Sample records for agency making observations

  1. Decision-making contexts involving Earth observations in federal and state government agencies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuwayama, Y.; Thompson, A.

    2017-12-01

    National and international organizations are placing greater emphasis on the societal and economic benefits that can be derived from applications of Earth observations, yet improvements are needed to connect to the decision processes that produce actions with direct societal benefits. The Consortium for the Valuation of Applications Benefits Linked with Earth Science (VALUABLES), a cooperative agreement between Resources for the Future (RFF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has the goal of advancing methods for the valuation and communication of the applied benefits linked with Earth observations. One of the Consortium's activities is a set of Policy Briefs that document the use of Earth observations for decision making in federal and state government agencies. In developing these Policy Briefs, we pay special attention to documenting the entire information value chain associated with the use of Earth observations in government decision making, namely (a) the specific data product, modeling capability, or information system used by the agency, (b) the decision context that employs the Earth observation information and translates it into an agency action, (c) the outcomes that are realized as a result of the action, and (d) the beneficiaries associated with the outcomes of the decision. Two key examples include the use of satellite data for informing the US Drought Monitor (USDM), which is used to determine the eligibility of agricultural communities for drought disaster assistance programs housed at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the use of satellite data by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to develop numeric nutrient water quality standards and monitoring methods for chlorophyll-a, which is codified in Florida state code (62-302.532).

  2. 12 CFR 408.5 - Ensuring environmental documents are actually considered in Agency decision-making.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... considered in Agency decision-making. 408.5 Section 408.5 Banks and Banking EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED... Procedures § 408.5 Ensuring environmental documents are actually considered in Agency decision-making... environmental documents in agency decision-making. To implement these requirements, Eximbank officials will: (a...

  3. Principals' Moral Agency and Ethical Decision-Making: Toward a Transformational Ethics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cherkowski, Sabre; Walker, Keith D.; Kutsyuruba, Benjamin

    2015-01-01

    This descriptive study provides a rich portrait of moral agency and ethical decision-making processes among a sample of Canadian school principals. Using an ethical responsibility framework linking moral agency and transformational leadership, the researchers found that (1) modeling moral agency is important for encouraging others to engage their…

  4. 50 CFR 530.2 - Ensuring that environmental documents are actually considered in agency decision-making.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... actually considered in agency decision-making. 530.2 Section 530.2 Wildlife and Fisheries MARINE MAMMAL... documents are actually considered in agency decision-making. Section 1505.1 of the NEPA regulations contains requirements to ensure adequate consideration of environmental documents in agency decision-making. To...

  5. Patient participation in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drugs - resistance as agency.

    PubMed

    Hultberg, Josabeth; Rudebeck, Carl Edvard

    2017-09-01

    The aim of the study was to describe and explore patient agency through resistance in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drugs in primary care. Six general practitioners from the southeast of Sweden audiorecorded 80 consultations. From these, 28 consultations with proposals from GPs for cardiovascular preventive drug treatments were chosen for theme-oriented discourse analysis. The study shows how patients participate in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drug treatments through resistance in response to treatment proposals. Passive modes of resistance were withheld responses and minimal unmarked acknowledgements. Active modes were to ask questions, contest the address of an inclusive we, present an identity as a non-drugtaker, disclose non-adherence to drug treatments, and to present counterproposals. The active forms were also found in anticipation to treatment proposals from the GPs. Patients and GPs sometimes displayed mutual renouncement of responsibility for decision-making. The decision-making process appeared to expand both beyond a particular phase in the consultations and beyond the single consultation. The recognition of active and passive resistance from patients as one way of exerting agency may prove valuable when working for patient participation in clinical practice, education and research about patient-doctor communication about cardiovascular preventive medication. We propose particular attentiveness to patient agency through anticipatory resistance, patients' disclosures of non-adherence and presentations of themselves as non-drugtakers. The expansion of the decision-making process beyond single encounters points to the importance of continuity of care. KEY POINTS Guidelines recommend shared decision-making about cardiovascular preventive treatment. We need an understanding of how this is accomplished in actual consultations.This paper describes how patient agency in decision-making is displayed through different forms

  6. Empowered to cook: The crucial role of 'food agency' in making meals.

    PubMed

    Trubek, Amy B; Carabello, Maria; Morgan, Caitlin; Lahne, Jacob

    2017-09-01

    What makes an individual, on any given occasion, able and willing to prepare a meal for themselves: that is, to cook? As home cooking has increasingly become the focus of public-health, nutrition, and policy interventions and campaigns, the need for a better understanding has become apparent. It is clear that cooking is not merely a matter of mechanical skill or rote training; beyond this, it is difficult to explain why similar individuals have such different capacities for setting and achieving food-related goals. This paper proposes a new paradigm for cooking and food provisioning - termed "food agency" - that attempts to describe how an individual's desires form and are enacted in correspondence with social environments: broadly, agency emerges from the complex interplay of individual technical skills and cognitive capacities with social and cultural supports and barriers. Drawing on a close reading of anthropological and sociological research into cooking, the authors propose that an individual's ability to integrate such complexity in regard to provisioning - to possess 'food agency' - is crucial. This argument is supplemented by empirical case studies from a large body of ethnographic observations and interviews with home cooks from the United States, conducted over the last decade. Overall, more food agency means the cook is more empowered to act. Adopting the paradigm of food agency into the consideration of everyday cooking practices has the potential to support transdisciplinary food scholarship integrating individual actions within a food system and thus inform nutrition and public health interventions related to meal preparation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Patient participation in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drugs – resistance as agency

    PubMed Central

    Hultberg, Josabeth; Rudebeck, Carl Edvard

    2017-01-01

    Objective The aim of the study was to describe and explore patient agency through resistance in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drugs in primary care. Design Six general practitioners from the southeast of Sweden audiorecorded 80 consultations. From these, 28 consultations with proposals from GPs for cardiovascular preventive drug treatments were chosen for theme-oriented discourse analysis. Results The study shows how patients participate in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drug treatments through resistance in response to treatment proposals. Passive modes of resistance were withheld responses and minimal unmarked acknowledgements. Active modes were to ask questions, contest the address of an inclusive we, present an identity as a non-drugtaker, disclose non-adherence to drug treatments, and to present counterproposals. The active forms were also found in anticipation to treatment proposals from the GPs. Patients and GPs sometimes displayed mutual renouncement of responsibility for decision-making. The decision-making process appeared to expand both beyond a particular phase in the consultations and beyond the single consultation. Conclusions The recognition of active and passive resistance from patients as one way of exerting agency may prove valuable when working for patient participation in clinical practice, education and research about patient–doctor communication about cardiovascular preventive medication. We propose particular attentiveness to patient agency through anticipatory resistance, patients’ disclosures of non-adherence and presentations of themselves as non-drugtakers. The expansion of the decision-making process beyond single encounters points to the importance of continuity of care. KEY POINTS Guidelines recommend shared decision-making about cardiovascular preventive treatment. We need an understanding of how this is accomplished in actual consultations.This paper describes how patient agency in decision-making

  8. Do Old Ladies Make World History?: Student Perceptions of Elder Female Agency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodbum, Stephen M.

    2006-01-01

    In this article, the author shares the views of his undergraduate students regarding elder female agency and their answers to the question: "Do old ladies make world history?" Because his undergraduate students mostly view the past in terms of the Great Man theory of history, which holds that those who make history are necessarily great,…

  9. US EPA: A USER AGENCY PERSPECTIVE ON POLAR SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Agency uses satellite sensor observations in its work on measuring, monitoring and modeling the environment and human health. It generates observations in collaboration with states, local and regional governments, tribes and others, and is a consumer of observations from a v...

  10. Making Agency Matter: Rethinking Infant and Toddler Agency in Educational Discourse

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duhn, Iris

    2015-01-01

    This article engages critically with the concept of agency in infant and toddler educational discourse. It is argued that agency, when conceptualised with emphasis on individuality and the autonomous self, poses a conceptual "dead end" for those who are not-yet-in-language, such as babies and toddlers. In considering agency as an aspect…

  11. Making decisions in complex landscapes: Headwater stream management across multiple federal agencies

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Katz, Rachel; Grant, Evan H. Campbell; Runge, Michael C.; Connery, Bruce; Crockett, Marquette; Herland, Libby; Johnson, Sheela; Kirk, Dawn; Wofford, Jeb; Bennett, Rick; Nislow, Keith; Norris, Marian; Hocking, Daniel; Letcher, Benjamin; Roy, Allison

    2014-01-01

    Headwater stream ecosystems are vulnerable to numerous threats associated with climate and land use change. In the northeastern US, many headwater stream species (e.g., brook trout and stream salamanders) are of special conservation concern and may be vulnerable to climate change influences, such as changes in stream temperature and streamflow. Federal land management agencies (e.g., US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Department of Defense) are required to adopt policies that respond to climate change and may have longer-term institutional support to enforce such policies compared to state, local, non-governmental, or private land managers. However, federal agencies largely make management decisions in regards to headwater stream ecosystems independently. This fragmentation of management resources and responsibilities across the landscape may significantly impede the efficiency and effectiveness of conservation actions, and higher degrees of collaboration may be required to achieve conservation goals. This project seeks to provide an example of cooperative landscape decision-making to address the conservation of headwater stream ecosystems. We identified shared and contrasting objectives of each federal agency and potential collaboration opportunities that may increase efficient and effective management of headwater stream ecosystems in two northeastern US watersheds. These workshops provided useful insights into the adaptive capacity of federal institutions to address threats to headwater stream ecosystems. Our ultimate goal is to provide a decision-making framework and analysis that addresses large-scale conservation threats across multiple stakeholders, as a demonstration of cooperative landscape conservation for aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, we aim to provide new scientific knowledge and a regional perspective to resource managers to help inform local management decisions.

  12. CEOS Contributions to Informing Energy Management and Policy Decision Making Using Space-Based Earth Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eckman, Richard S.

    2009-01-01

    Earth observations are playing an increasingly significant role in informing decision making in the energy sector. In renewable energy applications, space-based observations now routinely augment sparse ground-based observations used as input for renewable energy resource assessment applications. As one of the nine Group on Earth Observations (GEO) societal benefit areas, the enhancement of management and policy decision making in the energy sector is receiving attention in activities conducted by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). CEOS has become the "space arm" for the implementation of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) vision. It is directly supporting the space-based, near-term tasks articulated in the GEO three-year work plan. This paper describes a coordinated program of demonstration projects conducted by CEOS member agencies and partners to utilize Earth observations to enhance energy management end-user decision support systems. I discuss the importance of engagement with stakeholders and understanding their decision support needs in successfully increasing the uptake of Earth observation products for societal benefit. Several case studies are presented, demonstrating the importance of providing data sets in formats and units familiar and immediately usable by decision makers. These projects show the utility of Earth observations to enhance renewable energy resource assessment in the developing world, forecast space-weather impacts on the power grid, and improve energy efficiency in the built environment.

  13. Integration and Value of Earth Observations Data for Water Management Decision-Making in the Western U.S.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larsen, S. G.; Willardson, T.

    2017-12-01

    Some exciting new science and tools are under development for water management decision-making in the Western U.S. This session will highlight a number of examples where remotely-sensed observation data has been directly beneficial to water resource stakeholders, and discuss the steps needed between receipt of the data and their delivery as a finished data product or tool. We will explore case studies of how NASA scientists and researchers have worked with together with western state water agencies and other stakeholders as a team, to develop and interpret remotely-sensed data observations, implement easy-to-use software and tools, train team-members on their operation, and transition those tools into the insititution's workflows. The benefits of integrating these tools into stakeholder, agency, and end-user operations can be seen on-the-ground, when water is optimally managed for the decision-maker's objectives. These cases also point to the importance of building relationships and conduits for communication between researchers and their institutional counterparts.

  14. Integration and Value of Earth Observations Data for Water Management Decision-Making in the Western U.S.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larsen, S. G.; Willardson, T.

    2016-12-01

    Some exciting new science and tools are under development for water management decision-making in the Western U.S. This session will highlight a number of examples where remotely-sensed observation data has been directly beneficial to water resource stakeholders, and discuss the steps needed between receipt of the data and their delivery as a finished data product or tool. We will explore case studies of how NASA scientists and researchers have worked with together with western state water agencies and other stakeholders as a team, to develop and interpret remotely-sensed data observations, implement easy-to-use software and tools, train team-members on their operation, and transition those tools into the insititution's workflows. The benefits of integrating these tools into stakeholder, agency, and end-user operations can be seen on-the-ground, when water is optimally managed for the decision-maker's objectives. These cases also point to the importance of building relationships and conduits for communication between researchers and their institutional counterparts.

  15. Does caregiver participation in decision making within child welfare agencies influence children's primary and mental health care service use?

    PubMed

    Jolles, M P; Wells, R

    2017-03-01

    Many children in contact with child welfare agencies do not receive needed health services. These agencies have used participatory decision making (PDM) practices as a way to increase families' use of recommended services. However, we lack evidence of whether caregiver participation in PDM increases children's use of health services. This study uses a national sample of children involved with child welfare to compare their health service use between those children serve through a PDM practice and those who did not experience it. Cross-sectional analyses using the 2009-2010 National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Propensity score analysis accounted for observed selection bias. PDM practice was measured as whether the caregiver was included in decision-making during service planning meetings. Health service use was measured as child's receipt of any primary or mental health care services in the past year. Primary health care need was measured using standardized measures and caseworker report. The sample was comprised of children ages 2-17 with primary or mental health needs in contact with a child welfare agency. In the unmatched sample of 1,358 children, 14% were served through a PDM service practice, and 12% had a primary health care and 37% a mental health need. Families served through PDM were also reported by caseworkers as more cooperative during the child welfare investigation, and with fewer reports of domestic violence and agency re-referrals (P < 0.05). Analyses using matched samples showed that for primary health care, 59% of PDM children received services compared with 40% for non-PDM children (P = 0.004). Group differences were not significant for mental health services. Lower-risk families were more likely to be served through PDM which was positively associated with child use of primary health services. Inclusion of caregivers in decision making may not be sufficient to overcome barriers to children's mental health service use.

  16. User Driven Data Mining, Visualization and Decision Making for NOAA Observing System and Data Investments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Austin, M.

    2016-12-01

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) observing system enterprise represents a $2.4B annual investment. Earth observations from these systems are foundational to NOAA's mission to describe, understand, and predict the Earth's environment. NOAA's decision makers are charged with managing this complex portfolio of observing systems to serve the national interest effectively and efficiently. The Technology Planning & Integration for Observation (TPIO) Office currently maintains an observing system portfolio for NOAA's validated user observation requirements, observing capabilities, and resulting data products and services. TPIO performs data analytics to provide NOAA leadership business case recommendations for making sound budgetary decisions. Over the last year, TPIO has moved from massive spreadsheets to intuitive dashboards that enable Federal agencies as well as the general public the ability to explore user observation requirements and environmental observing systems that monitor and predict changes in the environment. This change has led to an organizational data management shift to analytics and visualizations by allowing analysts more time to focus on understanding the data, discovering insights, and effectively communicating the information to decision makers. Moving forward, the next step is to facilitate a cultural change toward self-serve data sharing across NOAA, other Federal agencies, and the public using intuitive data visualizations that answer relevant business questions for users of NOAA's Observing System Enterprise. Users and producers of environmental data will become aware of the need for enhancing communication to simplify information exchange to achieve multipurpose goals across a variety of disciplines. NOAA cannot achieve its goal of producing environmental intelligence without data that can be shared by multiple user communities. This presentation will describe where we are on this journey and will provide examples of

  17. Institutional change and political decision-making in the creation of the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency.

    PubMed

    Piovesan, Márcia Franke; Labra, Maria Eliana

    2007-06-01

    This article examines the decision-making process that led to the creation of the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) in 1999. The authors begin by discussing the history of the Agency's predecessor, the Health Surveillance Secretariat, and the need for its modernization to adjust the quality of the products under its control to domestic and international demands. From the theoretical perspective of neo-institutionalism, the article goes on to analyze the social and political context surrounding the debate on the proposed alternatives to adjust Health Surveillance to new rules in line with such requirements, focusing especially on the formulation of the new policy, the decision-making arena, and the actors with specific interests in the sector. The research drew on extensive documentary and media material, plus interviews with key actors. The article concludes that a determinant factor for the creation of ANVISA was the favorable domestic political context, fostering a positive correlation of forces that (in an extremely short timeframe, 1998-1999) allowed the creation of the first regulatory agency in the social policies area in Brazil.

  18. Modelling Agency in HIV Treatment Decision-Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Alison

    2005-01-01

    In applying linguistics to the task of analysing how agentivity is construed through verbal interaction, scholars often equate social agency with grammatical agency, and in particular with the grammar of transitivity. The difficulty I want to address in this paper is that we may miss other important, systematic and contrastive patterning in the…

  19. 5 CFR 230.402 - Agency authority to make emergency-indefinite appointments in a national emergency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Agency authority to make emergency-indefinite appointments in a national emergency. 230.402 Section 230.402 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT FOR PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT...

  20. 5 CFR 230.402 - Agency authority to make emergency-indefinite appointments in a national emergency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agency authority to make emergency-indefinite appointments in a national emergency. 230.402 Section 230.402 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT FOR PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT...

  1. Agency Modulates the Lateral and Medial Prefrontal Cortex Responses in Belief-Based Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Xue, Gui; He, Qinghua; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Levin, Irwin P.; Dong, Qi; Bechara, Antoine

    2013-01-01

    Many real-life decisions in complex and changing environments are guided by the decision maker’s beliefs, such as her perceived control over decision outcomes (i.e., agency), leading to phenomena like the “illusion of control”. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the “agency” effect on belief-based decisions are not well understood. Using functional imaging and a card guessing game, we revealed that the agency manipulation (i.e., either asking the subjects (SG) or the computer (CG) to guess the location of the winning card) not only affected the size of subjects’ bets, but also their “world model” regarding the outcome dependency. Functional imaging results revealed that the decision-related activation in the lateral and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) was significantly modulated by agency and previous outcome. Specifically, these PFC regions showed stronger activation when subjects made decisions after losses than after wins under the CG condition, but the pattern was reversed under the SG condition. Furthermore, subjects with high external attribution of negative events were more affected by agency at the behavioral and neural levels. These results suggest that the prefrontal decision-making system can be modulated by abstract beliefs, and are thus vulnerable to factors such as false agency and attribution. PMID:23762332

  2. Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy, Integration, and the Likelihood of Managerial Retention in Governmental Agencies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Shari

    2009-01-01

    Results based on responses from 679 managers in three governmental agencies confirmed that career-related organizational practices and relationships impacted their staying in the organization. Specifically, managers who scored higher in career decision-making self efficacy, a relatively new variable to the turnover literature, career integration,…

  3. 34 CFR 370.7 - What shall the designated agency do to make its services accessible?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What shall the designated agency do to make its services accessible? 370.7 Section 370.7 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION...

  4. Evidence-informed decision-making by professionals working in addiction agencies serving women: a descriptive qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Jack, Susan M; Dobbins, Maureen; Sword, Wendy; Novotna, Gabriela; Brooks, Sandy; Lipman, Ellen L; Niccols, Alison

    2011-11-07

    Effective approaches to the prevention and treatment of substance abuse among mothers have been developed but not widely implemented. Implementation studies suggest that the adoption of evidence-based practices in the field of addictions remains low. There is a need, therefore, to better understand decision making processes in addiction agencies in order to develop more effective approaches to promote the translation of knowledge gained from addictions research into clinical practice. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore: 1) the types and sources of evidence used to inform practice-related decisions within Canadian addiction agencies serving women; 2) how decision makers at different levels report using research evidence; and 3) factors that influence evidence-informed decision making. A purposeful sample of 26 decision-makers providing addiction treatment services to women completed in-depth qualitative interviews. Interview data were coded and analyzed using directed and summative content analysis strategies as well as constant comparison techniques. Across all groups, individuals reported locating and using multiple types of evidence to inform decisions. Some decision-makers rely on their experiential knowledge of addiction and recovery in decision-making. Research evidence is often used directly in decision-making at program management and senior administrative levels. Information for decision-making is accessed from a range of sources, including web-based resources and experts in the field. Individual and organizational facilitators and barriers to using research evidence in decision making were identified. There is support at administrative levels for integrating EIDM in addiction agencies. Knowledge transfer and exchange strategies should be focussed towards program managers and administrators and include capacity building for locating, appraising and using research evidence, knowledge brokering, and for partnering with universities

  5. Evidence-informed decision-making by professionals working in addiction agencies serving women: a descriptive qualitative study

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Effective approaches to the prevention and treatment of substance abuse among mothers have been developed but not widely implemented. Implementation studies suggest that the adoption of evidence-based practices in the field of addictions remains low. There is a need, therefore, to better understand decision making processes in addiction agencies in order to develop more effective approaches to promote the translation of knowledge gained from addictions research into clinical practice. Methods A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore: 1) the types and sources of evidence used to inform practice-related decisions within Canadian addiction agencies serving women; 2) how decision makers at different levels report using research evidence; and 3) factors that influence evidence-informed decision making. A purposeful sample of 26 decision-makers providing addiction treatment services to women completed in-depth qualitative interviews. Interview data were coded and analyzed using directed and summative content analysis strategies as well as constant comparison techniques. Results Across all groups, individuals reported locating and using multiple types of evidence to inform decisions. Some decision-makers rely on their experiential knowledge of addiction and recovery in decision-making. Research evidence is often used directly in decision-making at program management and senior administrative levels. Information for decision-making is accessed from a range of sources, including web-based resources and experts in the field. Individual and organizational facilitators and barriers to using research evidence in decision making were identified. Conclusions There is support at administrative levels for integrating EIDM in addiction agencies. Knowledge transfer and exchange strategies should be focussed towards program managers and administrators and include capacity building for locating, appraising and using research evidence, knowledge brokering, and

  6. Teachers' Positioning towards an Educational Innovation in the Light of Ownership, Sense-Making and Agency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ketelaar, Evelien; Beijaard, Douwe; Boshuizen, Henny P. A.; Den Brok, Perry J.

    2012-01-01

    The positioning of eleven teachers towards an innovation was studied in the light of ownership, sense-making and agency. Semi-structured and video-stimulated interviews were used for data collection. The findings show that these three concepts are useful for describing similarities and differences between teachers in terms of their positioning…

  7. Agency Decision-Making Control and Employment Outcomes by Vocational Rehabilitation Consumers Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steinman, Bernard A.; Kwan, Ngai; Boeltzig-Brown, Heike; Haines, Kelly; Halliday, John; Foley, Susan M.

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: We hypothesized that consumers who are blind or visually impaired (that is, those who have low vision) who were served by state vocational rehabilitation agencies with decision-making control over administrative functions would experience better vocational rehabilitation outcomes than consumers served by vocational rehabilitation…

  8. Making and Recording Observations: When Done Well, Observations Can Serve as Evidence When Engaging in Science Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arias, Anna Maria; Davis, Elizabeth A.

    2016-01-01

    Making and recording scientific observations is a fundamental activity of the scientific community. Scientists use their senses and tools (e.g., magnifying glasses, rulers, colored pencils) to make records of the phenomena (e.g., light energy, ecosystems) they are investigating. These observations often serve as evidence in the scientific…

  9. Application of the principles of evidence-based practice in decision making among senior management in Nova Scotia's addiction services agencies.

    PubMed

    Murphy, Matthew; MacCarthy, M Jayne; McAllister, Lynda; Gilbert, Robert

    2014-12-05

    Competency profiles for occupational clusters within Canada's substance abuse workforce (SAW) define the need for skill and knowledge in evidence-based practice (EBP) across all its members. Members of the Senior Management occupational cluster hold ultimate responsibility for decisions made within addiction services agencies and therefore must possess the highest level of proficiency in EBP. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of the principles of EBP, and use of the components of the evidence-based decision making (EBDM) process in members of this occupational cluster from selected addiction services agencies in Nova Scotia. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit participants from addiction services agencies. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with eighteen Senior Management. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and checked by the participants. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for themes using content analysis and assisted by qualitative data analysis software (NVivo 9.0). Data analysis revealed four main themes: 1) Senior Management believe that addictions services agencies are evidence-based; 2) Consensus-based decision making is the norm; 3) Senior Management understand the principles of EBP and; 4) Senior Management do not themselves use all components of the EBDM process when making decisions, oftentimes delegating components of this process to decision support staff. Senior Management possess an understanding of the principles of EBP, however, when making decisions they often delegate components of the EBDM process to decision support staff. Decision support staff are not defined as an occupational cluster in Canada's SAW and have not been ascribed a competency profile. As such, there is no guarantee that this group possesses competency in EBDM. There is a need to advocate for the development of a defined occupational cluster and associated competency profile for this

  10. Shared decision-making in pediatric otolaryngology: Parent, physician and observational perspectives.

    PubMed

    Hong, Paul; Maguire, Erin; Gorodzinsky, Ayala Y; Curran, Janet A; Ritchie, Krista; Chorney, Jill

    2016-08-01

    To describe physician and parent behavior during pediatric otolaryngology surgical consultations, and to assess whether perceptions of shared decision-making and observed behavior are related. Parents of 126 children less than 6-years of age who underwent consultation for adeontonsillectomy or tympanostomy tube insertion were prospectively enrolled. Parents completed the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire-Patient version (SDM-Q-9), while surgeons completed the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire-Physician version (SDM-Q-Doc) after the consultation. Visits were video-recorded and analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System to quantify physician and parent involvement during the consultation. Perceptions of shared decision-making between parents (SDM-Q-9) and physicians (SDM-Q-Doc) were significantly positively correlated (p = 0.03). However, there was no correlation between parents' perceptions of shared decision-making and observations of physician and parent behavior/involvement (proportion of physician socioemotional talk, task-focused talk, or proportion of parent talk). Surgeons' perceptions of shared decision-making were correlated with physician task-focused talk and proportion of parent talk. Parents and physicians had similar perceptions of the degree of shared decision-making to be taking place during pediatric otolaryngology consultations. However, there was variability in the degree to which parents participated, and parent perceptions of shared decision-making were not correlated with actual observed involvement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. 24 CFR 2003.7 - Authority to make law enforcement-related requests for records maintained by other agencies.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Authority to make law enforcement-related requests for records maintained by other agencies. 2003.7 Section 2003.7 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban Development (Continued) OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT...

  12. The Language of Adult Immigrants: Agency in the Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Elizabeth R.

    2014-01-01

    This book is the first to explore the constitution of language learner agency by drawing on performativity theory, an approach that remains on the periphery of second language research. Though many scholars have drawn on poststructuralism to theorize learner identity in non-essentialist terms, most have treated agency as an essential feature that…

  13. Changes in student teachers' agency beliefs during a teacher education year, and relationships with observed classroom quality, and day-to-day experiences.

    PubMed

    Malmberg, Lars-Erik; Hagger, Hazel

    2009-12-01

    Conceptualizations of teachers' agency beliefs converge around domains of support and instruction. We investigated changes in student teachers' agency beliefs during a 1 year teacher education course, and related these to observed classroom quality and day-to-day experiences in partnership schools during the practicum. Out of a sample of 66 student teachers who had responded to at least two out of four times to a questionnaire (18 men 48 women; mean age 26.4 years), 30 were observed during teaching, and 20 completed a 4-day short form diary. Confirmatory factor analysis validated two agency belief constructs. Multi-level models for change investigated individual differences in change over time. Multi-level path models related observation and diary responses to agency beliefs. Supportive agency belief was high and stable across time. Instructional agency belief increased over time, suggesting a beneficial effect of teacher education. This increase was predicted by observed classroom quality (emotional support and student engagement) and daily positive affect and agency beliefs. Teacher education is successful in creating a context in which student teachers' supportive agency beliefs can be maintained and instructional agency beliefs can increase during the course.

  14. 34 CFR 222.70 - How does the Secretary determine whether a fiscally dependent local educational agency is making...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How does the Secretary determine whether a fiscally dependent local educational agency is making a reasonable tax effort? 222.70 Section 222.70 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION...

  15. Science informed water resources decision-making: Examples using remote sensing observations in East Africa, the Lower Mekong Basin and the western United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Granger, S. L.; Andreadis, K.; Das, N.; Farr, T. G.; Ines, A. V. M.; Jayasinghe, S.; Jones, C. E.; Melton, F. S.; Ndungu, L. W.; Lai-Norling, J.; Painter, T. H.

    2017-12-01

    Across the globe, planners and decision makers are often hampered by organizational and data silos and/or a lack of historic data or scant in situ observations on which to base policy and action plans. The end result is a complex interaction of responsibilities, legal frameworks, and stakeholder needs guided by uncertain information that is essentially bounded by how climate extremes are defined and characterized. Because of the importance of water, considerable resources in the developing and developed world are invested in data and tools for managing water. However, the existing paradigm of water management around the world faces significant challenges including inadequate funding to install, maintain or upgrade monitoring networks, lack of resources to integrate new science and data sources into existing tools, and demands for improved spatial coverage of observations. Add to this, a changing hydrology that is so complex it requires measurements and analyses that have never been done before. Interest in applying remote sensing science and observations into the decision making process is growing the world over, but in order to succeed, it is essential to form partnerships with stakeholder organizations and decision makers at the outset. In this talk, we describe examples of succesful decision-maker and science partnering based on projects that apply remote sensing science and observations in East Africa and the Lower Mekong Basin supported by the SERVIR Initiative, a joint United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program, and projects in the western United States supported by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Western Water Applications Office (WWAO). All of these examples have benefitted from strong, committed partnerships with end user agencies. Best practices and lessons learned in connecting science to decision making amongst these examples are explored.

  16. Challenges to decision-making processes in the national HTA agency in Brazil: operational procedures, evidence use and recommendations.

    PubMed

    Yuba, Tania Yuka; Novaes, Hillegonda Maria Dutilh; de Soárez, Patrícia Coelho

    2018-05-11

    The quality of the evidence used in health technology assessment (HTA) agency reports has been considered essential for decision-making processes and their legitimacy. In Brazil, CONITEC is the agency responsible for defining data mandatory for the submission of proposals for the incorporation of new technologies. The objective of this study was to analyse CONITEC recommendation reports, the type of scientific evidence used in them and their compliance with operational procedures. This is a descriptive study based on CONITEC official reports from July 2012 through December 2016. Data were collected with a specific extraction form and analysed using descriptive statistics. We evaluated 199 CONITEC recommendation reports. The annual number of reports increased during the study period. The absolute annual number of new technologies incorporated in 2013 (n = 24) was similar to that observed for 2014 (n = 24) and 2015 (n = 22), decreasing in 2016 (n = 13). The type of technology most frequently evaluated was 'drugs' (68.3%), followed by 'procedures' (20.1%). Overall, 117 (58.8%) reports were internal demands, 75 (37.7%) were external demands and 7 (3.5%) were mixed demands. There were differences between internal and external demands in terms of the evidence used in the reports and the decision regarding the recommendation to incorporate the technologies. Among the internal demands, the recommendation to incorporate the new technology was made for 70.9% of the reports, only 9.6% of which included full HTAs. Among the external demands, the incorporation of the new technology was recommended for 17.3% of the reports, 76.9% of which included full HTAs. Of the 101 reports in which incorporation of the new technology was recommended, 88 (87.1%) did not include a full health economic evaluation and ICER calculation. There are compliance difficulties with the recommendations in the CONITEC internal regulations regarding the type and quality of evidence

  17. Implementing the National Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS): from the federal agency perspective

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bassett, R.; Beard, R.; Burnett, W.; Crout, R.; Griffith, B.; Jensen, R.; Signell, R.

    2010-01-01

    The national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS??) is responsible for coordinating a network of people, resources, and technology to disseminate continuous data, information, models, products, and services made throughout our coastal waters, Great Lakes, and the oceans. There are many components of the IOOS-including government, academic, and private entities. This article will focus on some of the federal contributions to IOOS and describe the capabilities of several agency partners.

  18. A survey tool for measuring evidence-based decision making capacity in public health agencies.

    PubMed

    Jacobs, Julie A; Clayton, Paula F; Dove, Cassandra; Funchess, Tanya; Jones, Ellen; Perveen, Ghazala; Skidmore, Brandon; Sutton, Victor; Worthington, Sarah; Baker, Elizabeth A; Deshpande, Anjali D; Brownson, Ross C

    2012-03-09

    While increasing attention is placed on using evidence-based decision making (EBDM) to improve public health, there is little research assessing the current EBDM capacity of the public health workforce. Public health agencies serve a wide range of populations with varying levels of resources. Our survey tool allows an individual agency to collect data that reflects its unique workforce. Health department leaders and academic researchers collaboratively developed and conducted cross-sectional surveys in Kansas and Mississippi (USA) to assess EBDM capacity. Surveys were delivered to state- and local-level practitioners and community partners working in chronic disease control and prevention. The core component of the surveys was adopted from a previously tested instrument and measured gaps (importance versus availability) in competencies for EBDM in chronic disease. Other survey questions addressed expectations and incentives for using EBDM, self-efficacy in three EBDM skills, and estimates of EBDM within the agency. In both states, participants identified communication with policymakers, use of economic evaluation, and translation of research to practice as top competency gaps. Self-efficacy in developing evidence-based chronic disease control programs was lower than in finding or using data. Public health practitioners estimated that approximately two-thirds of programs in their agency were evidence-based. Mississippi participants indicated that health department leaders' expectations for the use of EBDM was approximately twice that of co-workers' expectations and that the use of EBDM could be increased with training and leadership prioritization. The assessment of EBDM capacity in Kansas and Mississippi built upon previous nationwide findings to identify top gaps in core competencies for EBDM in chronic disease and to estimate a percentage of programs in U.S. health departments that are evidence-based. The survey can serve as a valuable tool for other health

  19. Decision-making in multiple sclerosis consultations in Italy: third observer and patient assessments.

    PubMed

    Pietrolongo, Erika; Giordano, Andrea; Kleinefeld, Monica; Confalonieri, Paolo; Lugaresi, Alessandra; Tortorella, Carla; Pugliatti, Maura; Radice, Davide; Goss, Claudia; Heesen, Christoph; Solari, Alessandra

    2013-01-01

    To assess decision-making in multiple sclerosis (MS) from third observer and patient perspectives. Audio recordings of first-ever consultations with a participating physician (88 outpatients, 10 physicians) at four tertiary MS care clinics in Italy, were rated by a third observer using the Observing Patient Involvement in Shared Decision Making (OPTION) and by patients using the Perceived Involvement in Care Scale (PICS). Mean patient age was 37.5, 66% were women, 72% had MS, and 28% had possible MS or other disease. Mean PICS subscale scores (range 0 poor, 100 best possible) were 71.9 (SD 24.3) for "physician facilitation" (PICS-F); 74.6 (SD 22.9) for "patient information exchange" (PICS-I); and only 22.5 (SD 16.2) for "patient decision making" (PICS-DM). Mean OPTION total score (0 poor, 100 best possible) was 29.6 (SD 10.3). Poorest OPTION scores were found for items assessing "preferred patient approach to receiving information" and "preferred patient level of involvement." Highest scores were for "clinician drawing attention to identified problem", "indicating need for decision making," and "need to review the decision." Consultation time, woman physician, patient-physician gender concordance and PICS-F were associated with higher OPTION total score; older physician and second opinion consultation were associated with lower OPTION score. In line with findings in other settings, our third observer findings indicated limited patient involvement abilities of MS physicians during first consultations. Patient perceptions of physician skills were better than third observers', although they correlated. Consultations with women physicians, and younger physicians, were associated with higher third observer and patient-based scores. Our findings reveal a need to empower Italian MS physicians with better communication and shared decision-making skills, and show in particular that attention to MS patient preferences for reception of information and involvement in health

  20. Assessing decision making and dispute resolution in environmental policy: Regulatory negotiations at the Environmental Protection Agency

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lyons, E.A.

    This dissertation is an evaluation of the use of negotiations in the rule-making context at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The goal is to assess the benefits and the limitations of negotiation as a policy process, and to make explicit the values which are expected from a negotiation process as well as the conditions which must be met in order for those values to be realized. Three distinct values are expected of negotiation processes: (1) negotiation is promoted as an efficient process that can save time and money in public decision making by avoiding protracted and expensive legal actions;more » (2) it is expected that a negotiation process which provides a mechanism for reaching accommodation among all competing perspectives can yield good policy outcomes; face-to-face interactions among parties with competing interests should provide opportunities for building better relationships among individuals and also for building community. The usefulness of negotiation as a policy tool is limited by the fact that negotiation is only appropriate in a few select cases in which the issues are mature and the parties affected by the issues are prepared for negotiation.« less

  1. Using the Alaska Ocean Observing System to Inform Decision Making for Coastal Resiliency Relating to Inundation, Ocean Acidification, Harmful Algal Blooms, Navigation Safety and Impacts of Vessel Traffic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCammon, M.

    2017-12-01

    State and federal agencies, coastal communities and Alaska Native residents, and non-governmental organizations are increasingly turning to the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) as a major source of ocean and coastal data and information products to inform decision making relating to a changing Arctic. AOOS implements its mission to provide ocean observing data and information to meet stakeholder needs by ensuring that all programs are "science based, stakeholder driven and policy neutral." Priority goals are to increase access to existing coastal and ocean data; package information and data in useful ways to meet stakeholder needs; and increase observing and forecasting capacity in all regions of the state. Recently certified by NOAA, the AOOS Data Assembly Center houses the largest collection of real-time ocean and coastal data, environmental models, and biological data in Alaska, and develops tools and applications to make it more publicly accessible and useful. Given the paucity of observations in the Alaska Arctic, the challenge is how to make decisions with little data compared to other areas of the U.S. coastline. AOOS addresses this issue by: integrating and visualizing existing data; developing data and information products and tools to make data more useful; serving as a convener role in areas such as coastal inundation and flooding, impacts of warming temperatures on food security, ocean acidification, observing technologies and capacity; and facilitating planning efforts to increase observations. In this presentation, I will give examples of each of these efforts, lessons learned, and suggestions for future actions.

  2. Symposium on Integrating the Science of Environmental Justice into Decision-Making at the Environmental Protection Agency: An Overview

    PubMed Central

    Payne-Sturges, Devon; Garcia, Lisa; Lee, Charles; Zenick, Hal; Grevatt, Peter; Sanders, William H.; Case, Heather; Dankwa-Mullan, Irene

    2011-01-01

    In March 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collaborated with government and nongovernmental organizations to host a groundbreaking symposium, “Strengthening Environmental Justice Research and Decision Making: A Symposium on the Science of Disproportionate Environmental Health Impacts.” The symposium provided a forum for discourse on the state of scientific knowledge about factors identified by EPA that may contribute to higher burdens of environmental exposure or risk in racial/ethnic minorities and low-income populations. Also featured were discussions on how environmental justice considerations may be integrated into EPA's analytical and decision-making frameworks and on research needs for advancing the integration of environmental justice into environmental policymaking. We summarize key discussions and conclusions from the symposium and briefly introduce the articles in this issue. PMID:22028456

  3. Enhancing access and usage of earth observations to support environmental decision making in Eastern and Southern Africa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shukla, S.; Husak, G. J.; Macharia, D.; Peterson, P.; Landsfeld, M. F.; Funk, C.; Flores, A.

    2017-12-01

    Remote sensing, reanalysis and model based earth observations (EOs) are crucial for environmental decision making, particularly in a region like Eastern and Southern Africa, where ground-based observations are sparse. NASA and the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) provide several EOs relevant for monitoring, providing early warning of agroclimatic conditions. Nonetheless, real-time application of those EOs for decision making in the region is still limited. This presentation reports on an ongoing SERVIR-supported Applied Science Team (AST) project that aims to fill that gap by working in close collaboration with Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), the NASA SERVIR regional hub. The three main avenues being taken to enhance access and usage of EOs in the region are: (1) Transition and implementation of web-based tools to RCMRD to allow easy processing and visualization of EOs (2) Capacity building of personnel from regional and national agroclimate service agencies in using EOs, through training using targeted case studies, and (3) Development of new datasets to meet the specific needs of RCMRD and regional stakeholders. The presentation will report on the initial success, lessons learned, and feedback thus far in this project regarding the implementation of web-based tool and capacity building efforts. It will also briefly describe three new datasets, currently in development, to improve agroclimate monitoring in the region, which are: (1) Satellite infrared and stations based temperature maximum dataset (CHIRTS) (2) NASA's GEOS5 and NCEP's CFSv2 based seasonal scale reference evapotranspiration forecasts and (3) NCEP's GEFS based medium range weather forecasts which are bias-corrected to USGS and UCSB's rainfall monitoring dataset (CHIRPS).

  4. Modeling Hospital Discharge and Placement Decision Making: Whither the Elderly.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, William F.; Pelham, Anabel O.

    This paper examines the hospital discharge decision making process for elderly patients, based on observations of the operations of a long term care agency, the California Multipurpose Senior Services Project. The analysis is divided into four components: actors, factors, processes, and strategy critique. The first section discusses the major…

  5. Agency on the move: revisioning the route to social change.

    PubMed

    Frazier, Kathryn E

    2013-09-01

    Throughout the course of everyday life individuals enter into interactions in which an intricate relationship between agency and subordination can be observed: they sometimes act agentively and at other times-via discursive and/or interpersonal processes-their agency is reduced to objectness. Thus, theoretically we can think of constant dynamics of transfer of agency. It is argued that the transfer of agency between persons (or groups) is a fundamental quality of the societal discourses in which all persons are constituted. This transfer of agency occurs constantly throughout social interaction and at different levels of social functioning as individuals live and make meaning of their experiences. In light of this perspective, it is suggested that social change movements that aim to interrupt the transfer of agency and instead fix agency with one person (or one group of people) are inadequate. Rather, these movements can actually subvert their own agenda by producing problematic tensions in discourse and subjectivity. The self-defense movement, a component of the movement to end violence against women, is presented as a case study. The problematic and tension-filled positions and meanings the movement (re)produces for women are explored as an effect of denying any transfer of agency between women and men around issues of violence and gender oppression.

  6. Making Sense of Student Agency in the Early Grades

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vaughn, Margaret

    2018-01-01

    The development of agency is often described as critically important for all students. Countless school mission statements speak of the need to help young people become independent thinkers, for example. Colleges and universities expect high school graduates to be self-driven learners. And business leaders are forever calling upon K-12 education…

  7. Essential Biodiversity Variables: A framework for communication between the biodiversity community and space agencies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leidner, A. K.; Skidmore, A. K.; Turner, W. W.; Geller, G. N.

    2017-12-01

    The biodiversity community is working towards developing a consensus on a set of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) that can be used to measure and monitor biodiversity change over time. These EBVs will inform research, modeling, policy, and assessment efforts. The synoptic coverage provided by satellite data make remote sensing a particularly important observation tool to inform many EBVs. Biodiversity is a relatively new subject matter for space agencies, and thus the definition, description, and requirements of EBVs with a significant remote sensing component can foster ways for the biodiversity community to clearly and concisely communicate observational needs to space agencies and the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS, the international coordinating body for civilian space agencies). Here, we present an overview of EBVs with a particular emphasis on those for which remote sensing will play a significant role and also report on the results of recent workshops to prioritize and refine EBVs. Our goal is to provide a framework for the biodiversity community to coalesce around a set of observational needs to convey to space agencies. Compared to many physical science disciplines, the biodiversity community represents a wide range of sub-disciplines and organizations (academia, non-governmental organizations, research institutes, national and local natural resource management agencies, etc.), which creates additional challenges when communicating needs to space agencies unfamiliar with the topic. EBVs thus offer a communication pathway that could increase awareness within space agencies of the uses of remote sensing for biodiversity research and applications, which in turn could foster greater use of remote sensing in the broader biodiversity community.

  8. Even Better Next Time: Making Effective Slide Shows for Rural Social Agencies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wallace-Whitaker, Virginia

    Practical, detailed steps for producing a slide/tape show are presented in this paper directed to rural social agencies wishing to communicate more effectively with the communities they serve. The paper begins with background information about advertising in relation to the needs and characteristics of rural social agencies and concludes that a…

  9. The Common Framework for Earth Observation Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gallo, J.; Stryker, T. S.; Sherman, R.

    2016-12-01

    Each year, the Federal government records petabytes of data about our home planet. That massive amount of data in turn provides enormous benefits to society through weather reports, agricultural forecasts, air and water quality warnings, and countless other applications. To maximize the ease of transforming the data into useful information for research and for public services, the U.S. Group on Earth Observations released the first Common Framework for Earth Observation Data in March 2016. The Common Framework recommends practices for Federal agencies to adopt in order to improve the ability of all users to discover, access, and use Federal Earth observations data. The U.S. Government is committed to making data from civil Earth observation assets freely available to all users. Building on the Administration's commitment to promoting open data, open science, and open government, the Common Framework goes beyond removing financial barriers to data access, and attempts to minimize the technical impediments that limit data utility. While Earth observation systems typically collect data for a specific purpose, these data are often also useful in applications unforeseen during development of the systems. Managing and preserving these data with a common approach makes it easier for a wide range of users to find, evaluate, understand, and utilize the data, which in turn leads to the development of a wide range of innovative applications. The Common Framework provides Federal agencies with a recommended set of standards and practices to follow in order to achieve this goal. Federal agencies can follow these best practices as they develop new observing systems or modernize their existing collections of data. This presentation will give a brief on the context and content of the Common Framework, along with future directions for implementation and keeping its recommendations up-to-date with developing technology.

  10. Corporate funding of human services agencies.

    PubMed

    Zippay, A

    1992-05-01

    This article reviews national trends in the organization of corporate giving to human services agencies, examines how corporations make funding decisions, and reports the results of a case study of philanthropic giving among 29 companies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The study found that most corporations use an informal rather than a formal process for making funding decisions, with many firms relying on tradition, social contacts, and intuition to guide allocations. Suggestions that social services administrators can use to enhance development planning at their agencies are provided.

  11. 40 CFR 1506.5 - Agency responsibility.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... of paragraph (a) of this section, shall make its own evaluation of the environmental issues and take... 1506.5 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF NEPA § 1506.5 Agency responsibility. (a) Information. If an agency requires an applicant to submit environmental...

  12. 5 CFR 110.102 - What are Agency responsibilities?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false What are Agency responsibilities? 110.102 Section 110.102 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS POSTING NOTICES OF NEW OPM REGULATIONS § 110.102 What are Agency responsibilities? (a) Agencies will make...

  13. Making connections: Exploring student agency in a science classroom in India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, Ajay

    situated improvised responses to ongoing dialogues that enabled them to survive, negotiate and maneuver their way through their immediate social world. Inside the science classroom, students negotiated their roles as students in a varied, improvised, and contingent manner. Further, whenever the constraints and affordances of the local situation and the resources at their disposal made it feasible, students exercised their social agency to selectively appropriate school science discourse for their own out-of-school purposes. The science teacher did much to encourage this contingent and situated emergence of students' social agency. However, the extant teacher professional and school science discourses allowed him to achieve only limited success in making science more meaningful and relevant to the students. The study reveals that though much has been accomplished to provide universal access to elementary education in India, the science instruction still persists along traditional lines. Thus, the state is still far from providing access to the type of science education it advocates in its national policy documents. The study urges the state to fulfill its constitutional obligations by providing a science education that enables students to not only build a better future for themselves, but also work for peaceful and progressive social change. The study recommends informed bricolage as a goal for teacher education and professional development.

  14. 75 FR 66699 - Farm Loan Programs Loan Making Activities; Correction

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-29

    ... Loan Programs Loan Making Activities; Correction AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA. ACTION: Proposed rule; correction. SUMMARY: This document contains a correction to the proposed rule titled ``Farm Loan Programs Loan Making Activities'' that was published September 23, 2010. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is...

  15. 48 CFR 2933.103 - Protests to the agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... frames in FAR 33.103(e) apply to agency protests. An agency protest is filed when the protest complaint... effect until the protest is decided, dismissed, or withdrawn. (j) The deciding official must make a best... suspension to remain in effect pending the resolution of any GAO proceeding. (n) Proceedings on an agency...

  16. 29 CFR 11.3 - Responsible agency officials.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... considered in the planning of agency actions and in the making of decisions and that the alternatives... advising private applicants, or other non-Federal entities, of the possible need for information...), agency heads will also be responsible for assuring the quality of environmental impact statements...

  17. On Whether People Have the Capacity to Make Observations of Mutually Excl usive Physical Phenomena Simultaneously

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Snyder

    1998-04-01

    It has been shown by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen that in quantum mechanics two different wave functions can simultaneously characterize the same physical existent. This result means that one can make predictions regarding simultaneous, mutually exclusive features of a physical existent. It is important to ask whether people have the capacity to make observations of mutually exclusive phenomena simultaneously? Our everyday experience informs us that a human observer is capable of observing only one set of physical circumstances at a time. Evidence from psychology, though, indicates that people indeed have the capacity to make observations of mutually exclusive phenomena simultaneously, even though this capacity is not generally recognized. Working independently, Sigmund Freud and William James provided some of this evidence. How the nature of the quantum mechanical wave function is associated with the problem posed by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen, is addressed at the end of the paper.

  18. Penumbral lunar eclipse of September 16, 2016: observing with sunglasses to make it popular

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sigismondi, Costantino

    2016-08-01

    The observation of a penumbral lunar eclipse is usually missed for a lack of interest. The real problem is the difficulty to observe it, because the strong luminosity of the full Moon and the eye response is easily saturated, being difficult the detection of the penumbral limit. The solution to use sunglasses, even two or three folded can make this observation very popular;

  19. 5 CFR 831.1307 - Use of consumer reporting agencies.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Use of consumer reporting agencies. 831... REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) RETIREMENT Collection of Debts § 831.1307 Use of consumer reporting agencies. (a... report the debtor to a consumer reporting agency. In addition, a debtor's failure to make subsequent...

  20. 49 CFR 593.8 - Determinations on the agency's initiative.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Determinations on the agency's initiative. 593.8... § 593.8 Determinations on the agency's initiative. (a) The Administrator may make a determination of eligibility on his or her own initiative. The agency publishes in the Federal Register, affording opportunity...

  1. 29 CFR 1640.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 1640.13 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION... § 1640.13 Agency specific memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect...

  2. 29 CFR 1640.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 1640.13 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION... § 1640.13 Agency specific memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect...

  3. 29 CFR 1640.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 1640.13 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION... § 1640.13 Agency specific memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect...

  4. 29 CFR 1640.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 1640.13 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION... § 1640.13 Agency specific memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect...

  5. 5 CFR 831.1307 - Use of consumer reporting agencies.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Use of consumer reporting agencies. 831... REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) RETIREMENT Collection of Debts § 831.1307 Use of consumer reporting agencies. (a... report the debtor to a consumer reporting agency. In addition, a debtor's failure to make subsequent...

  6. 50 CFR 100.13 - Board/agency relationships.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Board/agency relationships. 100.13 Section 100.13 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... Structure § 100.13 Board/agency relationships. (a) General. (1) The Board, in making decisions or...

  7. 50 CFR 100.13 - Board/agency relationships.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Board/agency relationships. 100.13 Section 100.13 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR... Structure § 100.13 Board/agency relationships. (a) General. (1) The Board, in making decisions or...

  8. State Arts Agency Fact Sheet: Support for Arts Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Online Submission, 2015

    2015-01-01

    This national overview of state arts agency grants and services for arts education includes summary statistics and geographic distribution. The fact sheet uses data from Final Descriptive Reports of state arts agency grant-making activities submitted annually to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) and the National Endowment for…

  9. 5 CFR 2638.202 - Responsibilities of agency head.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Section 2638.202 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS GOVERNMENT ETHICS OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS AND EXECUTIVE AGENCY ETHICS PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES Designated Agency Ethics Official... ethics program. He or she shall make available to the ethics program sufficient resources (including...

  10. 5 CFR 2638.202 - Responsibilities of agency head.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... Section 2638.202 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS GOVERNMENT ETHICS OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS AND EXECUTIVE AGENCY ETHICS PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES Designated Agency Ethics Official... ethics program. He or she shall make available to the ethics program sufficient resources (including...

  11. 5 CFR 2638.202 - Responsibilities of agency head.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... Section 2638.202 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS GOVERNMENT ETHICS OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS AND EXECUTIVE AGENCY ETHICS PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES Designated Agency Ethics Official... ethics program. He or she shall make available to the ethics program sufficient resources (including...

  12. 5 CFR 2638.202 - Responsibilities of agency head.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... Section 2638.202 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS GOVERNMENT ETHICS OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS AND EXECUTIVE AGENCY ETHICS PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES Designated Agency Ethics Official... ethics program. He or she shall make available to the ethics program sufficient resources (including...

  13. Metacognition of Agency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Metcalfe, Janet; Greene, Matthew Jason

    2007-01-01

    The feeling that we are agents, intentionally making things happen by our own actions, is foundational to our understanding of ourselves as humans. People's metacognitions of agency were investigated in 4 experiments. Participants played a game in which they tried to touch downward scrolling Xs and avoid touching Os. Variables that affected…

  14. Creating quality improvement culture in public health agencies.

    PubMed

    Davis, Mary V; Mahanna, Elizabeth; Joly, Brenda; Zelek, Michael; Riley, William; Verma, Pooja; Fisher, Jessica Solomon

    2014-01-01

    We conducted case studies of 10 agencies that participated in early quality improvement efforts. The agencies participated in a project conducted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (2007-2008). Case study participants included health directors and quality improvement team leaders and members. We implemented multiple qualitative analysis processes, including cross-case analysis and logic modeling. We categorized agencies according to the extent to which they had developed a quality improvement culture. Agencies were conducting informal quality improvement projects (n = 4), conducting formal quality improvement projects (n = 3), or creating a quality improvement culture (n = 4). Agencies conducting formal quality improvement and creating a quality improvement culture had leadership support for quality improvement, participated in national quality improvement initiatives, had a greater number of staff trained in quality improvement and quality improvement teams that met regularly with decision-making authority. Agencies conducting informal quality improvement were likely to report that accreditation is the major driver for quality improvement work. Agencies creating a quality improvement culture were more likely to have a history of evidence-based decision-making and use quality improvement to address emerging issues. Our findings support previous research and add the roles of national public health accreditation and emerging issues as factors in agencies' ability to create and sustain a quality improvement culture.

  15. 5 CFR 844.202 - Agency-filed disability retirement applications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... other information, that the employee is incapable of making a decision to file an application for...) The agency has issued a decision to remove the employee; (2) The agency concludes, after its review of... procedures. (1) When an agency issues a decision to remove an employee and not all of the conditions...

  16. 7 CFR 3560.260 - Rental subsidies from non-Agency sources.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Section 3560.260 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DIRECT MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING LOANS AND GRANTS Rental Subsidies § 3560... subsidies from sources other than the Agency in Agency financed housing projects. The Agency will make no...

  17. Improved Lower Mekong River Basin Hydrological Decision Making Using NASA Satellite-based Earth Observation Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bolten, J. D.; Mohammed, I. N.; Srinivasan, R.; Lakshmi, V.

    2017-12-01

    Better understanding of the hydrological cycle of the Lower Mekong River Basin (LMRB) and addressing the value-added information of using remote sensing data on the spatial variability of soil moisture over the Mekong Basin is the objective of this work. In this work, we present the development and assessment of the LMRB (drainage area of 495,000 km2) Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The coupled model framework presented is part of SERVIR, a joint capacity building venture between NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development, providing state-of-the-art, satellite-based earth monitoring, imaging and mapping data, geospatial information, predictive models, and science applications to improve environmental decision-making among multiple developing nations. The developed LMRB SWAT model enables the integration of satellite-based daily gridded precipitation, air temperature, digital elevation model, soil texture, and land cover and land use data to drive SWAT model simulations over the Lower Mekong River Basin. The LMRB SWAT model driven by remote sensing climate data was calibrated and verified with observed runoff data at the watershed outlet as well as at multiple sites along the main river course. Another LMRB SWAT model set driven by in-situ climate observations was also calibrated and verified to streamflow data. Simulated soil moisture estimates from the two models were then examined and compared to a downscaled Soil Moisture Active Passive Sensor (SMAP) 36 km radiometer products. Results from this work present a framework for improving SWAT performance by utilizing a downscaled SMAP soil moisture products used for model calibration and validation. Index Terms: 1622: Earth system modeling; 1631: Land/atmosphere interactions; 1800: Hydrology; 1836 Hydrological cycles and budgets; 1840 Hydrometeorology; 1855: Remote sensing; 1866: Soil moisture; 6334: Regional Planning

  18. Making the Case for Using Financial Indicators in Local Public Health Agencies

    PubMed Central

    Suarez, Virginia; Denison, Dwight

    2011-01-01

    The strength of the public health infrastructure determines the ability of local public health agencies to respond to emergencies and provide essential services. Organizational and systems capacity measures and assessments are important components of the public health infrastructure. Hospitals and governments have a long tradition of using financial indicators to assess fiscal and operational activities. We reviewed the literature on how hospitals use financial indicators to monitor financial risk, promote organizational sustainability, and improve organizational capacity. Given that financial indicators have not generally been employed by public health practitioners, we discuss how these measures can be applied to local public health agencies to improve their organizational capacity. PMID:21233438

  19. How Do Teachers Make Sense of Peer Observation Professional Development in an Urban School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dos Santos, Luis Miguel

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the research study is to explore how a peer observation training programme could be beneficial to the professional development of English teachers in an East Asian environment. The research objectives were to improve teaching practice, examine how teachers make sense of the peer observation programme after they have taken part in,…

  20. 28 CFR 37.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect to enter into a memorandum...

  1. 28 CFR 37.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect to enter into a memorandum...

  2. 28 CFR 37.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect to enter into a memorandum...

  3. 28 CFR 37.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect to enter into a memorandum...

  4. 28 CFR 37.13 - Agency specific memoranda of understanding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... memoranda of understanding. When a section 504 agency amends its regulations to make them consistent with title I of the ADA, the EEOC and the individual section 504 agency may elect to enter into a memorandum...

  5. Psychopathy: what apology making tells us about moral agency.

    PubMed

    Ayob, Gloria; Thornton, Tim

    2014-02-01

    Psychopathy is often used to settle disputes about the nature of moral judgment. The "trolley problem" is a familiar scenario in which psychopathy is used as a test case. Where a convergence in response to the trolley problem is registered between psychopathic subjects and non-psychopathic (normal) subjects, it is assumed that this convergence indicates that the capacity for making moral judgments is unimpaired in psychopathy. This, in turn, is taken to have implications for the dispute between motivation internalists and motivation externalists, for instance. In what follows, we want to do two things: firstly, we set out to question the assumption that convergence is informative of the capacity for moral judgment in psychopathy. Next, we consider a distinct feature of psychopathy which we think provides strong grounds for holding that the capacity for moral judgment is seriously impaired in psychopathic subjects. The feature in question is the psychopathic subject's inability to make sincere apologies. Our central claim will be this: convergence in response to trolley problems does not tell us very much about the psychopathic subject's capacity to make moral judgments, but his inability to make sincere apologies does provide us with strong grounds for holding that this capacity is seriously impaired in psychopathy.

  6. Advertising Practitioner's Ethical Decision-Making: The Utilitarian Viewpoint.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Overstreet, Charles William

    A study compared the decision making process of large and small advertising agencies to determine if the size of the agency, in terms of gross annual billing, had any effect on adherence to the rules set forth in the American Association of Advertising's Standards of Practice. Forty agency employees, 20 from agencies with billings less than $2.5…

  7. Creating Quality Improvement Culture in Public Health Agencies

    PubMed Central

    Mahanna, Elizabeth; Joly, Brenda; Zelek, Michael; Riley, William; Verma, Pooja; Fisher, Jessica Solomon

    2014-01-01

    Objectives. We conducted case studies of 10 agencies that participated in early quality improvement efforts. Methods. The agencies participated in a project conducted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (2007–2008). Case study participants included health directors and quality improvement team leaders and members. We implemented multiple qualitative analysis processes, including cross-case analysis and logic modeling. We categorized agencies according to the extent to which they had developed a quality improvement culture. Results. Agencies were conducting informal quality improvement projects (n = 4), conducting formal quality improvement projects (n = 3), or creating a quality improvement culture (n = 4). Agencies conducting formal quality improvement and creating a quality improvement culture had leadership support for quality improvement, participated in national quality improvement initiatives, had a greater number of staff trained in quality improvement and quality improvement teams that met regularly with decision-making authority. Agencies conducting informal quality improvement were likely to report that accreditation is the major driver for quality improvement work. Agencies creating a quality improvement culture were more likely to have a history of evidence-based decision-making and use quality improvement to address emerging issues. Conclusions. Our findings support previous research and add the roles of national public health accreditation and emerging issues as factors in agencies’ ability to create and sustain a quality improvement culture. PMID:24228680

  8. The theory of agency and breastfeeding.

    PubMed

    Ryan, Kath; Team, Victoria; Alexander, Jo

    2017-03-01

    In this paper, we apply psychological agency theory to women's interviews of their breastfeeding experiences to understand the role of agency in relation to breastfeeding initiation, maintenance and duration. Qualitative, video interviews were collected from 49 women in the UK from a wide range of ethnic, religious, educational and employment backgrounds about their breastfeeding experiences. We undertook secondary analysis of the data focusing on their accounts of vulnerability and agency. Women's agency was impacted by a variety of factors including their own vulnerability, knowledge, expectations and experience, the feeding environment and the support of health professionals in sharing decision-making and dealing with uncertainty. Health professionals as co-agents with women are well positioned to maintain, enhance or restore women's sense of agency. Breastfeeding goals should be included in women's birth plans. Training related to agency, continuity of care, and staffing and workload management supported by national breastfeeding policies could improve breastfeeding rates and experiences.

  9. 75 FR 25833 - Information Collection; Guaranteed Loan Making and Servicing

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Farm Service Agency Information Collection; Guaranteed Loan Making and... collection used to administer the Guaranteed Farm Loan Program. DATES: We will consider comments that we...: Director, Loan Making Division, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence...

  10. New Radio Telescope Makes First Scientific Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2001-05-01

    August 2000 and now is being prepared for routine scientific operation. It is operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is the largest fully-steerable telescope in the world. It is a highly advanced telescope with a mechanized reflecting surface and a laser measurement system for continuous adjustments to its structure. The 305-meter (1,000 feet) Arecibo telescope recently has completed a major upgrade funded by the NSF and NASA to improve its observing capabilities, including a more powerful radar transmitter for planetary studies. It is operated by the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) headquartered at Cornell University. Its reflector is fixed to the ground, and is the largest telescope of any type in the world. The radar capability of Arecibo, combined with the large reflectors of Arecibo and Green Bank, make for a uniquely powerful radar imaging capability. Both observatories are facilities of the National Science Foundation. The NRAO is operated for the NSF by Associated Universities, Inc., under a cooperative agreement. NAIC is operated by Cornell University, also under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.

  11. Musical agency reduces perceived exertion during strenuous physical performance

    PubMed Central

    Fritz, Thomas Hans; Hardikar, Samyogita; Demoucron, Matthias; Niessen, Margot; Demey, Michiel; Giot, Olivier; Li, Yongming; Haynes, John-Dylan; Villringer, Arno; Leman, Marc

    2013-01-01

    Music is known to be capable of reducing perceived exertion during strenuous physical activity. The current interpretation of this modulating effect of music is that music may be perceived as a diversion from unpleasant proprioceptive sensations that go along with exhaustion. Here we investigated the effects of music on perceived exertion during a physically strenuous task, varying musical agency, a task that relies on the experience of body proprioception, rather than simply diverting from it. For this we measured psychologically indicated exertion during physical workout with and without musical agency while simultaneously acquiring metabolic values with spirometry. Results showed that musical agency significantly decreased perceived exertion during workout, indicating that musical agency may actually facilitate physically strenuous activities. This indicates that the positive effect of music on perceived exertion cannot always be explained by an effect of diversion from proprioceptive feedback. Furthermore, this finding suggests that the down-modulating effect of musical agency on perceived exertion may be a previously unacknowledged driving force for the development of music in humans: making music makes strenuous physical activities less exhausting. PMID:24127588

  12. Musical agency reduces perceived exertion during strenuous physical performance.

    PubMed

    Fritz, Thomas Hans; Hardikar, Samyogita; Demoucron, Matthias; Niessen, Margot; Demey, Michiel; Giot, Olivier; Li, Yongming; Haynes, John-Dylan; Villringer, Arno; Leman, Marc

    2013-10-29

    Music is known to be capable of reducing perceived exertion during strenuous physical activity. The current interpretation of this modulating effect of music is that music may be perceived as a diversion from unpleasant proprioceptive sensations that go along with exhaustion. Here we investigated the effects of music on perceived exertion during a physically strenuous task, varying musical agency, a task that relies on the experience of body proprioception, rather than simply diverting from it. For this we measured psychologically indicated exertion during physical workout with and without musical agency while simultaneously acquiring metabolic values with spirometry. Results showed that musical agency significantly decreased perceived exertion during workout, indicating that musical agency may actually facilitate physically strenuous activities. This indicates that the positive effect of music on perceived exertion cannot always be explained by an effect of diversion from proprioceptive feedback. Furthermore, this finding suggests that the down-modulating effect of musical agency on perceived exertion may be a previously unacknowledged driving force for the development of music in humans: making music makes strenuous physical activities less exhausting.

  13. Hindsight Bias and Outcome-Consistent Thoughts when Observing and Making Service Provider Decisions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Louie, Therese A.

    2005-01-01

    Two studies examined the relationship between hindsight bias and corresponding open-ended thoughts for decisions in a service provider setting. Perspectives of those observing and making decisions were examined. In study 1, business students who learned the results of a financial advisor's stock purchase showed the traditional hindsight effect…

  14. National Test Facility civilian agency use of supercomputers not feasible

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1994-12-01

    Based on interviews with civilian agencies cited in the House report (DOE, DoEd, HHS, FEMA, NOAA), none would be able to make effective use of NTF`s excess supercomputing capabilities. These agencies stated they could not use the resources primarily because (1) NTF`s supercomputers are older machines whose performance and costs cannot match those of more advanced computers available from other sources and (2) some agencies have not yet developed applications requiring supercomputer capabilities or do not have funding to support such activities. In addition, future support for the hardware and software at NTF is uncertain, making any investment by anmore » outside user risky.« less

  15. Assessing Self-Awareness through Gaze Agency

    PubMed Central

    Crespi, Sofia Allegra; de’Sperati, Claudio

    2016-01-01

    We define gaze agency as the awareness of the causal effect of one’s own eye movements in gaze-contingent environments, which might soon become a widespread reality with the diffusion of gaze-operated devices. Here we propose a method for measuring gaze agency based on self-monitoring propensity and sensitivity. In one task, naïf observers watched bouncing balls on a computer monitor with the goal of discovering the cause of concurrently presented beeps, which were generated in real-time by their saccades or by other events (Discovery Task). We manipulated observers’ self-awareness by pre-exposing them to a condition in which beeps depended on gaze direction or by focusing their attention to their own eyes. These manipulations increased propensity to agency discovery. In a second task, which served to monitor agency sensitivity at the sensori-motor level, observers were explicitly asked to detect gaze agency (Detection Task). Both tasks turned out to be well suited to measure both increases and decreases of gaze agency. We did not find evident oculomotor correlates of agency discovery or detection. A strength of our approach is that it probes self-monitoring propensity–difficult to evaluate with traditional tasks based on bodily agency. In addition to putting a lens on this novel cognitive function, measuring gaze agency could reveal subtle self-awareness deficits in pathological conditions and during development. PMID:27812138

  16. 45 CFR 1321.53 - Mission of the area agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... that the area agency shall proactively carry out, under the leadership and direction of the State...) Involve collaborative decision-making among public, private, voluntary, religious and fraternal.... The area agency on aging shall work with, or work to assure that community leadership works with...

  17. 45 CFR 1321.53 - Mission of the area agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... that the area agency shall proactively carry out, under the leadership and direction of the State...) Involve collaborative decision-making among public, private, voluntary, religious and fraternal.... The area agency on aging shall work with, or work to assure that community leadership works with...

  18. What makes us conscious of our own agency? And why the conscious versus unconscious representation distinction matters.

    PubMed

    Carruthers, Glenn

    2014-01-01

    Existing accounts of the sense of agency tend to focus on the proximal causal history of the feeling. That is, they explain the sense of agency by describing the cognitive mechanism that causes the sense of agency to be elicited. However, it is possible to elicit an unconscious representation of one's own agency that plays a different role in a cognitive system. I use the "occasionality problem" to suggest that taking this distinction seriously has potential theoretical pay-offs for this reason. We are faced, then, with a need to distinguish instances of the representation of one's own agency in which the subject is aware of their sense of own agency from instances in which they are not. This corresponds to a specific instance of what Dennett calls the "Hard Question": once the representation is elicited, then what happens? In other words, how is a representation of one's own agency used in a cognitive system when the subject is aware of it? How is this different from when the representation of own agency remains unconscious? This phrasing suggests a Functionalist answer to the Hard Question. I consider two single function hypotheses. First, perhaps the representation of own agency enters into the mechanisms of attention. This seems unlikely as, in general, attention is insufficient for awareness. Second, perhaps, a subject is aware of their sense of agency when it is available for verbal report. However, this seems inconsistent with evidence of a sense of agency in the great apes. Although these two single function views seem like dead ends, multifunction hypotheses such as the global workspace theory remain live options which we should consider. I close by considering a non-functionalist answer to the Hard Question: perhaps it is not a difference in the use to which the representation is put, but a difference in the nature of the representation itself. When it comes to the sense of agency, the Hard Question remains, but there are alternatives open to us.

  19. What makes us conscious of our own agency? And why the conscious versus unconscious representation distinction matters

    PubMed Central

    Carruthers, Glenn

    2014-01-01

    Existing accounts of the sense of agency tend to focus on the proximal causal history of the feeling. That is, they explain the sense of agency by describing the cognitive mechanism that causes the sense of agency to be elicited. However, it is possible to elicit an unconscious representation of one’s own agency that plays a different role in a cognitive system. I use the “occasionality problem” to suggest that taking this distinction seriously has potential theoretical pay-offs for this reason. We are faced, then, with a need to distinguish instances of the representation of one’s own agency in which the subject is aware of their sense of own agency from instances in which they are not. This corresponds to a specific instance of what Dennett calls the “Hard Question”: once the representation is elicited, then what happens? In other words, how is a representation of one’s own agency used in a cognitive system when the subject is aware of it? How is this different from when the representation of own agency remains unconscious? This phrasing suggests a Functionalist answer to the Hard Question. I consider two single function hypotheses. First, perhaps the representation of own agency enters into the mechanisms of attention. This seems unlikely as, in general, attention is insufficient for awareness. Second, perhaps, a subject is aware of their sense of agency when it is available for verbal report. However, this seems inconsistent with evidence of a sense of agency in the great apes. Although these two single function views seem like dead ends, multifunction hypotheses such as the global workspace theory remain live options which we should consider. I close by considering a non-functionalist answer to the Hard Question: perhaps it is not a difference in the use to which the representation is put, but a difference in the nature of the representation itself. When it comes to the sense of agency, the Hard Question remains, but there are alternatives open

  20. Understanding USGS user needs and Earth observing data use for decision making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Z.

    2016-12-01

    US Geological Survey (USGS) initiated the Requirements, Capabilities and Analysis for Earth Observations (RCA-EO) project in the Land Remote Sensing (LRS) program, collaborating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to jointly develop the supporting information infrastructure - The Earth Observation Requirements Evaluation Systems (EORES). RCA-EO enables us to collect information on current data products and projects across the USGS and evaluate the impacts of Earth observation data from all sources, including spaceborne, airborne, and ground-based platforms. EORES allows users to query, filter, and analyze usage and impacts of Earth observation data at different organizational level within the bureau. We engaged over 500 subject matter experts and evaluated more than 1000 different Earth observing data sources and products. RCA-EO provides a comprehensive way to evaluate impacts of Earth observing data on USGS mission areas and programs through the survey of 345 key USGS products and services. We paid special attention to user feedback about Earth observing data to inform decision making on improving user satisfaction. We believe the approach and philosophy of RCA-EO can be applied in much broader scope to derive comprehensive knowledge of Earth observing systems impacts and usage and inform data products development and remote sensing technology innovation.

  1. Federal Agency Scientific Integrity Policies and the Legal Landscape

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kurtz, L.

    2017-12-01

    Federal agencies have worked to develop scientific integrity policies to promote the use of scientific and technical information in policymaking, reduce special-interest influences, and increase transparency. Following recent allegations of agency misconduct, these policies are now more important than ever. In addition to setting standards, scientific integrity policies also provide avenues for whistleblowers to complain about perceived violations. While these policies have their shortcomings (which may differ by agency), they are also one of the better available options for upholding principles of scientific integrity within the federal government. A legal perspective will be offered on what sorts of issues might rise to the threshold to make an official complaint, and the process of actually making a complaint. Other legal avenues for complaining about scientific integrity violations will also be discussed, such as complaints filed with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel or an agency's Office of Inspector General, and bringing the matter to federal court.

  2. Affective coding: the emotional dimension of agency

    PubMed Central

    Gentsch, Antje; Synofzik, Matthis

    2014-01-01

    The sense of agency (SoA) (i.e., the registration that I am the initiator and controller of my actions and relevant events) is associated with several affective dimensions. This makes it surprising that the emotion factor has been largely neglected in the field of agency research. Current empirical investigations of the SoA mainly focus on sensorimotor signals (i.e., efference copy) and cognitive cues (i.e., intentions, beliefs) and on how they are integrated. Here we argue that this picture is not sufficient to explain agency experience, since agency and emotions constantly interact in our daily life by several ways. Reviewing first recent empirical evidence, we show that self-action perception is in fact modulated by the affective valence of outcomes already at the sensorimotor level. We hypothesize that the “affective coding” between agency and action outcomes plays an essential role in agency processing, i.e., the prospective, immediate or retrospective shaping of agency representations by affective components. This affective coding of agency be differentially altered in various neuropsychiatric diseases (e.g., schizophrenia vs. depression), thus helping to explain the dysfunctions and content of agency experiences in these diseases. PMID:25161616

  3. 76 FR 39151 - Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration [FTA Docket No. FTA-2011-0038 ] Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT. ACTION: Notice... authorities for financing mass transportation projects. Grant recipients are required to make information...

  4. Predictive Analytics for City Agencies: Lessons from Children's Services.

    PubMed

    Shroff, Ravi

    2017-09-01

    Many municipal agencies maintain detailed and comprehensive electronic records of their interactions with citizens. These data, in combination with machine learning and statistical techniques, offer the promise of better decision making, and more efficient and equitable service delivery. However, a data scientist employed by an agency to implement these techniques faces numerous and varied choices that cumulatively can have significant real-world consequences. The data scientist, who may be the only person at an agency equipped to understand the technical complexity of a predictive algorithm, therefore, bears a good deal of responsibility in making judgments. In this perspective, I use a concrete example from my experience of working with New York City's Administration for Children's Services to illustrate the social and technical tradeoffs that can result from choices made in each step of data analysis. Three themes underlie these tradeoffs: the importance of frequent communication between the data scientist, agency leadership, and domain experts; the agency's resources and organizational constraints; and the necessity of an ethical framework to evaluate salient costs and benefits. These themes inform specific recommendations that I provide to guide agencies that employ data scientists and rely on their work in designing, testing, and implementing predictive algorithms.

  5. Dying well with reduced agency: a scoping review and thematic synthesis of the decision-making process in dementia, traumatic brain injury and frailty.

    PubMed

    Birchley, Giles; Jones, Kerry; Huxtable, Richard; Dixon, Jeremy; Kitzinger, Jenny; Clare, Linda

    2016-07-27

    In most Anglophone nations, policy and law increasingly foster an autonomy-based model, raising issues for large numbers of people who fail to fit the paradigm, and indicating problems in translating practical and theoretical understandings of 'good death' to policy. Three exemplar populations are frail older people, people with dementia and people with severe traumatic brain injury. We hypothesise that these groups face some over-lapping challenges in securing good end-of-life care linked to their limited agency. To better understand these challenges, we conducted a scoping review and thematic synthesis. To capture a range of literature, we followed established scoping review methods. We then used thematic synthesis to describe the broad themes emerging from this literature. Initial searches generated 22,375 references, and screening yielded 49, highly heterogeneous, studies that met inclusion criteria, encompassing 12 countries and a variety of settings. The thematic synthesis identified three themes: the first concerned the processes of end-of-life decision-making, highlighting the ambiguity of the dominant shared decision-making process, wherein decisions are determined by families or doctors, sometimes explicitly marginalising the antecedent decisions of patients. Despite this marginalisation, however, the patient does play a role both as a social presence and as an active agent, by whose actions the decisions of those with authority are influenced. The second theme examined the tension between predominant notions of a good death as 'natural' and the drive to medicalise death through the lens of the experiences and actions of those faced with the actuality of death. The final theme considered the concept of antecedent end-of-life decision-making (in all its forms), its influence on policy and decision-making, and some caveats that arise from the studies. Together these three themes indicate a number of directions for future research, which are likely to be

  6. Observations to support adaptation: Principles, scales and decision-making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pulwarty, R. S.

    2012-12-01

    As has been long noted, a comprehensive, coordinated observing system is the backbone of any Earth information system. Demands are increasingly placed on earth observation and prediction systems and attendant services to address the needs of economically and environmentally vulnerable sectors and investments, including energy, water, human health, transportation, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, biodiversity, and national security. Climate services include building capacity to interpret information and recognize standards and limitations of data in the promotion of social and economic development in a changing climate. This includes improving the understanding of climate in the context of a variety of temporal and spatial scales (including the influence of decadal scale forcings and land surface feedbacks on seasonal forecast reliability). Climate data and information are central for developing decision options that are sensitive to climate-related uncertainties and the design of flexible adaptation pathways. Ideally monitoring should be action oriented to support climate risk assessment and adaptation including informing robust decision making to multiple risks over the long term. Based on the experience of global observations programs and empirical research we outline- Challenges in developing effective monitoring and climate information systems to support adaptation. The types of observations of critical importance needed for sector planning to enhance food, water and energy security, and to improve early warning for disaster risk reduction Observations needed for ecosystem-based adaptation including the identification of thresholds, maintenance of biological diversity and land degradation The benefits and limits of linking regional model output to local observations including analogs and verification for adaptation planning To support these goals a robust systems of integrated observations are needed to characterize the uncertainty surrounding emergent risks

  7. Local public health agency funding: money begets money.

    PubMed

    Bernet, Patrick Michael

    2007-01-01

    Local public health agencies are funded federal, state, and local revenue sources. There is a common belief that increases from one source will be offset by decreases in others, as when a local agency might decide it must increase taxes in response to lowered federal or state funding. This study tests this belief through a cross-sectional study using data from Missouri local public health agencies, and finds, instead, that money begets money. Local agencies that receive more from federal and state sources also raise more at the local level. Given the particular effectiveness of local funding in improving agency performance, these findings that nonlocal revenues are amplified at the local level, help make the case for higher public health funding from federal and state levels.

  8. Untapped Potential of Observational Research to Inform Clinical Decision Making: American Society of Clinical Oncology Research Statement.

    PubMed

    Visvanathan, Kala; Levit, Laura A; Raghavan, Derek; Hudis, Clifford A; Wong, Sandra; Dueck, Amylou; Lyman, Gary H

    2017-06-01

    ASCO believes that high-quality observational studies can advance evidence-based practice for cancer care and are complementary to randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Observational studies can generate hypotheses by evaluating novel exposures or biomarkers and by revealing patterns of care and relationships that might not otherwise be discovered. Researchers can then test these hypotheses in RCTs. Observational studies can also answer or inform questions that either have not been or cannot be answered by RCTs. In addition, observational studies can be used for postmarketing surveillance of new cancer treatments, particularly in vulnerable populations. The incorporation of observational research as part of clinical decision making is consistent with the position of many leading institutions. ASCO identified five overarching recommendations to enhance the role of observational research in clinical decision making: (1) improve the quality of electronic health data available for research, (2) improve interoperability and the exchange of electronic health information, (3) ensure the use of rigorous observational research methodologies, (4) promote transparent reporting of observational research studies, and (5) protect patient privacy.

  9. 44 CFR 9.6 - Decision-making process.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Decision-making process. 9.6... HOMELAND SECURITY GENERAL FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION OF WETLANDS § 9.6 Decision-making process... protection decision-making process to be followed by the Agency in applying the Orders to its actions. While...

  10. Ethnic bias and clinical decision-making among New Zealand medical students: an observational study.

    PubMed

    Harris, Ricci; Cormack, Donna; Stanley, James; Curtis, Elana; Jones, Rhys; Lacey, Cameron

    2018-01-23

    Health professional racial/ethnic bias may impact on clinical decision-making and contribute to subsequent ethnic health inequities. However, limited research has been undertaken among medical students. This paper presents findings from the Bias and Decision-Making in Medicine (BDMM) study, which sought to examine ethnic bias (Māori (indigenous peoples) compared with New Zealand European) among medical students and associations with clinical decision-making. All final year New Zealand (NZ) medical students in 2014 and 2015 (n = 888) were invited to participate in a cross-sectional online study. Key components included: two chronic disease vignettes (cardiovascular disease (CVD) and depression) with randomized patient ethnicity (Māori or NZ European) and questions on patient management; implicit bias measures (an ethnicity preference Implicit Association Test (IAT) and an ethnicity and compliant patient IAT); and, explicit ethnic bias questions. Associations between ethnic bias and clinical decision-making responses to vignettes were tested using linear regression. Three hundred and two students participated (34% response rate). Implicit and explicit ethnic bias favoring NZ Europeans was apparent among medical students. In the CVD vignette, no significant differences in clinical decision-making by patient ethnicity were observed. There were also no differential associations by patient ethnicity between any measures of ethnic bias (implicit or explicit) and patient management responses in the CVD vignette. In the depression vignette, some differences in the ranking of recommended treatment options were observed by patient ethnicity and explicit preference for NZ Europeans was associated with increased reporting that NZ European patients would benefit from treatment but not Māori (slope difference 0.34, 95% CI 0.08, 0.60; p = 0.011), although this was the only significant finding in these analyses. NZ medical students demonstrated ethnic bias, although

  11. Credit Assignment in a Motor Decision Making Task Is Influenced by Agency and Not Sensory Prediction Errors.

    PubMed

    Parvin, Darius E; McDougle, Samuel D; Taylor, Jordan A; Ivry, Richard B

    2018-05-09

    Failures to obtain reward can occur from errors in action selection or action execution. Recently, we observed marked differences in choice behavior when the failure to obtain a reward was attributed to errors in action execution compared with errors in action selection (McDougle et al., 2016). Specifically, participants appeared to solve this credit assignment problem by discounting outcomes in which the absence of reward was attributed to errors in action execution. Building on recent evidence indicating relatively direct communication between the cerebellum and basal ganglia, we hypothesized that cerebellar-dependent sensory prediction errors (SPEs), a signal indicating execution failure, could attenuate value updating within a basal ganglia-dependent reinforcement learning system. Here we compared the SPE hypothesis to an alternative, "top-down" hypothesis in which changes in choice behavior reflect participants' sense of agency. In two experiments with male and female human participants, we manipulated the strength of SPEs, along with the participants' sense of agency in the second experiment. The results showed that, whereas the strength of SPE had no effect on choice behavior, participants were much more likely to discount the absence of rewards under conditions in which they believed the reward outcome depended on their ability to produce accurate movements. These results provide strong evidence that SPEs do not directly influence reinforcement learning. Instead, a participant's sense of agency appears to play a significant role in modulating choice behavior when unexpected outcomes can arise from errors in action execution. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT When learning from the outcome of actions, the brain faces a credit assignment problem: Failures of reward can be attributed to poor choice selection or poor action execution. Here, we test a specific hypothesis that execution errors are implicitly signaled by cerebellar-based sensory prediction errors. We

  12. Environmental Agency in Read-Alouds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Rogers, Patterson; Quigley, Cassie F.; Samburskiy, Denis; Barss, Kimberly; Rivera, Seema

    2015-01-01

    Despite growing interest in helping students become agents of environmental change who can, through informed decision-making and action-taking, transform environmentally detrimental forms of human activity, science educators have reduced agency to rationality by overlooking sociocultural influences such as norms and values. We tackle this issue by…

  13. Iowa pavement asset management decision-making framework.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-10-01

    Most local agencies in Iowa currently make their pavement treatment decisions based on their limited experience due primarily to : lack of a systematic decision-making framework and a decision-aid tool. The lack of objective condition assessment data...

  14. Making Cities Green.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldstein, Neil B.; Engel, Jane

    1981-01-01

    Describes several examples of urban parks and the renewal of city open spaces. Community groups interested in getting funding from government or private sources must cope with budget restrictions by making effective, innovative use of available money. Government agencies with funds allocated for urban improvements are mentioned. (AM)

  15. Culture, personal experience and agency.

    PubMed

    McCarthy, John; Sullivan, Paul; Wright, Peter

    2006-06-01

    In this article, we explore what we perceive to be a gap between agency as articulated in practice theories and agency as personally experienced. The gap is not created by a turn to practice in theorizing, but by the tendency to produce theoretical representations that silence the particularity of experience and the diversity of voices in experience. In exploring the gap, we identify aspects of practice theories that explicitly commit to theoretical representation over personal experience and describe Bakhtin's commitment to action and personal experience as an alternative. In order to exemplify Bakhtin's approach in practice, we then present an analysis of one artist-teacher's experience of her own agency in making art and in teaching. Finally, we comment on what a commitment to representational theorizing does to accounts of an artist's activities and personal experience.

  16. Recommended observational skills training for IAEA safeguards inspections. Final report: Recommended observational skills training for IAEA safeguards inspections

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Toquam, J.L.; Morris, F.A.

    This is the second of two reports prepared to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA or Agency) in enhancing the effectiveness of its international safeguards inspections through inspector training in {open_quotes}Observational Skills{close_quotes}. The first (Phase 1) report was essentially exploratory. It defined Observational Skills broadly to include all appropriate cognitive, communications, and interpersonal techniques that have the potential to help IAEA safeguards inspectors function more effectively. It identified 10 specific Observational Skills components, analyzed their relevance to IAEA safeguards inspections, and reviewed a variety of inspection programs in the public and private sectors that provide training in one ormore » more of these components. The report concluded that while it should be possible to draw upon these other programs in developing Observational Skills training for IAEA inspectors, the approaches utilized in these programs will likely require significant adaption to support the specific job requirements, policies, and practices that define the IAEA inspector`s job. The overall objective of this second (Phase 2) report is to provide a basis for the actual design and delivery of Observational Skills training to IAEA inspectors. The more specific purposes of this report are to convey a fuller understanding of the potential application of Observational Skills to the inspector`s job, describe inspector perspectives on the relevance and importance of particular Observational Skills, identify the specific Observational Skill components that are most important and relevant to enhancing safeguards inspections, and make recommendations as to Observational Skills training for the IAEA`s consideration in further developing its Safeguards training program.« less

  17. 34 CFR 300.28 - Local educational agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES General Definitions Used in This Part § 300.28 Local educational agency. (a... the extent that the inclusion makes the school eligible for programs for which specific eligibility is...

  18. Lessons in Biopolitics and Agency: Agamben on Addiction.

    PubMed

    Snoek, Anke; Fry, Craig L

    2015-01-01

    The concepts of 'biopolitics' and 'naked life' have become increasingly relevant in the debate on substance dependency due to the growing prominence of neuroscience in defining the nature of addiction and its threat to agency. However, these concepts are not necessarily well understood, and therefore may lead to oversight rather than insight. In this article we review the literature on Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, whose founding works on both concepts shed a different light on addiction. We argue that the current debate is missing a key insight from Agamben's work: the idea of agency past the subject, of agency past identity. We will illustrate how this can be an important form of agency against the stigmatization of users, making use of empirical data from our ongoing work on addiction and agency.

  19. The utility of observational studies in clinical decision making: lessons learned from statin trials.

    PubMed

    Foody, JoAnne M; Mendys, Phillip M; Liu, Larry Z; Simpson, Ross J

    2010-05-01

    Contemporary clinical decision making is well supported by a wide variety of information sources, including clinical practice guidelines, position papers, and insights from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Much of our fundamental understanding of cardiovascular risk factors is based on multiple observations from major epidemiologic studies, such as The Seven Country Studies and the US-based Framingham Heart Study. These studies provided the framework for the development of clinical practice guidelines, including the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel series. The objective of this article is to highlight the value of observational studies as a complement to clinical trial data for clinical decision making in real-world practice. Although RCTs are still the benchmark for assessing clinical efficacy and safety of a specific therapeutic approach, they may be of limited utility to practitioners who must then adapt the lessons learned from the trial into the patient care environment. The use of well-structured observational studies can improve our understanding of the translation of clinical trials into clinical practice, as demonstrated here with the example of statins. Although such studies have their own limitations, improved techniques for design and analysis have reduced the impact of bias and confounders. The introduction of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines has provided more uniformity for such studies. When used together with RCTs, observational studies can enhance our understanding of effectiveness and utility in real-world clinical practice. In the examples of statin observational studies, the results suggest that relative effectiveness of different statins and potential impact of switching statins should be carefully considered in treating individual patients by practicing physicians.

  20. Making and Shaping Participatory Spaces: Resemiotization and Citizenship Agency in South Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kerfoot, Caroline

    2011-01-01

    In South Africa, democratic consolidation involves not only building a new state, but also new interfaces between state and society. To strengthen the agency of citizens at these interfaces, recent approaches to development stress the notion of "participatory citizenship." The purpose of this article is to explore the links, rarely…

  1. Consolidated asset management for Minnesota local agencies.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-06-01

    Transportation agencies are increasingly turning their attention to transportation asset management (TAM), a systematic process for tracking the conditions of physical infrastructure to make better decisions about its maintenance. TAM is mandated by ...

  2. 78 FR 45569 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-29

    ... NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION [NARA-2013-039] Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA... make inquiries on their behalf and to release information and records related to their Freedom of...

  3. The psychometric properties of Observer OPTION(5), an observer measure of shared decision making.

    PubMed

    Barr, Paul J; O'Malley, Alistair James; Tsulukidze, Maka; Gionfriddo, Michael R; Montori, Victor; Elwyn, Glyn

    2015-08-01

    Observer OPTION(5) was designed as a more efficient version of OPTION(12), the most commonly used measure of shared decision making (SDM). The current paper assesses the psychometric properties of OPTION(5). Two raters used OPTION(5) to rate recordings of clinical encounters from two previous patient decision aid (PDA) trials (n=201; n=110). A subsample was re-rated two weeks later. We assessed discriminative validity, inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability, and concurrent validity. OPTION(5) demonstrated discriminative validity, with increases in SDM between usual care and PDA arms. OPTION(5) also demonstrated concurrent validity with OPTION(12), r=0.61 (95%CI 0.54, 0.68) and intra-rater reliability, r=0.93 (0.83, 0.97). The mean difference in rater score was 8.89 (95% Credibility Interval, 7.5, 10.3), with intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.67 (95% Credibility Interval, 0.51, 0.91) for the accuracy of rater scores and 0.70 (95% Credibility Interval, 0.56, 0.94) for the consistency of rater scores across encounters, indicating good inter-rater reliability. Raters reported lower cognitive burden when using OPTION(5) compared to OPTION(12). OPTION(5) is a brief, theoretically grounded observer measure of SDM with promising psychometric properties in this sample and low burden on raters. OPTION(5) has potential to provide reliable, valid assessment of SDM in clinical encounters. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Youth–adult partnership: exploring contributions to empowerment, agency and community connections in Malaysian youth programs.

    PubMed

    Krauss, Steven Eric; Collura, Jessica; Zeldin, Shepherd; Ortega, Adriana; Abdullah, Haslinda; Sulaiman, Abdul Hadi

    2014-09-01

    Youth–adult partnership (Y–AP) has emerged as a key practice for enacting two features of effective developmental settings: supportive adult relationships and support for efficacy and mattering. Previous studies have shown that when youth, supported by adults, actively participate in organizational and community decision making they are likely to show greater confidence and agency, empowerment and critical consciousness, and community connections. Most of the extant research on Y–AP is limited to qualitative studies and the identification of organizational best practices. Almost all research focuses on Western sociocultural settings. To address these gaps, 299 youth, age 15 to 24, were sampled from established afterschool and community programs in Malaysia to explore the contribution of Y–AP (operationalized as having two components: youth voice in decision-making and supportive adult relationships) to empowerment, agency and community connections. As hypothesized, hierarchical regressions indicated that program quality (Y–AP, safe environment and program engagement) contributed to agency, empowerment and community connections beyond the contribution of family, school and religion. Additionally, the Y–AP measures contributed substantially more variance than the other measures of program quality on each outcome. Interaction effects indicated differences by age for empowerment and agency but not for community connections. The primary findings in this inquiry replicate those found in previous interview and observational-oriented studies. The data suggests fertile ground for future research while demonstrating that Y–AP may be an effective practice for positive youth development outside of Western settings.

  5. Process quality of decision-making in multidisciplinary cancer team meetings: a structured observational study.

    PubMed

    Hahlweg, Pola; Didi, Sarah; Kriston, Levente; Härter, Martin; Nestoriuc, Yvonne; Scholl, Isabelle

    2017-11-17

    The quality of decision-making in multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTMs) depends on the quality of information presented and the quality of team processes. Few studies have examined these factors using a standardized approach. The aim of this study was to objectively document the processes involved in decision-making in MDTMs, document the outcomes in terms of whether a treatment recommendation was given (none vs. singular vs. multiple), and to identify factors related to type of treatment recommendation. An adaptation of the observer rating scale Multidisciplinary Tumor Board Metric for the Observation of Decision-Making (MDT-MODe) was used to assess the quality of the presented information and team processes in MDTMs. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and mixed logistic regression analysis. N = 249 cases were observed in N = 29 MDTMs. While cancer-specific medical information was judged to be of high quality, psychosocial information and information regarding patient views were considered to be of low quality. In 25% of the cases no, in 64% one, and in 10% more than one treatment recommendations were given (1% missing data). Giving no treatment recommendation was associated with duration of case discussion, duration of the MDTM session, quality of case history, quality of radiological information, and specialization of the MDTM. Higher levels of medical and treatment uncertainty during discussions were found to be associated with a higher probability for more than one treatment recommendation. The quality of different aspects of information was observed to differ greatly. In general, we did not find MDTMs to be in line with the principles of patient-centered care. Recommendation outcome varied substantially between different specializations of MDTMs. The quality of certain information was associated with the recommendation outcome. Uncertainty during discussions was related to more than one recommendation being considered. Time constraints

  6. Network Performance Measurements for NASA's Earth Observation System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Loiacono, Joe; Gormain, Andy; Smith, Jeff

    2004-01-01

    NASA's Earth Observation System (EOS) Project studies all aspects of planet Earth from space, including climate change, and ocean, ice, land, and vegetation characteristics. It consists of about 20 satellite missions over a period of about a decade. Extensive collaboration is used, both with other US. agencies (e.g., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), Department of Defense (DoD), and international agencies (e.g., European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)), to improve cost effectiveness and obtain otherwise unavailable data. Scientific researchers are located at research institutions worldwide, primarily government research facilities and research universities. The EOS project makes extensive use of networks to support data acquisition, data production, and data distribution. Many of these functions impose requirements on the networks, including throughput and availability. In order to verify that these requirements are being met, and be pro-active in recognizing problems, NASA conducts on-going performance measurements. The purpose of this paper is to examine techniques used by NASA to measure the performance of the networks used by EOSDIS (EOS Data and Information System) and to indicate how this performance information is used.

  7. Using Option Grids: steps toward shared decision-making for neonatal circumcision.

    PubMed

    Fay, Mary; Grande, Stuart W; Donnelly, Kyla; Elwyn, Glyn

    2016-02-01

    To assess the impact, acceptability and feasibility of a short encounter tool designed to enhance the process of shared decision-making and parental engagement. We analyzed video-recordings of clinical encounters, half undertaken before and half after a brief intervention that trained four clinicians how to use Option Grids, using an observer-based measure of shared decision-making. We also analyzed semi-structured interviews conducted with the clinicians four weeks after their exposure to the intervention. Observer OPTION(5) scores were higher at post-intervention, with a mean of 33.9 (SD=23.5) compared to a mean of 16.1 (SD=7.1) for pre-intervention, a significant difference of 17.8 (95% CI: 2.4, 33.2). Prior to using the intervention, clinicians used a consent document to frame circumcision as a default practice. Encounters with the Option Grid conferred agency to both parents and clinicians, and facilitated shared decision-making. Clinician reported recognizing the tool's positive effect on their communication process. Tools such as Option Grids have the potential to make it easier for clinicians to achieve shared decision-making. Encounter tools have the potential to change practice. More research is needed to test their feasibility in routine practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Complex negotiations: the lived experience of enacting agency after a stroke.

    PubMed

    Bergström, Aileen L; Eriksson, Gunilla; Asaba, Eric; Erikson, Anette; Tham, Kerstin

    2015-01-01

    This qualitative, longitudinal, descriptive study aimed to understand the lived experience of enacting agency, and to describe the phenomenon of agency and the meaning structure of the phenomenon during the year after a stroke. Agency is defined as making things happen in everyday life through one's actions. This study followed six persons (three men and three women, ages 63 to 89), interviewed on four separate occasions. Interview data were analysed using the Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method. The main findings showed that the participants experienced enacting agency in their everyday lives after stroke as negotiating different characteristics over a span of time, a range of difficulty, and in a number of activities, making these negotiations complex. The four characteristics described how the participants made things happen in their everyday lives through managing their disrupted bodies, taking into account their past and envisioning their futures, dealing with the world outside themselves, and negotiating through internal dialogues. This empirical evidence regarding negotiations challenges traditional definitions of agency and a new definition of agency is proposed. Understanding clients' complex negotiations and offering innovative solutions to train in real-life situations may help in the process of enabling occupations after a stroke.

  9. 75 FR 63866 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-18

    ... special nuclear material. The information in the applications, reports, and records is used by NRC to make... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. NRC-2010-0322] Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice of pending...

  10. 78 FR 67204 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-08

    ... special nuclear material. The information in the applications, reports, and records is used by NRC to make... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. NRC-2013-0239] Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of pending NRC...

  11. A comprehensive approach to visual resource management for highway agencies

    Treesearch

    William G. E. Blair; Larry Isaacson; Grant R. Jones

    1979-01-01

    To help ensure that visual effects are considered at all stages of highway agency decision-making, the Federal Highway Administration contracted with Jones & Jones to develop and conduct a five-day training course to guide highway professionals in developing VRM processes for their own agencies.The training course emphasizes overall principles...

  12. Motion, identity and the bias toward agency

    PubMed Central

    Fields, Chris

    2014-01-01

    The well-documented human bias toward agency as a cause and therefore an explanation of observed events is typically attributed to evolutionary selection for a “social brain”. Based on a review of developmental and adult behavioral and neurocognitive data, it is argued that the bias toward agency is a result of the default human solution, developed during infancy, to the computational requirements of object re-identification over gaps in observation of more than a few seconds. If this model is correct, overriding the bias toward agency to construct mechanistic explanations of observed events requires structure-mapping inferences, implemented by the pre-motor action planning system, that replace agents with mechanisms as causes of unobserved changes in contextual or featural properties of objects. Experiments that would test this model are discussed. PMID:25191245

  13. 48 CFR 19.804-1 - Agency evaluation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ...; (d) The impact of any delay in delivery; (e) Whether the items or work have previously been acquired... necessary, the contracting agency shall make an independent review of the factors in 19.803(a) and other...

  14. 48 CFR 19.804-1 - Agency evaluation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ...; (d) The impact of any delay in delivery; (e) Whether the items or work have previously been acquired... necessary, the contracting agency shall make an independent review of the factors in 19.803(a) and other...

  15. On the Self-Organizing Origins of Agency.

    PubMed

    Kelso, J A Scott

    2016-07-01

    The question of agency and directedness in living systems has puzzled philosophers and scientists for centuries. What principles and mechanisms underlie the emergence of agency? Analysis and dynamical modeling of experiments on human infants suggest that the birth of agency is due to a eureka-like, pattern-forming phase transition in which the infant suddenly realizes it can make things happen in the world. The main mechanism involves positive feedback: when the baby's initially spontaneous movements cause the world to change, their perceived consequences have a sudden and sustained amplifying effect on the baby's further actions. The baby discovers itself as a causal agent. Some implications of this theory are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Green space, health and wellbeing: making space for individual agency.

    PubMed

    Bell, Sarah L; Phoenix, Cassandra; Lovell, Rebecca; Wheeler, Benedict W

    2014-11-01

    This essay examines the assumptions of green space use underpinning much existing green space and health research. It considers opportunities to move the field forward through exploring two often overlooked aspects of individual agency: the influence of shifting life circumstances on personal wellbeing priorities and place practices, and the role of personal orientations to nature in shaping how green space wellbeing opportunities are perceived and experienced. It suggests such efforts could provide more nuanced insights into the complex, personal factors that define and drive individual choices regarding the use of green spaces for wellbeing over time, thereby strengthening our understanding of the salutogenic potential (and limits) of green spaces. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. 32 CFR 631.8 - Participation by civil agencies.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 4 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Participation by civil agencies. 631.8 Section... AND OPERATIONS Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Boards § 631.8 Participation by civil agencies. (a) Civil agencies or individuals may be invited to board meetings as observers, witnesses or to provide...

  18. 32 CFR 631.8 - Participation by civil agencies.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 4 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Participation by civil agencies. 631.8 Section... AND OPERATIONS Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Boards § 631.8 Participation by civil agencies. (a) Civil agencies or individuals may be invited to board meetings as observers, witnesses or to provide...

  19. Clinical decision making in dermatology: observation of consultations and the patients' perspectives.

    PubMed

    Hajjaj, F M; Salek, M S; Basra, M K A; Finlay, A Y

    2010-01-01

    Clinical decision making is a complex process and might be influenced by a wide range of clinical and non-clinical factors. Little is known about this process in dermatology. The aim of this study was to explore the different types of management decisions made in dermatology and to identify factors influencing those decisions from observation of consultations and interviews with the patients. 61 patient consultations were observed by a physician with experience in dermatology. The patients were interviewed immediately after each consultation. Consultations and interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and their content analysed using thematic content analysis. The most common management decisions made during the consultations included: follow-up, carrying out laboratory investigation, starting new topical treatment, renewal of systemic treatment, renewal of topical treatment, discharging patients and starting new systemic treatment. Common influences on those decisions included: clinical factors such as ineffectiveness of previous therapy, adherence to prescribing guidelines, side-effects of medications, previous experience with the treatment, deterioration or improvement in the skin condition, and chronicity of skin condition. Non-clinical factors included: patient's quality of life, patient's friends or relatives, patient's time commitment, travel or transportation difficulties, treatment-related costs, availability of consultant, and availability of treatment. The study has shown that patients are aware that management decisions in dermatology are influenced by a wide range of clinical and non-clinical factors. Education programmes should be developed to improve the quality of decision making. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  20. Literature and the Young Child: Engagement, Enactment, and Agency from a Sociocultural Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mathis, Janelle B.

    2016-01-01

    Authors and illustrators of children's literature bring to life characters and contexts that provide demonstrations of agency as well as resources upon which to build agency. Agency is considered here as making one's identity and perceptions visible and actively acknowledged by others to enhance and empower the personal, cultural, and social…

  1. Improving the Interoperability and Usability of NASA Earth Observation Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Walter, J.; Berrick, S. W.; Murphy, K. J.; Mitchell, A. E.; Tilmes, C.

    2014-12-01

    NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System Project (ESDIS) is charged with managing, maintaining, and evolving NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) and is responsible for processing, archiving, and distributing NASA Earth Science data. The system supports a multitude of missions and serves diverse science research and other user communities. While NASA has made, and continues to make, great strides in the discoverability and accessibility of its earth observation data holdings, issues associated with data interoperability and usability still present significant challenges to realizing the full scientific and societal benefits of these data. This concern has been articulated by multiple government agencies, both U.S. and international, as well as other non-governmental organizations around the world. Among these is the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy who, in response, has launched the Big Earth Data Initiative and the Climate Data Initiative to address these concerns for U.S. government agencies. This presentation will describe NASA's approach for addressing data interoperability and usability issues with our earth observation data.

  2. Methodological approaches in conducting overviews: current state in HTA agencies.

    PubMed

    Pieper, Dawid; Antoine, Sunya-Lee; Morfeld, Jana-Carina; Mathes, Tim; Eikermann, Michaela

    2014-09-01

    Overviews search for reviews rather than for primary studies. They might have the potential to support decision making within a shorter time frame by reducing production time. We aimed to summarize available instructions for authors intending to conduct overviews as well as the currently applied methodology of overviews in international Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies. We identified 127 HTA agencies and scanned their websites for methodological handbooks as well as published overviews as HTA reports. Additionally, we contacted HTA agencies by e-mail to retrieve possible unidentified handbooks or other related sources. In total, eight HTA agencies providing methodological support were found. Thirteen HTA agencies were found to have produced overviews since 2007, but only six of them published more than four overviews. Overviews were mostly employed in HTA products related to rapid assessment. Additional searches for primary studies published after the last review are often mentioned in order to update results. Although the interest in overviews is rising, little methodological guidance for the conduct of overviews is provided by HTA agencies. Overviews are of special interest in the context of rapid assessments to support policy-making within a short time frame. Therefore, empirical work on overviews needs to be extended. National strategies and experience should be disclosed and discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Public health agencies' obligations and the case of Zika.

    PubMed

    Luna, Florencia

    2017-10-01

    This article focuses on the initial reactions to the Zika epidemic by national and international public health agencies. It presents and analyzes some responses public officials made about sexual and reproductive health at the inception of the epidemic. It also describes the different challenges and obligations faced by local and international public health agencies, as these have not been clearly outlined. The article argues that these agencies have different obligations and should fulfill them despite existing obstacles. While international agencies should honor their leadership role and make recommendations at a meta-level, local agencies should provide, in the case of Zika, a framework for empowerment and grant women the freedom to achieve sexual and reproductive health so that they can avoid the consequences of this epidemic. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Mitigating Decision-Making Paralysis During Catastrophic Disasters

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-03-01

    COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Mitigating Decision-Making Paralysis During Catastrophic Disasters 6. AUTHOR( S ) Terrence J. Winters 5...FUNDING NUMBERS 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME( S ) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION...REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME( S ) AND ADDRESS(ES) N/A 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11

  5. Minnesota Local Agency Pavement Marking : Mining Existing Data

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-11-01

    Pavement marking is important for safety. Maximizing pavement marking performance in terms of increased retroreflectivity, within limited budget constraints, allows agencies to make better decisions toward providing more effective pavement marking pe...

  6. Payment reform will shift home health agency valuation parameters.

    PubMed

    Hahn, A D

    1998-12-01

    Changes authorized by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 have removed many of the payment benefits that motivated past home health agency acquisition activity and temporarily have slowed the rapid pace of acquisitions of home health agencies. The act required that Medicare's cost-based payment system be replaced with a prospective payment system (PPS) and established an interim payment system to provide a framework for home health agencies to make the transition to the PPS. As a consequence, realistic valuations of home health agencies will be determined primarily by cash flows, with consideration given to operational factors, such as quality of patient care, service territory, and information systems capabilities. The limitations imposed by the change in payment mechanism will cause acquisition interest to shift away from home health agencies with higher utilization and revenue expansion to agencies able to control costs and achieve operating leverage.

  7. Science to Support Informed Decision-Making: Examples from the US Environmental Protection Agency

    EPA Science Inventory

    The mission of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) is to protect human health and the environment. We work to achieve our mission through a combination of applied research and technical guidance for localities, states, tribes, and regions to best manage the...

  8. Who Decides? Tanzanian Women's Narratives on Educational Advancement and Agency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Okkolin, Mari-Anne

    2016-01-01

    One of the critical issues deliberated amongst researchers on gender and education is that of choosing and decision-making. Often, the focus of analysis is framed through the concept of agency. In this paper, the analytical focus is on educational advancement and agency. The paper is based on narratives of 10 highly educated Tanzanian women.…

  9. Attributing Agency to Automated Systems: Reflections on Human-Robot Collaborations and Responsibility-Loci.

    PubMed

    Nyholm, Sven

    2017-07-18

    Many ethicists writing about automated systems (e.g. self-driving cars and autonomous weapons systems) attribute agency to these systems. Not only that; they seemingly attribute an autonomous or independent form of agency to these machines. This leads some ethicists to worry about responsibility-gaps and retribution-gaps in cases where automated systems harm or kill human beings. In this paper, I consider what sorts of agency it makes sense to attribute to most current forms of automated systems, in particular automated cars and military robots. I argue that whereas it indeed makes sense to attribute different forms of fairly sophisticated agency to these machines, we ought not to regard them as acting on their own, independently of any human beings. Rather, the right way to understand the agency exercised by these machines is in terms of human-robot collaborations, where the humans involved initiate, supervise, and manage the agency of their robotic collaborators. This means, I argue, that there is much less room for justified worries about responsibility-gaps and retribution-gaps than many ethicists think.

  10. Metacognition of agency and theory of mind in adults with high functioning autism.

    PubMed

    Zalla, Tiziana; Miele, David; Leboyer, Marion; Metcalfe, Janet

    2015-01-01

    We investigated metacognition of agency in adults with high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome (HFA/AS) using a computer task in which participants moved the mouse to get the cursor to touch the downward moving X's and avoid the O's. They were then asked to make judgments of performance and judgments of agency. Objective control was either undistorted, or distorted by adding turbulence (i.e., random noise) or a time Lag between the mouse and cursor movements. Participants with HFA/AS used sensorimotor cues available in the turbulence and lag conditions to a lesser extent than control participants in making their judgments of agency. Furthermore, the failure to use these internal diagnostic cues to their own agency was correlated with decrements in a theory of mind task. These findings suggest that a reduced sensitivity to veridical internal cues about the sense of agency is related to mentalizing impairments in autism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. NOAA Inter-Agency Networking for Open Data and Research Results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de la Beaujardiere, J.

    2015-12-01

    The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) generates tens of terabytes of data per day from hundreds of sensors on satellites, radars, aircraft, ships, and buoys, and from numerical models. With rare exceptions, all of these data should be made publicly accessible in a usable fashion. NOAA has long been both an advocate and a practitioner of open data, and has observations going back 150 years in its archives. The NOAA data management community therefore welcomed the White House mandates on Open Data and Open Research, and has striven to improve standardization internally and in collaboration with other organizations. This paper will summarize the state of inter-agency networking by NOAA, and will discuss future perspectives, in particular the need to achieve a state where the appropriate technology choices for particular classes of geospatial data are obvious and beyond discussion, and where data sharing and metadata creation are built into agency workflows for project planning, approval, and execution, so that instead of writing and enforcing mandates we can focus on actually using data from multiple sources to improve understanding and decision-making.

  12. Inconsistencies in patient perceptions and observer ratings of shared decision making: the case of colorectal cancer screening.

    PubMed

    Wunderlich, Tracy; Cooper, Gregory; Divine, George; Flocke, Susan; Oja-Tebbe, Nancy; Stange, Kurt; Lafata, Jennifer Elston

    2010-09-01

    To compare patient-reported and observer-rated shared decision making (SDM) use for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and evaluate patient, physician and patient-reported relational communication factors associated with patient-reported use of shared CRC screening decisions. Study physicians are salaried primary care providers. Patients are insured, aged 50-80 and due for CRC screening. Audio-recordings from 363 primary care visits were observer-coded for elements of SDM. A post-visit patient survey assessed patient-reported decision-making processes and relational communication during visit. Association of patient-reported SDM with observer-rated elements of SDM, as well as patient, physician and relational communication factors were evaluated using generalized estimating equations. 70% of patients preferred SDM for preventive health decisions, 47% of patients reported use of a SDM process, and only one of the screening discussions included all four elements of SDM per observer ratings. Patient report of SDM use was not associated with observer-rated elements of SDM, but was significantly associated with female physician gender and patient-reported relational communication. Inconsistencies exist between patient reports and observer ratings of SDM for CRC screening. Future studies are needed to understand whether SDM that is patient-reported, observer-rated or both are associated with informed and value-concordant CRC screening decisions. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Inconsistencies in Patient Perceptions and Observer Ratings of Shared Decision Making: The Case of Colorectal Cancer Screening

    PubMed Central

    Wunderlich, Tracy; Cooper, Gregory; Divine, George; Flocke, Susan; Oja-Tebbe, Nancy; Stange, Kurt; Lafata, Jennifer Elston

    2010-01-01

    Objective To compare patient-reported and observer-rated shared decision making (SDM) use for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and evaluate patient, physician and patient-reported relational communication factors associated with patient-reported use of shared CRC screening decisions. Methods Study physicians are salaried primary care providers. Patients are insured, aged 50-80 and due for CRC screening. Audio-recordings from 363 primary care visits were observer-coded for elements of SDM. A post-visit patient survey assessed patient-reported decision-making processes and relational communication during visit. Association of patient-reported SDM with observer-rated elements of SDM, as well as patient, physician and relational communication factors were evaluated using generalized estimating equations. Results 70% of patients preferred SDM for preventive health decisions, 47% of patients reported use of a SDM process, and only one of the screening discussions included all four elements of SDM per observer ratings. Patient report of SDM use was not associated with observer-rated elements of SDM, but was significantly associated with female physician gender and patient-reported relational communication. Conclusion Inconsistencies exist between patient reports and observer ratings of SDM for CRC screening. Practice Implications Future studies are needed to understand whether SDM that is patient-reported, observer-rated or both are associated with informed and value-concordant CRC screening decisions. PMID:20667678

  14. Family practitioners' diagnostic decision-making processes regarding patients with respiratory tract infections: an observational study.

    PubMed

    Fischer, Thomas; Fischer, Susanne; Himmel, Wolfgang; Kochen, Michael M; Hummers-Pradier, Eva

    2008-01-01

    The influence of patient characteristics on family practitioners' (FPs') diagnostic decision making has mainly been investigated using indirect methods such as vignettes or questionnaires. Direct observation-borrowed from social and cultural anthropology-may be an alternative method for describing FPs' real-life behavior and may help in gaining insight into how FPs diagnose respiratory tract infections, which are frequent in primary care. To clarify FPs' diagnostic processes when treating patients suffering from symptoms of respiratory tract infection. This direct observation study was performed in 30 family practices using a checklist for patient complaints, history taking, physical examination, and diagnoses. The influence of patients' symptoms and complaints on the FPs' physical examination and diagnosis was calculated by logistic regression analyses. Dummy variables based on combinations of symptoms and complaints were constructed and tested against saturated (full) and backward regression models. In total, 273 patients (median age 37 years, 51% women) were included. The median number of symptoms described was 4 per patient, and most information was provided at the patients' own initiative. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed a strong association between patients' complaints and the physical examination. Frequent diagnoses were upper respiratory tract infection (URTI)/common cold (43%), bronchitis (26%), sinusitis (12%), and tonsillitis (11%). There were no significant statistical differences between "simple heuristic'' models and saturated regression models in the diagnoses of bronchitis, sinusitis, and tonsillitis, indicating that simple heuristics are probably used by the FPs, whereas "URTI/common cold'' was better explained by the full model. FPs tended to make their diagnosis based on a few patient symptoms and a limited physical examination. Simple heuristic models were almost as powerful in explaining most diagnoses as saturated models. Direct

  15. The FluxCompensator: Making Radiative Transfer Models of Hydrodynamical Simulations Directly Comparable to Real Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koepferl, Christine M.; Robitaille, Thomas P.

    2017-11-01

    When modeling astronomical objects throughout the universe, it is important to correctly treat the limitations of the data, for instance finite resolution and sensitivity. In order to simulate these effects, and to make radiative transfer models directly comparable to real observations, we have developed an open-source Python package called the FluxCompensator that enables the post-processing of the output of 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer codes, such as Hyperion. With the FluxCompensator, realistic synthetic observations can be generated by modeling the effects of convolution with arbitrary point-spread functions, transmission curves, finite pixel resolution, noise, and reddening. Pipelines can be applied to compute synthetic observations that simulate observatories, such as the Spitzer Space Telescope or the Herschel Space Observatory. Additionally, this tool can read in existing observations (e.g., FITS format) and use the same settings for the synthetic observations. In this paper, we describe the package as well as present examples of such synthetic observations.

  16. The FluxCompensator: Making Radiative Transfer Models of Hydrodynamical Simulations Directly Comparable to Real Observations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Koepferl, Christine M.; Robitaille, Thomas P., E-mail: koepferl@usm.lmu.de

    When modeling astronomical objects throughout the universe, it is important to correctly treat the limitations of the data, for instance finite resolution and sensitivity. In order to simulate these effects, and to make radiative transfer models directly comparable to real observations, we have developed an open-source Python package called the FluxCompensator that enables the post-processing of the output of 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer codes, such as Hyperion. With the FluxCompensator, realistic synthetic observations can be generated by modeling the effects of convolution with arbitrary point-spread functions, transmission curves, finite pixel resolution, noise, and reddening. Pipelines can be applied tomore » compute synthetic observations that simulate observatories, such as the Spitzer Space Telescope or the Herschel Space Observatory . Additionally, this tool can read in existing observations (e.g., FITS format) and use the same settings for the synthetic observations. In this paper, we describe the package as well as present examples of such synthetic observations.« less

  17. 36 CFR 242.13 - Board/agency relationships.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Board/agency relationships. 242.13 Section 242.13 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... relationships. (a) General. (1) The Board, in making decisions or recommendations, shall consider and ensure...

  18. 29 CFR 1601.70 - FEP agency qualifications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ...) That the State or political subdivision has a fair employment practice law which makes unlawful... State or political subdivision has either established a State or local authority or authorized an...; or to institute criminal proceedings with respect to the practice. (b) Any State or local agency or...

  19. 36 CFR 242.13 - Board/agency relationships.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Board/agency relationships. 242.13 Section 242.13 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... relationships. (a) General. (1) The Board, in making decisions or recommendations, shall consider and ensure...

  20. Shared decision-making in older patients with colorectal or pancreatic cancer: Determinants of patients' and observers' perceptions.

    PubMed

    Geessink, Noralie H; Ofstad, Eirik H; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M; van Goor, Harry; Kasper, Jürgen; Schoon, Yvonne

    2018-06-13

    To identify determinants of older patients' perceptions of involvement in decision-making on colorectal (CRC) or pancreatic cancer (PC) treatment, and to compare these with determinants of observers' perceptions. Patients' perceptions of involvement were constructed by the 9-item SDM questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) and a Visual Analogue Scale for Involvement (VAS-I). Observers' perceptions were constructed by the OPTION5, OPTION12, and MAPPIN'SDM. Convergent validities were calculated between the patient-sided and observer instruments using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Linear regression was used to identify determinants per criterion. 58 CRC and 22 PC patients were included (mean age: 71.8 ± 5.2 years, 45.0% female). No significant correlations were found between the patient-sided and observer instruments. Patients' impression of involvement was influenced by patient characteristics such as quality of life and satisfaction, while observers' perceptions mainly referred to encounter characteristics such as the mean duration of consultations and general communication skills. Due to evident differences in determinants, older CRC/PC patients' and observers' perceptions of involvement should both be collected in evaluating the quality of medical decision-making. General communication skills should be integrated in SDM training interventions. New SDM measurement tools for patients are needed to sufficiently discriminate between the constructs of involvement and satisfaction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. 0-6762 : maximizing mitigation benefits-making a difference with strategic inter-resource agency planning.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-08-01

    Transportation agencies do their best to avoid : and minimize any impacts to the environment, : but some impacts are unavoidable. : Compensatory mitigation is used to offset these : unavoidable impacts to the environment. Over : $3.3 billion is spent...

  2. 45 CFR 612.3 - Requirements for making requests.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 612.3 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION § 612.3 Requirements for making requests. (a) Where to send a request. The National Science Foundation has one Agency component. You may make a FOIA request for records of...

  3. 45 CFR 612.3 - Requirements for making requests.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 612.3 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION § 612.3 Requirements for making requests. (a) Where to send a request. The National Science Foundation has one Agency component. You may make a FOIA request for records of...

  4. 45 CFR 612.3 - Requirements for making requests.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 612.3 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION § 612.3 Requirements for making requests. (a) Where to send a request. The National Science Foundation has one Agency component. You may make a FOIA request for records of...

  5. Fostering Critical Teacher Agency: The Impact of a Science Capital Pedagogical Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, Heather; Nomikou, Effrosyni

    2018-01-01

    Teacher agency is considered key in shaping teachers' professional identities and decision-making capabilities. We suggest that the concept of agency also constitutes a useful tool for evaluating the successful implementation of new teaching approaches. In this paper we discuss findings from a teacher professional development programme aimed at…

  6. A method for observing young children's make-believe play

    Treesearch

    Anne Robertson

    1977-01-01

    The influence of toy "realisticness" on the make-believe play of 20- and 26-month old boys and girls was studied by recording their play behaviors when they were presented with specific toys and play suggestions. Results indicate that age changes in make-believe play with the less realistic toys reflect increased competence in symbolic transformation, whereas...

  7. 22 CFR 1509.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Federal agency or agency. 1509.645 Section 1509.645 Foreign Relations AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 1509.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal agency or agency...

  8. 20 CFR 439.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Federal agency or agency. 439.645 Section 439.645 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 439.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal agency or agency...

  9. Credit Reform. Key Credit Agencies Had Difficulty Making Reasonable Loan Program Cost Estimates. Report to Congressional Requesters.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Accounting and Information Management Div.

    This report finds problems in the ability of the five major federal credit agencies to reasonably estimate subsidy costs related to the $216.6 billion in direct loans and $712.4 billion in loan guarantees issued by the federal government. The five agencies are the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the departments of Education, Housing and…

  10. Erratum To: Indigenous Frameworks for Observing and Responding to Climate Change in Alaska

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cochran, Patricia; Huntington, Orville H.; Pungowiyi, Caleb; Tom, Stanley; Chapin, F. Stuart, III; Huntington, Henry P.; Maynard, Nancy G.; Trainor, Sarah F.

    2014-01-01

    In section 5, item 1 of this article it is stated that: A recent shift in decision-making authority from the politically appointed Board of Game to the Subsistence Division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game should make these decisions about hunting regulations more responsive to local observations and needs. We now recognize that this shift in regulatory authority to ADF&G never occurred. We hereby correct this error so that wildlife users in Alaska do not come to ADF&G with expectations that this agency has authority to adjust hunting regulations to accommodate climate change.

  11. 28 CFR 83.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Federal agency or agency. 83.645 Section 83.645 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (CONTINUED) GOVERNMENT-WIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (GRANTS) Definitions § 83.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal agency or agency...

  12. 34 CFR 84.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Federal agency or agency. 84.645 Section 84.645 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 84.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal agency or agency...

  13. 22 CFR 1008.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Federal agency or agency. 1008.645 Section 1008.645 Foreign Relations INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 1008.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal agency or agency means any...

  14. 7 CFR 225.6 - State agency responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... sponsor's application to participate is denied, the official making the determination of denial must... application submitted by new sponsors and by sponsors which, in the determination of the State agency, have... information sheet for new sponsors and new sites, and for sponsors and sites which, in the determination of...

  15. 12 CFR 261b.3 - Conduct of agency business.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Conduct of agency business. 261b.3 Section 261b... SYSTEM RULES REGARDING PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS § 261b.3 Conduct of agency business. Members shall not jointly conduct or dispose of official agency business other than in accordance with this part. ...

  16. 12 CFR 261b.3 - Conduct of agency business.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Conduct of agency business. 261b.3 Section 261b... SYSTEM (CONTINUED) RULES REGARDING PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS § 261b.3 Conduct of agency business. Members shall not jointly conduct or dispose of official agency business other than in accordance with...

  17. 45 CFR 1155.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Federal agency or agency. 1155.645 Section 1155.645 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS... (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 1155.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal agency or agency means any...

  18. 22 CFR 312.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Federal agency or agency. 312.645 Section 312.645 Foreign Relations PEACE CORPS GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 312.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal agency or agency means any United States...

  19. 34 CFR 303.400 - General responsibility of lead agency for procedural safeguards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... intervention services under this part; and (c) Make available to parents an initial copy of the child's early... 34 Education 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false General responsibility of lead agency for procedural... responsibility of lead agency for procedural safeguards. Subject to paragraph (c) of this section, each lead...

  20. 34 CFR 303.400 - General responsibility of lead agency for procedural safeguards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... intervention services under this part; and (c) Make available to parents an initial copy of the child's early... 34 Education 2 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true General responsibility of lead agency for procedural... responsibility of lead agency for procedural safeguards. Subject to paragraph (c) of this section, each lead...

  1. 34 CFR 303.400 - General responsibility of lead agency for procedural safeguards.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... intervention services under this part; and (c) Make available to parents an initial copy of the child's early... 34 Education 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false General responsibility of lead agency for procedural... responsibility of lead agency for procedural safeguards. Subject to paragraph (c) of this section, each lead...

  2. 76 FR 78068 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Request and Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-15

    ... Review of Agency Accounting Process--The IAR agency makes the IAR accounting records of paid cases... Process (k) Retrieve and consolidate 12 One set of 12 3 hours 36 authorization and accounting forms per... appeals process. ALJs must obtain the information to update and complete the record and to verify the...

  3. 21 CFR 1405.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Federal agency or agency. 1405.645 Section 1405.645 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 1405.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal agency or agency...

  4. A Framework for Learner Agency in Online Spoken Interaction Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knight, Janine; Barbera, Elena; Appel, Christine

    2017-01-01

    Learner agency, the capability of individual human beings to make choices and act on these choices in a way that makes a difference in their lives (Martin, 2004), is instrumental in second language learning because attainment is only arrived at by learner choice (Pavlenko & Lantolf, 2000). If attainment is understood as learner engagement in…

  5. Detecting agency from the biological motion of veridical vs animated agents

    PubMed Central

    Kelley, William M.; Heatherton, Todd F.; Macrae, C. Neil

    2007-01-01

    The ability to detect agency is fundamental for understanding the social world. Underlying this capacity are neural circuits that respond to patterns of intentional biological motion in the superior temporal sulcus and temporoparietal junction. Here we show that the brain's blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response to such motion is modulated by the representation of the actor. Dynamic social interactions were portrayed by either live-action agents or computer-animated agents, enacting the exact same patterns of biological motion. Using an event-related design, we found that the BOLD response associated with the perception and interpretation of agency was greater when identical physical movements were performed by real rather than animated agents. This finding has important implications for previous work on biological motion that has relied upon computer-animated stimuli and demonstrates that the neural substrates of social perception are finely tuned toward real-world agents. In addition, the response in lateral temporal areas was observed in the absence of instructions to make mental inferences, thus demonstrating the spontaneous implementation of the intentional stance. PMID:18985141

  6. Using fire-weather forecasts and local weather observations in predicting burning index for individual fire-danger stations.

    Treesearch

    Owen P. Cramer

    1958-01-01

    Any agency engaged in forest-fire control needs accurate weather forecasts and systematic procedures for making the best use of predicted and reported weather information. This study explores the practicability of using several tabular and graphical aids for converting area forecasts and local observations of relative humidity and wind speed into predicted values for...

  7. 5 CFR 1632.3 - Conduct of agency business.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Conduct of agency business. 1632.3... OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS § 1632.3 Conduct of agency business. Members shall not jointly conduct or dispose of official Board business other than in accordance with this part. ...

  8. Does need matter? Needs assessments and decision-making among major humanitarian health agencies.

    PubMed

    Gerdin, Martin; Chataigner, Patrice; Tax, Leonie; Kubai, Anne; von Schreeb, Johan

    2014-07-01

    Disasters of physical origin, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, tidal waves, tropical storms, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, have affected millions of people globally over the past 100 years. Proportionately, there is far greater likelihood of being affected by such disasters in low-income countries than in high-income countries. Furthermore, low-income countries are in need of international assistance following disasters more often than high-income countries. The funding of international humanitarian assistance has increased from USD 12.9 billion in 2006 to an estimated USD 16.7 billion in 2010. The majority of this funding is channelled through humanitarian agencies and is supposed to be distributed based on the need of those affected, as assessed using needs assessments. Such needs assessments may be used to inform decisions internally, to influence others, to justify response decisions, and to obtain funding. Little is known about the quality of needs assessments in practical applications. Consequently, this paper reports on and analyses the views of operational decision-makers in major health-related humanitarian agencies on needs assessments. © 2014 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2014.

  9. Learning to Attend and Observe: Parent-Child Meaning Making in the Natural World

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marin, Ananda Maria

    Observation is a traditional form of learning and a scientific practice, and as such it plays a significant role in teaching and learning both inside and outside of schools. Recently, educational researchers and philosophers have called attention to the role of observation in scientific knowledge building (Brayboy & Castagno, 2008; Cajete, 2000; Datson & Lunbeck, 2011; Eberbach, 2009; Eberbach & Crowley, 2009; Kawagley, 2006; Norris, 1985; Smith & Reiser, 2005). These scholars have foregrounded the complexity of observation, particularly as it applies to inquiry practices in those domains which are heavily reliant on observation (Eberbach & Crowley, 2009; Maltese, Balliet, & Riggs, 2013; Smith & Reiser, 2005). My dissertation research examines how families with young children engage in the coordinated activity of observation during forest walks. I focus on the ways in which attentional practices support observational inquiry among parents and children between the ages of 5 to 7. Specifically, I examine how families coordinate attention and highlight features of the environment in order to make them observable. I use a mixed methods approach to investigate the range of interactional resources parents and children use as they engage in observation and learning about the natural world. Building on Indigenous scholarship (Cajete, 2000; Deloria & Wildcat, 2010; Kawagley, 2006), sociocultural theories and ecological approaches to development (Cole, 1996; Goodwin, 1994; Ingold, 2000; Rogoff, 2003) and conversation analysis (Heritage, 2008; Pomerantz & Fehr, 1997), I develop a taxonomy of forms of coordination and discuss how spatial arrangements and language work together to link attention, observations and explanations. This work further contributes to our understanding of the situated and cultural nature of learning and serves as a resource for the design of place-based learning environments that are based on the intellectual strengths and resources of diverse families.

  10. Sensory suppression of brain responses to self-generated sounds is observed with and without the perception of agency.

    PubMed

    Timm, Jana; Schönwiesner, Marc; Schröger, Erich; SanMiguel, Iria

    2016-07-01

    Stimuli caused by our own movements are given special treatment in the brain. Self-generated sounds evoke a smaller brain response than externally generated ones. This attenuated response may reflect a predictive mechanism to differentiate the sensory consequences of one's own actions from other sensory input. It may also relate to the feeling of being the agent of the movement and its effects, but little is known about how sensory suppression of brain responses to self-generated sounds is related to judgments of agency. To address this question, we recorded event-related potentials in response to sounds initiated by button presses. In one condition, participants perceived agency over the production of the sounds, whereas in another condition, participants experience an illusory lack of agency caused by changes in the delay between actions and effects. We compared trials in which the timing of button press and sound was physically identical, but participants' agency judgment differed. Results show reduced amplitudes of the auditory N1 component in response to self-generated sounds irrespective of agency experience, whilst P2 effects correlate with the perception of agency. Our findings suggest that suppression of the auditory N1 component to self-generated sounds does not depend on adaptation to specific action-effect time delays, and does not determine agency judgments, however, the suppression of the P2 component might relate more directly to the experience of agency. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Looking for Ideas: Observation, Interpretation and Hypothesis-Making by 12-Year-Old Pupils Undertaking Science Investigations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tomkins, Stephen P.; Tunnicliffe, Sue Dale

    2001-01-01

    Studies English comprehensive secondary school students' interpretation and hypothesis-making while 12 year-old students are observing a bottle ecosystem of brine shrimps without any prior instruction and keeping diaries. Studies students through the task of open-ended diary writing and through small group discussions about the scientific…

  12. Reported emissions of organic gases are not consistent with observations

    PubMed Central

    Henry, Ronald C.; Spiegelman, Clifford H.; Collins, John F.; Park, EunSug

    1997-01-01

    Regulatory agencies and photochemical models of ozone rely on self-reported industrial emission rates of organic gases. Incorrect self-reported emissions can severely impact on air quality models and regulatory decisions. We compared self-reported emissions of organic gases in Houston, Texas, to measurements at a receptor site near the Houston ship channel, a major petrochemical complex. We analyzed hourly observations of total nonmethane organic carbon and 54 hydrocarbon compounds from C-2 to C-9 for the period June through November, 1993. We were able to demonstrate severe inconsistencies between reported emissions and major sources as derived from the data using a multivariate receptor model. The composition and the location of the sources as deduced from the data are not consistent with the reported industrial emissions. On the other hand, our observationally based methods did correctly identify the location and composition of a relatively small nearby chemical plant. This paper provides strong empirical evidence that regulatory agencies and photochemical models are making predictions based on inaccurate industrial emissions. PMID:11038551

  13. Personal Agency and Public Recognition in Women's Volunteering: Does the Organisation Make a Difference?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leonard, Rosemary; Burns, Ailsa

    2003-01-01

    Life review interviews with 54 midlife and older women discussed their volunteer activities. In general, highly public activities were associated with formal volunteering and low-agency/private activities with informal volunteering. Even formal activities with limited public exposure helped network people who would otherwise not have made contact.…

  14. Parental Agency in Educational Decision Making: A Mexican American Example

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McClain, Margy

    2010-01-01

    Background/Context: This article explores the experiences of one Mexican American family as they make a key curriculum choice for their 9-year-old son. Relatively little attention has been paid to parents' beliefs, attitudes, and, in particular, experiences as they actively engage in--and sometimes affect--their children's schooling. Parents'…

  15. 41 CFR 105-8.171 - Complaints against an occupant agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... violation found. (b) GSA shall make reasonable efforts to follow the time frames for complaint resolution that go into effect under the notifying occupant agency's compliance procedures when it receives a...

  16. Labor Market Information and Career Decision Making. ERIC Digest No. 83.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Imel, Susan; Kerka, Sandra

    Labor market information (LMI) describes the interaction between occupations and employers. Three major components make up LMI: economic or labor force information, occupational information, and demographic information. Various agencies, including federal departments and state employment security agencies, compile LMI. A guide to the information…

  17. 78 FR 14551 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Public Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-06

    ... Federal grant-making agencies a simplified alternative to the Standard Form 424 data set and form. Agencies may use the SF-424 Short Form for grant programs not required to collect all the data that is required on the SF-424 core data set and form. Need and Proposed Use of the Information: The SF-424 Short...

  18. Decision Making Structures in Community Colleges.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Konrad, Abram G.

    The governance of community colleges in western Canada is increasingly influenced by the activities of federal and regional agencies, provincial legislatures, professional and trade associations, and advisory committees. Decision-making is increasingly centralized so that programs are standardized, procedures are routinized, and colleges lack…

  19. Decision making, procedural compliance, and outcomes definition in U.S. forest service planning processes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Stern, Marc J., E-mail: mjstern@vt.ed; Predmore, S. Andrew, E-mail: sapredmo@vt.ed

    2011-04-15

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) dictates a process of analyzing and disclosing the likely impacts of proposed agency actions on the human environment. This study addresses two key questions related to NEPA implementation in the U.S. Forest Service: 1) how do Interdisciplinary (ID) team leaders and decision makers conceptualize the outcomes of NEPA processes? And 2), how does NEPA relate to agency decision making? We address these questions through two separate online surveys that posed questions about recently completed NEPA processes - the first with the ID team leaders tasked with carrying out the processes, and the second withmore » the line officers responsible for making the processes' final decisions. Outcomes of NEPA processes include impacts on public relations, on employee morale and team functioning, on the achievement of agency goals, and on the achievement of NEPA's procedural requirements (disclosure) and substantive intent (minimizing negative environmental impacts). Although both tended to view public relations outcomes as important, decision makers' perceptions of favorable outcomes were more closely linked to the achievement of agency goals and process efficiency than was the case for ID team leaders. While ID team leaders' responses suggest that they see decision making closely integrated with the NEPA process, decision makers more commonly decoupled decision making from the NEPA process. These findings suggest a philosophical difference between ID team leaders and decision makers that may pose challenges for both the implementation and the evaluation of agency NEPA. We discuss the pros and cons of integrating NEPA with decision making or separating the two. We conclude that detaching NEPA from decision making poses greater risks than integrating them.« less

  20. Should We Enhance the Observing Systems or Improve Coordination Among the Operating Agencies: What is Needed the Most for Security--A Philosophical Discussion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Habib, Shahid

    2006-01-01

    As an integrated observing strategy, the concept of sensorweb for Earth observations is appealing in many aspects. For instance, by increasing the spatial and temporal coverage of observations from space and other vantage points, one can eventually aid in increasing the accuracy of the atmospheric models which are precursor to hurricane track prediction, volcanic eruption forecast, and trajectory path of transcontinental transport of dust, harmful nuclear and chemical plumes. In reality, there is little analysis available in terms of benefits, costs and optimized set of sensors needed to make these necessary observations. This is a complex problem that must be carefully studied and balanced over many boundaries such as science, defense, early warning, security, and surveillance. Simplistically, the sensorweb concept from the technological point of view alone has a great appeal in the defense, early warning and security applications. In fact, it can be relatively less expensive in per unit cost as opposed to building and deploying it for the scientific use. However, overall observing approach should not be singled out and aligned somewhat orthogonally to serve a particular need. On the other hand, the sensorweb should be designed and deployed to serve multiple subject areas and customers simultaneously; and can behave as directed measuring systems for both science and operational entities. Sensorweb can be designed to act as expert systems, and/or also provide a dedicated integrated surveillance network. Today, there is no system in the world that is fully integrated in terms of reporting timely multiple hazards warnings, computing the loss of life and property damage estimates, and is also designed to cater to everyone's needs. It is not an easier problem to undertake and more so is not practically solvable. At this time due to some recent events in the world, the scientific community, social scientists, and operational agencies are more cognizant and getting

  1. 78 FR 46578 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-01

    ... , including any personal information provided. Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or... to understand the impact of bundled products and services on the financial decision- making of... BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION [Docket No CFPB-2013-0024] Agency Information Collection...

  2. Value Assessment Frameworks for HTA Agencies: The Organization of Evidence-Informed Deliberative Processes.

    PubMed

    Baltussen, Rob; Jansen, Maarten Paul Maria; Bijlmakers, Leon; Grutters, Janneke; Kluytmans, Anouck; Reuzel, Rob P; Tummers, Marcia; der Wilt, Gert Jan van

    2017-02-01

    Priority setting in health care has been long recognized as an intrinsically complex and value-laden process. Yet, health technology assessment agencies (HTAs) presently employ value assessment frameworks that are ill fitted to capture the range and diversity of stakeholder values and thereby risk compromising the legitimacy of their recommendations. We propose "evidence-informed deliberative processes" as an alternative framework with the aim to enhance this legitimacy. This framework integrates two increasingly popular and complementary frameworks for priority setting: multicriteria decision analysis and accountability for reasonableness. Evidence-informed deliberative processes are, on one hand, based on early, continued stakeholder deliberation to learn about the importance of relevant social values. On the other hand, they are based on rational decision-making through evidence-informed evaluation of the identified values. The framework has important implications for how HTA agencies should ideally organize their processes. First, HTA agencies should take the responsibility of organizing stakeholder involvement. Second, agencies are advised to integrate their assessment and appraisal phases, allowing for the timely collection of evidence on values that are considered relevant. Third, HTA agencies should subject their decision-making criteria to public scrutiny. Fourth, agencies are advised to use a checklist of potentially relevant criteria and to provide argumentation for how each criterion affected the recommendation. Fifth, HTA agencies must publish their argumentation and install options for appeal. The framework should not be considered a blueprint for HTA agencies but rather an aspirational goal-agencies can take incremental steps toward achieving this goal. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. 13 CFR 147.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Federal agency or agency. 147.645 Section 147.645 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 147.645 Federal agency or agency. Federal...

  4. The experience of agency in sequence production with altered auditory feedback.

    PubMed

    Couchman, Justin J; Beasley, Robertson; Pfordresher, Peter Q

    2012-03-01

    When speaking or producing music, people rely in part on auditory feedback - the sounds associated with the performed action. Three experiments investigated the degree to which alterations of auditory feedback (AAF) during music performances influence the experience of agency (i.e., the sense that your actions led to auditory events) and the possible link between agency and the disruptive effect of AAF on production. Participants performed short novel melodies from memory on a keyboard. Auditory feedback during performances was manipulated with respect to its pitch contents and/or its synchrony with actions. Participants rated their experience of agency after each trial. In all experiments, AAF reduced judgments of agency across conditions. Performance was most disrupted (measured by error rates and slowing) when AAF led to an ambiguous experience of agency, suggesting that there may be some causal relationship between agency and disruption. However, analyses revealed that these two effects were probably independent. A control experiment verified that performers can make veridical judgments of agency. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. Copernicus: a quantum leap in Earth Observation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aschbacher, Josef

    2015-04-01

    Copernicus is the most ambitious, most comprehensive Earth observation system world-wide. It aims at giving decision-makers better information to act upon, at global, continental, national and regional level. The European Union (EU) leads the overall programme, while the European Space Agency (ESA) coordinates the space component. Similar to meteorology, satellite data is combined with data from airborne and ground sensors to provide a holistic view of the state of the planet. All these data are fed into a range of thematic information services designed to benefit the environment and to support policy-makers and other stakeholders to make decisions, coordinate policy areas, and formulate strategies relating to the environment. Moreover, the data will also be used for predicting future climate trends. Never has such a comprehensive Earth-observation based system been in place before. It will be fully integrated into an informed decision making process, thus enabling economic and social benefits through better access to information globally. A key feature of Copernicus is the free and open data policy of the Sentinel satellite data. This will enable that Earth observation based information enters completely new domains of daily life. High quality, regularly updated satellite observations become available for basically everyone. To ensure universal access new ground segment and data access concepts need to be developed. As more data are made available, better decisions can made, more business will be created and science and research can be achieved through the upcoming Sentinel data.

  6. 10 CFR 607.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Federal agency or agency. 607.645 Section 607.645 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (CONTINUED) ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 607.645 Federal agency or agency. Department of Energy means the U.S...

  7. 31 CFR 20.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Federal agency or agency. 20.645 Section 20.645 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.645 Federal agency or agency...

  8. 31 CFR 20.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Federal agency or agency. 20.645 Section 20.645 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.645 Federal agency or agency...

  9. 31 CFR 20.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Federal agency or agency. 20.645 Section 20.645 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.645 Federal agency or agency...

  10. 31 CFR 20.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Federal agency or agency. 20.645 Section 20.645 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.645 Federal agency or agency...

  11. 31 CFR 20.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Federal agency or agency. 20.645 Section 20.645 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 20.645 Federal agency or agency...

  12. New Interoperable Tools to Facilitate Decision-Making to Support Community Sustainability

    EPA Science Inventory

    Communities, regional planning authorities, regulatory agencies, and other decision-making bodies do not currently have adequate access to spatially explicit information crucial to making decisions that allow them to consider a full accounting of the costs, benefits, and trade-of...

  13. Challenges in shared decision making in advanced cancer care: a qualitative longitudinal observational and interview study.

    PubMed

    Brom, Linda; De Snoo-Trimp, Janine C; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D; Widdershoven, Guy A M; Stiggelbout, Anne M; Pasman, H Roeline W

    2017-02-01

    Patients' preferences and expectations should be taken into account in treatment decision making in the last phase of life. Shared decision making (SDM) is regarded as a way to give the patient a central role in decision making. Little is known about how SDM is used in clinical practice in advanced cancer care. To examine whether and how the steps of SDM can be recognized in decision making about second- and third-line chemotherapy. Fourteen advanced cancer patients were followed over time using face-to-face in-depth interviews and observations of the patients' out-clinic visits. Interviews and outpatient clinic visits in which treatment options were discussed or decisions made were transcribed verbatim and analysed using open coding. Patients were satisfied with the decision-making process, but the steps of SDM were barely seen in daily practice. The creation of awareness about available treatment options by physicians was limited and not discussed in an equal way. Patients' wishes and concerns were not explicitly assessed, which led to different expectations about improved survival from subsequent lines of chemotherapy. To reach SDM in daily practice, physicians should create awareness of all treatment options, including forgoing treatment, and communicate the risk of benefit and harm. Open and honest communication is needed in which patients' expectations and concerns are discussed. Through this, the difficult process of decision making in the last phase of life can be facilitated and the focus on the best care for the specific patient is strengthened. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. The US Arctic Observing Network - Mobilizing Interagency Observing Actions in an Era of Rapid Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Starkweather, S.

    2017-12-01

    US agencies have long relied upon sustained Arctic observing to achieve their missions, be they in support of long-term monitoring, operationalized forecasts, or long-term process studies. One inventory of Arctic observing activities (arcticobservingviewer.org) suggests that there are more than 10,000 sustained data collection sites that have been supported by US agencies. Yet despite calls from academia (e.g. National Research Council, 2006) and agency leadership (e.g. IARPC, 2007) for more integrated approaches, such coherence - in the form of a US Arctic Observing Network (US AON) - has been slow and ad hoc in emerging. Two approaches have been invoked in systematically creating networks of greater coherence. One involves solving the "backward problem" or drawing existing observations into interoperable, multi-sensor, value-added data products. These approaches have the benefit that they build from existing assets and extend observations over greater time and space scales than individual efforts can approach. They suffer from being high-energy undertakings, often proceeding through voluntary efforts, and are limited by the observational assets already in place. Solving the "forward problem", or designing the network that is "needed" entails its own challenges of aligning multiple agency needs and capabilities into coordinated frameworks, often tied into a societal benefit structure. The solutions to the forward problem are greatly constrained by financial and technical feasibility. The benefit of such approaches is that interoperability and user-needs are baked into the network design, and some critical prioritization has been invoked. In September 2016, NOAA and other US agencies advanced plans to formally establish and fund the coordination of a US AON initiative. This US AON initiative brings new coordination capabilities on-line to support and strengthen US engagement in sustained and coordinated pan-Arctic observing and data sharing systems that serve

  15. Occupational Stress Among Home Healthcare Workers: Integrating Worker and Agency-Level Factors.

    PubMed

    Zoeckler, Jeanette M

    2018-02-01

    Home healthcare work is physically and emotionally exhausting. In addition, home healthcare workers frequently work under precarious work arrangements for low wages and in poor work conditions. Little is known about how sources of job strain for home healthcare workers might be reduced. This research examines the occupational stressors among paid home care workers by analyzing home healthcare agency characteristics and individual home healthcare workers' experiences in upstate New York agencies (n = 9). The study augments existing theoretical models and describes new sources of stress arising from the nature of agency-based caregiving. Results feature the analysis of both agency executives' (n = 20) and home healthcare workers' narratives (n = 25) to make the agency's inner workings more transparent. Agency structures and culture are implicated in the lack of progress to address home care workers' health problems. Policy change should focus on compensation, healthier work conditions, and training requirements.

  16. 76 FR 44583 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-26

    ... confidential business information may be necessary to make a reference or equivalent method determination. The... Equivalent Method Determination (Renewal) AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [[Page 44584... http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by e-mail to [email protected] , or by mail to: EPA...

  17. [Health education in the French Regional Health Agencies in 2012: observations and analysis].

    PubMed

    Baudier, François; Destaing, Lara; Michaud, Claude

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines the role of health education in the French Agences régionales de santé (ARS, Regional Health Agencies) in 2012. A survey was conducted among public health managers working in the ARS. Most of the participants reported that health education plays an important role in their agency, notably through their regional health plan and the activities of the organizations responsible for promoting democracy in health care. This is also true of the links with the Institut national de prévention et d'education pour la santé (INPES, the National Institute for Health Prevention and Education) and the network of Instances régionales d'éducation et de promotion de la santé (IREPS, the Regional Authorities for Health Education and Promotion). However, the answers to the open-ended questions and the results of the interviews suggest that these results must be interpreted with caution. The study focuses on a number of factors that must be taken into account when considering the results of the quantitative analysis. These factors include: the subjective (or interpretive) dimension of the term "health education" emphasized by many of the participants (a term involving an emphasis on either health promotion or preventive medicine); the limited emphasis on health education in the ARS (beyond therapeutic patient education) compared to other issues such as health monitoring and security, health care and medico-social problems; the limited resources allocated to health education and the bleak budget outlook; the relationships with the main operators; and the need to develop, promote and apply knowledge of good practice. Finally, the study shows that the role of health education is dependent on individuals' willingness to promote it and, in particular, on the commitment of ARS managers.

  18. "Making dreams come true"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1998-11-01

    At an exciting stage in the evolution of the European Space Agency's Science Programme, Director-General Antonio Rodota and Director of Science Roger Bonnet will meet the press in ESA Head Office for a frank discussion of progress and problems. The Science Programme serves scientists in all of ESA's Member States, who want to do adventurous research in space of importance to all mankind. Making their dreams come true is more difficult in the face of recent cuts in the Programme's budget. Scientific boldness combined with administrative prudence nevertheless results in a series of current and future projects in which Europe can take pride. Highlights for discussion at the Press Conference will include: * MARS. In 2003, the newly approved mission Mars Express will make Europe's debut at the Red Planet, with innovative science at a very low cost. * THE SUN. SOHO is back in business after a nail-biting summer, Ulysses is heading for its second visit to the polar regions of the Sun, and Cluster II is on schedule for launch in 2000. * ASTRONOMY. Following the outstanding successes of ISO's infrared observations, completed this year, XMM and Integral are preparing to match its achievements by detecting X-rays and gamma-rays from the Universe. Journalists will also be updated about the status of Huygens (already en route for Titan), SMART-1 (new propulsion), Rosetta (comet mission), MiniSTEP (relativity), FIRST (far infra-red astronomy) and Planck (microwave background) -- as well as other adventurous missions under study.

  19. Supporting Greenhouse Gas Management Strategies with Observations and Analysis - Challenges and Opportunities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butler, J. H.; Tarasova, O. A.

    2014-12-01

    Climate-change challenges facing society in the 21st century require an improved understanding of the global carbon-cycle and of the impacts and feedbacks of past, present, and future emissions of carbon-cycle gases. Global society faces a major challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to virtually zero, most notably those of CO2, while at the same time facing variable and potentially overwhelming Earth System feedbacks. How it goes about this will depend upon the nature of impending international agreements, national laws, regional strategies, and social and economic forces. The challenge to those making observations to support, inform, or verify these reduction efforts, or to address potential Earth System feedbacks, lies in harmonizing a diverse array of observations and observing systems. Doing so is not trivial. Providing coherent, regional-scale information from these observations also requires improved modelling and ensemble reanalysis, but in the end such information must be relevant and reasonably certain. The challenge to us is to ensure a globally coherent observing and analysis system to supply the information that society will need to succeed. Policy-makers, scientists, government agencies, and businesses will need the best information available for decision-making and any observing and analysis system ultimately must be able to provide a coherent story over decades.

  20. Data-Based Decision-Making Teams in Middle School: Observations and Implications from the Middle School Intervention Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crone, Deanne A.; Carlson, Sarah E.; Haack, Marcia K.; Kennedy, Patrick C.; Baker, Scott K.; Fien, Hank

    2016-01-01

    The use of data-based decision making (DBDM) in schools to drive educational improvement and success has been strongly promoted by educational experts and policymakers, yet very little is documented about the actual DBDM practices used in schools. This study examines DBDM practices in 25 middle schools through 80 standardized observations of data…

  1. Chemical Risk Assessment: Selected Federal Agencies’ Procedures, Assumptions, and Policies

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-08-01

    adverse effects of exposures to hazardous substances or situations. It is a complex but valuable set of tools for federal regulatory agencies, helping...Act DES diethylstilbestrol DOT Department of Transportation ED effective dose EPA Environmental Protection Agency EPCRA Emergency Planning and...ISO International Organization for Standardization LED lowest effective dose LOAEL lowest observed adverse effect level LOEL lowest observed effect

  2. 34 CFR 602.31 - Agency submissions to the Department.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    .... (1) The Secretary's processing and decision making on requests for public disclosure of agency... period specified in the final recognition decision. The application must consist of— (1) A statement of... compliance as specified in the decision of the senior Department official or Secretary, as applicable. (d...

  3. 75 FR 73133 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-29

    ... Energy Agency (IAEA). Licensees use Form 741 to make inventory and accounting reports for certain source.... This form enables NRC to collect, retrieve, analyze, and submit the data to IAEA to fulfill its...

  4. 78 FR 79014 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-27

    ... Agency (IAEA). Licensees use Form 741 to make inventory and accounting reports for certain source or... enables the NRC to collect, retrieve, analyze, and submit the data to IAEA to fulfill its reporting...

  5. Help Wanted: Flexibility for Innovative State Education Agencies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphy, Patrick

    2014-01-01

    State education agencies, or SEAs, are being asked-and in some cases, forced-to make operational changes in the name of school improvement. New laws and expectations are pushing them to play a greater role in managing school performance, displacing to a significant degree their decades-old responsibility for monitoring local school districts for…

  6. Health technology assessment agencies: an international overview of organizational aspects.

    PubMed

    Martelli, Francesco; La Torre, Giuseppe; Di Ghionno, Elena; Staniscia, Tommaso; Neroni, Massimo; Cicchetti, Americo; Von Bremen, Konrade; Ricciardi, Walter

    2007-01-01

    The aim of the study is to make an international comparison of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Agencies, to show their similarities and differences. An e-mail questionnaire was sent to thirty HTA agencies internationally. Questions related to the structure of the agency, the relationship with health-related institutions, the prescriptiveness of the decisions taken, the main core and the modalities to spread the assessment, and the type of funding. Twenty-four HTA Agencies answered the questionnaire: 25 percent in America, 4.2 percent in Australia, and 70.8 percent in Europe. Fifty-four percent of HTA Agencies are governmental institutions (83.3 percent have central government funding), while 62.5 percent have relationships with health-related governmental institutions. Of the agencies, 87 percent reported that their decisions are not prescriptive, while for 20.8 percent and 8.3 percent of them stated that this was the case totally or partially, respectively, especially for the governmental and American Agencies. Seventeen agencies (70.8 percent) declared their work on multiannual programs (77 percent of the governmental HTA Agencies and 100 percent of the American ones). The assessments mainly addressed diagnostic procedures (85.7 percent) and pharmaceuticals (25 percent). The most common way to disseminate results is by means of paper report (91.7 percent), followed by the Internet (16.7 percent), and seminars to expert audiences (12.5 percent). The comparative analysis of HTA Agencies showed that governmental and American Agencies have a profound impact on the prescriptiveness of their assessment, and this could be linked to the fact that these types of Agencies work on multiannual programs. European and American HTA Agencies have many similarities in terms of type of assessment, funding, and dissemination of results.

  7. A Comparison of Reimbursement Recommendations by European HTA Agencies: Is There Opportunity for Further Alignment?

    PubMed Central

    Allen, Nicola; Liberti, Lawrence; Walker, Stuart R.; Salek, Sam

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: In Europe and beyond, the rising costs of healthcare and limited healthcare resources have resulted in the implementation of health technology assessment (HTA) to inform health policy and reimbursement decision-making. European legislation has provided a harmonized route for the regulatory process with the European Medicines Agency, but reimbursement decision-making still remains the responsibility of each country. There is a recognized need to move toward a more objective and collaborative reimbursement environment for new medicines in Europe. Therefore, the aim of this study was to objectively assess and compare the national reimbursement recommendations of 9 European jurisdictions following European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommendation for centralized marketing authorization. Methods: Using publicly available data and newly developed classification tools, this study appraised 9 European reimbursement systems by assessing HTA processes and the relationship between the regulatory, HTA and decision-making organizations. Each national HTA agency was classified according to two novel taxonomies. The System taxonomy, focuses on the position of the HTA agency within the national reimbursement system according to the relationship between the regulator, the HTA-performing agency, and the reimbursement decision-making coverage body. The HTA Process taxonomy distinguishes between the individual HTA agency's approach to economic and therapeutic evaluation and the inclusion of an independent appraisal step. The taxonomic groups were subsequently compared with national HTA recommendations. Results: This study identified European national reimbursement recommendations for 102 new active substances (NASs) approved by the EMA from 2008 to 2012. These reimbursement recommendations were compared using a novel classification tool and identified alignment between the organizational structure of reimbursement systems (System taxonomy) and HTA recommendations. However

  8. A Comparison of Reimbursement Recommendations by European HTA Agencies: Is There Opportunity for Further Alignment?

    PubMed

    Allen, Nicola; Liberti, Lawrence; Walker, Stuart R; Salek, Sam

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: In Europe and beyond, the rising costs of healthcare and limited healthcare resources have resulted in the implementation of health technology assessment (HTA) to inform health policy and reimbursement decision-making. European legislation has provided a harmonized route for the regulatory process with the European Medicines Agency, but reimbursement decision-making still remains the responsibility of each country. There is a recognized need to move toward a more objective and collaborative reimbursement environment for new medicines in Europe. Therefore, the aim of this study was to objectively assess and compare the national reimbursement recommendations of 9 European jurisdictions following European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommendation for centralized marketing authorization. Methods: Using publicly available data and newly developed classification tools, this study appraised 9 European reimbursement systems by assessing HTA processes and the relationship between the regulatory, HTA and decision-making organizations. Each national HTA agency was classified according to two novel taxonomies. The System taxonomy, focuses on the position of the HTA agency within the national reimbursement system according to the relationship between the regulator, the HTA-performing agency, and the reimbursement decision-making coverage body. The HTA Process taxonomy distinguishes between the individual HTA agency's approach to economic and therapeutic evaluation and the inclusion of an independent appraisal step. The taxonomic groups were subsequently compared with national HTA recommendations. Results: This study identified European national reimbursement recommendations for 102 new active substances (NASs) approved by the EMA from 2008 to 2012. These reimbursement recommendations were compared using a novel classification tool and identified alignment between the organizational structure of reimbursement systems (System taxonomy) and HTA recommendations. However

  9. Defense Agencies Initiative Increment 2 (DAI Inc 2)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-01

    2016 Major Automated Information System Annual Report Defense Agencies Initiative Increment 2 (DAI Inc 2) Defense Acquisition Management...Automated Information System MAIS OE - MAIS Original Estimate MAR – MAIS Annual Report MDA - Milestone Decision Authority MDD - Materiel Development...management systems supporting diverse operational functions and the warfighter in decision making and financial reporting . These disparate, non

  10. Maximizing mitigation benefits-making a difference with strategic inter-resource agency planning : year one technical report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-04-01

    The objective of this research project is to assess current mitigation policies and practices in comparison to : resource agency objectives, and identify mitigation strategies and priorities that provide greater cost-benefit : potential and implement...

  11. 41 CFR 51-7.3 - Ensuring environmental documents are actually considered in agency determinations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... contains requirements to ensure adequate consideration of environmental documents in agency decision-making... environmental documents as a part of their decision-making: (1) Action: Request. (2) Start of NEPA process: Upon... Property Management Other Provisions Relating to Public Contracts COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO...

  12. Home Health Agency Performance in the United States: 2011–15

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yun; Spatz, Erica S.; Tariq, Maliha; Angraal, Suveen; Krumholz, Harlan M.

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVES To evaluate home health agency quality performance. DESIGN Observational study. SETTING Home health agencies PARTICIPANTS All Medicare-certified agencies with at least 6 months of data from 2011 to 2015. MEASUREMENTS Twenty-two quality indicators, five patient survey indicators, and their composite scores. RESULTS The study included 11,462 Medicare-certified home health agencies that served 92.4% of all ZIP codes nationwide, accounting for 315.2 million people. The mean composite scores were 409.1 ± 22.7 out of 500 with the patient survey indicators and 492.3 ± 21.7 out of 600 without the patient survey indicators. Home health agency performance on 27 quality indicators varied, with the coefficients of dispersion ranging from 4.9 to 62.8. Categorization of agencies into performance quartiles revealed that 3,179 (27.7%) were in the low-performing group (below 25th percentile) at least one time during the period from 2011–12 to 2014–15 and that 493 were in the low-performing group throughout the study period. Geographic variation in agency performance was observed. Agencies with longer Medicare-certified years were more likely to have high-performing scores; agencies providing partial services, with proprietary ownership, and those with long travel distances to reach patients had lower performance. Agencies serving low-income counties and counties with lower proportions of women and senior residences and greater proportions of Hispanic residents were more likely to attain lower performance scores. CONCLUSION Home health agency performance on several quality indicators varied, and many agencies were persistently in the lowest quartile of performance. Still, there is a need to improve the quality of care of all agencies. Many parts of the United States, particularly lower-income areas and areas with more Hispanic residents, are more likely to receive lower quality home health care. PMID:28960228

  13. Mapping Concepts of Agency in Educational Contexts.

    PubMed

    Matusov, Eugene; von Duyke, Katherine; Kayumova, Shakhnoza

    2016-09-01

    The purpose of this conceptual paper is to explore and map the "espoused theories" (Argyris and Schön 1978) of agency used in educational contexts. More precisely, we limit the focus on the normative view of student agency assumed within dominant school practices, desired by educational practitioners, leaving out non-normative emerging agencies such as student agency of resistance. Agency is a "tricky" concept, and often scholars who use the concept of agency do not define or operationalize it (e.g., Archer 2000). One reason is that there is no consensus among scholars about the notion of agency, especially when applied to educational contexts (Hitlin and Elder Sociological Theory, 25 (2), 170-191, 2007). Moreover, the recent neoliberal framing of individuals' agency as fully autonomous, flexible, and self-entrepreneur is adding the dilemma of agency manipulation in the sphere of education (Gershon 2011; Sidorkin 2004). To tackle this dilemma in educational contexts, we suggest to further interrogating the normative notion of agency in all its modes and develop a more nuanced conceptualization. We hope that such conceptualization would produce an understanding of the diverse manifestations and definitions of agency within a human ideal, educational content, behaviors, and social settings. We observed diverse uses of the normative term "agency" in educational discourse. We examined the term as used by researchers and practitioners. We also looked at the different ways it has been used in philosophical discussions of education, political framing of the civic role of schooling, disciplinary policy statements, school mission statements, and in everyday common use. It is worthy to note that our categorization of the use and meaning of the normative term "agency" depends on the scholars' epistemological paradigmatic assumptions, socio-political and historical situatedness, and ontological projects being translated into diverse scholarships of education. As a result of

  14. Maximizing mitigation benefits-making a difference with strategic inter-resource agency planning : year two technical report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-11-01

    The objective of this research project is to assess current mitigation policies and practices in comparison to : resource agency objectives and to identify mitigation strategies and priorities that provide greater cost-benefit potential and implement...

  15. 12 CFR 261b.3 - Conduct of agency business.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Conduct of agency business. 261b.3 Section 261b.3 Banks and Banking FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM (CONTINUED) BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM RULES REGARDING PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS § 261b.3 Conduct of agency business. Members shall...

  16. Conceptualizing agency: Folkpsychological and folkcommunicative perspectives on plants.

    PubMed

    Ojalehto, Bethany L; Medin, Douglas L; García, Salino G

    2017-05-01

    The present research addresses cultural variation in concepts of agency. Across two experiments, we investigate how Indigenous Ngöbe of Panama and US college students interpret and make inferences about nonhuman agency, focusing on plants as a critical test case. In Experiment 1, participants predicted goal-directed actions for plants and other nonhuman kinds and judged their capacities for intentional agency. Goal-directed action is pervasive among living kinds and as such we expected cultural agreement on these predictions. However, we expected that interpretation of the capacities involved would differ based on cultural folktheories. As expected, Ngöbe and US participants both inferred that plants would engage in goal-directed action but Ngöbe were more likely to attribute intentional agency capacities to plants. Experiment 2 extends these findings by investigating action predictions and capacity attributions linked to complex forms of plant social agency recently discovered in botanical sciences (communication, kin altruism). We hypothesized that the Ngöbe view of plants as active agents would productively guide inferences for plant social interaction. Indeed, Ngöbe were more likely than US participants to infer that plants can engage in social behaviors and they also attributed more social agency capacities to plants. We consolidate these findings by using bottom-up consensus modeling to show that these cultural differences reflect two distinct conceptual models of agency rather than variations on a single (universal) model. We consider these findings in light of current theories of domain-specificity and animism, and offer an alternative account based on a folktheory of communication that infers agency on the basis of relational interactions rather than having a mind. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. 41 CFR 102-76.20 - What issues must Federal agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services? 102-76.20 Section 102-76.20... What issues must Federal agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services? In providing site planning and design services, Federal agencies must— (a) Make the site planning and landscape...

  18. 41 CFR 102-76.20 - What issues must Federal agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services? 102-76.20 Section 102-76.20... What issues must Federal agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services? In providing site planning and design services, Federal agencies must— (a) Make the site planning and landscape...

  19. 41 CFR 102-76.20 - What issues must Federal agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services? 102-76.20 Section 102-76.20... What issues must Federal agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services? In providing site planning and design services, Federal agencies must— (a) Make the site planning and landscape...

  20. 41 CFR 102-76.20 - What issues must Federal agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services? 102-76.20 Section 102-76.20... What issues must Federal agencies consider in providing site planning and landscape design services? In providing site planning and design services, Federal agencies must— (a) Make the site planning and landscape...

  1. 45 CFR 630.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Federal agency or agency. 630.645 Section 630.645 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 630.645 Federal agency...

  2. 7 CFR 253.11 - Administrative funds for State agencies.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... first year of operation of the program, and the need to assure that no State agency currently operating... incurred in operating the Food Distribution Program for households on a reservation. The value of services... available under this section in the following order of priority and shall give preference in making payments...

  3. Grounding principles for inferring agency: Two cultural perspectives.

    PubMed

    Ojalehto, Bethany L; Medin, Douglas L; García, Salino G

    2017-06-01

    The present research investigates cultural variation in grounding principles for inferring agency in order to address an important theoretical debate: does cultural diversity in agency concepts reflect an animistic overextension of (universal) folkpsychology, as many have argued, or an alternative theory of folkcommunication based on relational principles? In two experiments, mind perception measures were adapted to assess beliefs concerning the agency of non-animal kinds (plants, abiotic kinds, complex artifacts) among Indigenous Ngöbe adults in Panama and US college students. Agency attributions varied systematically, with Ngöbe ascribing greater agency to non-animal natural kinds and US college participants ascribing greater agency to complex artifacts. Analysis of explanations revealed divergent interpretations of agency as a prototypically human capacity requiring consciousness (US), versus a relational capacity expressed in directed interactions (Ngöbe). Converging measures further illuminated the inferential principles underlying these agency attributions. (1) An experimental relational framing of agency probes facilitated Ngöbe but not US agency attributions. (2) Further analysis showed that three key dimensions of agency attribution (experience, cognition, animacy) are organized differently across cultures. (3) A Bayesian approach to cultural consensus modeling confirmed the presence of two distinct consensus models rather than variations on a single (universal) model. Together, these results indicate that conceptual frameworks for agency differ across US college and Ngöbe communities. We conclude that Ngöbe concepts of agency derive from a distinct theory of folkcommunication based on an ecocentric prototype rather than overextensions of an anthropocentric folkpsychology. These observations suggest that folkpsychology and mind perception represent culture specific frameworks for agency, with significant implications for domain-specificity theory and

  4. Women's Agency and Fertility: Recent Evidence from Egypt.

    PubMed

    Samari, Goleen

    2017-08-01

    Fertility reached a two decade high of 3.5 births per woman in Egypt in 2014. Lower status of women is associated with higher fertility. Majority of the studies on women's agency and fertility rely on individual level cross-sectional data from South Asia, which limits the understanding of variation among communities and the direction of the relationship between women's agency and fertility in other global contexts. This study examines the relationship between women's agency and fertility longitudinally and among communities in the most populous country in the Middle East - Egypt. For 3,795 ever married women 15 to 49 years old in the 2006 and 2012 Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey, multilevel models are estimated for having given birth and number of births between 2006 and 2012. Contrary to expectation, women with more agency with greater participation in household decision-making and mobility are, in fact, more likely to have had a birth and have a greater total number of births. Only women with more egalitarian attitudes are associated with fewer births. Community membership explains 5% of the variation in fertility. Since social norms in Egypt favor a higher number of births and labor market participation among women is low, women with agency could be fulfilling social expectations of having children and choosing to have more children.

  5. Iowa pavement asset management decision-making framework : [tech transfer summary].

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-10-01

    A structured framework and tool that can reflect local requirements, : practices, and operational conditions would greatly assist local : agencies in making consistent and defensible pavement treatment : selection decisions.

  6. Agency and Error in Young Adults' Stories of Sexual Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Katherine R.; Husser, Erica K.; Stone, Dana J.; Jordal, Christian E.

    2008-01-01

    We conducted a qualitative analysis of 148 college students' written comments about themselves as sexual decision makers. Most participants described experiences in which they were actively engaged in decision-making processes of "waiting it out" to "working it out." The four patterns were (a) I am in control, (b) I am experimenting and learning,…

  7. 48 CFR 19.602-3 - Resolving differences between the agency and the Small Business Administration.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... information, the SBA will make a final decision to either issue or deny the COC. (c) Reconsideration of a COC... complete exchange of information and in accordance with agency procedures. If agreement cannot be reached... and that an appeal decision may be requested by an authorized official. (3) If the contracting agency...

  8. 16 CFR 1014.7 - Agency review of request for correction or amendment of a record.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agency review of request for correction or... POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IMPLEMENTING THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974 § 1014.7 Agency review of request for... review the request and either make the requested correction or amendment or notify the individual of his...

  9. 13 CFR 127.501 - How will SBA and the agencies determine the industries that are eligible for EDWOSB or WOSB...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS FEDERAL CONTRACT... agency must conduct an appropriate analysis of the agency's procurement history and make a determination...

  10. 78 FR 51811 - Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-21

    ... support public transit agencies in making capital investments that would assist in the reduction of energy... collection: Transit Investments in Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program. The information... Investments in Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program (OMB Number: 2132-0566). Abstract: The...

  11. Judgements of agency in schizophrenia: an impairment in autonoetic metacognition.

    PubMed

    Metcalfe, Janet; Van Snellenberg, Jared X; DeRosse, Pamela; Balsam, Peter; Malhotra, Anil K

    2012-05-19

    We investigated judgements of agency in participants with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Participants engaged in a computer game in which they attempted to touch downward falling Xs and avoid touching Os. On some trials, participants were objectively in perfect control. On other trials, they were objectively not in complete control because the movement of the cursor on the screen was distorted with respect to the position of the mouse by random noise (turbulence), or it was lagged by 250 or 500 ms. Participants made metacognitive judgements of agency as well as judgements of performance. Control participants' judgements of agency were affected by the turbulence and lag variables-indicating that they knew they were objectively not in control in those conditions, and they were also influenced by their assessments of performance. The patients also used their assessments of performance but neither turbulence nor lag affected their judgements of agency. This indicated an impairment in agency monitoring. The patients, unlike the healthy controls, used only publically available external cues about performance in making judgements of 'agency' and did not rely on any additional access to internal self-relevant cues that were diagnostic in indicating whether or not they were, in fact, in control.

  12. 2 CFR 1401.245 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 2 Grants and Agreements 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Federal agency or agency. 1401.245 Section 1401.245 Grants and Agreements Federal Agency Regulations for Grants and Agreements DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) (Eff. 1-21-2011) Definitions § 1401...

  13. 76 FR 19740 - Notice of Public Information Collections Being Reviewed by the U.S. Agency for International...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-04-08

    ...;and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, #0;delegations of authority... Requested SUMMARY: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is making efforts to reduce the... whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the burden estimates; (c) ways...

  14. 77 FR 75105 - Notice of Public Information Collections Being Reviewed by the U.S. Agency for International...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-19

    ...;and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, #0;delegations of authority... Requested SUMMARY: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is making efforts to reduce the... whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the burden estimates; (c) ways...

  15. 20 CFR 404.1614 - Responsibilities for obtaining evidence to make disability determinations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... make disability determinations. 404.1614 Section 404.1614 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY... determinations in those classes of cases described in the written guidelines for which the State agency does not make the determination; or (2) Under international agreements with respect to social security benefits...

  16. Social Transmission of Experience of Agency: An Experimental Study.

    PubMed

    Khalighinejad, Nima; Bahrami, Bahador; Caspar, Emilie A; Haggard, Patrick

    2016-01-01

    The sense of controlling one's own actions is fundamental to normal human mental function, and also underlies concepts of social responsibility for action. However, it remains unclear how the wider social context of human action influences sense of agency. Using a simple experimental design, we investigated, for the first time, how observing the action of another person or a robot could potentially influence one's own sense of agency. We assessed how observing another's action might change the perceived temporal relationship between one's own voluntary actions and their outcomes, which has been proposed as an implicit measure of sense of agency. Working in pairs, participants chose between two action alternatives, one rewarded more frequently than the other, while watching a rotating clock hand. They judged, in separate blocks, either the time of their own action, or the time of a tone that followed the action. These were compared to baseline judgements of actions alone, or tones alone, to calculate the perceptual shift of action toward outcome and vice versa. Our design focused on how these two dependent variables, which jointly provide an implicit measure of sense of agency, might be influenced by observing another's action. In the observational group, each participant could see the other's actions. Multivariate analysis showed that the perceived time of action and tone shifted progressively toward the actual time of outcome with repeated experience of this social situation. No such progressive change occurred in other groups for whom a barrier hid participants' actions from each other. However, a similar effect was observed in the group that viewed movements of a human-like robotic hand, rather than actions of another person. This finding suggests that observing the actions of others increases the salience of the external outcomes of action and this effect is not unique to observing human agents. Social contexts in which we see others controlling external events

  17. Social Transmission of Experience of Agency: An Experimental Study

    PubMed Central

    Khalighinejad, Nima; Bahrami, Bahador; Caspar, Emilie A.; Haggard, Patrick

    2016-01-01

    The sense of controlling one’s own actions is fundamental to normal human mental function, and also underlies concepts of social responsibility for action. However, it remains unclear how the wider social context of human action influences sense of agency. Using a simple experimental design, we investigated, for the first time, how observing the action of another person or a robot could potentially influence one’s own sense of agency. We assessed how observing another’s action might change the perceived temporal relationship between one’s own voluntary actions and their outcomes, which has been proposed as an implicit measure of sense of agency. Working in pairs, participants chose between two action alternatives, one rewarded more frequently than the other, while watching a rotating clock hand. They judged, in separate blocks, either the time of their own action, or the time of a tone that followed the action. These were compared to baseline judgements of actions alone, or tones alone, to calculate the perceptual shift of action toward outcome and vice versa. Our design focused on how these two dependent variables, which jointly provide an implicit measure of sense of agency, might be influenced by observing another’s action. In the observational group, each participant could see the other’s actions. Multivariate analysis showed that the perceived time of action and tone shifted progressively toward the actual time of outcome with repeated experience of this social situation. No such progressive change occurred in other groups for whom a barrier hid participants’ actions from each other. However, a similar effect was observed in the group that viewed movements of a human-like robotic hand, rather than actions of another person. This finding suggests that observing the actions of others increases the salience of the external outcomes of action and this effect is not unique to observing human agents. Social contexts in which we see others controlling

  18. 23 CFR 810.206 - Review by the State Highway Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Review by the State Highway Agency. 810.206 Section 810.206 Highways FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MASS TRANSIT AND SPECIAL USE HIGHWAY PROJECTS Making Highway Rights-of-Way Available for Mass Transit Projects...

  19. 23 CFR 810.206 - Review by the State Highway Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 23 Highways 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Review by the State Highway Agency. 810.206 Section 810.206 Highways FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MASS TRANSIT AND SPECIAL USE HIGHWAY PROJECTS Making Highway Rights-of-Way Available for Mass Transit Projects...

  20. 23 CFR 810.206 - Review by the State Highway Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 23 Highways 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Review by the State Highway Agency. 810.206 Section 810.206 Highways FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MASS TRANSIT AND SPECIAL USE HIGHWAY PROJECTS Making Highway Rights-of-Way Available for Mass Transit Projects...

  1. 23 CFR 810.206 - Review by the State Highway Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 23 Highways 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Review by the State Highway Agency. 810.206 Section 810.206 Highways FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MASS TRANSIT AND SPECIAL USE HIGHWAY PROJECTS Making Highway Rights-of-Way Available for Mass Transit Projects...

  2. Patients' and observers' perceptions of involvement differ. Validation study on inter-relating measures for shared decision making.

    PubMed

    Kasper, Jürgen; Heesen, Christoph; Köpke, Sascha; Fulcher, Gary; Geiger, Friedemann

    2011-01-01

    Patient involvement into medical decisions as conceived in the shared decision making method (SDM) is essential in evidence based medicine. However, it is not conclusively evident how best to define, realize and evaluate involvement to enable patients making informed choices. We aimed at investigating the ability of four measures to indicate patient involvement. While use and reporting of these instruments might imply wide overlap regarding the addressed constructs this assumption seems questionable with respect to the diversity of the perspectives from which the assessments are administered. The study investigated a nested cohort (N = 79) of a randomized trial evaluating a patient decision aid on immunotherapy for multiple sclerosis. Convergent validities were calculated between observer ratings of videotaped physician-patient consultations (OPTION) and patients' perceptions of the communication (Shared Decision Making Questionnaire, Control Preference Scale & Decisional Conflict Scale). OPTION reliability was high to excellent. Communication performance was low according to OPTION and high according to the three patient administered measures. No correlations were found between observer and patient judges, neither for means nor for single items. Patient report measures showed some moderate correlations. Existing SDM measures do not refer to a single construct. A gold standard is missing to decide whether any of these measures has the potential to indicate patient involvement. Pronounced heterogeneity of the underpinning constructs implies difficulties regarding the interpretation of existing evidence on the efficacy of SDM. Consideration of communication theory and basic definitions of SDM would recommend an inter-subjective focus of measurement. Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN25267500.

  3. Agency and responsibility in adolescent students: A challenge for the societies of tomorrow.

    PubMed

    Mameli, Consuelo; Molinari, Luisa; Passini, Stefano

    2018-02-23

    The literature in educational psychology converges on the idea that students should take an active and accountable position in their learning processes. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research that has systematically put the constructs of agency and responsibility at the core of their interests. In this study, we explore whether good experiences at school - here conceptualized as the general level of basic needs fulfilment and interpersonal justice - impact on student agency and responsibility, which in turn are considered as possible mediators between a good educational experience and two outcome measures, that is, academic achievement and career decision-making self-efficacy. The study was held on a sample of 911 high school students equally distributed between males and females. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire comprising six measures assessing students' basic psychological need fulfilment, interpersonal justice, agentic engagement, responsibility for learning, academic achievement, and career decision-making self-efficacy. Structural equation modelling indicated that basic needs fulfilment positively predicts agency, responsibility, academic achievement, and career decision-making self-efficacy. Interpersonal justice positively predicts responsibility. The indirect effect from basic psychological needs on career decision-making self-efficacy through the mediating effects of student agentic engagement and student responsibility was significant. The indirect effect from interpersonal justice on career decision-making self-efficacy through the mediating effect of student responsibility for learning was significant. These results are commented at the light of their implications for teacher practices, as they emphasize the importance of good experiences at school for promoting in students an active civic sense and a greater accountability. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

  4. 9 CFR 416.17 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Agency verification. 416.17 Section 416.17 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... (d) Direct observation or testing to assess the sanitary conditions in the establishment. ...

  5. 9 CFR 416.17 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Agency verification. 416.17 Section 416.17 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... (d) Direct observation or testing to assess the sanitary conditions in the establishment. ...

  6. 9 CFR 416.17 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Agency verification. 416.17 Section 416.17 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... (d) Direct observation or testing to assess the sanitary conditions in the establishment. ...

  7. 9 CFR 416.17 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Agency verification. 416.17 Section 416.17 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... (d) Direct observation or testing to assess the sanitary conditions in the establishment. ...

  8. 9 CFR 416.17 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Agency verification. 416.17 Section 416.17 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... (d) Direct observation or testing to assess the sanitary conditions in the establishment. ...

  9. 12 CFR 1263.9 - Makes long-term home mortgage loans requirement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 9 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Makes long-term home mortgage loans requirement. 1263.9 Section 1263.9 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANKS MEMBERS OF THE BANKS Eligibility Requirements § 1263.9 Makes long-term home mortgage loans requirement. An...

  10. 12 CFR 1263.9 - Makes long-term home mortgage loans requirement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Makes long-term home mortgage loans requirement. 1263.9 Section 1263.9 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANKS MEMBERS OF THE BANKS Eligibility Requirements § 1263.9 Makes long-term home mortgage loans requirement. An...

  11. Agency alters perceptual decisions about action-outcomes.

    PubMed

    Desantis, Andrea; Waszak, Florian; Gorea, Andrei

    2016-10-01

    Humans experience themselves as agents, capable of controlling their actions and the outcomes they generate (i.e., the sense of agency). Inferences of agency are not infallible. Research shows that we often attribute outcomes to our agency even though they are caused by another agent. Moreover, agents report the sensory events they generate to be less intense compared to the events that are generated externally. These effects have been assessed using highly suprathreshold stimuli and subjective measurements. Consequently, it remains unclear whether experiencing oneself as an agent lead to a decision criterion change and/or a sensitivity change. Here, we investigate this issue. Participants were told that their key presses generated an upward dot motion but that on 30 % of the trials the computer would take over and display a downward motion. The upward/downward dot motion was presented at participant's discrimination threshold. Participants were asked to indicate whether they (upward motion) or the computer (downward motion) generated the motion. This group of participants was compared with a 'no-agency' group who performed the same task except that subjects did not execute any actions to generate the dot motion. We observed that the agency group reported seeing more frequently the motion they expected to generate (i.e., upward motion) than the no-agency group. This suggests that agency distorts our experience of (allegedly) caused events by altering perceptual decision processes, so that, in ambiguous contexts, externally generated events are experienced as the outcomes of one's actions.

  12. Misattribution of movement agency following right parietal TMS.

    PubMed

    Preston, Catherine; Newport, Roger

    2008-03-01

    Single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to disrupt the right inferior parietal lobe (rIPL) whilst neurologically intact participants made self/other judgments about whole arm reaching movements. Visual feedback of a physically coincident virtual hand was perturbed or left unperturbed (randomly) while TMS was delivered to either the rIPL or the vertex (blocked). Visual feedback of the virtual hand was veridical until the hand became occluded by a virtual bar approximately half way through the movement. TMS was delivered on 50% of trials at random during occlusion of the hand. The position of the virtual hand relative to the real hand was also perturbed during occlusion of the virtual hand on 50% of trials at random. At the end of the reach participants were required to make a verbal judgment as to whether the movement they had seen was self (unperturbed) or other (perturbed). The results revealed that when TMS was applied over rIPL, participants were more likely to misattribute agency to the computer, making more other responses for both perturbed and unperturbed trials. These findings highlight the role of a parietal neural comparator as a low-level mechanism in the experience of agency.

  13. Co-ordination of satellite and data programs: The committee on earth observation satellites' approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Embleton, B. J. J.; Kingwell, J.

    1997-01-01

    Every year, an average of eight new civilian remote sensing satellite missions are launched. Cumulatively, over 250 such missions, each with a cost equivalent in current value to between US 100 million to US 1000 million, have been sponsored by space agencies in perhaps two dozen countries. These missions produce data and information products which are vital for informed decision making all over the world, on matters relating to natural resource exploitation, health and safety, sustainable national development, infrastructure planning, and a host of other applications. By contributing to better scientific understanding of global changes in the atmosphere, land surface, oceans and ice caps, these silently orbiting sentinels in the sky make it possible for governments and industries to make wiser environmental policy decisions and support the economic development needs of humanity. The international Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) is the premier world body for co-ordinating and planning civilian satellite missions for Earth observation. Through its technical working groups and special task teams, it endeavours to: • maximise the international benefits from Earth observation satellites; and • harmonise practice in calibration, validation, data management and information systems for Earth observation. CEOS encompasses not only space agencies (data providers), but also the great international scientific and operational programs which rely on Earth science data from space. The user organisations affiliated with CEOS, together with the mission operators, attempt to reconcile user needs with the complex set of considerations — including national interests, cost, schedule — which affect the undertaking of space missions. Without such an internationally co-ordinated consensual approach, there is a much greater risk of waste through duplication, and of missed opportunity, or through the absence of measurements of some vital physical or biological

  14. 40 CFR 1068.15 - What general provisions apply for EPA decision-making?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What general provisions apply for EPA decision-making? 1068.15 Section 1068.15 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Miscellaneous Provisions § 1068.15 What general provisions apply for EPA decision-making? (a) The Administrator...

  15. 20 CFR 416.1014 - Responsibilities for obtaining evidence to make disability determinations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Responsibilities for obtaining evidence to make disability determinations. 416.1014 Section 416.1014 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY... those classes of cases described in the written guidelines for which the State agency does not make the...

  16. 76 FR 74630 - Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-01

    ... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Parts 50 and 52 RIN 3150-AI10 [NRC-2008-0122] Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION... guide (RG) 1.219, ``Guidance on Making Changes to Emergency Plans for Nuclear Power Reactors.'' This...

  17. Agency elicits body-ownership: proprioceptive drift toward a synchronously acting external proxy.

    PubMed

    Asai, Tomohisa

    2016-05-01

    Awareness of our own bodies (sense of body-ownership) and actions (sense of agency) is fundamental for self-consciousness. In the rubber hand illusion, watching a rubber hand being stroked synchronously as one's own unseen hand is also stroked causes the observer to attribute the rubber hand to their own body. The findings of the series of experiments reported here suggest that body-ownership, measured using proprioceptive drift, is elicited by the external acting proxy that drives the sense of agency. While participants clasped and unclasped their left hand for 60 s, they focused on video feedback on a monitor in front of them. Proprioceptive drift was observed only under the conditions, including synchronized conditions, where the sense of agency for the acting proxy occurred, suggesting an essential interaction between body-ownership and agency.

  18. 76 FR 27054 - Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-10

    ... Community Development and Public Welfare Investments of State Member Banks. Agency form number: FR H-6. OMB... that want to make community development or public welfare investments to comply with the Regulation H... information instruments are placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or...

  19. Conceptual study of Earth observation missions with a space-borne laser scanner

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kobayashi, Takashi; Sato, Yohei; Yamakawa, Shiro

    2017-11-01

    The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has started a conceptual study of earth observation missions with a space-borne laser scanner (GLS, as Global Laser Scanner). Laser scanners are systems which transmit intense pulsed laser light to the ground from an airplane or a satellite, receive the scattered light, and measure the distance to the surface from the round-trip delay time of the pulse. With scanning mechanisms, GLS can obtain high-accuracy three-dimensional (3D) information from all over the world. High-accuracy 3D information is quite useful in various areas. Currently, following applications are considered. 1. Observation of tree heights to estimate the biomass quantity. 2. Making the global elevation map with high resolution. 3. Observation of ice-sheets. This paper aims at reporting the present state of our conceptual study of the GLS. A prospective performance of the GLS for earth observation missions mentioned above.

  20. 34 CFR 300.310 - Observation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Placements Additional Procedures for Identifying Children with Specific Learning Disabilities § 300.310 Observation. (a) The public agency must ensure that the child is observed in the child's learning environment... specific learning disability, must decide to— (1) Use information from an observation in routine classroom...

  1. 9 CFR 417.8 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ....8 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEMS § 417.8 Agency verification. FSIS will verify the... plan or system; (f) Direct observation or measurement at a CCP; (g) Sample collection and analysis to...

  2. 9 CFR 417.8 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ....8 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEMS § 417.8 Agency verification. FSIS will verify the... plan or system; (f) Direct observation or measurement at a CCP; (g) Sample collection and analysis to...

  3. 9 CFR 417.8 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ....8 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEMS § 417.8 Agency verification. FSIS will verify the... plan or system; (f) Direct observation or measurement at a CCP; (g) Sample collection and analysis to...

  4. 9 CFR 417.8 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ....8 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEMS § 417.8 Agency verification. FSIS will verify the... plan or system; (f) Direct observation or measurement at a CCP; (g) Sample collection and analysis to...

  5. 9 CFR 417.8 - Agency verification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ....8 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEMS § 417.8 Agency verification. FSIS will verify the... plan or system; (f) Direct observation or measurement at a CCP; (g) Sample collection and analysis to...

  6. Enabling and Encouraging Transparency in Earth Science Data for Decision Making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abbott, S. B.

    2010-12-01

    , developing a new application, or evaluating a business opportunity, data access is essential. This talk will examine the need for improving access environmental data records derived from satellite and in situ observations and the Administration’s policies and efforts toward releasing data, establishing standards, maintaining transparency, and disseminating information for decision making. There are key questions to be answered in order to improve collection, storage, and dissemination of government data over time: How should agencies contribute data sets? Should agencies inventory and prioritize all their data? Or set a fixed number of data sets that must be published each year? Or set a voluntary target? Finally, what types of applications should be built to leverage all this data? How do we make these applications compelling and useful to businesses, government, and the American people?

  7. Supported Decision-Making: The Expectations Held by People With Experience of Mental Illness.

    PubMed

    Knight, Fauzia; Kokanović, Renata; Ridge, Damien; Brophy, Lisa; Hill, Nicholas; Johnston-Ataata, Kate; Herrman, Helen

    2018-05-01

    Supported decision-making (SDM) is a principle guiding mental health service provision, which aims to improve people's ability to make informed decisions about their care. Understanding diverse individual needs is vital to its success. Based on 29 narrative interviews with people diagnosed with mental illness in Australia, we examine how participants reflected on their own experiences of SDM. We find that participants' conceptualization of mental health expertise, their own experiences and sense of agency, and their varying needs for dependence and independence influenced their relationships with mental health practitioners. These factors in turn shaped their expectations about SDM. Four narrative positions emerged: the "Inward Expert," the "Outward Entrustor," the "Self-Aware Observer," and the "Social Integrator." These positionings influenced the type or style of support that participants expected and considered most useful. Our findings are relevant to developing effective approaches to SDM that take into account service users' needs and preferences.

  8. NCAR Earth Observing Laboratory - An End-to-End Observational Science Enterprise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rockwell, A.; Baeuerle, B.; Grubišić, V.; Hock, T. F.; Lee, W. C.; Ranson, J.; Stith, J. L.; Stossmeister, G.

    2017-12-01

    Researchers who want to understand and describe the Earth System require high-quality observations of the atmosphere, ocean, and biosphere. Making these observations not only requires capable research platforms and state-of-the-art instrumentation but also benefits from comprehensive in-field project management and data services. NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) is an end-to-end observational science enterprise that provides leadership in observational research to scientists from universities, U.S. government agencies, and NCAR. Deployment: EOL manages the majority of the NSF Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities, which includes research aircraft, radars, lidars, profilers, and surface and sounding systems. This suite is designed to address a wide range of Earth system science - from microscale to climate process studies and from the planet's surface into the Upper Troposphere/Lower Stratosphere. EOL offers scientific, technical, operational, and logistics support to small and large field campaigns across the globe. Development: By working closely with the scientific community, EOL's engineering and scientific staff actively develop the next generation of observing facilities, staying abreast of emerging trends, technologies, and applications in order to improve our measurement capabilities. Through our Design and Fabrication Services, we also offer high-level engineering and technical expertise, mechanical design, and fabrication to the atmospheric research community. Data Services: EOL's platforms and instruments collect unique datasets that must be validated, archived, and made available to the research community. EOL's Data Management and Services deliver high-quality datasets and metadata in ways that are transparent, secure, and easily accessible. We are committed to the highest standard of data stewardship from collection to validation to archival. Discovery: EOL promotes curiosity about Earth science, and fosters advanced understanding of the

  9. Documenting moral agency: a qualitative analysis of abortion decision making for fetal indications.

    PubMed

    Gawron, Lori M; Watson, Katie

    2017-02-01

    We explored whether the decision-making process of women aborting a pregnancy for a fetal indication fit common medical ethical frameworks. We applied three ethical frameworks (principlism, care ethics, and narrative ethics) in a secondary analysis of 30 qualitative interviews from women choosing 2nd trimester abortion for fetal indications. All 30 women offered reasoning consistent with one or more ethical frameworks. Principlism themes included avoidance of personal suffering (autonomy), and sparing a child a poor quality of life and painful medical interventions (beneficence/non-maleficence). Care ethics reasoning included relational considerations of family needs and resources, and narrative ethics reasoning contextualized this experience into the patient's life story. This population's universal application of commonly accepted medical ethical frameworks supports the position that patients choosing fetal indication abortions should be treated as moral decision-makers and given the same respect as patients making decisions about other medical procedures. These findings suggest recent political efforts blocking abortion access should be reframed as attempts to undermine the moral decision-making of women. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. Quality management as knowledge sharing: experiences of the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency.

    PubMed

    Harrison, Lindsay

    2012-01-01

    Lacking a coordinated effort in utilizing data and tracking program outcomes, one agency developed a Quality Management (QM) division to facilitate and manage more effective data use. To support this process, the agency sought to develop a collective, agency-wide understanding and investment in improving and measuring client outcomes. Similarly, the agency also focused efforts on creating a culture of transparency and accountability, with goals of improving service, increasing agency integrity, meeting regulatory compliance, and engaging in effective risk management. Operationalizing the QM initiative involved developing procedures, systems, and guidelines that would facilitate the generation of reliable and accurate data that could be used to inform program change and decision-making. This case study describes this agency's experience in successfully creating and implementing a QM initiative aimed at engaging in greater knowledge sharing. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

  11. Framework for Human Health Risk Assessment to Inform Decision Making

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The purpose of this document is to describe a Framework for conducting human health risk assessments that are responsive to the needs of decision‐making processes in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

  12. Results of the Simulation and Assimilation of Doppler Wind Lidar Observations in Preparation for European Space Agency's Aeolus Mission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    McCarty, Will

    2011-01-01

    With the launch of the European Space Agency's Aeolus Mission in 2013, direct spaceborne measurements of vertical wind profiles are imminent via Doppler wind lidar technology. Part of the preparedness for such missions is the development of the proper data assimilation methodology for handling such observations. Since no heritage measurements exist in space, the Joint Observing System Simulation Experiment (Joint OSSE) framework has been utilized to generate a realistic proxy dataset as a precursor to flight. These data are being used for the development of the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) data assimilation system utilized at a number of centers through the United States including the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NOAA/NWS/NCEP) as an activity through the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation. An update of this ongoing effort will be presented, including the methodology of proxy data generation, the limitations of the proxy data, the handling of line-of-sight wind measurements within the GSI, and the impact on both analyses and forecasts with the addition of the new data type.

  13. 77 FR 42905 - Agency Use of Appropriated Funds for Child Care Costs for Lower Income Employees

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-20

    ... services for children of same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees; make certain technical....), and June 2, 2010, that agencies consider extending benefits, where possible, to same-sex domestic partners, and OPM's determination to make benefits available to same-sex domestic partners, to the extent...

  14. Narrative meaning making is associated with sudden gains in psychotherapy clients' mental health under routine clinical conditions.

    PubMed

    Adler, Jonathan M; Harmeling, Luke H; Walder-Biesanz, Ilana

    2013-10-01

    The present study had two aims: (a) to replicate previous findings regarding the characteristics of sudden gains (SGs) in psychotherapy under routine clinical conditions and (b) to examine whether clients' narrative meaning-making processes were associated with SGs in mental health. 54 psychotherapy clients completed the Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change (Pinsof et al., 2009) and wrote private narratives prior to beginning treatment and between every session for 12 assessment points over the course of psychotherapy for a variety of presenting problems. Clients' narratives were coded using existing systems (Adler, 2012; A. M. Hayes, Feldman, & Goldfried, 2006) to assess their content in eight themes: processing, avoidance, coherence, positive self, negative self, agency, hope, and hopelessness. The prevalence, magnitude, and timing of SGs in mental health observed in the present study were similar to those observed in prior research. Two narrative meaning-making processes-processing and coherence-were significantly associated with SGs in mental health. The present study significantly extends prior research on SGs, replicating the characteristics of these gains in routine clinical conditions with a measure of general functioning and identifying two narrative meaning-making processes that are associated with SGs in mental health.

  15. Faculty Sense of Agency in Decisions about Work and Family

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Meara, KerryAnn; Campbell, Corbin M.

    2011-01-01

    Over the last decade, many research universities have adopted policies and support mechanisms to help academic parents balance work and family. This study sought to understand what facilitates faculty agency in making decisions about work and family, including parental leave. We conducted 20 interviews with 5 men and 15 women at a research…

  16. The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS): Developing A Coastal Observation System To Enable Both Science Based Decision Making And Scientific Discovery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Terrill, E.; John, O.

    2005-05-01

    The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) is a consortium that extends from Northern Baja CA in Mexico to Morro Bay at the southern edge of central California, and aims to streamline, coordinate, and further develop individual institutional efforts by creating an integrated, multidisciplinary coastal observatory in the Bight of Southern California for the benefit of society. By leveraging existing infrastructure, partnerships, and private, local, state, and federal resources, SCCOOS is developing a fully operational coastal observation system to address issues related to coastal water quality, marine life resources, and coastal hazards for end user communities spanning local, state, and federal interests. However, to establish a sensible observational approach to address these societal drivers, sound scientific approaches are required in both the system design and the transformation of data to useful products. Since IOOS and coastal components of the NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) are not mutually exclusive within this framework, the SCCOOS consortium of observatory implementers have created an organizational structure that encourages dovetailing of OOI into the routine observations provided by the operational components of a regional IOOS. To begin the development, SCCOOS has grant funding from the California Coastal Conservancy as part of a $21M, statewide initiative to establish a Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program, and funding from NOAA's Coastal Observing Technology System (COTS). In addition, SCCOOS is leveraging IT development that has been supported by the NSF Information Technology Research program Real-time observatories, Applications,and Data Manageemnt Network (ROADNET), and anticipates using developments which will result from the NSF Laboratory for Ocean Observatory Knowledge Integration Grid (LOOKING) program. The observational components now funded at SCCOOS include surface current mapping by HF radar; high

  17. Integrating observations and models to help understanding how flooding impacts upon catchments as a basis for decision making.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Owen, Gareth; Quinn, Paul; O'Donnell, Greg

    2014-05-01

    This paper explains how flood management projects might be better informed in the future by using more observations and a novel impact modelling tool in a simple transparent framework. The understanding of how local scale impacts propagate downstream to impact on the downstream hydrograph is difficult to determine using traditional rainfall runoff and hydraulic routing methods. The traditional approach to modelling essentially comprises selecting a fixed model structure and then calibrating to an observational hydrograph, which make those model predictions highly uncertain. Here, a novel approach is used in which the structure of the runoff generation is not specified a priori and incorporates expert knowledge. Rather than using externally for calibration, the observed outlet hydrographs are used directly within the model. Essentially the approach involves the disaggregation of the outlet hydrograph by making assumptions about the spatial distribution of runoff generated. The channel network is parameterised through a comparison of the timing of observed hydrographs at a number of nested locations within the catchment. The user is then encouraged to use their expert knowledge to define how runoff is generated locally and what the likely impact of any local mitigation is. Therefore the user can specify any hydrological model or flow estimation method that captures their expertise. Equally, the user is encouraged to install as many instruments as they can afford to cover the catchment network. A Decision Support Matrix (DSM) is used to encapsulate knowledge of the runoff dynamics gained from simulation in a simple visual way and hence to convey the likely impacts that arise from a given flood management scenario. This tool has been designed primarily to inform and educate landowners, catchment managers and decision makers. The DSM outlines scenarios that are likely to increase or decrease runoff rates and allows the user to contemplate the implications and

  18. Judgements of agency in schizophrenia: an impairment in autonoetic metacognition

    PubMed Central

    Metcalfe, Janet; Van Snellenberg, Jared X.; DeRosse, Pamela; Balsam, Peter; Malhotra, Anil K.

    2012-01-01

    We investigated judgements of agency in participants with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Participants engaged in a computer game in which they attempted to touch downward falling Xs and avoid touching Os. On some trials, participants were objectively in perfect control. On other trials, they were objectively not in complete control because the movement of the cursor on the screen was distorted with respect to the position of the mouse by random noise (turbulence), or it was lagged by 250 or 500 ms. Participants made metacognitive judgements of agency as well as judgements of performance. Control participants' judgements of agency were affected by the turbulence and lag variables—indicating that they knew they were objectively not in control in those conditions, and they were also influenced by their assessments of performance. The patients also used their assessments of performance but neither turbulence nor lag affected their judgements of agency. This indicated an impairment in agency monitoring. The patients, unlike the healthy controls, used only publically available external cues about performance in making judgements of ‘agency’ and did not rely on any additional access to internal self-relevant cues that were diagnostic in indicating whether or not they were, in fact, in control. PMID:22492755

  19. Herschel Space Observatory - Overview and Observing Opportunities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pilbratt, G. L.

    2005-12-01

    The Herschel Space Observatory is the fourth cornerstone mission in the European Space Agency (ESA) science programme. It will perform imaging photometry and spectroscopy in the far infrared and submillimetre part of the spectrum, covering approximately the 55-650 micron range. The key science objectives emphasize current questions connected to the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and our own planetary system. However, Herschel will offer unique observing capabilities available to the entire astronomical community. Herschel will carry a 3.5 metre diameter passively cooled telescope. The science payload complement - two cameras/medium resolution spectrometers (PACS and SPIRE) and a very high resolution heterodyne spectrometer (HIFI) - will be housed in a superfluid helium cryostat. The ground segment will be jointly developed by the ESA, the three instrument teams, and NASA/IPAC. Once operational in orbit around L2 sometime in 2008, Herschel will offer a minimum of 3 years of routine observations; roughly 2/3 of the available observing time is open to the general astronomical community through a standard competitive proposal procedure. I will report on the current implementation status of the various elements that together make up the Herschel mission, introduce the mission from the perspective of the prospective user of this major facility, and describe the plans for announcing observing opportunities.

  20. 75 FR 47489 - Make Inoperative Exemptions; Vehicle Modifications To Accommodate People With Disabilities

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-06

    ... [Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0075] Make Inoperative Exemptions; Vehicle Modifications To Accommodate People With...'' prohibition of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. This action responds to a letter from the... agency correct certain references in 49 CFR Part 595 Subpart C, ``Make Inoperative Exemptions, Vehicle...

  1. Musical Sounds, Motor Resonance, and Detectable Agency.

    PubMed

    Launay, Jacques

    This paper discusses the paradox that while human music making evolved and spread in an environment where it could only occur in groups, it is now often apparently an enjoyable asocial phenomenon. Here I argue that music is, by definition, sound that we believe has been in some way organized by a human agent, meaning that listening to any musical sounds can be a social experience. There are a number of distinct mechanisms by which we might associate musical sound with agency. While some of these mechanisms involve learning motor associations with that sound, it is also possible to have a more direct relationship from musical sound to agency, and the relative importance of these potentially independent mechanisms should be further explored. Overall, I conclude that the apparent paradox of solipsistic musical engagement is in fact unproblematic, because the way that we perceive and experience musical sounds is inherently social.

  2. Clinical decision-making of rural novice nurses.

    PubMed

    Seright, T J

    2011-01-01

    Nurses in rural settings are often the first to assess and interpret the patient's clinical presentations. Therefore, an understanding of how nurses experience decision-making is important in terms of educational preparation, resource allocation to rural areas, institutional cultures, and patient outcomes. Theory development was based on the in-depth investigation of 12 novice nurses practicing in rural critical access hospitals in a north central state. This grounded theory study consisted of face-to-face interviews with 12 registered nurses, nine of whom were observed during their work day. The participants were interviewed a second time, as a method of member checking, and during this interview they reviewed their transcripts, the emerging themes and categories. Directors of nursing from both the research sites and rural hospitals not involved in the study, experienced researchers, and nurse educators facilitated triangulation of the findings. 'Sociocentric rationalizing' emerged as the central phenomenon and referred to the sense of belonging and agency which impacted the decision-making in this small group of novice nurses in rural critical access hospitals. The observed consequences, which were conceptualized during the axial coding process and were derived from observations and interviews of the 12 novice nurses in this study include: (1) gathering information before making a decision included assessment of: the credibility of co-workers, patients' subjective and objective data, and one's own past and current experiences; (2) conferring with co-workers as a direct method of confirming/denying decisions being made was considered more realistic and expedient than policy books and decision trees; (3) rural practicum clinical experiences, along with support after orientation, provide for transition to the rural nurse role; (4) involved directors of nursing served as both models and protectors of novice nurses placed in high accountability positions early in

  3. 2 CFR 902.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... ENERGY Reserved REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 902.645 Federal agency or agency. Department of Energy means the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), including the National...

  4. 2 CFR 902.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... ENERGY Reserved REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 902.645 Federal agency or agency. Department of Energy means the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), including the National...

  5. Agency and market area factors affecting home health agency supply changes.

    PubMed

    Porell, Frank W; Liu, Korbin; Brungo, David P

    2006-10-01

    To use the natural experiment created by the Medicare interim payment system (IPS) to study supply change behavior of home health agencies (HHAs) in local market areas. One hundred percent Medicare home health claims for 1996 and 1999, linked with Medicare Provider of Service and Denominator files, and the Area Resource File. Medicare home health care (HHC) claims data were used to distinguish HHAs that changed the local market supply of Medicare HHC by their market exit or by significant expansion or contraction of their geographic service area between 1996 and 1999 from other HHAs. Multinomial logit models were estimated to analyze how characteristics of agencies and the market areas in which they served were associated with these different agency-level supply changes. Changes in local HHA supply stemming from geographic service area expansions and contractions rivaled those owing to agency closures and market entries. Agencies at greater risk of closure and service area contraction tended to be smaller, newer, freestanding agencies, operating with more visit-intensive practice styles in markets with more competitor agencies. Except for having much less visit-intensive practice styles, similar attributes characterized agencies that increased local supply through service area expansion. Supply changes by HHAs largely reflected rational market responses by agencies to significant changes in financial incentives associated with the Medicare IPS. Recently certified agencies were among the most dynamic providers. Supply changes were more likely among agencies operating in more competitive market environments.

  6. Conceptualising the agency of highly marginalised women: Intimate partner violence in extreme settings.

    PubMed

    Campbell, Catherine; Mannell, Jenevieve

    2016-01-01

    How is the agency of women best conceptualised in highly coercive settings? We explore this in the context of international efforts to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in heterosexual relationships. Articles critique the tendency to think of women's agency and programme endpoints in terms of individual actions, such as reporting violent men or leaving violent relationships, whilst neglecting the interlocking social, economic and cultural contexts that make such actions unlikely or impossible. Three themes cut across the articles. (1) Unhelpful understandings of gender and power implicit in commonly used 'men-women' and 'victim-agent' binaries obscure multi-faceted and hidden forms of women's agency, and the complexity of agency-violence intersections. (2) This neglect of complexity results in a poor fit between policy and interventions to reduce IPV, and women's lives. (3) Such neglect also obscures the multiplicities of women's agency, including the competing challenges they juggle alongside IPV, differing levels of response, and the temporality of agency. We outline a notion of 'distributed agency' as a multi-level, incremental and non-linear process distributed across time, space and social networks, and across a continuum of action ranging from survival to resistance. This understanding of agency implies a different approach to those currently underpinning policies and interventions.

  7. Balancing risk, interpersonal intimacy and agency: perspectives from marginalised women in Zambia.

    PubMed

    Davis, Lwendo Moonzwe; Kostick, Kristin Marie

    2018-05-15

    Women are most exposed to sexual health risks within their marital relationships, primarily due to the sexually risky behaviours of their spouses. Studies show that expanding agency is critical for women to mitigate both physical and sexual health risks and is linked to increased psycho-social well-being and economic independence. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative primary data collected from a peri-urban community in Zambia, this paper explores how women exert agency in a community where few educational and economic opportunities and substantial food insecurity exacerbate women's risk for HIV within their marital relationships. It also examines how expressions of agency within marital unions can reduce HIV risk exposure and lead to socio-economic benefits. However, expressions of agency can also create physical, psycho-social and sexual health risks, particularly when spouses do not support independent decision-making and actions that women consider necessary to support the household and maintain intimacy. Findings highlight the importance of community involvement and addressing harmful socio-cultural norms to foster the realisation of women's agency.

  8. Précis of Talking to Our Selves: Reflection, Ignorance, and Agency.

    PubMed

    Doris, John M

    2016-11-29

    Does it make sense for people to hold one another responsible for what they do, as happens in countless social interactions every day? One of the most unsettling lessons from recent psychological research is that people are routinely mistaken about the origins of their behavior. Yet philosophical orthodoxy holds that the exercise of morally responsible agency typically requires accurate self-awareness. If the orthodoxy is right, and the psychology is to be believed, people characteristically fail to meet the standards of morally responsible agency, and we are faced with the possibility of skepticism about agency. Unlike many philosophers, I accept the unsettling lesson from psychology. I insist, however, that we are not driven to skepticism. Instead, we should reject the requirement of accurate self-awareness for morally responsible agency. In Talking to Our Selves I develop a dialogic theory, where the exercise of morally responsible agency emerges through a collaborative conversational process by which human beings, although afflicted with a remarkable degree of self-ignorance, are able to realize their values in their lives.

  9. 2 CFR 902.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... ENERGY Reserved REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 902.645 Federal agency or agency. Department of Energy means the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), including the National...

  10. How research funding agencies support science integration into policy and practice: an international overview.

    PubMed

    Smits, Pernelle A; Denis, Jean-Louis

    2014-02-24

    Funding agencies constitute one essential pillar for policy makers, researchers and health service delivery institutions. Such agencies are increasingly providing support for science implementation. In this paper, we investigate health research funding agencies and how they support the integration of science into policy, and of science into practice, and vice versa. We selected six countries: Australia, The Netherlands, France, Canada, England and the United States. For 13 funding agencies, we compared their intentions to support, their actions related to science integration into policy and practice, and the reported benefits of this integration. We did a qualitative content analysis of the reports and information provided on the funding agencies' websites. Most funding agencies emphasized the importance of science integration into policy and practice in their strategic orientation, and stated how this integration was structured. Their funding activities were embedded in the push, pull, or linkage/exchange knowledge transfer model. However, few program funding efforts were based on all three models. The agencies reported more often on the benefits of integration on practice, rather than on policy. External programs that were funded largely covered science integration into policy and practice at the end of grant stage, while overlooking the initial stages. Finally, external funding actions were more prominent than internally initiated bridging activities and training activities on such integration. This paper contributes to research on science implementation because it goes beyond the two community model of researchers versus end users, to include funding agencies. Users of knowledge may be end users in health organizations like hospitals; civil servants assigned to decision making positions within funding agencies; civil servants outside of the Ministry of Health, such as the Ministry of the Environment; politicians deciding on health-related legislation; or even

  11. 34 CFR 602.18 - Ensuring consistency in decision-making.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ensuring consistency in decision-making. 602.18 Section 602.18 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION THE SECRETARY'S RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCIES The...

  12. Strategic Assessment for Arctic Observing, and the New Arctic Observing Viewer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kassin, A.; Cody, R. P.; Manley, W. F.; Gaylord, A. G.; Dover, M.; Score, R.; Lin, D. H.; Villarreal, S.; Quezada, A.; Tweedie, C. E.

    2013-12-01

    Although a great deal of progress has been made with various Arctic Observing efforts, it can be difficult to assess that progress. What data collection efforts are established or under way? Where? By whom? To help meet the strategic needs of SEARCH-AON, SAON, and related initiatives, a new resource has been released: the Arctic Observing Viewer (AOV; http://ArcticObservingViewer.org). This web mapping application covers the 'who', 'what', 'where', and 'when' of data collection sites - wherever marine or terrestrial data are collected. Hundreds of sites are displayed, providing an overview as well as details. Users can visualize, navigate, select, search, draw, print, and more. This application currently showcases a subset of observational activities and will become more comprehensive with time. The AOV is founded on principles of interoperability, with an emerging metadata standard and compatible web service formats, such that participating agencies and organizations can use the AOV tools and services for their own purposes. In this way, the AOV will complement other cyber-resources, and will help science planners, funding agencies, PI's, and others to: assess status, identify overlap, fill gaps, assure sampling design, refine network performance, clarify directions, access data, coordinate logistics, collaborate, and more to meet Arctic Observing goals.

  13. 77 FR 42365 - Price for the Making American History Coin and Currency Set

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY United States Mint Price for the Making American History Coin and Currency Set AGENCY: United States Mint, Department of the Treasury. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The United States Mint is announcing a price of $72.95 for the Making American History Coin and Currency Set. FOR...

  14. Comparison of Satellite Observations of Aerosol Optical Depth to Surface Monitor Fine Particle Concentration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kleb, Mary M.; AlSaadi, Jassim A.; Neil, Doreen O.; Pierce, Robert B.; Pippin, Margartet R.; Roell, Marilee M.; Kittaka, Chieko; Szykman, James J.

    2004-01-01

    Under NASA's Earth Science Applications Program, the Infusing satellite Data into Environmental Applications (IDEA) project examined the relationship between satellite observations and surface monitors of air pollutants to facilitate a more capable and integrated observing network. This report provides a comparison of satellite aerosol optical depth to surface monitor fine particle concentration observations for the month of September 2003 at more than 300 individual locations in the continental US. During September 2003, IDEA provided prototype, near real-time data-fusion products to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directed toward improving the accuracy of EPA s next-day Air Quality Index (AQI) forecasts. Researchers from NASA Langley Research Center and EPA used data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument combined with EPA ground network data to create a NASA-data-enhanced Forecast Tool. Air quality forecasters used this tool to prepare their forecasts of particle pollution, or particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), for the next-day AQI. The archived data provide a rich resource for further studies and analysis. The IDEA project uses data sets and models developed for tropospheric chemistry research to assist federal, state, and local agencies in making decisions concerning air quality management to protect public health.

  15. Agency and Market Area Factors Affecting Home Health Agency Supply Changes

    PubMed Central

    Porell, Frank W; Liu, Korbin; Brungo, David P

    2006-01-01

    Objective To use the natural experiment created by the Medicare interim payment system (IPS) to study supply change behavior of home health agencies (HHAs) in local market areas. Data Sources One hundred percent Medicare home health claims for 1996 and 1999, linked with Medicare Provider of Service and Denominator files, and the Area Resource File. Study Design Medicare home health care (HHC) claims data were used to distinguish HHAs that changed the local market supply of Medicare HHC by their market exit or by significant expansion or contraction of their geographic service area between 1996 and 1999 from other HHAs. Multinomial logit models were estimated to analyze how characteristics of agencies and the market areas in which they served were associated with these different agency-level supply changes. Principal Findings Changes in local HHA supply stemming from geographic service area expansions and contractions rivaled those owing to agency closures and market entries. Agencies at greater risk of closure and service area contraction tended to be smaller, newer, freestanding agencies, operating with more visit-intensive practice styles in markets with more competitor agencies. Except for having much less visit-intensive practice styles, similar attributes characterized agencies that increased local supply through service area expansion. Conclusions Supply changes by HHAs largely reflected rational market responses by agencies to significant changes in financial incentives associated with the Medicare IPS. Recently certified agencies were among the most dynamic providers. Supply changes were more likely among agencies operating in more competitive market environments. PMID:16987305

  16. Hydrometeorology as an Inversion Problem: Can River Discharge Observations Improve the Atmosphere by Ensemble Data Assimilation?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sawada, Yohei; Nakaegawa, Tosiyuki; Miyoshi, Takemasa

    2018-01-01

    We examine the potential of assimilating river discharge observations into the atmosphere by strongly coupled river-atmosphere ensemble data assimilation. The Japan Meteorological Agency's Non-Hydrostatic atmospheric Model (JMA-NHM) is first coupled with a simple rainfall-runoff model. Next, the local ensemble transform Kalman filter is used for this coupled model to assimilate the observations of the rainfall-runoff model variables into the JMA-NHM model variables. This system makes it possible to do hydrometeorology backward, i.e., to inversely estimate atmospheric conditions from the information of river flows or a flood on land surfaces. We perform a proof-of-concept Observing System Simulation Experiment, which reveals that the assimilation of river discharge observations into the atmospheric model variables can improve the skill of the short-term severe rainfall forecast.

  17. Gender in health technology assessment: pilot study on agency approaches.

    PubMed

    Panteli, Dimitra; Zentner, Annette; Storz-Pfennig, Philipp; Busse, Reinhard

    2011-07-01

    Gender as a social construct is a recognized health determinant. Because best practice in reporting health technology assessment (HTA) clearly specifies the need to appraise a technology's social impact within the target population, the extent to which gender issues are taken into account in HTA production is of interest, not only in light of equitable practices but also for reasons of effectiveness. The aim of this study is to provide a first assessment of the degree of gender sensitivity shown by HTA agencies around the world today. The Web sites of sixty HTA agencies were analyzed. The consideration of gender aspects was specifically looked for in each agency's general mission statement, its priority setting process, and its methodological approach. Additionally, specific gender-oriented initiatives not belonging to any of the aforementioned categories were identified. Of the sixty agencies, less than half mention a commitment to addressing the social implication of health technologies. Only fifteen institutions make information on their priority setting principles available on their Web sites and gender was an issue in two of those cases. Data on methodology were obtainable online from 18 agencies, two of which mentioned gender issues explicitly. Finally, gender-oriented initiatives were identified by thirteen agencies. A gender-sensitive approach is apparently rarely adopted in current HTA production. Exceptional practices and relevant tools do exist and could serve as examples to be promoted by international collaborative networks.

  18. 20 CFR 411.430 - What should the PM do when it is informed that an EN has attempted to make a referral to a State...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... that an EN has attempted to make a referral to a State VR agency without an agreement being in place... Networks and State Vr Agencies § 411.430 What should the PM do when it is informed that an EN has attempted to make a referral to a State VR agency without an agreement being in place? The PM will contact the...

  19. 20 CFR 411.430 - What should the PM do when it is informed that an EN has attempted to make a referral to a State...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... that an EN has attempted to make a referral to a State VR agency without an agreement being in place... Networks and State Vr Agencies § 411.430 What should the PM do when it is informed that an EN has attempted to make a referral to a State VR agency without an agreement being in place? The PM will contact the...

  20. 34 CFR 366.12 - How does the Secretary make an award?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Training and Technical Assistance § 366.12 How does the Secretary make an award? (a) To be eligible to... training and technical assistance to eligible agencies, centers, and SILCs and any additional information...

  1. Building Students' Sense of Agency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tishman, Shari; Clapp, Edward P.

    2017-01-01

    At the root of problem solving, Tishman and Clapp assert, is a sense of agency. The impetus to engage with a problem starts with a sense that it's possible to reshape something by directing one's actions purposefully. The authors--who participated in a long-term project observing how the "maker movement" is being implemented in…

  2. Budget- and priority-setting criteria at state health agencies in times of austerity: a mixed-methods study.

    PubMed

    Leider, Jonathon P; Resnick, Beth; Kass, Nancy; Sellers, Katie; Young, Jessica; Bernet, Patrick; Jarris, Paul

    2014-06-01

    We examined critical budget and priority criteria for state health agencies to identify likely decision-making factors, pressures, and opportunities in times of austerity. We have presented findings from a 2-stage, mixed-methods study with state public health leaders regarding public health budget- and priority-setting processes. In stage 1, we conducted hour-long interviews in 2011 with 45 health agency executive and division or bureau leaders from 6 states. Stage 2 was an online survey of 207 executive and division or bureau leaders from all state health agencies (66% response rate). Respondents identified 5 key criteria: whether a program was viewed as "mission critical," the seriousness of the consequences of not funding the program, financing considerations, external directives and mandates, and the magnitude of the problem the program addressed. We have presented empirical findings on criteria used in state health agency budgetary decision-making. These criteria suggested a focus and interest on core public health and the largest public health problems with the most serious ramifications.

  3. Budget- and Priority-Setting Criteria at State Health Agencies in Times of Austerity: A Mixed-Methods Study

    PubMed Central

    Resnick, Beth; Kass, Nancy; Sellers, Katie; Young, Jessica; Bernet, Patrick; Jarris, Paul

    2014-01-01

    Objectives. We examined critical budget and priority criteria for state health agencies to identify likely decision-making factors, pressures, and opportunities in times of austerity. Methods. We have presented findings from a 2-stage, mixed-methods study with state public health leaders regarding public health budget- and priority-setting processes. In stage 1, we conducted hour-long interviews in 2011 with 45 health agency executive and division or bureau leaders from 6 states. Stage 2 was an online survey of 207 executive and division or bureau leaders from all state health agencies (66% response rate). Results. Respondents identified 5 key criteria: whether a program was viewed as “mission critical,” the seriousness of the consequences of not funding the program, financing considerations, external directives and mandates, and the magnitude of the problem the program addressed. Conclusions. We have presented empirical findings on criteria used in state health agency budgetary decision-making. These criteria suggested a focus and interest on core public health and the largest public health problems with the most serious ramifications. PMID:24825212

  4. Probabilistic Risk Assessment to Inform Decision Making: Frequently Asked Questions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    General concepts and principles of Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), describe how PRA can improve the bases of Agency decisions, and provide illustrations of how PRA has been used in risk estimation and in describing the uncertainty in decision making.

  5. NOAA Observing System Integrated Analysis (NOSIA): development and support to the NOAA Satellite Observing System Architecture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reining, R. C.; Cantrell, L. E., Jr.; Helms, D.; LaJoie, M.; Pratt, A. S.; Ries, V.; Taylor, J.; Yuen-Murphy, M. A.

    2016-12-01

    There is a deep relationship between NOSIA-II and the Federal Earth Observation Assessment (EOA) efforts (EOA 2012 and 2016) chartered under the National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability, co-chaired by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, NASA, NOAA, and USGS. NOSIA-1, which was conducted with a limited scope internal to NOAA in 2010, developed the methodology and toolset that was adopted for EOA 2012, and NOAA staffed the team that conducted the data collection, modeling, and analysis effort for EOA 2012. EOA 2012 was the first-ever integrated analysis of the relative impact of 379 observing systems and data sources contributing to the key objectives identified for 13 Societal Benefit Areas (SBA) including Weather, Climate, Disasters, Oceans and Coastal Resources, and Water Resources. This effort culminated in the first National Plan for Civil Earth Observations. NOAA conducted NOSIA-II starting in 2012 to extend the NOSIA methodology across all of NOAA's Mission Service Areas, covering a representative sample (over 1000) of NOAA's products and services. The detailed information from NOSIA-II is being integrated into EOA 2016 to underpin a broad array of Key Products, Services, and (science) Objectives (KPSO) identified by the inter-agency SBA teams. EOA 2016 is expected to provide substantially greater insight into the cross-agency impacts of observing systems contributing to a wide array of KPSOs, and by extension, to societal benefits flowing from these public-facing products. NOSIA-II is being adopted by NOAA as a corporate decision-analysis and support capability to inform leadership decisions on its integrated observing systems portfolio. Application examples include assessing the agency-wide impacts of planned decommissioning of ships and aircraft in NOAA's fleet, and the relative cost-effectiveness of alternative space-based architectures in the post-GOES-R and JPSS era

  6. Personalization Versus Customization: The Importance of Agency, Privacy, and Power Usage

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sundar, S. Shyam; Marathe, Sampada S.

    2010-01-01

    What makes customization so appealing? Is it because the content is tailored or because the user feels greater agency? Study 1 tested these propositions with a news-aggregator Website that was either personalized (system-tailored), customized (user-tailored), or neither. Power users rated content quality higher when it had a customizable…

  7. Building a Sustainable Future: A Report on the Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Sustainability Pilots

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This report describes each of the Brownfields Sustainability Pilots and provides findings and recommendations for future projects. It is intended for use by people, communities, organizations, and agencies helping make brownfields more sustainable.

  8. Public health and business: a partnership that makes cents.

    PubMed

    Simon, Paul A; Fielding, Jonathan E

    2006-01-01

    Historically, public health agencies have had relatively few formal partnerships with private business. However, both groups share an interest in ensuring a healthy population. Businesses have a financial interest in supporting organized public health efforts; in turn, business partnerships can increase the reach and effectiveness of public health. This paper makes the case for the business sector's participation in the broad public health system and its support of governmental public health agencies. Examples of past and current partnerships exemplify how public health efforts benefit business and suggest opportunities for future collaboration to improve the public's health.

  9. Musical Sounds, Motor Resonance, and Detectable Agency

    PubMed Central

    LAUNAY, JACQUES

    2016-01-01

    This paper discusses the paradox that while human music making evolved and spread in an environment where it could only occur in groups, it is now often apparently an enjoyable asocial phenomenon. Here I argue that music is, by definition, sound that we believe has been in some way organized by a human agent, meaning that listening to any musical sounds can be a social experience. There are a number of distinct mechanisms by which we might associate musical sound with agency. While some of these mechanisms involve learning motor associations with that sound, it is also possible to have a more direct relationship from musical sound to agency, and the relative importance of these potentially independent mechanisms should be further explored. Overall, I conclude that the apparent paradox of solipsistic musical engagement is in fact unproblematic, because the way that we perceive and experience musical sounds is inherently social. PMID:27122999

  10. Comprehensive transportation asset management : making a business case and prioritizing assets for inclusion in formal asset management programs.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-12-01

    Several agencies are applying asset management principles as a business tool and paradigm to help them define goals and prioritize agency resources in decision making. Previously, transportation asset management (TAM) has focused more on big ticke...

  11. Making a difference: ethical consumption and the everyday.

    PubMed

    Adams, Matthew; Raisborough, Jayne

    2010-06-01

    Our everyday shopping practices are increasingly marketed as opportunities to 'make a difference' via our ethical consumption choices. In response to a growing body of work detailing the ways in which specific alignments of 'ethics' and 'consumption' are mediated, we explore how 'ethical' opportunities such as the consumption of Fairtrade products are recognized, experienced and taken-up in the everyday. The 'everyday' is approached here via a specially commissioned Mass Observation directive, a volunteer panel of correspondents in the UK. Our on-going thematic analysis of their autobiographical accounts aims to explore a complex unevenness in the ways 'ordinary' people experience and negotiate calls to enact their ethical agency through consumption. Situating ethical consumption, moral obligation and choice in the everyday is, we argue, important if we are to avoid both over-exaggerating the reflexive and self-conscious sensibilities involved in ethical consumption, and, adhering to a reductive understanding of ethical self-expression.

  12. 78 FR 20900 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-08

    ....gov , including any personal information provided. Sensitive personal information, such as account... and empowerment programs, and practices that can improve financial decision-making skills and outcomes... BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION [Docket No. CFPB-2013-0007] Agency Information Collection...

  13. 45 CFR 630.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Federal agency or agency. 630.645 Section 630.645 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION..., government corporation, government controlled corporation, any other establishment in the executive branch...

  14. 45 CFR 630.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Federal agency or agency. 630.645 Section 630.645 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION..., government corporation, government controlled corporation, any other establishment in the executive branch...

  15. 45 CFR 630.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Federal agency or agency. 630.645 Section 630.645 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION..., government corporation, government controlled corporation, any other establishment in the executive branch...

  16. 45 CFR 630.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Federal agency or agency. 630.645 Section 630.645 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION..., government corporation, government controlled corporation, any other establishment in the executive branch...

  17. How research funding agencies support science integration into policy and practice: An international overview

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Funding agencies constitute one essential pillar for policy makers, researchers and health service delivery institutions. Such agencies are increasingly providing support for science implementation. In this paper, we investigate health research funding agencies and how they support the integration of science into policy, and of science into practice, and vice versa. Methods We selected six countries: Australia, The Netherlands, France, Canada, England and the United States. For 13 funding agencies, we compared their intentions to support, their actions related to science integration into policy and practice, and the reported benefits of this integration. We did a qualitative content analysis of the reports and information provided on the funding agencies’ websites. Results Most funding agencies emphasized the importance of science integration into policy and practice in their strategic orientation, and stated how this integration was structured. Their funding activities were embedded in the push, pull, or linkage/exchange knowledge transfer model. However, few program funding efforts were based on all three models. The agencies reported more often on the benefits of integration on practice, rather than on policy. External programs that were funded largely covered science integration into policy and practice at the end of grant stage, while overlooking the initial stages. Finally, external funding actions were more prominent than internally initiated bridging activities and training activities on such integration. Conclusions This paper contributes to research on science implementation because it goes beyond the two community model of researchers versus end users, to include funding agencies. Users of knowledge may be end users in health organizations like hospitals; civil servants assigned to decision making positions within funding agencies; civil servants outside of the Ministry of Health, such as the Ministry of the Environment; politicians deciding

  18. Environmental agency in read-alouds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Rogers, Patterson; Quigley, Cassie F.; Samburskiy, Denis; Barss, Kimberly; Rivera, Seema

    2015-06-01

    Despite growing interest in helping students become agents of environmental change who can, through informed decision-making and action-taking, transform environmentally detrimental forms of human activity, science educators have reduced agency to rationality by overlooking sociocultural influences such as norms and values. We tackle this issue by examining how elementary teachers and students negotiate and attribute responsibility, credit, or blame for environmental events during three environmental read-alouds. Our verbal analysis and visual representation of meta-agentive discourse revealed varied patterns of agential attribution. First, humans were simultaneously attributed negative agentive roles (agents of endangerment and imbalance) and positive agentive roles (agents of prevention, mitigation, and balance). Second, while wolves at Yellowstone were constructed as intentional (human-like) agents when they crossed over into the human world to kill livestock in nearby farms, polar bears in the Arctic were denied any form of agential responsibility when they approached people's homes. Third, anthropogenic causation of global warming was constructed as distal and indirect chains of cause and effect (i.e., sophisticated sequences of ripple effects), whereas its mitigation and prevention assumed the form of simple and unidirectional causative links (direct and proximal causality). Fourth, the notion of balance of nature was repeatedly used as a justification for environmental conservation but its cause and dynamic nature remained unclear. And, fifth, while one teacher promoted environmental agency by encouraging students to experience positive emotions such as love of nature, freedom, and oneness with nature, the other teachers encouraged students to experience negative emotions such as self-blame and guilt. This study's main significance is that it highlights the need for environmental educators who set out to promote environmental agency to expand the focus of

  19. 7 CFR 3021.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Federal agency or agency. 3021.645 Section 3021.645 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE...

  20. 2 CFR 182.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 2 Grants and Agreements 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Federal agency or agency. 182.645 Section 182.645 Grants and Agreements OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET GOVERNMENTWIDE GUIDANCE FOR GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS Reserved GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions...

  1. Utah Publications Depository Program. Manual of Guidelines for State Agencies, Revised [and] Manual of Guidelines for Depository Libraries, Revised.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Utah State Library, Salt Lake City.

    Two manuals provide guidelines for users of the Utah Publications Depository Program. The first, "Guidelines for State Agencies," is designed to assist agencies in complying with the depository law. The program is designed to collect Utah State Governmental publications and to make them available through libraries. State publications…

  2. Strengthening Community Capacity to Participate in Making Decisions to Reduce Disproportionate Environmental Exposures

    PubMed Central

    Pastor, Manuel; Israel, Barbara

    2011-01-01

    Environmental exposures impose a disproportionate health burden on low-income populations and communities of color. One contributing factor may be the obstacles such communities face to full participation in making policy decisions about environmental health. This study described and analyzed the characteristics that contributed to communities' capacity to participate in making environmental decisions and suggested steps public agencies could take to achieve more meaningful participation. By strengthening community capacity, advancing authentic participation, and building democratic power, it might be possible to alter current patterns of health inequities. Strengthening participation by working with communities to develop the capacities needed to be effective in such processes is a key role for local, state, and national environmental agencies. PMID:22021323

  3. "Walk the Talk": Developing Personal Ethical Agency through a Business Partnership Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matherne, Brett P.; Gove, Steve; Forlani, Victor; Janney, Jay J.

    2006-01-01

    This article proposes a pedagogical approach dedicated to help students develop personal ethical agency--the ability to make decisions that involve ethical dilemmas consistent with an individual's ethical standards and professional standards of practice. The approach presented involves a tripartite gathering of students, business executives, and…

  4. 'If your husband calls, you have to go': understanding sexual agency among young married women in urban South India.

    PubMed

    Pande, Rohini Prabha; Falle, Tina Y; Rathod, Sujit; Edmeades, Jeffrey; Krishnan, Suneeta

    2011-03-01

    Early marriage is common in many developing countries, including India. Women who marry early have little power within their marriage, particularly in the sexual domain. Research is limited on women's ability to control their marital sexual experiences. We identified factors affecting sexual communication among married women aged 16-25, in Bangalore, India, and how factors associated with sexual communication differed from those influencing non-sexual agency. We ran ordered logit regression models for one outcome of sexual agency (sexual communication, n = 735) and two outcomes of non-sexual agency (fertility control, n = 735, and financial decision-making, n = 728). Sexual communication was more restricted (83 women (11.3%) with high sexual communication) than financial decision-making (183 women (25.1%) with high financial decision-making agency) and fertility control (238 women (32.4%) with high fertility control). Feeling prepared before the first sexual experience was significantly associated with sexual communication (odds ratio (OR) = 1.8; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.13-2.89). Longer marriage duration (OR 2.13; 95% CI = 1.42-3.20) and having worked pre-marriage (OR 1.38; 95% CI = 1.02-1.86) were also significant. Few other measures of women's resources increased their odds of sexual communication. Education, having children, pre-marital vocational training and marital intimacy were significant for non-sexual outcomes but not sexual communication. Policy-makers seeking to enhance young married women's sexual communication need to consider providing sex education to young women before they marry. More broadly, interventions designed to increase women's agency need to be tailored to the type of agency being examined.

  5. Some observations on glass-knife making.

    PubMed

    Ward, R T

    1977-11-01

    The yield of usable knife edge per knife (for thin sectioning) was markedly increased when glass knives were made at an included angle of 55 degrees rather than the customary 45 degrees. A large number of measurements of edge check marks made with a routine light scattering method as well as observations made on a smaller number of test sections with the electron microscope indicated the superiority of 55 degrees knives. Knives were made with both taped pliers and an LKB Knifemaker. Knives were graded by methods easily applied in any biological electron microscope laboratory. Depending on the mode of fracture, the yield of knives having more than 33% of their edges free of check marks was 30 to 100 times greater at 55 degrees than 45 degrees.

  6. [Decision Making and Electrodermal Activity].

    PubMed

    Kobayakawa, Mutsutaka

    2016-08-01

    Decision making is aided by emotions. Bodily responses, such as sweating, heartbeat, and visceral sensation, are used to monitor the emotional state during decision making. Because decision making in dairy life is complicated and cognitively demanding, these bodily signals are thought to facilitate the decision making process by assigning positive or negative values for each of the behavioral options. The sweat response in a decision making task is measured by skin conductance response (SCR). SCR in decision making is divided into two categories: anticipatory SCR is observed before making decisions, and reward/punishment SCR is observed after the outcome of the decision is perceived. Brain lesion studies in human revealed that the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex are important in decision making. Patients with lesinon in the amygdala exhibit neither the anticipatory nor reward/punishment SCRs, while patients with the ventromedial prefrontal lesions have deficits only in the anticipatory SCRs. Decision making tasks and SCR analysis have contributed to reveal the implicit aspects of decision making. Further research is necessary for clarifying the role of explicit process of decision making and its relationship with the implicit process.

  7. Experiences in Applying Earth Observing Satellite Technology in SERVIR Regions with an Emphasis on Disasters: Successes, Lessons and Paths Forward

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anderson, Eric

    2017-01-01

    Earth observing satellites offer a unique perspective of our environment from the vantage point of space. Repeated measurements of the Earths subsystems such as the biosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and of humans interactions with their environments, allow for a better understanding of Earth system processes, and they can provide input for decision making in areas of environmental management and disaster risk reduction. SERVIR is a joint initiative of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) that began in 2005 and has been active in applying Earth observations for sustainable development in many regions around the world, recently the Lower Mekong and West Africa regions. This talk will highlight some successes achieved and lessons learned through SERVIR in Central America, Eastern Southern Africa, and the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region, focusing on disasters. We will also present opportunities for enhanced decision making with Earth observations and geospatial technologies in the Lower Mekong region.

  8. Community Development: An Intensive Training Manual. Training for Agency Field Personnel.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gessaman, Paul H.

    Intended for agency field personnel who assist in local community development (CD) efforts, this publication is the second of three making up an intensive training manual for community development. Using an inservice training approach, this part of the manual contains four instructional units: rationale for CD training, what CD is (CD as process,…

  9. Immigrant Students' Development of Musical Agency--Exploring Democracy in Music Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karlsen, Sidsel; Westerlund, Heidi

    2010-01-01

    In this article, we argue that the musical schooling of immigrant students could be seen as forming a healthy test for any educational context in terms of how democracy is enacted. We engage in a discussion linking music education, agency, pluralism and democracy. In our theoretical reconstruction of multicultural music education we first make a…

  10. 41 CFR 102-42.120 - When may gifts or decorations be donated to State agencies?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... PROPERTY 42-UTILIZATION, DONATION, AND DISPOSAL OF FOREIGN GIFTS AND DECORATIONS Donation of Foreign Gifts... may make the gifts or decorations available for donation to State agencies under this subpart and part...

  11. 41 CFR 102-42.120 - When may gifts or decorations be donated to State agencies?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... PROPERTY 42-UTILIZATION, DONATION, AND DISPOSAL OF FOREIGN GIFTS AND DECORATIONS Donation of Foreign Gifts... may make the gifts or decorations available for donation to State agencies under this subpart and part...

  12. 41 CFR 102-42.120 - When may gifts or decorations be donated to State agencies?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... PROPERTY 42-UTILIZATION, DONATION, AND DISPOSAL OF FOREIGN GIFTS AND DECORATIONS Donation of Foreign Gifts... may make the gifts or decorations available for donation to State agencies under this subpart and part...

  13. 41 CFR 102-42.120 - When may gifts or decorations be donated to State agencies?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... PROPERTY 42-UTILIZATION, DONATION, AND DISPOSAL OF FOREIGN GIFTS AND DECORATIONS Donation of Foreign Gifts... may make the gifts or decorations available for donation to State agencies under this subpart and part...

  14. 76 FR 71035 - Agency Information Collection Request. 30-Day Public Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-16

    .... This data collection effort is crucial to HPP's decision-making process regarding the continued... visits by project and field officers (e.g. pre- populating some elements of the mid-year and end- of-year... Information Collection Request. 30-Day Public Comment Request AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS. In...

  15. Guaranty Agency Questionnaire.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leifman, Steven

    The extent to which guaranty agencies, lenders, and state secondary markets impose restrictions on Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) borrowing that go beyond federal regulations was assessed through a survey of 53 guaranty agencies. Seventeen of the agencies imposed restrictions on GSLs that go beyond federal regulations, including not loaning to…

  16. Accounting for Agency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Valentine, Kylie

    2011-01-01

    Children are increasingly described as agents and agency is important to arguments for children's rights and participation. Yet agency is rarely defined or theorised in childhood studies. This article reviews common uses and meanings of agency and argues that critical, social conceptualisations have yet to be extensively taken up in childhood…

  17. Teachers' Implementation of the Coaching Role: Do Teachers' Ownership, Sensemaking, and Agency Make a Difference?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ketelaar, Evelien; Beijaard, Douwe; Brok, Perry J.; Boshuizen, Henny P.

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to explore whether teachers' positioning towards an innovation is related to their implementation of it. Positioning was reflected in terms of teachers' ownership, sensemaking, and agency. The innovation that was of central focus in this study pertained to the changing role of teachers towards a more coaching…

  18. Building Capacity to Use Earth Observations in Decision Making: A Case Study of NASA's DEVELOP National Program Methods and Best Practices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Childs-Gleason, L. M.; Ross, K. W.; Crepps, G.; Miller, T. N.; Favors, J. E.; Rogers, L.; Allsbrook, K. N.; Bender, M. R.; Ruiz, M. L.

    2015-12-01

    NASA's DEVELOP National Program fosters an immersive research environment for dual capacity building. Through rapid feasibility Earth science projects, the future workforce and current decision makers are engaged in research projects to build skills and capabilities to use Earth observation in environmental management and policy making. DEVELOP conducts over 80 projects annually, successfully building skills through partnerships with over 150 organizations and providing over 350 opportunities for project participants each year. Filling a void between short-term training courses and long-term research projects, the DEVELOP model has been successful in supporting state, local, federal and international government organizations to adopt methodologies and enhance decision making processes. This presentation will highlight programmatic best practices, feedback from participants and partner organizations, and three sample case studies of successful adoption of methods in the decision making process.

  19. Refining moral agency: Insights from moral psychology and moral philosophy.

    PubMed

    Milliken, Aimee

    2018-01-01

    Research in moral psychology has recently raised questions about the impact of context and the environment on the way the human mind works. In a 2012 call to action, Paley wrote: "If some of the conclusions arrived at by moral psychologists are true, they are directly relevant to the way nurses think about moral problems, and present serious challenges to favoured concepts in nursing ethics, such as the ethics of care, virtue, and the unity of the person" (p. 80). He urges nurse ethicists and scholars to evaluate the impact these findings may have for moral theory. In this paper, I review some of Paley's (Nursing Philosophy, 13, 2012, 80) critique, focusing on the argument that theories of nursing ethics have failed to account for the role of context; both in terms of its impact on the way nurses make moral judgements and in terms of the environment's influence on the way the mind works. I then examine nursing literature on moral agency, and focus on the role of the environment and context play within existing theory. I argue that theories of moral agency have often accounted for the role of context on the way nurses make decisions; however, less attention has been paid to its impact on the mind. With this background, I use insights from the fields of moral philosophy and moral psychology to refine the conceptualization of nurse moral agency in a way that is reflective of current cognitive, philosophical and nursing practice-based science. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Women's age at first marriage and postmarital agency in Egypt.

    PubMed

    Crandall, AliceAnn; VanderEnde, Kristin; Cheong, Yuk Fai; Dodell, Sylvie; Yount, Kathryn M

    2016-05-01

    Early - or child - marriage (before age 18) may diminish women's ability to exercise agency, or their capacity to act upon their goals. Using a propensity score adjustment approach, we analyzed data from 2394 married women ages 35-49 years who participated in the 2006 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS). We examined whether women's first marriage at age 18 or older was associated with their post-marital agency, measured in terms of their influence in family decisions, freedom of movement in public spaces, and unfavorable views about intimate partner violence against wives. In bivariate analyses, women's age at first marriage was positively associated with their decision-making and more equitable gender attitudes. However, once we controlled for selection into age-at-first-marriage groups, there were no significant differences between the two age-at-first-marriage groups in any dimension of women's agency. We examined the sensitivity of the non-significant age-at-first-marriage effects to possible violations of the strong ignorability assumption and the results did not alter our conclusions. The assumption that women's age at first marriage is a proxy for their post-marital agency, as defined here, warrants further study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Making see and treat work for patients and staff.

    PubMed

    Parker, Louise

    2004-02-01

    Every department is at a different stage in the development of see and treat. Teams have been established in various ways and are experiencing different dilemmas in making see and treat work best. It is not enough to pick up an established see and treat model, place it in an emergency department and sit back and watch the results. There is no 'magic wand'; no single determining factor to make see and treat work well. Influencing factors need to be understood, applied locally and reviewed regularly to assess success. The NHS Modernisation Agency publishes its survey report, See and Treat: Making it work for patients and staff, on February 4. For Further details, access www.modern.nhs.uk/emergency

  2. 76 FR 32215 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Substantiation...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-03

    ... Dietary Supplement Claims Made Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act AGENCY: Food and Drug... of information technology. Substantiation for Dietary Supplement Claims Made Under the Federal Food...) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 343(r)(6)) requires that a manufacturer of a dietary supplement making a...

  3. 76 FR 26750 - Agency Information Collection Activities: New Information Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-09

    ... collection under review: Visa Processing Fee Payment; OMB control No. 1615-New. The Department of Homeland... . When submitting comments by e-mail please make sure to add Visa Processing Fee Payment in the subject...: Visa Processing Fee Payment. (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the...

  4. The Development of Solution Focused Multi-Agency Meetings in a Psychological Service

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, Shiona; Sked, Heather

    2010-01-01

    This article outlines the successful development of multi-agency meetings as part of a staged approach aimed at supporting families and children within the Scottish Highland Council Area. Drawing on the research evidence for the factors which help to make meetings effective, a distinctive meeting structure was developed. This structure is…

  5. Spatial education: improving conservation delivery through space-structured decision making

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Moore, Clinton T.; Shaffer, Terry L.; Gannon, Jill J.

    2013-01-01

    Adaptive management is a form of structured decision making designed to guide management of natural resource systems when their behaviors are uncertain. Where decision making can be replicated across units of a landscape, learning can be accelerated, and biological processes can be understood in a larger spatial context. Broad-based partnerships among land management agencies, exemplified by Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (conservation partnerships created through the U.S. Department of the Interior), are potentially ideal environments for implementing spatially structured adaptive management programs.

  6. Measurement of Women's Agency in Egypt: A National Validation Study.

    PubMed

    Yount, Kathryn M; VanderEnde, Kristin E; Dodell, Sylvie; Cheong, Yuk Fai

    2016-09-01

    Despite widespread assumptions about women's empowerment and agency in the Arab Middle East, psychometric research of these constructs is limited. Using national data from 6214 married women ages 16-49 who took part in the 2006 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey, we applied factor analysis to explore and then to test the factor structure of women's agency. We then used multiple indicator multiple cause structural equations models to test for differential item functioning (DIF) by women's age at first marriage, a potential resource for women's agency. Our results confirm that women's agency in Egypt is multi-dimensional and comprised of their (1) influence in family decisions, including those reserved for men, (2) freedom of movement in public spaces, and (3) attitudes about gender, specifically violence against wives. These dimensions confirm those explored previously in selected rural areas of Egypt and South Asia. Yet, three items showed significant uniform DIF by women's categorical age at first marriage, with and without a control for women's age in years. Models adjusting for DIF and women's age in years showed that women's older age at first marriage was positively associated with the factor means for family decision-making and gender-violence attitudes, but not freedom of movement. Our findings reveal the value of our analytical strategy for research on the dimensions and determinants of women's agency. Our approach offers a promising model to discern "hierarchies of evidence" for social policies and programs to enhance women's empowerment.

  7. 31 CFR 19.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 19.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal...

  8. 31 CFR 19.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 19.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal...

  9. 31 CFR 19.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 19.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal...

  10. 31 CFR 19.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 19.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal...

  11. 31 CFR 19.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 19.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal...

  12. 22 CFR 208.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 208.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  13. 21 CFR 1404.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1404.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  14. 22 CFR 1508.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1508.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  15. 21 CFR 1404.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1404.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  16. 21 CFR 1404.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1404.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  17. 22 CFR 1508.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1508.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  18. 22 CFR 1508.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1508.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  19. 22 CFR 208.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 208.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  20. 21 CFR 1404.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1404.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  1. 21 CFR 1404.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1404.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  2. 22 CFR 1508.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1508.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  3. 22 CFR 1508.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ...) Definitions § 1508.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal government are...

  4. 78 FR 4175 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Renewal of Currently Approved Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-18

    ... RECOVERY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD Agency Information Collection Activities: Renewal of Currently Approved Collection; Comment Request Correction In notice document 2012-30952, appearing on page 76097, in the issue of Wednesday, December 26, 2012, make the following correction: In the...

  5. 78 FR 6851 - Agency Information Collection (Dental Record Authorization and Invoice for Outpatient Services...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-31

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0335] Agency Information Collection (Dental....gov . Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-0335.'' SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Dental Record... proper administration of VA outpatient fee dental program. The associated instructions make it possible...

  6. 76 FR 27382 - Agency Information Collection Activity (VBA Loan Guaranty Service Lender Satisfaction Survey...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-11

    ... (VBA Loan Guaranty Service Lender Satisfaction Survey) Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans Benefits.... Title: Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Loan Guaranty Service Lender Satisfaction Survey. OMB... collected will allow the VA to determine lenders' satisfaction with the VA's processes and to make...

  7. Making the Link. Coordinating Economic Development and Employment and Training. State Governments. Regional Councils. Local Economic Development Agencies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Alliance of Business, Inc., Washington, DC.

    This document consists of three closely related reports, dealing with "State Governments", "Regional Councils", and "Local Econcomic Development Agencies", respectively, together with a fourth document, a preceding overview. These documents draw from results of a project to identify successful approaches to coordinating economic development and…

  8. 76 FR 35444 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-17

    ... retrieval into the ASPEN system. The information needed to make certification decisions is available to CMS... Identifier CMS-1856 and CMS-1893] Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review... or any other aspect of this collection of information, including any of the following subjects: (1...

  9. Recovery stories: An anthropological exploration of moral agency in stories of mental health recovery.

    PubMed

    Myers, Neely Anne Laurenzo

    2016-08-01

    Moral agency has been loosely defined as the freedom to aspire to a "good life" that makes possible intimate relationships with others. This article uses ethnographic research to further the discussion of the role of moral agency in mental health recovery. This article attends to the ebb and flow of moral agency in the life stories of three people diagnosed with a serious psychiatric disability at different stages in their individual recoveries to illustrate particular aspects of moral agency relevant for recovery. From these, a more complex notion of moral agency emerges as the freedom not only to aspire to a "good life," but also to achieve a "good" life through having both the intention to aspire and access to resources that help bring one's life plans to fruition. Each storyteller describes an initial Aristotelian peripeteia, or "breach" of life plan, followed by an erosion of moral agency and sense of connection to others. The stories then diverge: some have the resources needed to preserve moral agency, and others attempt to replenish moral agency that has been eroded. In these stories, the resources for preserving and nourishing moral agency include the ability to cultivate the social bases of self-respect, autobiographical power, and peopled opportunities. These stories cumulatively suggest that without such resources one's attempts to preserve or nourish the moral agency needed for recovery after the peripeteia, which is often perpetuated by the onset and experience of serious mental illness, may fall short. © The Author(s) 2016.

  10. 78 FR 42974 - Certain Sintered Rare Earth Magnets, Methods of Making Same and Products Containing Same...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-18

    ... rare earth magnets, methods of making same and products containing same by reason of infringement of..., Methods of Making Same and Products Containing Same; Commission Determination Not to Review an Initial Determination Granting an Unopposed Motion by Complainants; Termination of the Investigation AGENCY: U.S...

  11. Decision Making Under Uncertainty

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-11-01

    A sound approach to rational decision making requires a decision maker to establish decision objectives, identify alternatives, and evaluate those...often violate the axioms of rationality when making decisions under uncertainty. The systematic description of such observations may lead to the...which leads to “anchoring” on the initial value. The fact that individuals have been shown to deviate from rationality when making decisions

  12. Recovery and decision-making involvement in people with severe mental illness from six countries: a prospective observational study.

    PubMed

    Loos, Sabine; Clarke, Eleanor; Jordan, Harriet; Puschner, Bernd; Fiorillo, Andrea; Luciano, Mario; Ivánka, Tibor; Magyar, Erzsébet; Krogsgaard-Bording, Malene; Østermark-Sørensen, Helle; Rössler, Wulf; Kawohl, Wolfram; Mayer, Benjamin; Slade, Mike

    2017-01-23

    Clinical decision-making is the vehicle of health care provision, and level of involvement predicts implementation and satisfaction. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of decision-making experience on recovery. Data derived from an observational cohort study "Clinical decision making and outcome in routine care for people with severe mental illness" (CEDAR). Adults (aged 18-60) meeting standardised criteria for severe mental illness were recruited from caseloads of outpatient and community mental health services in six European countries. After consenting, they were assessed using standardised measures of decision-making, clinical outcome and stage of recovery at baseline and 1 year later. Latent class analysis was used to identify course of recovery, and proportional odds models to investigate predictors of recovery stage and change. Participants (n = 581) clustered into three stages of recovery at baseline: Moratorium (N = 115; 19.8%), Awareness/Preparation (N = 145; 25.0%) and Rebuilding/Growth (N = 321; 55.2%). Higher stage was cross-sectionally associated with being male, married, living alone or with parents, and having better patient-rated therapeutic alliance and fewer symptoms. The model accounted for 40% of the variance in stage of recovery. An increased chance of worse outcome (change over 1 year to lower stage of recovery) was found for patients with active involvement compared with either shared (OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.15-2.94) or passive (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.00-2.95) involvement. Overall, both process (therapeutic relationship) and outcome (symptomatology) are cross-sectionally associated with stage of recovery. Patient-rated decision-making involvement and change in stage of recovery are associated. Joint consideration of decision practise within the recovery process between patient and clinician is supposed to be a useful strategy to improve clinical practice (ISRCTN registry: ISRCTN75841675

  13. 41 CFR 105-74.645 - Federal agency or agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Federal agency or agency. 105-74.645 Section 105-74.645 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management... Administration 74-GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 105-74...

  14. 78 FR 78969 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-27

    ... utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions; (2... 1412 of the Affordable Care Act and 45 CFR part 155 subpart D, an Exchange makes an advance... the individual meets the income and other requirements for advance payments and the amount of the...

  15. 75 FR 28034 - National Protection and Programs Directorate; Agency Information Collection Activities: United...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-05-19

    ... enforcement agencies; and the Federal intelligence community to assist in the decisions they make related to... the collection of fingerprints from two prints to 10. The new collection time of 35 seconds, an... overseas posts; other DHS officers; and appropriate officers of the United States intelligence and law...

  16. Reality Monitoring and Feedback Control of Speech Production Are Related Through Self-Agency.

    PubMed

    Subramaniam, Karuna; Kothare, Hardik; Mizuiri, Danielle; Nagarajan, Srikantan S; Houde, John F

    2018-01-01

    Self-agency is the experience of being the agent of one's own thoughts and motor actions. The intact experience of self-agency is necessary for successful interactions with the outside world (i.e., reality monitoring) and for responding to sensory feedback of our motor actions (e.g., speech feedback control). Reality monitoring is the ability to distinguish internally self-generated information from outside reality (externally-derived information). In the present study, we examined the relationship of self-agency between lower-level speech feedback monitoring (i.e., monitoring what we hear ourselves say) and a higher-level cognitive reality monitoring task. In particular, we examined whether speech feedback monitoring and reality monitoring were driven by the capacity to experience self-agency-the ability to make reliable predictions about the outcomes of self-generated actions. During the reality monitoring task, subjects made judgments as to whether information was previously self-generated (self-agency judgments) or externally derived (external-agency judgments). During speech feedback monitoring, we assessed self-agency by altering environmental auditory feedback so that subjects listened to a perturbed version of their own speech. When subjects heard minimal perturbations in their auditory feedback while speaking, they made corrective responses, indicating that they judged the perturbations as errors in their speech output. We found that self-agency judgments in the reality-monitoring task were higher in people who had smaller corrective responses ( p = 0.05) and smaller inter-trial variability ( p = 0.03) during minimal pitch perturbations of their auditory feedback. These results provide support for a unitary process for the experience of self-agency governing low-level speech control and higher level reality monitoring.

  17. I could have done otherwise: Availability of counterfactual comparisons informs the sense of agency.

    PubMed

    Kulakova, Eugenia; Khalighinejad, Nima; Haggard, Patrick

    2017-03-01

    Personal control and agency are closely associated with the counterfactual notion that a person could have done otherwise (CDO). In both philosophy and law, this counterfactual evaluation determines responsibility and punishment, yet little is known about its influence on agents' experience during action. We used a risky decision-making task to study how counterfactual evaluations influenced participants' sense of agency. Two factors were manipulated independently: the presence/absence of counterfactual comparisons between actions and the presence/absence of counterfactual comparisons between outcomes of these actions. Perceived agency was highest when both counterfactual comparisons were available. Interestingly, this pattern persisted even when counterfactual information was only revealed after action, suggesting a purely reconstructive evaluation effect. These findings allow a more precise phrasing of the CDO element of personal agency: a person feels most control when she could have performed another action, thereby obtaining another outcome. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Looking at Earth observation impacts with fresh eyes: a Landsat example

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Zhuoting; Snyder, Greg; Quirk, Bruce; Stensaas, Greg; Vadnais, Carolyn; Babcock, Michael; Dale, Erin; Doucette, Peter

    2016-05-01

    The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiated the Requirements, Capabilities and Analysis for Earth Observations (RCA-EO) activity in the Land Remote Sensing (LRS) program to provide a structured approach to collect, store, maintain, and analyze user requirements and Earth observing system capabilities information. RCA-EO enables the collection of information on current key Earth observation products, services, and projects, and to evaluate them at different organizational levels within an agency, in terms of how reliant they are on Earth observation data from all sources, including spaceborne, airborne, and ground-based platforms. Within the USGS, RCA-EO has engaged over 500 subject matter experts in this assessment, and evaluated the impacts of more than 1000 different Earth observing data sources on 345 key USGS products and services. This paper summarizes Landsat impacts at various levels of the organizational structure of the USGS and highlights the feedback of the subject matter experts regarding Landsat data and Landsat-derived products. This feedback is expected to inform future Landsat mission decision making. The RCA-EO approach can be applied in a much broader scope to derive comprehensive knowledge of Earth observing system usage and impacts, to inform product and service development and remote sensing technology innovation beyond the USGS.

  19. 78 FR 26625 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Guaranty Agency Financial Report

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-07

    ... financial activities (agency federal fund and agency operating fund) and each agency's federal receivable..., Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management. [FR Doc. 2013-10706 Filed 5-6...

  20. 29 CFR 98.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Agency. 98.910 Section 98.910 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 98.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency...

  1. 29 CFR 98.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Agency. 98.910 Section 98.910 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 98.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency...

  2. 29 CFR 98.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Agency. 98.910 Section 98.910 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 98.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency...

  3. 29 CFR 98.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Agency. 98.910 Section 98.910 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 98.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency...

  4. 29 CFR 98.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Agency. 98.910 Section 98.910 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 98.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency, or any other agency...

  5. 77 FR 18821 - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research... Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve the...

  6. 76 FR 12997 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-09

    ... safeguards use and make it available to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Licensees use Form 741..., analyze, and submit the data to IAEA to fulfill its reporting responsibilities. The public may examine and...

  7. Collaborative agency to support integrated care for children, young people and families: an action research study.

    PubMed

    Stuart, Kaz

    2014-04-01

    Collaboration was legislated in the delivery of integrated care in the early 2000s in the UK. This research explored how the reality of practice met the rhetoric of collaboration. The paper is situated against a theoretical framework of structure, agency, identity and empowerment. Collectively and contextually these concepts inform the proposed model of 'collaborative agency' to sustain integrated care. The paper brings sociological theory on structure and agency to the dilemma of collaboration. Participative action research was carried out in collaborative teams that aspired to achieve integrated care for children, young people and families between 2009 and 2013. It was a part time, PhD study in collaborative practice. The research established that people needed to be able to be jointly aware of their context, to make joint decisions, and jointly act in order to deliver integrated services, and proposes a model of collaborative agency derived from practitioner's experiences and integrated action research and literature on agency. The model reflects the effects of a range of structures in shaping professional identity, empowerment, and agency in a dynamic. The author proposes that the collaborative agency model will support integrated care, although this is, as yet, an untested hypothesis.

  8. UAS Developments Supporting Wildfire Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ambrosia, V. G.; Dahlgren, R. P.; Watts, A.; Reynolds, K. W.; Ball, T.

    2014-12-01

    Wildfires are regularly occurring emergency events that threaten life, property, and natural resources in every U.S. State and many countries around the world. Despite projections that $1.8 billion will be spent by U.S. Federal agencies alone on wildfires in 2014, the decades-long trend of increasing fire size, severity, and cost is expected to continue. Furthermore, the enormous potential for UAS (and concomitant sensor systems) to serve as geospatial intelligence tools to improve the safety and effectiveness of fire management, and our ability to forecast fire and smoke movements, remains barely tapped. Although orbital sensor assets are can provide the geospatial extent of wildfires, generally those resources are limited in use due to their spatial and temporal resolution limitations. These two critical elements make orbital assets of limited utility for tactical, real-time wildfire management, or for continuous scientific analysis of the temporal dynamics related to fire energy release rates and plume concentrations that vary significantly thru a fire's progression. Large UAS platforms and sensors can and have been used to monitor wildfire events at improved temporal, spatial and radiometric scales, but more focus is being placed on the use of small UAS (sUAS) and sensors to support wildfire observation strategies. The use of sUAS is therefore more critical for TACTICAL management purposes, rather than strategic observations, where small-scale fire developments are critical to understand. This paper will highlight the historical development and use of UAS for fire observations, as well as the current shift in focus to smaller, more affordable UAS for more rapid integration into operational use on wildfire events to support tactical observation strategies, and support wildfire science measurement inprovements.

  9. Implementation of a Reverse Colocation Model: Lessons from Two Community Behavioral Health Agencies in Rural Pennsylvania.

    PubMed

    Gerolamo, Angela M; Kim, Jung Y; Brown, Jonathan D; Schuster, James; Kogan, Jane

    2016-07-01

    This qualitative study examined the implementation of a reverse colocation pilot program that sought to integrate medical care in two community behavioral health agencies. To accomplish this, each agency hired a registered nurse, provided training for its staff to function as wellness coaches, and implemented a web-based tool for tracking consumer outcomes. The findings from two rounds of stakeholder discussions and consumer focus groups suggested that agencies successfully trained their staffs in wellness coaching, integrated nurses into agency functions, developed integrated care planning processes, and increased awareness of wellness among staff and consumers. Similar to other complex interventions, the agencies experienced challenges including difficulty establishing new procedures and communication protocols, discomfort among staff in addressing physical health concerns, difficulty building collaborative relationships with primary care providers, and modest uptake of the web-based tool. The study offers insights into the practical aspects of integrating care and makes recommendations for future efforts.

  10. 75 FR 32540 - Agency Information Collection (Veterans Application for Assistance in Acquiring Special Housing...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-08

    ... Application for Assistance in Acquiring Special Housing Adaptations) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY...: Veterans Application for Assistance in Acquiring Special Housing Adaptations, VA Form 26-4555d. OMB Control... dwellings. Grants are available to assist the veteran in making adaptations to their current residences or...

  11. Data Curation for the Exploitation of Large Earth Observation Products Databases - The MEA system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mantovani, Simone; Natali, Stefano; Barboni, Damiano; Cavicchi, Mario; Della Vecchia, Andrea

    2014-05-01

    National Space Agencies under the umbrella of the European Space Agency are performing a strong activity to handle and provide solutions to Big Data and related knowledge (metadata, software tools and services) management and exploitation. The continuously increasing amount of long-term and of historic data in EO facilities in the form of online datasets and archives, the incoming satellite observation platforms that will generate an impressive amount of new data and the new EU approach on the data distribution policy make necessary to address technologies for the long-term management of these data sets, including their consolidation, preservation, distribution, continuation and curation across multiple missions. The management of long EO data time series of continuing or historic missions - with more than 20 years of data available already today - requires technical solutions and technologies which differ considerably from the ones exploited by existing systems. Several tools, both open source and commercial, are already providing technologies to handle data and metadata preparation, access and visualization via OGC standard interfaces. This study aims at describing the Multi-sensor Evolution Analysis (MEA) system and the Data Curation concept as approached and implemented within the ASIM and EarthServer projects, funded by the European Space Agency and the European Commission, respectively.

  12. 29 CFR 2703.2 - Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. 2703.2 Section 2703.2 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) FEDERAL... agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. The Chairman shall appoint an...

  13. 29 CFR 2703.2 - Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. 2703.2 Section 2703.2 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) FEDERAL... agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. The Chairman shall appoint an...

  14. 29 CFR 2703.2 - Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. 2703.2 Section 2703.2 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) FEDERAL... agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. The Chairman shall appoint an...

  15. 29 CFR 2703.2 - Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. 2703.2 Section 2703.2 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) FEDERAL... agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. The Chairman shall appoint an...

  16. 29 CFR 2703.2 - Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 9 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Designated agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. 2703.2 Section 2703.2 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) FEDERAL... agency ethics official and alternate designated agency ethics official. The Chairman shall appoint an...

  17. Inviting Observation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hansen, Spencer D.

    2010-01-01

    Monthly meetings and a peer-observation program help novice teachers overcome isolation and practice new skills that support improved student learning. Peer observation is not without its difficulties. Above all else, the point of the program is to make teachers more comfortable observing, sharing instructional ideas, and learning from one…

  18. 76 FR 7576 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, OMB No...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-10

    ...; Application for Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) AGENCY: Federal Emergency... Insurance Program (NFIP). Type of information collection: Revision of a currently approved information... Program (NFIP) provides flood insurance to the communities that apply for participation and make a...

  19. Monitoring in the context of structured decision-making and adaptive management

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lyons, J.E.; Runge, M.C.; Laskowski, H.P.; Kendall, W.L.

    2008-01-01

    In a natural resource management setting, monitoring is a crucial component of an informed process for making decisions, and monitoring design should be driven by the decision context and associated uncertainties. Monitoring itself can play >3 roles. First, it is important for state-dependent decision-making, as when managers need to know the system state before deciding on the appropriate course of action during the ensuing management cycle. Second, monitoring is critical for evaluating the effectiveness of management actions relative to objectives. Third, in an adaptive management setting, monitoring provides the feedback loop for learning about the system; learning is sought not for its own sake but primarily to better achieve management objectives. In this case, monitoring should be designed to reduce the critical uncertainties in models of the managed system. The United States Geological Survey and United States Fish and Wildlife Service are conducting a large-scale management experiment on 23 National Wildlife Refuges across the Northeast and Midwest Regions. The primary management objective is to provide habitat for migratory waterbirds, particularly during migration, using water-level manipulations in managed wetlands. Key uncertainties are related to the potential trade-offs created by management for a specific waterbird guild (e.g., migratory shorebirds) and the response of waterbirds, plant communities, and invertebrates to specific experimental hydroperiods. We reviewed the monitoring program associated with this study, and the ways that specific observations fill >1 of the roles identified above. We used observations from our monitoring to improve state-dependent decisions to control undesired plants, to evaluate management performance relative to shallow-water habitat objectives, and to evaluate potential trade-offs between waterfowl and shorebird habitat management. With limited staff and budgets, management agencies need efficient monitoring

  20. Responsibility and the sense of agency enhance empathy for pain

    PubMed Central

    Lepron, Evelyne; Causse, Michaël; Farrer, Chlöé

    2015-01-01

    Being held responsible for our actions strongly determines our moral judgements and decisions. This study examined whether responsibility also influences our affective reaction to others' emotions. We conducted two experiments in order to assess the effect of responsibility and of a sense of agency (the conscious feeling of controlling an action) on the empathic response to pain. In both experiments, participants were presented with video clips showing an actor's facial expression of pain of varying intensity. The empathic response was assessed with behavioural (pain intensity estimation from facial expressions and unpleasantness for the observer ratings) and electrophysiological measures (facial electromyography). Experiment 1 showed enhanced empathic response (increased unpleasantness for the observer and facial electromyography responses) as participants' degree of responsibility for the actor's pain increased. This effect was mainly accounted for by the decisional component of responsibility (compared with the execution component). In addition, experiment 2 found that participants' unpleasantness rating also increased when they had a sense of agency over the pain, while controlling for decision and execution processes. The findings suggest that increased empathy induced by responsibility and a sense of agency may play a role in regulating our moral conduct. PMID:25473014

  1. 31 CFR 0.104 - Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. 0.104 Section 0.104 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the... Responsibilities § 0.104 Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. The...

  2. 31 CFR 0.104 - Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. 0.104 Section 0.104 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the... Responsibilities § 0.104 Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. The...

  3. 31 CFR 0.104 - Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. 0.104 Section 0.104 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the... Responsibilities § 0.104 Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. The...

  4. 31 CFR 0.104 - Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. 0.104 Section 0.104 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the... Responsibilities § 0.104 Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. The...

  5. 31 CFR 0.104 - Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. 0.104 Section 0.104 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the... Responsibilities § 0.104 Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. The...

  6. 34 CFR 222.31 - To which local educational agencies does the Secretary make basic support payments under section...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... applicable State or Federal law for providing a free public education to those children; (2) The LEA is providing a free public education to those children; and (3) The State provides funds for the education of... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false To which local educational agencies does the Secretary...

  7. 77 FR 58858 - Agency Information Collection Activity: Subpart B, Plans and Information; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-09-24

    ... recipient above and beyond those which accrue to the public at large. Deepwater Operations Plans are subject... to make an informed decision on whether to approve the proposed deepwater operations plans, or...-2012-0014; OMB Control Number 1014-NEW] Agency Information Collection Activity: Subpart B, Plans and...

  8. THE EMERGING FOCUS ON LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT IN THE U. S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA has been actively engaged in LCA research since 1990 to help advance the methodology and application of life cycle thinking in decision-making. Across the Agency consideration of the life cycle concept is increasing in the development of policies and programs. A major force i...

  9. A comparison of synthesis and integrative approaches for meaning making and information fusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eggleston, Robert G.; Fenstermacher, Laurie

    2017-05-01

    Traditionally, information fusion approaches to meaning making have been integrative or aggregative in nature, creating meaning "containers" in which to put content (e.g., attributes) about object classes. In a large part, this was due to the limits in technology/tools for supporting information fusion (e.g., computers). A different synthesis based approach for meaning making is described which takes advantage of computing advances. The approach is not focused on the events/behaviors being observed/sensed; instead, it is human work centric. The former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency once wrote, "Context is king. Achieving an understanding of what is happening - or will happen - comes from a truly integrated picture of an area, the situation and the various personalities in it…a layered approach over time that builds depth of understanding."1 The synthesis based meaning making framework enables this understanding. It is holistic (both the sum and the parts, the proverbial forest and the trees), multi-perspective and emulative (as opposed to representational). The two approaches are complementary, with the synthesis based meaning making framework as a wrapper. The integrative approach would be dominant at level 0,1 fusion: data fusion, track formation and the synthesis based meaning making becomes dominant at higher fusion levels (levels 2 and 3), although both may be in play. A synthesis based approach to information fusion is thus well suited for "gray zone" challenges in which there is aggression and ambiguity and which are inherently perspective dependent (e.g., recent events in Ukraine).

  10. Programmable wide field spectrograph for earth observation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zamkotsian, Frédéric; Lanzoni, Patrick; Liotard, Arnaud; Viard, Thierry; Costes, Vincent; Hébert, Philippe-Jean

    2017-11-01

    In Earth Observation, Universe Observation and Planet Exploration, scientific return of the instruments must be optimized in future missions. Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) could be key components in future generation of space instruments. These devices are based on the mature micro-electronics technology and in addition to their compactness, scalability, and specific task customization, they could generate new functions not available with current technologies. French and European space agencies, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have initiated several studies with LAM and TAS for listing the new functions associated with several types of MEMS, and developing new ideas of instruments.

  11. Waves of regret: a meg study of emotion and decision-making.

    PubMed

    Giorgetta, Cinzia; Grecucci, Alessandro; Bonini, Nicolao; Coricelli, Giorgio; Demarchi, Gianpaolo; Braun, Christoph; Sanfey, Alan G

    2013-01-01

    Recent fMRI studies have investigated brain activity involved in the feeling of regret and disappointment by manipulating the feedback participants saw after making a decision to play certain gambles: full-feedback (regret: participant sees the outcomes from both the chosen and unchosen gamble) vs. partial-feedback (disappointment: participant only sees the outcome from chosen gamble). However, regret and disappointment are also characterized by differential agency attribution: personal agency for regret, external agency for disappointment. In this study, we investigate the neural correlates of these two characterizations of regret and disappointment using magnetoencephalography (MEG). To do this, we experimentally induced each emotion by manipulating feedback (chosen gamble vs. unchosen gamble), agency (human vs. computer choice) and outcomes (win vs. loss) in a fully randomized design. At the behavioral level the emotional experience of regret and disappointment were indeed affected by both feedback and agency manipulations. These emotions also differentially affect subsequent choices, with regret leading to riskier behavior. At the neural level both feedback and agency affected the brain responses associated with regret and disappointment, demonstrating differential localization in the brain for each. Notably, feedback regret showed greater brain activity in the right anterior and posterior regions, with agency regret producing greater activity in the left anterior region. These findings extend the evidence for neural activity in processing both regret and disappointment by highlighting for the first time the respective importance of feedback and agency, as well as outlining the temporal dynamics of these emotions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. 78 FR 43238 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB for Reinstatement, Without Change, of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-19

    ... automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. It is NCUA's policy to make all... NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission to OMB... submit the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and...

  13. Developing a Strategy To Educate County Departments of Social Services in the Type of Referrals Needed for a Residential Child Caring Agency.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keevert, Helen

    The focus of a child caring facility had changed from caring exclusively for orphans to serving a broader population of abandoned, abused, and neglected children. Because no effective marketing tool existed within this child caring agency to make agency identification and information readily accessible to county departments of social services…

  14. 34 CFR 85.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Agency. 85.910 Section 85.910 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 85.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency...

  15. 34 CFR 85.910 - Agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 34 Education 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Agency. 85.910 Section 85.910 Education Office of the Secretary, Department of Education GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 85.910 Agency. Agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency...

  16. 78 FR 69875 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Previously Approved Collection, With...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Previously Approved Collection, With Change; Comments Requested: COPS Progress Report Correction In notice document 2013-25701, appearing on page 64979 in the issue of Wednesday, October 30, 2013, make the following correction: On page 64979, in the second column,...

  17. 44 CFR 5.29 - Effect of failure to make information materials available.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Effect of failure to make information materials available. 5.29 Section 5.29 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY GENERAL PRODUCTION OR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION...

  18. The role of adaptive management as an operational approach for resource management agencies

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Johnson, B.L.

    1999-01-01

    In making resource management decisions, agencies use a variety of approaches that involve different levels of political concern, historical precedence, data analyses, and evaluation. Traditional decision-making approaches have often failed to achieve objectives for complex problems in large systems, such as the Everglades or the Colorado River. I contend that adaptive management is the best approach available to agencies for addressing this type of complex problem, although its success has been limited thus far. Traditional decision-making approaches have been fairly successful at addressing relatively straightforward problems in small, replicated systems, such as management of trout in small streams or pulp production in forests. However, this success may be jeopardized as more users place increasing demands on these systems. Adaptive management has received little attention from agencies for addressing problems in small-scale systems, but I suggest that it may be a useful approach for creating a holistic view of common problems and developing guidelines that can then be used in simpler, more traditional approaches to management. Although adaptive management may be more expensive to initiate than traditional approaches, it may be less expensive in the long run if it leads to more effective management. The overall goal of adaptive management is not to maintain an optimal condition of the resource, but to develop an optimal management capacity. This is accomplished by maintaining ecological resilience that allows the system to react to inevitable stresses, and generating flexibility in institutions and stakeholders that allows managers to react when conditions change. The result is that, rather than managing for a single, optimal state, we manage within a range of acceptable outcomes while avoiding catastrophes and irreversible negative effects. Copyright ?? 1999 by The Resilience Alliance.

  19. 2 CFR 180.950 - Federal agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... § 180.950 Federal agency. Federal agency means any United States executive department, military department, defense agency or any other agency of the executive branch. Other agencies of the Federal...

  20. 78 FR 5477 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Inter-Agency Alien Witness and Informant Record, Form I...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-25

    ...-0046] Agency Information Collection Activities: Inter-Agency Alien Witness and Informant Record, Form I... collection. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Inter-Agency Alien Witness and Informant Record. (3) Agency...- 854 is used by law enforcement agencies to bring alien witnesses and informants to the United States...

  1. Natural resource manager perceptions of agency performance on climate change.

    PubMed

    Lemieux, Christopher J; Thompson, Jessica L; Dawson, Jackie; Schuster, Rudy M

    2013-01-15

    An important precursor to the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies is to understand the perceived capacity to implement and operationalize such strategies. Utilizing an importance-performance analysis (IPA) evaluation framework, this article presents a comparative case study of federal and state land and natural resource manager perceptions of agency performance on factors influencing adaptive capacity in two U.S. regions (northern Colorado and southwestern South Dakota). Results revealed several important findings with substantial management implications. First, none of the managers ranked the adaptive capacity factors as a low priority. Second, managers held the perception that their agencies were performing either neutrally or poorly on most factors influencing adaptive capacity. Third, gap analysis revealed that significant improvements are required to facilitate optimal agency functioning when dealing with climate change-related management issues. Overall, results suggest that a host of institutional and policy-oriented (e.g., lack of clear mandate to adapt to climate change), financial and human resource (e.g., inadequate staff and financial resources), informational (e.g., inadequate research and monitoring programs) and contextual barriers (e.g., sufficient regional networks to mitigate potential transboundary impacts) currently challenge the efficient and effective integration of climate change into decision-making and management within agencies working in these regions. The IPA framework proved to be an effective tool to help managers identify and understand agency strengths, areas of concern, redundancies, and areas that warrant the use of limited funds and/or resource re-allocation in order to enhance adaptive capacity and maximize management effectiveness with respect to climate change. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Defense Contract Management Agency

    Science.gov Websites

    , May 24. Click the photo above for more information. Members of the Defense Contract Management Agency for more information. Members of the Defense Contract Management Agency International Region conduct Skip to main content (Press Enter). Toggle navigation Defense Contract Management Agency Search

  3. 78 FR 24429 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Inter-Agency Alien Witness and Informant Record, Form I...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-25

    ...-0046] Agency Information Collection Activities: Inter-Agency Alien Witness and Informant Record, Form I... the Form/Collection: Inter-Agency Alien Witness and Informant Record. (3) Agency form number, if any... Government. Form I-854 is used by law enforcement agencies to bring alien witnesses and informants to the...

  4. [An analysis of eligibility for occupational health inspection agencies in eight provinces of China].

    PubMed

    Qi, Fang; Wang, Huanqiang; Li, Tao; Lyu, Xiangpei; Zhu, Qiuhong; Yu, Chen

    2015-06-01

    health inspection network has been established in these surveyed regions. CDCs, institutes for occupational disease prevention and control, and hospitals are the main agencies for occupational health inspection. In order to build up a network of occupational disease prevention and control, various agencies should make full use of their own advantages and enhance abilities and technical cooperation.

  5. 78 FR 35353 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for a New Information Collection

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-12

    ... decision- making. Some states have built many noise barriers while a few have built none. Through the end... Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for a New Information Collection AGENCY: Federal... information collection, which is summarized below under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We published a Federal...

  6. 77 FR 20637 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; OAA Title III-C...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-05

    ... Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; OAA Title III-C Evaluation AGENCY: Administration on Aging... on the information collection requirements relating to OAA Title III-C Evaluation DATES: Submit... caring for grandchildren, who are essential to making community living possible. The OAA Title III-C...

  7. Influence of daylight and noise current on cloud and aerosol observations by spaceborne elastic scattering lidar.

    PubMed

    Nakajima, T Y; Imai, T; Uchino, O; Nagai, T

    1999-08-20

    The influence of daylight and noise current on cloud and aerosol observations by realistic spaceborne lidar was examined by computer simulations. The reflected solar radiations, which contaminate the daytime return signals of lidar operations, were strictly and explicitly estimated by accurate radiative transfer calculations. It was found that the model multilayer cirrus clouds and the boundary layer aerosols could be observed during the daytime and the nighttime with only a few laser shots. However, high background noise and noise current make it difficult to observe volcanic aerosols in middle and upper atmospheric layers. Optimal combinations of the laser power and receiver field of view are proposed to compensate for the negative influence that is due to these noises. For the computer simulations, we used a realistic set of lidar parameters similar to the Experimental Lidar in-Space Equipment of the National Space Development Agency of Japan.

  8. Challenges Associated With Applying Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling for Public Health Decision-Making

    EPA Science Inventory

    The development and application of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models in chemical toxicology have grown steadily since their emergence in the 1980s. However, critical evaluation of PBPK models to support public health decision-making across federal agencies has t...

  9. An Object-Oriented Approach for Analyzing CALIPSO's Profile Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trepte, C. R.

    2016-12-01

    The CALIPSO satellite mission is a pioneering international partnership between NASA and the French Space Agency, CNES. Since launch on 28 April 2006, CALIPSO has been acquiring near-continuous lidar profile observations of clouds and aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere. Many studies have profitably used these observations to advance our understanding of climate, weather and air quality. For the most part, however, these studies have considered CALIPSO profile measurements independent from one another and have not related each to neighboring or family observations within a cloud element or aerosol feature. In this presentation we describe an alternative approach that groups measurements into objects visually identified from CALIPSO browse images. The approach makes use of the Visualization of CALIPSO (VOCAL) software tool that enables a user to outline a region of interest and save coordinates into a database. The selected features or objects can then be analyzed to explore spatial correlations over the feature's domain and construct bulk statistical properties for each structure. This presentation will show examples that examine cirrus and dust layers and will describe how this object-oriented approach can provide added insight into physical processes beyond conventional statistical treatments. It will further show results with combined measurements from other A-Train sensors to highlight advantages of viewing features in this manner.

  10. Using structured decision making to manage disease risk for Montana wildlife

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mitchell, Michael S.; Gude, Justin A.; Anderson, Neil J.; Ramsey, Jennifer M.; Thompson, Michael J.; Sullivan, Mark G.; Edwards, Victoria L.; Gower, Claire N.; Cochrane, Jean Fitts; Irwin, Elise R.; Walshe, Terry

    2013-01-01

    We used structured decision-making to develop a 2-part framework to assist managers in the proactive management of disease outbreaks in Montana, USA. The first part of the framework is a model to estimate the probability of disease outbreak given field observations available to managers. The second part of the framework is decision analysis that evaluates likely outcomes of management alternatives based on the estimated probability of disease outbreak, and applies managers' values for different objectives to indicate a preferred management strategy. We used pneumonia in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) as a case study for our approach, applying it to 2 populations in Montana that differed in their likelihood of a pneumonia outbreak. The framework provided credible predictions of both probability of disease outbreaks, as well as biological and monetary consequences of management actions. The structured decision-making approach to this problem was valuable for defining the challenges of disease management in a decentralized agency where decisions are generally made at the local level in cooperation with stakeholders. Our approach provides local managers with the ability to tailor management planning for disease outbreaks to local conditions. Further work is needed to refine our disease risk models and decision analysis, including robust prediction of disease outbreaks and improved assessment of management alternatives.

  11. 77 FR 3487 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Transfer of Cargo to a Container Station

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-24

    ... Activities: Transfer of Cargo to a Container Station AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP... requirement concerning Transfer of Cargo to a Container Station. This request for comment is being made... cargo. In accordance with 19 CFR 19.42, the container station operator may make a request for the...

  12. 78 FR 43969 - Agency Information Collection (Regulation for Reconsideration of Denied Claims) Activity Under...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-22

    ... collection. Abstract: Veterans who disagree with the initial decision denying their healthcare benefits in... allows decision making to be more responsive to Veterans using the VA healthcare system. An agency may... date of the initial decision. The request must state why the decision is in error and include any new...

  13. 75 FR 77955 - Agency Information Collection (Submission of School Catalog to the State Approving Agency...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-14

    ... (Submission of School Catalog to the State Approving Agency) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans... elementary and secondary schools, must submit copies of their catalog to the State approving agency when applying for approval of a new course. State approval agencies use the catalog to determine what courses...

  14. 78 FR 53013 - Agency Information Collection (Submission of School Catalog to the State Approving Agency...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-27

    ... (Submission of School Catalog to the State Approving Agency) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans... elementary and secondary schools, must submit copies of their catalog to State approving agency when applying for approval of a new course. State approval agencies use the catalog to determine what courses can be...

  15. Natural Hazards Observer. Volume XXII, Number 3. January 1998.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1998-01-01

    National Science Foundation , Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Transportation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Institute for Business and Home Safety. The Natural Hazards Observer is published

  16. Methods, procedures, and contextual characteristics of health technology assessment and health policy decision making: comparison of health technology assessment agencies in Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Sweden.

    PubMed

    Schwarzer, Ruth; Siebert, Uwe

    2009-07-01

    The objectives of this study were (i) to develop a systematic framework for describing and comparing different features of health technology assessment (HTA) agencies, (ii) to identify and describe similarities and differences between the agencies, and (iii) to draw conclusions both for producers and users of HTA in research, policy, and practice. We performed a systematic literature search, added information from HTA agencies, and developed a conceptual framework comprising eight main domains: organization, scope, processes, methods, dissemination, decision, implementation, and impact. We grouped relevant items of these domains in an evidence table and chose five HTA agencies to test our framework: DAHTA@DIMDI, HAS, IQWiG, NICE, and SBU. Item and domain similarity was assessed using the percentage of identical characteristics in pairwise comparisons across agencies. RESULTS were interpreted across agencies by demonstrating similarities and differences. Based on 306 included documents, we identified 90 characteristics of eight main domains appropriate for our framework. After applying the framework to the five agencies, we were able to show 40 percent similarities in "dissemination," 38 percent in "scope," 35 percent in "organization," 29 percent in "methods," 26 percent in "processes," 23 percent in "impact," 19 percent in "decision," and 17 percent in "implementation." We found considerably more differences than similarities of HTA features across agencies and countries. Our framework and comparison provides insights and clarification into the need for harmonization. Our findings could serve as descriptive database facilitating communication between producers and users.

  17. Measurement of Women’s Agency in Egypt: A National Validation Study

    PubMed Central

    VanderEnde, Kristin E.; Dodell, Sylvie; Cheong, Yuk Fai

    2015-01-01

    Despite widespread assumptions about women’s empowerment and agency in the Arab Middle East, psychometric research of these constructs is limited. Using national data from 6214 married women ages 16–49 who took part in the 2006 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey, we applied factor analysis to explore and then to test the factor structure of women’s agency. We then used multiple indicator multiple cause structural equations models to test for differential item functioning (DIF) by women’s age at first marriage, a potential resource for women’s agency. Our results confirm that women’s agency in Egypt is multi-dimensional and comprised of their (1) influence in family decisions, including those reserved for men, (2) freedom of movement in public spaces, and (3) attitudes about gender, specifically violence against wives. These dimensions confirm those explored previously in selected rural areas of Egypt and South Asia. Yet, three items showed significant uniform DIF by women’s categorical age at first marriage, with and without a control for women’s age in years. Models adjusting for DIF and women’s age in years showed that women’s older age at first marriage was positively associated with the factor means for family decision-making and gender-violence attitudes, but not freedom of movement. Our findings reveal the value of our analytical strategy for research on the dimensions and determinants of women’s agency. Our approach offers a promising model to discern “hierarchies of evidence” for social policies and programs to enhance women’s empowerment. PMID:27597801

  18. Funding Solar Projects at Federal Agencies: Mechanisms and Selection Criteria (Brochure)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    Implementing solar energy projects at federal facilities is a process. The project planning phase of the process includes determining goals, building a team, determining site feasibility and selecting the appropriate project funding tool. This fact sheet gives practical guidance to assist decision-makers with understanding and selecting the funding tool that would best address their site goals. Because project funding tools are complex, federal agencies should seek project assistance before making final decisions. High capital requirements combined with limits on federal agency energy contracts create challenges for funding solar projects. Solar developers typically require long-term contracts (15-20) years to spread outmore » the initial investment and to enable payments similar to conventional utility bill payments. In the private sector, 20-year contracts have been developed, vetted, and accepted, but the General Services Administration (GSA) contract authority (federal acquisition regulation [FAR] part 41) typically limits contract terms to 10 years. Payments on shorter-term contracts make solar economically unattractive compared with conventional generation. However, in several instances, the federal sector has utilized innovative funding tools that allow long-term contracts or has created a project package that is economically attractive within a shorter contract term.« less

  19. 76 FR 2754 - Agency Information Collection (Pay Now Enter Info Page) Activity Under OMB Review

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-14

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900-0663] Agency Information Collection (Pay Now... No. 2900-0663.'' SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Pay Now Enter Info Page. OMB Control Number: 2900... participated in VA's benefit programs and owe debts to VA can voluntary make online payments through VA's Pay...

  20. 77 FR 60997 - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-05

    ... care, including activities with respect to the quality, effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness and... Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Agency for...

  1. Eyes that bind us: Gaze leading induces an implicit sense of agency.

    PubMed

    Stephenson, Lisa J; Edwards, S Gareth; Howard, Emma E; Bayliss, Andrew P

    2018-03-01

    Humans feel a sense of agency over the effects their motor system causes. This is the case for manual actions such as pushing buttons, kicking footballs, and all acts that affect the physical environment. We ask whether initiating joint attention - causing another person to follow our eye movement - can elicit an implicit sense of agency over this congruent gaze response. Eye movements themselves cannot directly affect the physical environment, but joint attention is an example of how eye movements can indirectly cause social outcomes. Here we show that leading the gaze of an on-screen face induces an underestimation of the temporal gap between action and consequence (Experiments 1 and 2). This underestimation effect, named 'temporal binding,' is thought to be a measure of an implicit sense of agency. Experiment 3 asked whether merely making an eye movement in a non-agentic, non-social context might also affect temporal estimation, and no reliable effects were detected, implying that inconsequential oculomotor acts do not reliably affect temporal estimations under these conditions. Together, these findings suggest that an implicit sense of agency is generated when initiating joint attention interactions. This is important for understanding how humans can efficiently detect and understand the social consequences of their actions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. 40 CFR 124.212 - What procedures must I follow to make routine changes?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... routine changes? 124.212 Section 124.212 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS PROCEDURES FOR DECISIONMAKING Procedures for RCRA Standardized Permit Maintaining A Standardized Permit § 124.212 What procedures must I follow to make routine changes? (a) You can...

  3. 77 FR 39511 - Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Development of a Guide for Correctional Agencies To...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-03

    ... inform the development of televisiting initiatives. The cooperative agreement awardee will design and... design and develop three products: (1) A guide to assist correctional agencies in the establishment of... to make enhancements to current televisiting initiatives, (3) a series of evaluative questions about...

  4. Making Invisible Intersectionality Visible through Theater of the Oppressed in Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powers, Beth; Duffy, Peter B.

    2016-01-01

    The arts generally and theater specifically offer effective strategies to help educators recognize and make visible the multiple student and teacher identities within classrooms. Without student and teacher agency in schools, there cannot be equitable and liberatory learning environments. Noted Brazilian theater artist and activist Augusto Boal's…

  5. Grips and ties: agency, uncertainty, and the problem of suffering in North Karelia.

    PubMed

    Honkasalo, Marja-Liisa

    2009-03-01

    In medical anthropological research, the question of suffering has been a topic of salient interest mostly from two theoretical viewpoints: those of endurance and of agency. The concept "suffering" derives its origins from two etymological roots, those of suffering-souffrance-sofferanza and of misery-misère-miseria. According to the first approach, that of "endurance" and founded largely on Judeo-Christian theology, suffering is regarded as an existential experience at the borders of human meaning making. The question then is: how to endure, how to suffer? The latter view, that of "agency," follows the Enlightenment, and later the Marxist view on mundane suffering, misery, and the modern question of how to avoid or diminish it. This article follows the lines of the second approach, but my aim is also to try to build a theoretical bridge between the two. I ask whether agency would be understood as a culturally shared and interpreted modes of enduring, and if so, which conceptual definition of agency applies in this context? I theorize the relationship between suffering and agency using Ernesto de Martino's notion la crisi della presenza. In line with Pierre Bourdieu, I think that in people's lives, there may be sufferings in a plural form, as a variety of sufferings. The article is based on a one-year long fieldwork in Finnish North Karelia.

  6. City Meets the Cable: A Case Study in Technological Innovation and Community Decision-Making. Publication 75-7.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kalba, Kas

    The cable television decision-making process in Cincinnati, Ohio between 1969 and 1974 was investigated in detail. Data were obtained primarily through a series of open-ended interviews with various decision-making praticipants, including members of a Task Force on Urban Cable Communications, members of the city council and municipal agencies,…

  7. Dementia Prevention: optimizing the use of observational data for personal, clinical, and public health decision-making.

    PubMed

    Dacks, Penny A; Andrieu, Sandrine; Blacker, Deborah; Carman, Aaron J; Green, Allan M; Grodstein, Francine; Henderson, Victor W; James, Bryan D; Lane, Rachel F; Lau, Joseph; Lin, Pei-Jung; Reeves, Barnaby C; Shah, Raj C; Vellas, Bruno; Yaffe, Kristine; Yurko-Mauro, Karin; Shineman, Diana W; Bennett, David A; Fillit, Howard M

    2014-02-01

    Worldwide, over 35 million people suffer from Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. This number is expected to triple over the next 40 years. How can we improve the evidence supporting strategies to reduce the rate of dementia in future generations? The risk of dementia is likely influenced by modifiable factors such as exercise, cognitive activity, and the clinical management of diabetes and hypertension. However, the quality of evidence is limited and it remains unclear whether specific interventions to reduce these modifiable risk factors can, in turn, reduce the risk of dementia. Although randomized controlled trials are the gold-standard for causality, the majority of evidence for long-term dementia prevention derives from, and will likely continue to derive from, observational studies. Although observational research has some unavoidable limitations, its utility for dementia prevention might be improved by, for example, better distinction between confirmatory and exploratory research, higher reporting standards, investment in effectiveness research enabled by increased data-pooling, and standardized exposure and outcome measures. Informed decision-making by the general public on low-risk health choices that could have broad potential benefits could be enabled by internet-based tools and decision-aids to communicate the evidence, its quality, and the estimated magnitude of effect.

  8. Battered Agency Syndrome: The Challenge to Agencies Serving Low-Income Communities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reed, Diane; Lally, J. Ronald; Quiett, Douglas

    Community-based social service agencies working in low-income communities increasingly function with inadequate support and encounter numerous oppressive external and internal conditions that compromise organizational and staff well-being. Working with many such agencies, WestEd identified stressors that included funding problems, unrealistic…

  9. Understanding Interdependencies between Heterogeneous Earth Observation Systems When Applied to Federal Objectives

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gallo, J.; Sylak-Glassman, E.

    2017-12-01

    We will present a method for assessing interdependencies between heterogeneous Earth observation (EO) systems when applied to key Federal objectives. Using data from the National Earth Observation Assessment (EOA), we present a case study that examines the frequency that measurements from each of the Landsat 8 sensors are used in conjunction with heterogeneous measurements from other Earth observation sensors to develop data and information products. This EOA data allows us to map the most frequent interactions between Landsat measurements and measurements from other sensors, identify high-impact data and information products where these interdependencies occur, and identify where these combined measurements contribute most to meeting a key Federal objective within one of the 13 Societal Benefit Areas used in the EOA study. Using a value-tree framework to trace the application of data from EO systems to weighted key Federal objectives within the EOA study, we are able to estimate relative contribution of individual EO systems to meeting those objectives, as well as the interdependencies between measurements from all EO systems within the EOA study. The analysis relies on a modified Delphi method to elicit relative levels of reliance on individual measurements from EO systems, including combinations of measurements, from subject matter experts. This results in the identification of a representative portfolio of all EO systems used to meet key Federal objectives. Understanding the interdependencies among a heterogeneous set of measurements that modify the impact of any one individual measurement on meeting a key Federal objective, especially if the measurements originate from multiple agencies or state/local/tribal, international, academic, and commercial sources, can impact agency decision-making regarding mission requirements and inform understanding of user needs.

  10. AOD treatment agencies: does religious affiliation influence service delivery?

    PubMed

    McIlwraith, Fairlie; Kinner, Stuart A; Najman, Jake M

    2011-11-01

    Religious organisations have been involved in delivering alcohol and other drug (AOD) services since Australian colonial times and are a familiar presence in the AOD sector. However, there is concern in some sectors that AOD services delivered by religious organisations might be influenced by religious ideology, at the expense of evidence-based service provision. A national, cross-sectional survey of non-government AOD agencies was undertaken using a mailed questionnaire. All non-government AOD agencies in Australia, providing at least one face-to-face specialist AOD service, were invited to participate. Agency goals and activities were assessed using the Drug and Alcohol Program Treatment Inventory, which has eight distinct treatment orientations: 12-step, therapeutic community, cognitive behavioural therapy, psychodynamic, family, rehabilitation, dual diagnosis and medical. There was a high degree of uniformity in treatment orientations with religiously affiliated agencies having similar goals and activities to non-religiously affiliated agencies. Cognitive behavioural therapy was most commonly provided and 12-step the least provided. Religiously affiliated agencies were significantly more likely to favour the 12-step orientation in both goals and activities. Concerns that the religious affiliation of non-government organisations might influence AOD service delivery in Australia appear to be overstated. Factors contributing to the observed uniformity of care may include a more strategic, federal approach; and an increasing emphasis on best practice within the sector. The lack of discernable differentiation between religiously affiliated and non-religiously affiliated non-government organisations may also be attributable to changes in the way services are delivered by many religious organisations. © 2011 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  11. Revealing gendered identity and agency in dementia.

    PubMed

    Boyle, Geraldine

    2017-11-01

    As identity and agency are central to the well-being of people with dementia, this paper explores whether their dialogue conveys a gendered sense of identity and agency. The author discusses whether they demonstrate not just a subjective sense of being but also an understanding of their relational selves. Findings are presented from a qualitative study in the North of England which examined the everyday decisions made by married couples when one partner had dementia. Ethnographic methods were used, including participant observation and interviews. While dialogical analysis usually centres on the subjective self, it was also used to examine intersubjectivity. Comparisons are made between the dialogue of women and men in order to draw conclusions about the gendered nature of identity and agency. The study found that the women and men defined themselves according to their social and gender identities. The literature had suggested that agency might be a gendered concept and the study confirmed that men were somewhat individualistic and rational in their concerns, whereas women were more relational and even spiritual. Yet, women and men demonstrated emotional reflexivity. As national and international health policy prioritises living well with dementia, more systematic attention should be given to the role of gender in influencing well-being in dementia. Health and social care staff should recognise and facilitate the gender identity and related social roles of people with dementia (e.g. parent, carer and worker) in order to enhance their quality of life. © 2017 The Author. Health and Social Care in the Community Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. The roles of consistency and exclusivity in perceiving body ownership and agency.

    PubMed

    Ma, Ke; Hommel, Bernhard; Chen, Hong

    2018-01-23

    Previous rubber/virtual hand illusion studies have established important constraints for the illusion that an artificial effector becomes part of one's own body (perceived ownership), and that its actions are being caused by oneself (perceived agency). We can take these observed constraints to establish two of three Wegner's (Trends Cogn Sci 7:65-69; Wegner, Trends in Cognitive Sciences 7:65-69, 2003) criteria for the perception of personal agency: priority and consistency, but not Wegner's third criterion-exclusivity. In this study we tested with virtual hand illusion, whether exclusivity (participant is certain who was controlling the virtual effector) can also be established. We manipulated two factors: exclusivity and consistency. Our results show that on both ownership and agency judgments, consistency and exclusivity produced main effects, and the two effects interacted in an underadditive fashion. Taken together, these findings provide support for our suggestion to extend Wegner's agency theory to explain perceived body ownership, which in turn provides an integrative framework for interpreting constraints on ownership and agency illusions.

  13. 40 CFR 1508.16 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Lead agency. 1508.16 Section 1508.16 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.16 Lead agency. Lead agency means the agency or agencies preparing or having taken primary responsibility for preparing the...

  14. 40 CFR 1508.16 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Lead agency. 1508.16 Section 1508.16 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.16 Lead agency. Lead agency means the agency or agencies preparing or having taken primary responsibility for preparing the...

  15. 40 CFR 1508.16 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Lead agency. 1508.16 Section 1508.16 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.16 Lead agency. Lead agency means the agency or agencies preparing or having taken primary responsibility for preparing the...

  16. 40 CFR 1508.16 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Lead agency. 1508.16 Section 1508.16 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.16 Lead agency. Lead agency means the agency or agencies preparing or having taken primary responsibility for preparing the...

  17. 40 CFR 1508.16 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Lead agency. 1508.16 Section 1508.16 Protection of Environment COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TERMINOLOGY AND INDEX § 1508.16 Lead agency. Lead agency means the agency or agencies preparing or having taken primary responsibility for preparing the...

  18. State forestry agency perspectives on carbon management and carbon market assistance to family forest owners

    Treesearch

    Kristell A. Miller; Stephanie A. Snyder; Michael A. Kilgore

    2015-01-01

    Family forest owners within the United States could potentially make significant contributions to sequestration efforts. However, we expect that landowners will need assistance if they are to successfully implement carbon management techniques and/or navigate through complex carbon market requirements. State forestry agencies were surveyed to gather their perspectives...

  19. Investigating the Prospective Sense of Agency: Effects of Processing Fluency, Stimulus Ambiguity, and Response Conflict.

    PubMed

    Sidarus, Nura; Vuorre, Matti; Metcalfe, Janet; Haggard, Patrick

    2017-01-01

    How do we know how much control we have over our environment? The sense of agency refers to the feeling that we are in control of our actions, and that, through them, we can control our external environment. Thus, agency clearly involves matching intentions, actions, and outcomes. The present studies investigated the possibility that processes of action selection, i.e., choosing what action to make, contribute to the sense of agency. Since selection of action necessarily precedes execution of action, such effects must be prospective. In contrast, most literature on sense of agency has focussed on the retrospective computation whether an outcome fits the action performed or intended. This hypothesis was tested in an ecologically rich, dynamic task based on a computer game. Across three experiments, we manipulated three different aspects of action selection processing: visual processing fluency, categorization ambiguity, and response conflict. Additionally, we measured the relative contributions of prospective, action selection-based cues, and retrospective, outcome-based cues to the sense of agency. Manipulations of action selection were orthogonally combined with discrepancy of visual feedback of action. Fluency of action selection had a small but reliable effect on the sense of agency. Additionally, as expected, sense of agency was strongly reduced when visual feedback was discrepant with the action performed. The effects of discrepant feedback were larger than the effects of action selection fluency, and sometimes suppressed them. The sense of agency is highly sensitive to disruptions of action-outcome relations. However, when motor control is successful, and action-outcome relations are as predicted, fluency or dysfluency of action selection provides an important prospective cue to the sense of agency.

  20. Investigating the Prospective Sense of Agency: Effects of Processing Fluency, Stimulus Ambiguity, and Response Conflict

    PubMed Central

    Sidarus, Nura; Vuorre, Matti; Metcalfe, Janet; Haggard, Patrick

    2017-01-01

    How do we know how much control we have over our environment? The sense of agency refers to the feeling that we are in control of our actions, and that, through them, we can control our external environment. Thus, agency clearly involves matching intentions, actions, and outcomes. The present studies investigated the possibility that processes of action selection, i.e., choosing what action to make, contribute to the sense of agency. Since selection of action necessarily precedes execution of action, such effects must be prospective. In contrast, most literature on sense of agency has focussed on the retrospective computation whether an outcome fits the action performed or intended. This hypothesis was tested in an ecologically rich, dynamic task based on a computer game. Across three experiments, we manipulated three different aspects of action selection processing: visual processing fluency, categorization ambiguity, and response conflict. Additionally, we measured the relative contributions of prospective, action selection-based cues, and retrospective, outcome-based cues to the sense of agency. Manipulations of action selection were orthogonally combined with discrepancy of visual feedback of action. Fluency of action selection had a small but reliable effect on the sense of agency. Additionally, as expected, sense of agency was strongly reduced when visual feedback was discrepant with the action performed. The effects of discrepant feedback were larger than the effects of action selection fluency, and sometimes suppressed them. The sense of agency is highly sensitive to disruptions of action-outcome relations. However, when motor control is successful, and action-outcome relations are as predicted, fluency or dysfluency of action selection provides an important prospective cue to the sense of agency. PMID:28450839

  1. 40 CFR 141.708 - Requirements when making a significant change in disinfection practice.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... source water monitoring under § 141.701(a), a system that plans to make a significant change to its... change in disinfection practice. 141.708 Section 141.708 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS Enhanced...

  2. 40 CFR 141.708 - Requirements when making a significant change in disinfection practice.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... source water monitoring under § 141.701(a), a system that plans to make a significant change to its... change in disinfection practice. 141.708 Section 141.708 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS Enhanced...

  3. 40 CFR 141.708 - Requirements when making a significant change in disinfection practice.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... source water monitoring under § 141.701(a), a system that plans to make a significant change to its... change in disinfection practice. 141.708 Section 141.708 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS Enhanced...

  4. 40 CFR 141.708 - Requirements when making a significant change in disinfection practice.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... source water monitoring under § 141.701(a), a system that plans to make a significant change to its... change in disinfection practice. 141.708 Section 141.708 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS Enhanced...

  5. 20 CFR 416.1090 - Assumption when we make a finding of substantial failure.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Assumption when we make a finding of substantial failure. 416.1090 Section 416.1090 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL... responsibility for performing the disability determination function from the State agency, whether the assumption...

  6. The state agency experience (evaluation/selection of hardware for automated, geo-based information systems)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Campbell, L. F., Jr.

    1981-01-01

    The purpose and format of a panel session that addressed the procedures by which the hardware components of geographic information systems are evaluated and selected are described. State agencies from Alaska, Colorado, Montana, and Washington were represented and the topic was discussed within the general context of information requirements in land management decision making.

  7. Power and Agency in Education: Exploring the Pedagogical Dimensions of Funds of Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rodriguez, Gloria M.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to explore the pedagogical dimensions of the Funds of Knowledge (FoK) framework and approach with a focus on the role of power and agency in the sites where such teaching and learning takes place. This analysis is undertaken to make the pedagogies and associated power implications of the FoK work more explicit to…

  8. 77 FR 24225 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested: Certificate of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-23

    ... Compliance With 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5)(B) ACTION: 60-Day Notice of information collection. The Department of...) Title of the Form/Collection: Certificate of Compliance with 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5)(B). (3) Agency form.... Other: None. Need for Collection The law of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5)(B) makes it unlawful for any...

  9. Evaluating the best available social science for natural resource management decision-making

    Treesearch

    Susan Charnley; Courtney Carothers; Terre Satterfield; Arielle Levine; Melissa R. Poe; Karma Norman; Jamie Donatuto; Sara Jo Breslow; Michael B. Mascia; Phillip S. Levin; Xavier Basurto; Christina C. Hicks; Carlos García-Quijano; Kevin St. Martin

    2017-01-01

    Increasing recognition of the human dimensions of natural resource management issues, and of social and ecological sustainability and resilience as being inter-related, highlights the importance of applying social science to natural resource management decision-making. Moreover, a number of laws and regulations require natural resource management agencies to consider...

  10. 42 CFR 431.615 - Relations with State health and vocational rehabilitation agencies and title V grantees.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... services and vocational rehabilitation services designed to make maximum use of these services; (2) Provide... & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS STATE... Services. (b) Definitions. For purposes of this section— “Title V grantee” means the agency, institution...

  11. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process for Decision-Making in Ecosystem Management

    Treesearch

    Daniel L. Schmoldt; David L. Peterson

    1997-01-01

    Land management activities on public lands combine multiple objectives in order to create a plan of action over a finite time horizon. Because management activities are constrained by time and money, it is critical to make the best use of available agency resources. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) offers a structure for multi-objective decisionmaking so that...

  12. The Art of Restraint: How Experienced Program Leaders Use Their Authority to Support Youth Agency.

    PubMed

    Larson, Reed W; Izenstark, Dina; Rodriguez, Gabriel; Perry, S Cole

    2016-12-01

    The staff of youth development programs perform a delicate balancing act between supporting youth agency and exercising necessary authority. To understand this balancing in daily practice, we interviewed 25 experienced (M = 14 years) leaders of arts, leadership, and technology programs for high-school-aged youth. We obtained accounts of when, how, and why they gave advice, set limits, and "supported youth when disagreeing." Qualitative analysis found surprising similarities across leaders. They used authority to give advice and set limits, but did so with reasoned restraint. Maximizing youth's opportunities to learn from experience was central in their decision making. They described employing authority in intentional ways aimed at helping youth's work succeed, strengthening youth's agency, and building skills for agency (e.g., critical thinking, "clarifying intent"). © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Research on Adolescence © 2015 Society for Research on Adolescence.

  13. 31 CFR 800.218 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance:Treasury 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Lead agency. 800.218 Section 800.218... FOREIGN PERSONS Definitions § 800.218 Lead agency. The term lead agency means an agency designated by the... activity for which the Chairperson designates it as a lead agency, including all or a portion of a review...

  14. 31 CFR 800.218 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance:Treasury 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Lead agency. 800.218 Section 800.218... FOREIGN PERSONS Definitions § 800.218 Lead agency. The term lead agency means an agency designated by the... activity for which the Chairperson designates it as a lead agency, including all or a portion of a review...

  15. 31 CFR 800.218 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance:Treasury 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Lead agency. 800.218 Section 800.218... FOREIGN PERSONS Definitions § 800.218 Lead agency. The term lead agency means an agency designated by the... activity for which the Chairperson designates it as a lead agency, including all or a portion of a review...

  16. 31 CFR 800.218 - Lead agency.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance:Treasury 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Lead agency. 800.218 Section 800.218... FOREIGN PERSONS Definitions § 800.218 Lead agency. The term lead agency means an agency designated by the... activity for which the Chairperson designates it as a lead agency, including all or a portion of a review...

  17. The sense of agency is action-effect causality perception based on cross-modal grouping.

    PubMed

    Kawabe, Takahiro; Roseboom, Warrick; Nishida, Shin'ya

    2013-07-22

    Sense of agency, the experience of controlling external events through one's actions, stems from contiguity between action- and effect-related signals. Here we show that human observers link their action- and effect-related signals using a computational principle common to cross-modal sensory grouping. We first report that the detection of a delay between tactile and visual stimuli is enhanced when both stimuli are synchronized with separate auditory stimuli (experiment 1). This occurs because the synchronized auditory stimuli hinder the potential grouping between tactile and visual stimuli. We subsequently demonstrate an analogous effect on observers' key press as an action and a sensory event. This change is associated with a modulation in sense of agency; namely, sense of agency, as evaluated by apparent compressions of action-effect intervals (intentional binding) or subjective causality ratings, is impaired when both participant's action and its putative visual effect events are synchronized with auditory tones (experiments 2 and 3). Moreover, a similar role of action-effect grouping in determining sense of agency is demonstrated when the additional signal is presented in the modality identical to an effect event (experiment 4). These results are consistent with the view that sense of agency is the result of general processes of causal perception and that cross-modal grouping plays a central role in these processes.

  18. The sense of agency is action–effect causality perception based on cross-modal grouping

    PubMed Central

    Kawabe, Takahiro; Roseboom, Warrick; Nishida, Shin'ya

    2013-01-01

    Sense of agency, the experience of controlling external events through one's actions, stems from contiguity between action- and effect-related signals. Here we show that human observers link their action- and effect-related signals using a computational principle common to cross-modal sensory grouping. We first report that the detection of a delay between tactile and visual stimuli is enhanced when both stimuli are synchronized with separate auditory stimuli (experiment 1). This occurs because the synchronized auditory stimuli hinder the potential grouping between tactile and visual stimuli. We subsequently demonstrate an analogous effect on observers' key press as an action and a sensory event. This change is associated with a modulation in sense of agency; namely, sense of agency, as evaluated by apparent compressions of action–effect intervals (intentional binding) or subjective causality ratings, is impaired when both participant's action and its putative visual effect events are synchronized with auditory tones (experiments 2 and 3). Moreover, a similar role of action–effect grouping in determining sense of agency is demonstrated when the additional signal is presented in the modality identical to an effect event (experiment 4). These results are consistent with the view that sense of agency is the result of general processes of causal perception and that cross-modal grouping plays a central role in these processes. PMID:23740784

  19. 5 CFR 1632.4 - Meetings open to public observation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Meetings open to public observation. 1632... PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS § 1632.4 Meetings open to public observation. (a) Except as provided in § 1632.5 of this part, every portion of every meeting of the agency shall be open to public observation...

  20. 5 CFR 1632.4 - Meetings open to public observation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Meetings open to public observation. 1632... PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF MEETINGS § 1632.4 Meetings open to public observation. (a) Except as provided in § 1632.5 of this part, every portion of every meeting of the agency shall be open to public observation...

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