Middle strip - one-half of a panel in width, symmetrical about the panel centreline Column strip - one-half of a panel in width, occupying the two quarter-panel areas outside the middle strip Bending moments (both positive and negative) in the above diagram are for the middle strips, the bending moments in the column strips should be two-thirds of the bending moments in the middle strips Where the ratio, m of short to long span is less than 0.5, the slab should be considered a one-way slab in the short direction, but reinforcement for the negative moments required for m equal to 0.5 should be provided in the long direction