Based on the frequently reported similarities between creative and psychedelic (drug-induced, consciousness-expansion) experiences, a preliminary study was conducted to explore the effects of psychedelic agents (LSD-25, mescaline) on creative problem-solving ability. Twenty-seven professionally employed males were given a single psychedelic experience in 1 of 7 small groups ( ns = 3 or 4) following extensive selection and preparatory procedures. This drug-induced problem-solving session was carefully structured with particular focus on establishing Ss' expectancies and a psychosocial milieu conducive to creative activity. Tentative findings based on tests of creativity, on subjective reports and self ratings, and on the utility of problem solutions suggested that, if given according to this carefully structured regimen, psychedelic agents seem to facilitate creative problem-solving, particularly in the “illumination phase.” The results also suggest that various degrees of increased creative ability may continue for at least some weeks subsequent to a psychedelic problem-solving session.
Sewers represent a very substantial and crucial part of our underground infrastructure and a high level of investment is needed to maintain them. Sewers are generally out of sight and, as long as they continue to function reasonably well, they are also out of mind -that is, until any structural, hydraulic or functional problems arise. The criticality of any sewer defect is a combination of the risk of failure and the consequences of it. One of the primary reasons that these systems are failing at an unmanageable rate is that many were installed in response to the post-World War II economic and population boom experienced in North America . These systems are now reaching the ends of their design and service lives (generally fifty years), and the deterioration will accelerate as we continue to use these systems in the upcoming decades. Therefore, a systematic approach is necessary to fully understand, evaluate, and predict the conditions of this underground infrastructure. The present state-of-the-art does not allow the utility manager to determine which pipe distresses should be repaired immediately to stop further degradation, or which distresses are stable and could be left for a future repair.Due to implementation of new requirements from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), municipalities are finding themselves more and more in need of detailed information regarding their collection systems. In the past, this information has often been archived in filing cabinets in the form of videotapes and log sheets, where accessing the information was difficult and time consuming.A four year study in sewer prediction modeling was performed at Trenchless Technology Center at Louisiana Tech University to develop a systematic sanitary sewer management system that can help sewer managers evaluate and develop a cost-effective maintenance program that avoids frequent crisis management. The preliminary work in sewer prediction modeling reported in Kathula's Master's thesis (Kathula, 2000) has laid the groundwork for this research effort to develop a field-tested sewer-deterioration prediction model. The proposed prediction model incorporates knowledge and experience of infrastructure experts who were asked to predict the deterioration of sewer pipes over a period of time. In this research a detailed questionnaire was mailed to municipalities in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The survey participants included 33 municipal officials and experts from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. These regional data were used to develop a regional sewer deterioration prediction model. This paper presents the sewer deterioration prediction models that were developed for the five common degradation states -cracks, open joints, displaced joints, corrosion and deformation for both clay and concrete sewers. WEF/CWEA Collection Systems 2002 ConferenceThe combination of these five degradation sequence states with the mean time for any state to degrade to the collapse state can provide the sewer manager with obj...
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