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AtkinsonThis study explores Work Life Balance (WLB) in two Palestinian organisations. It argues that the nature and content of WLB policies and the reasons for their adoption in many Arabic organisations differ from those in Western organisations. Additionally, research is under-developed concerning the role of line managers in interpreting access to WLB practices, and to what extent such WLB practices are accessed and utilised by individuals. Based on a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with 49 employees and managers, this study shows that WLB policies involve, particularly for female employees, mainly family support, and financial, social, and religious benefits. These reflect cultural and religious characteristics of an Arab, Islamic country. In addition to identifying the role of government, and the needs of a female workforce, this study develops a new theoretical framework explaining the role of religious and cultural variables, as well as international networking of the organisations, as factors underlying adoption of WLB policies. Line managers often used Wasta, being the political and religious origin of individuals as criteria in granting benefits to individuals. WLB practices are useful for women, but males made less use of these practices, preferring strong ‘breadwinner Arabic cultural norms. A valuable contribution in understanding the extension of WLB policies in Arabic settings is offered, as well as cultural, social and religious reasons for their implementation. The study presents a theoretical model of the adoption and application of WLB policies which can be used in further crosscultural research.

AtkinsonThis study explores Work Life Balance (WLB) in two Palestinian organisations. It argues that the nature and content of WLB policies and the reasons for their adoption in many Arabic organisations differ from those in Western organisations. Additionally, research is under-developed concerning the role of line managers in interpreting access to WLB practices, and to what extent such WLB practices are accessed and utilised by individuals. Based on a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with 49 employees and managers, this study shows that WLB policies involve, particularly for female employees, mainly family support, and financial, social, and religious benefits. These reflect cultural and religious characteristics of an Arab, Islamic country. In addition to identifying the role of government, and the needs of a female workforce, this study develops a new theoretical framework explaining the role of religious and cultural variables, as well as international networking of the organisations, as factors underlying adoption of WLB policies. Line managers often used Wasta, being the political and religious origin of individuals as criteria in granting benefits to individuals. WLB practices are useful for women, but males made less use of these practices, preferring strong ‘breadwinner Arabic cultural norms. A valuable contribution in understanding the extension of WLB policies in Arabic settings is offered, as well as cultural, social and religious reasons for their implementation. The study presents a theoretical model of the adoption and application of WLB policies which can be used in further crosscultural research.

At present, the usage of FEM-programs becomes wider for loads effect calculation of bridges. Even though the calculation in all FEM-programs works following the same procedure, it differs when it comes to moving loads where we can identify two different approaches, ILM and ISM (influence line and influence surface method). ISM is used in FEM-programs that are most adapted for bridges where moving loads have great influence, while ILM is used in FEM-programs where moving loads are less important as house constructions. The aim is to evaluate the use of ILM programs (eg FEM-Design) when managing of moving loads in bridge and facilities contexts. This is achieved by comparing the results obtained from ILM programs with the results obtained from IYM programs. In addition, it will be checked how FEM-Design envelops the max and min values regarding (most adverse, conditional summation and unconditional summation). The comparison between those two methods was carried out using two different FEM programs based on different methods. Work carried out using FEM-Design (ILM program) and Brigade/Standard (ISM program). A platform bridge has been modeled and analyzed in both programs and a comparison between the results of both models has been performed. This comparison aims to investigate how ILM and ISM works when calculating moving loads and its influence in a bridge plate and in what way these two methods differ. to achieve comparable results between the programs, we examined different parameters and conditions. The thesis has shown which factors influenced the difference av results between FEM-Design and Brigade, and which summation methods that FEM-Design uses. / I dagsläget blir användning av FEM-program ännu bredare för lasteffektsberäkning och analys av brokonstruktioner. Trots att beräkningen sker i princip enligt samma process i alla FEM-program skiljer den sig när det handlar om rörliga laster. När det gäller beräkning av rörliga laster identifieras två olika metoder: ILM och IYM (influenslinje- och influensytametod). Influensytametod används i de FEM-program som är anpassade framförallt för brokonstruktioner där rörliga laster har stor påverkan, medan influenslinjemetod används i FEM-program där rörliga laster har mindre betydelse t.ex. huskonstruktioner. Målet är att utvärdera användning av ILM-program (t.ex. FEM-Design) vid hantering av rörliga laster i bro- och anläggningssammanhang. Detta uppnås genom att jämföra resultaten man får från ILM-program med resultaten som fås från IYM-program. Dessutom skall det kontrolleras hur FEM-Design utvärdera max- och minvärdena med hänsyn till mest ogynsamma, vilkorlig summering och ovilkoriga summering. Jämförelsen mellan de två metoderna har utförts med hjälp av två olika FEM-program som är baserade på de olika metoderna: FEM-Design 18 (ILM-program) och Brigade/standard 4.3 (IYM-program). En plattbro (en enkel bro) har modellerats och analyserats i båda programmen och en jämförelse mellan resultaten från båda modellerna har utförts. Denna jämförelse ämnar undersöka hur influenslinje- och influensytametoden fungerar vid beräkning av rörliga laster och dess påverkan i en brobaneplatta, och på vilket sätt dessa två metoder skiljer sig åt. För att uppnå jämförbara resultat mellan programmen undersöktes/studerades olika parametrar och förutsättningar. Examensarbetet har visat vilka faktorer som påverkat skillnaden av resultat mellan FEM-Design och Brigade, och vilka summeringsmetoder som FEM-Design använder.

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is the sensing and analysis of a structure to detect abnormal behavior, damage and deterioration during regular operations as well as under extreme loadings. SHM is designed to provide objective information for decision-making on safety and serviceability. This research focuses on the SHM of bridges by developing and integrating novel methods and techniques using sensor networks, computer vision, modeling for damage indices and statistical approaches. Effective use of traffic video synchronized with sensor measurements for decision-making is demonstrated. First, some of the computer vision methods and how they can be used for bridge monitoring are presented along with the most common issues and some practical solutions. Second, a conceptual damage index (Unit Influence Line) is formulated using synchronized computer images and sensor data for tracking the structural response under various load conditions. Third, a new index, Nd , is formulated and demonstrated to more effectively identify, localize and quantify damage. Commonly observed damage conditions on real bridges are simulated on a laboratory model for the demonstration of the computer vision method, UIL and the new index. This new method and the index, which are based on outlier detection from the UIL population, can very effectively handle large sets of monitoring data. The methods and techniques are demonstrated on the laboratory model for damage detection and all damage scenarios are identified successfully. Finally, the application of the proposed methods on a real life structure, which has a monitoring system, is presented. It is shown that these methods can be used efficiently for applications such as damage detection and load rating for decision-making. The results from this monitoring project on a movable bridge are demonstrated and presented along with the conclusions and recommendations for future work.