某跨海连续梁桥隔震研究

以某跨海连续桥梁为工程背景,研究了不同隔震措施下该桥梁结构的地震响应。采用有限元软件Midas Civil对该工程中六跨连续梁桥建立三维有限元精细化分析模型,考虑将该桥梁支座分别设置为铅芯橡胶隔震支座、摩擦摆式支座,并与普通盆式橡胶支座时该梁桥的动力特性与地震响应进行系统的对比研究,以评价跨海连续梁桥的隔震性能。研究结果表明,与普通连续桥梁相比,隔震后桥梁结构自振周期延长,桥梁墩顶最大位移、桥墩墩底弯矩、剪力均显著减小。采用摩擦摆式隔震支座时该跨海连续梁桥可取得更好的减震效果,但其位移较铅芯橡胶隔震支座时大。     

A Simmelian theory of structural loneliness

Whilst loneliness may be receiving greater media and political attention, the tendency to present the issue as a discrete individual problem separable from wider social concerns has led to some frustration amongst the sociologically minded. The purpose of this paper is to provide a sociological account of loneliness which is not as susceptible to individualist interpretations as other works in the genre have been. As such the paper focuses on how the structure of a society, rather than its culture, might lead to loneliness. To this end, the paper makes original use of the works of Georg Simmel (1858–1918). Specifically, Simmel's account of how we come to know other people through synthetic construction is applied to his better‐known theory of intersecting social circles. The author claims that when taken together these two aspects of Simmel's thought suggest that social structure can create a form of social isolation in which people find it very difficult to get to know one another, due to a lack of multiple‐context interactions with the same people during their day‐to‐day behavioural patterns. This clustering of interactions within narrow interlocuter‐contexts is hypothesised to account for a portion of the variability in loneliness across individuals, societies and historical time, and is provisionally named as structural loneliness.     

The Heterogeneity of Socially Isolated Older Adults: A Social Isolation Typology

Recent statistics show a growing number of older adults who are living alone and are socially isolated. It is against this background that, in recent years, many interventions have been developed to address social isolation among the elderly. Evaluative studies show that most interventions are hardly effective, though. An important reason for this is the heterogeneity of the socially isolated. This article offers insight into this heterogeneity by presenting a typology with different profiles of socially isolated older adults and the intervention implications of this typology. The typology is derived from an extensive qualitative study on socially isolated elderly individuals in the Netherlands. The typology imposes some degree of order to a diversity of circumstances, ambitions, and possibilities of the socially isolated elderly, thereby deepening the understanding of the heterogeneity of this population. The definition of social isolation used in this study starts from a societal angle of incidence, namely the current policy context of Western European welfare states, in which governments emphasize the importance of independence and self-reliance of their citizens. Developed from that perspective, the typology provides a theoretical basis for applying interventions aimed at increasing self-reliance of social isolated elderly. This perspective on social isolation also has consequences for the way in which the effectiveness of interventions to alleviate social isolation is assessed.     

Caregiver Isolation

Abstract

Caregiving to a partner with Alzheimer's disease results in isolation, which impacts on the help/service seeking behaviors of care givers. In-depth interviews done with caregiving wives found that they experienced multiple dimensions of isolation. A tentative ecological model of the dimensions of caregiver isolation is proposed. Research participants did not engage early in supportive help because they were not aware of their isolation, did not know about available supports, and were not identified by medical or social services personnel as needing support and assistance. Social workers need to be aware of the isolating effects of caregiving and reach out to caregivers to avoid or lessen isolation in their caring role.     

An 8-Year Telephone Support Group for Home-Bound People with Multiple Sclerosis: Adapting Therapeutic Methods to Overcome Isolation and Immobility

This article explores the dynamics of a long-term telephone support group, over eight years, for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a progressive neurological disease that frequently affects mobility and engenders isolation. All of the participants in this group are physically disabled by their disease. The mobility challenges of this population led to the idea of using conference call technology as a treatment modality. Incorporating theory from neurobiology research, this article chronicles the implementation of the group and offers observations about the interplay between individual self-esteem, group participation, and the use of technology in mental health treatment.     

Formal volunteering as a protector of health in the context of social losses

This study aims to examine the effect of the death of a family member or friend on psychological well-being, specifically the moderating effects of first-time volunteering and social network. With the sample of 354 volunteers from the Experience Corps® (EC) programs, Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) estimated the differences in psychological well-being. Among volunteers who had experienced the death of a family member or friend, new volunteers showed significant improvement in positive affect compared to experienced volunteers. EC members gained additional social contacts through volunteering. Formal volunteering has a salutatory effect on older adults' health after the loss of family members.     

Befriending Services for Culturally Diverse Older People

Befriending services may address loneliness and social isolation amongst older people. However social diversity is rarely reported in investigations of befriending services. The views of non-users are also rarely explored. In this research, we explored older adults’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, a befriending service, among service users and non-service users, drawing on interviews and focus groups with 76 older adults, 10 volunteer visitors, and 20 service providers. Participants agreed that the befriending service helped alleviate social isolation and loneliness and that supportive services to foster connection are needed. Barriers to engagement included lack of knowledge, appropriateness of services and feeling undeserving. The befriending service was most successful when a match went beyond a transactional ‘professional-client’ relationship to resemble genuine friendship, underpinned by mutual interests and norms of reciprocity and reliability. We also identified five clear ideas about what characterizes an ideal supportive service; supported opportunities for getting out, genuine and reciprocal relationships, reliability, visitor characteristics, and connecting people to their culture. Befriending adds to social networks, and enhances connectedness to the community. Loneliness is alleviated when mutually beneficial and genuinely reciprocal relationships develop. However, group interventions or connections to community groups may be more appropriate for some.     

The Relational Contexts of Migration: Mexican Women in New Destination Sites

This article assesses Mexican immigrant women's experiences of isolation and autonomy in three new destination sites in Montana, Ohio, and New Jersey. We highlight six case studies from our cross‐comparative data set of in‐depth interviews and field work with 98 women to illustrate the intersections between contexts of reception and gender relations in shaping women's settlement experiences. We find that women in sites with a concentrated Mexican population and a well‐developed social service infrastructure are relatively autonomous in accomplishing daily activities independent of their relationships with husbands or partners. In contrast, for women living in sites with few social support services, relationships with the men in their lives, what we call their “relational contexts,” matter for women's experiences of isolation or autonomy outside the home. Relational contexts have not been emphasized in previous literature on gender and migration but may be significant in shaping women's experiences across varying contexts of reception.     

Loneliness and Belongingness in Older Lesbians: The Role of Social Groups as “Community”

This article explores loneliness and isolation in older lesbians, looking at the benefits offered by an over-55 fortnightly social group in Yorkshire. I argue that the women interviewed were more vulnerable to loneliness than their heterosexual counterparts as a direct consequence of many years of privacy and self-concealment and because they were more likely to be single, childless, and have fractured relationships with birth families; all significant losses viewed by the women as the “price you paid” for being a lesbian. Although the group did not completely alleviate loneliness, it provided a place of safety and offered a sanctuary where participants could be themselves and where friendships and other groups were formed. For many women, the group's exclusivity to older lesbians and bisexual women was deeply significant and influenced their decision to attend. I suggest that such groups have a vital role to play in promoting older lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender well-being and offering protection against loneliness and isolation in older age.     

The subjective dimension of social isolation: A qualitative investigation of older adults' experiences in small social support networks

In the aging literature, social isolation has been primarily defined in terms of reduced support network size and low frequency of social contacts. Having a small social support network is associated with social isolation and an increased risk of physical and emotional vulnerability. However, this conceptualization ignores the contributions of a host of other factors, including life experiences, family dynamics, and long-term patterns of socialization. This paper argues that alongside quantitative assessments of support systems, the application of a life course perspective is needed to understand small social networks as lived experience. We report on findings from 28 in-depth interviews with older adults identified as being at risk of social isolation on the basis of the self-reported size of their social networks. We discuss these participants' experiences in the context of significant life course transitions such as marriage and widowhood.