and validated using a case study in the Wessex Water region of the UK and all future scenarios were compared to the validated baseline case. This wastewater flow and quality model allows scenario testing, which could help redesign future sewer networks to better prepare for water conservation strategies.

scholarly journals Diffuse pesticide pollution of drinking water sources: impact of legislation and UK responses

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 680-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Dolan ◽  
P. Howsam ◽  
D. J. Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Environmental Water ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Pesticide Use ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
Pesticide Pollution ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Diffuse pesticide pollution is a problem for the environment, but it also presents a challenge for water companies managing treatment infrastructure to produce potable water. The legal framework for this context has three main components: that dealing with pesticides and pesticide use, that dealing with environmental water quality and that dealing with drinking water quality. The study set out to identify, interpret and assess the impact of the legal framework related to this challenge. The study found that the current policy and legislation do not provide a coordinated legal framework and some changes are warranted. For example the Water Framework Directive (WFD) sets environmental quality standards for some, but not all, pesticides. Article 7 provides special protection of water bodies used as sources for drinking water supply, but it is not clear whether the UK will achieve full compliance by 2015. This is a problem for water companies planning investment, because the WFD and Drinking Water Directive remain legally distinct. Further uncertainty arises from the application of Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 and the extent that restricted availability of pesticides will drive changes in agricultural practice and pesticide use.

Setting standards for the future based on evidence from the past – a UK perspective on the success of the approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
S. Homewood ◽  
C. Snowdon
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Water Efficiency ◽  
Building Regulations ◽  
Design Standard ◽  
Voluntary Standards ◽  
Mandatory Requirement ◽  
Water Companies ◽  
End Use ◽  
The Uk

The Water Research Centre has collated, over a number of years, quantitative end-use (micro-component) water consumption information for over 700 properties in England and Wales. For a sample of this size, this is the most detailed set of data in the UK, and was used to inform some of the mandatory and voluntary standards that are in place in the UK today. One such standard is in the new edition of Part G of the Building Regulations, published in 2010, which includes a water efficiency requirement for the first time. This is a whole-of-house water use standard set at a maximum of 125 litres per person per day. The voluntary Code for Sustainable Homes (the Code) also has a series of standards for water use in new homes varying from 90 to 120 litres per person per day. Both of these standards allow flexibility for people to choose what is installed in a new home (including new emerging technologies) provided they can achieve the specified water use figure. Whilst the Code is purely a design standard, the Building Regulation is a mandatory requirement and homes built to the building regulations should be inspected post-installation to confirm the devices installed have specifications in-line with the design standard. To help inform the UK Government on the success of the approach, and to aid UK water companies develop 25 year projections of demand as part of their water resources planning, research assessing the real consumption of homes designed to these water efficiency standards has been carried out. Meter readings from a sample of homes were analysed alongside property information to identify actual water use and trends amongst property cohorts. Results from our statistical analysis show that occupancy is the single most significant factor influencing per capita consumption and whether a home meets a given water efficiency design standard.

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