Sample records for consequence management capabilities

  1. Homeland Biological Warfare Consequence Management: Capabilities and Needs Assessment

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-04-01

    AU/ACSC/105/2001-04 AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY HOMELAND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE CONSEQUENCE MANAGEMENT: CAPABILITIES AND NEEDS...Dates Covered (from... to) - Title and Subtitle Homeland biological Warfare Consequence Management: Capabilities and Needs Assessment Contract...FEMA, DoJ, DoD, HHS, etc.) make a comprehensive, organized solution to the problem difficult. Focusing on the consequence management functions

  2. Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Consequence Management: Ways to Improve Fixed-Site Decontamination Capability

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-05-10

    objective is achieved through consequence management and fixed-site decontamination operations. The effectiveness of CBRN consequence management...decontamination operations. The effectiveness of CBRN consequence management and fixed-site decontamination executed in the Joint Security Area can be...when faced with Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear (CBRN) contaminated ports of debarkation. The effectiveness of CBRN consequence

  3. Consequence Management - Ready or Not?

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-04-07

    Defense will have sufficient capability and be ready to respond to a Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects attack. An effective consequence management...Defense adopts the National Military Strategy and its consequence management approach, it must identify Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects threats...that the Department of Defense: develop Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects performance standards for response assets; implement a consequence

  4. Seeing the Elephant -- Consequence Management Policy for the Department of Defense

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-05-01

    required for effective Consequence Management. The three response tiers allows the DoD to provide a predesignated level of support to the appropriate Federal...recommendation is the creation of a tiered response capability that balances time and tasks required for effective Consequence Management. The three...the response required for toxic chemical events. The third tier is reserved for the actions required for the Consequence Management for a biological

  5. Evaluating the habitat capability model for Merriam's turkeys

    Treesearch

    Mark A. Rumble; Stanley H. Anderson

    1995-01-01

    Habitat capability (HABCAP) models for wildlife assist land managers in predicting the consequences of their management decisions. Models must be tested and refined prior to using them in management planning. We tested the predicted patterns of habitat selection of the R2 HABCAP model using observed patterns of habitats selected by radio-marked Merriam’s turkey (

  6. THE ROLE OF THE CONSEQUENCE MANAGEMENT HOME TEAM IN THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI RESPONSE

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

    Pemberton, Wendy; Mena, RaJah; Beal, William

    The Consequence Management Home Team is a U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration asset. It assists a variety of response organizations with modeling; radiological operations planning; field monitoring techniques; and the analysis, interpretation, and distribution of radiological data. These reach-back capabilities are activated quickly to support public safety and minimize the social and economic impact of a nuclear or radiological incident. In the Fukushima Daiichi response, the Consequence Management Home Team grew to include a more broad range of support than was historically planned. From the early days of the response to the continuing involvement in supporting late phasemore » efforts, each stage of the Consequence Management Home Team support had distinct characteristics in terms of management of incoming data streams as well as creation of products. Regardless of stage, the Consequence Management Home Team played a critical role in the Fukushima Daiichi response effort.« less

  7. A ride in the time machine: information management capabilities health departments will need.

    PubMed

    Foldy, Seth; Grannis, Shaun; Ross, David; Smith, Torney

    2014-09-01

    We have proposed needed information management capabilities for future US health departments predicated on trends in health care reform and health information technology. Regardless of whether health departments provide direct clinical services (and many will), they will manage unprecedented quantities of sensitive information for the public health core functions of assurance and assessment, including population-level health surveillance and metrics. Absent improved capabilities, health departments risk vestigial status, with consequences for vulnerable populations. Developments in electronic health records, interoperability and information exchange, public information sharing, decision support, and cloud technologies can support information management if health departments have appropriate capabilities. The need for national engagement in and consensus on these capabilities and their importance to health department sustainability make them appropriate for consideration in the context of accreditation.

  8. Evaluation of a habitat capability model for nongame birds in the Black Hills, South Dakota

    Treesearch

    Todd R. Mills; Mark A. Rumble; Lester D. Flake

    1996-01-01

    Habitat models, used to predict consequences of land management decisions on wildlife, can have considerable economic effect on management decisions. The Black Hills National Forest uses such a habitat capability model (HABCAP), but its accuracy is largely unknown. We tested this model’s predictive accuracy for nongame birds in 13 vegetative structural stages of...

  9. Advanced consequence management program: challenges and recent real-world implementations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Graser, Tom; Barber, K. S.; Williams, Bob; Saghir, Feras; Henry, Kurt A.

    2002-08-01

    The Enhanced Consequence Management, Planning and Support System (ENCOMPASS) was developed under DARPA's Advanced Consequence Management program to assist decision-makers operating in crisis situations such as terrorist attacks using conventional and unconventional weapons and natural disasters. ENCOMPASS provides the tools for first responders, incident commanders, and officials at all levels to share vital information and consequently, plan and execute a coordinated response to incidents of varying complexity and size. ENCOMPASS offers custom configuration of components with capabilities ranging from map-based situation assessment, situation-based response checklists, casualty tracking, and epidemiological surveillance. Developing and deploying such a comprehensive system posed significant challenges for DARPA program management, due to an inherently complex domain, a broad spectrum of customer sites and skill sets, an often inhospitable runtime environment, demanding development-to-deployment transition requirements, and a technically diverse and geographically distributed development team. This paper introduces ENCOMPASS and explores these challenges, followed by an outline of selected ENCOMPASS deployments, demonstrating how ENCOMPASS can enhance consequence management in a variety real world contexts.

  10. Congruent Knowledge Management Behaviors as Discriminate Sources of Competitive Advantage

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Magnier-Watanabe, Remy; Senoo, Dai

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: While knowledge management has been shown to be a strategic source of competitive advantage, processes designed to enhance the productivity of knowledge do not, however, equally contribute to the organization's capabilities. Consequently, this research aims to focus on the relationship between each mode of the knowledge management process…

  11. Mission Analysis for Using Preventive Radiological/Nuclear Detection Equipment for Consequence Management

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

    Buddemeier, Brooke R.; Wood-Zika, Annmarie R.; Haynes, Daniel

    The overall objective of this project is to research, evaluate, and test first responder preventive radiological/nuclear detection (PRND) equipment to provide state and local agencies with scientific guidance on how to effectively use this equipment for response after a radiological/nuclear release or detonation. While the equipment being tested in this effort has been specifically designed by technology manufacturers and purchased by responders for preventive detection and source interdiction operations, the fleet of PRND equipment can help fill critical needs for radiological instrumentation should a consequence management (CM) response take place, as it is currently the most widely available and fieldedmore » radiological instrumentation by state and local agencies. This effort will provide scientific guidance on the most effective way to utilize this class of equipment for consequence management missions. Gaining a better understanding of how PRND equipment can operate and perform for these missions will allow for recommendations on the tactical approach responders can use for consequence management operations. PRND equipment has been placed into service by federal, state, and local agencies throughout the nation. If the equipment capability and limitations are taken into account, this large inventory can be leveraged to support the emergency response in the aftermath of a radiological or nuclear event. With several hundred makes and models of PRND equipment, often with significantly different detection capabilities that do not align with their nominal PRND equipment type, development of a streamlined categorization scheme with respect to consequence management missions was the first step to identifying safe and effective uses of PRND equipment for radiological/nuclear incident response.« less

  12. Preventive Rad/Nuc Detection Equipment Categorization for Consequence Management

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

    Buddemeier, B. R.; Musolino, S. V.; Klemic, G.

    The overall objective of this project is to research, evaluate, and test first responder preventive radiological/nuclear detection equipment (PRND) to provide state and local agencies with guidance on how to best use this equipment for response after a radiological/nuclear release or detonation. While the equipment being tested in this effort has been specifically designed for detection and interdiction operations, the fleet of PRND equipment can help fill critical needs for radiological instrumentation should a consequence management response take place. This effort will provide scientific guidance on the best way to deploy and operate this class of equipment for consequence managementmore » missions. With the support of the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), PRND equipment has been placed into service at federal, state, and local agencies throughout the nation. If the equipment capability and limitations are taken into account, this large inventory can be repurposed to support the emergency response in the aftermath of a radiological of nuclear event. This report evaluates PRND equipment to define key categories of equipment and the types of missions they can be used for. This is important because there are over 100 different types of PRND equipment, often with significantly different capabilities with respect to the consequence management mission. The current DNDO draft NIMS PRND equipment types were used as a foundation and expanded, when necessary, to address key characteristics important for the consequence mission. Table 1 provides a summary of the PRND instrument categories developed for this effort. Also included on the table are some common response mission detection equipment categories that will be used for capability comparisons.« less

  13. Unity of Command for Federal Consequence Management

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-09-01

    Group , with authority to direct all agency capabilities released to them by the president and their agencies, would lead the portion of the federal...Leadership Group , with authority to direct all agency capabilities released to them by the president and their agencies, would lead the portion of...84  N.  FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COORDINATION GROUPS AND WHITE HOUSE SUPERVISION

  14. Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities in traffic accident information management: a qualitative approach.

    PubMed

    Ahmadi, Maryam; Valinejadi, Ali; Goodarzi, Afshin; Safari, Ameneh; Hemmat, Morteza; Majdabadi, Hesamedin Askari; Mohammadi, Ali

    2017-06-01

    Traffic accidents are one of the more important national and international issues, and their consequences are important for the political, economical, and social level in a country. Management of traffic accident information requires information systems with analytical and accessibility capabilities to spatial and descriptive data. The aim of this study was to determine the capabilities of a Geographic Information System (GIS) in management of traffic accident information. This qualitative cross-sectional study was performed in 2016. In the first step, GIS capabilities were identified via literature retrieved from the Internet and based on the included criteria. Review of the literature was performed until data saturation was reached; a form was used to extract the capabilities. In the second step, study population were hospital managers, police, emergency, statisticians, and IT experts in trauma, emergency and police centers. Sampling was purposive. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the first step data; validity and reliability were determined by content validity and Cronbach's alpha of 75%. Data was analyzed using the decision Delphi technique. GIS capabilities were identified in ten categories and 64 sub-categories. Import and process of spatial and descriptive data and so, analysis of this data were the most important capabilities of GIS in traffic accident information management. Storing and retrieving of descriptive and spatial data, providing statistical analysis in table, chart and zoning format, management of bad structure issues, determining the cost effectiveness of the decisions and prioritizing their implementation were the most important capabilities of GIS which can be efficient in the management of traffic accident information.

  15. Defending Against Biological and Chemical Attacks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-08-01

    addition, we field integrated installation consequence management response capabilities to select installations both at home and abroad. Just as...decon- tamination, like self-decontaminating or strippable coat- ings for vehicles; we are developing technologies to focus decontamination on the

  16. Modeling a Civil Event Case Study for Consequence Management Using the IMPRINT Forces Module

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gacy, Marc; Gosakan, Mala; Eckdahl, Angela; Miller, Jeffrey R.

    2012-01-01

    A critical challenge in the Consequence Management (CM) domain is the appropriate allocation of necessary and skilled military and civilian personnel and materiel resources in unexpected emergencies. To aid this process we used the Forces module in the Improved Performance Research Integration Tool (IMPRINT). This module enables analysts to enter personnel and equipment capabilities, prioritized schedules and numbers available, along with unexpected emergency requirements in order to assess force response requirements. Using a suspected terrorist threat on a college campus, we developed a test case model which exercised the capabilities of the module, including the scope and scale of operations. The model incorporates data from multiple sources, including daily schedules and frequency of events such as fire calls. Our preliminary results indicate that the model can predict potential decreases in civilian emergency response coverage due to an involved unplanned incident requiring significant portions of police, fire and civil responses teams.

  17. Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities in traffic accident information management: a qualitative approach

    PubMed Central

    Ahmadi, Maryam; Valinejadi, Ali; Goodarzi, Afshin; Safari, Ameneh; Hemmat, Morteza; Majdabadi, Hesamedin Askari; Mohammadi, Ali

    2017-01-01

    Background Traffic accidents are one of the more important national and international issues, and their consequences are important for the political, economical, and social level in a country. Management of traffic accident information requires information systems with analytical and accessibility capabilities to spatial and descriptive data. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the capabilities of a Geographic Information System (GIS) in management of traffic accident information. Methods This qualitative cross-sectional study was performed in 2016. In the first step, GIS capabilities were identified via literature retrieved from the Internet and based on the included criteria. Review of the literature was performed until data saturation was reached; a form was used to extract the capabilities. In the second step, study population were hospital managers, police, emergency, statisticians, and IT experts in trauma, emergency and police centers. Sampling was purposive. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the first step data; validity and reliability were determined by content validity and Cronbach’s alpha of 75%. Data was analyzed using the decision Delphi technique. Results GIS capabilities were identified in ten categories and 64 sub-categories. Import and process of spatial and descriptive data and so, analysis of this data were the most important capabilities of GIS in traffic accident information management. Conclusion Storing and retrieving of descriptive and spatial data, providing statistical analysis in table, chart and zoning format, management of bad structure issues, determining the cost effectiveness of the decisions and prioritizing their implementation were the most important capabilities of GIS which can be efficient in the management of traffic accident information. PMID:28848627

  18. Defense Civil Support: DOD Needs to Identify National Guards Cyber Capabilities and Address Challenges in Its Exercises

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-09-01

    Congress. Consequently, as prepared now, this report does not help DOD leaders identify assets that could be used in a cyber crisis scenario...Guidance. GAO-13-128. Washington, D.C.: October 24, 2012. Defense Cyber Efforts: Management Improvements Needed to Enhance Programs Protecting the...DEFENSE CIVIL SUPPORT DOD Needs to Identify National Guard’s Cyber Capabilities and Address Challenges in Its

  19. Combating terrorism : federal response teams provide varied capabilities; opportunities remain to improve coordination

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-01-01

    The General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to review federal agency teams that can respond to and help manage the consequences of a domestic terrorist incident involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents or weapons. This report...

  20. Aircraft Capability Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mumaw, Randy; Feary, Mike

    2018-01-01

    This presentation presents an overview of work performed at NASA Ames Research Center in 2017. The work concerns the analysis of current aircraft system management displays, and the initial development of an interface for providing information about aircraft system status. The new interface proposes a shift away from current aircraft system alerting interfaces that report the status of physical components, and towards displaying the implications of degradations on mission capability. The proposed interface describes these component failures in terms of operational consequences of aircraft system degradations. The research activity was an effort to examine the utility of different representations of complex systems and operating environments to support real-time decision making of off-nominal situations. A specific focus was to develop representations that provide better integrated information to allow pilots to more easily reason about the operational consequences of the off-nominal situations. The work is also seen as a pathway to autonomy, as information is integrated and understood in a form that automated responses could be developed for the off-nominal situations in the future.

  1. Species distributions models in wildlife planning: agricultural policy and wildlife management in the great plains

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fontaine, Joseph J.; Jorgensen, Christopher; Stuber, Erica F.; Gruber, Lutz F.; Bishop, Andrew A.; Lusk, Jeffrey J.; Zach, Eric S.; Decker, Karie L.

    2017-01-01

    We know economic and social policy has implications for ecosystems at large, but the consequences for a given geographic area or specific wildlife population are more difficult to conceptualize and communicate. Species distribution models, which extrapolate species-habitat relationships across ecological scales, are capable of predicting population changes in distribution and abundance in response to management and policy, and thus, are an ideal means for facilitating proactive management within a larger policy framework. To illustrate the capabilities of species distribution modeling in scenario planning for wildlife populations, we projected an existing distribution model for ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) onto a series of alternative future landscape scenarios for Nebraska, USA. Based on our scenarios, we qualitatively and quantitatively estimated the effects of agricultural policy decisions on pheasant populations across Nebraska, in specific management regions, and at wildlife management areas. 

  2. Emerging Technologies: Biosecurity and Consequence Management Implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perkins, Dana; Nordmann, Brian

    The natural outbreaks of disease and pandemics are transnational threats that create international challenges when detection and containment are not timely due to scarce human and material resources. Whether the cause of those outbreaks is natural or intentional in origin, the main goal of consequence management operations is to save lives. The consequence management process is a continuum of inter-connected phases such as planning, preparation, response, and recovery. The rapid advances of life sciences and the emergence of dual-use technologies such as synthetic biology and nanotechnology pose additional challenges in terms of planning for the unknown potential threats whether they may be synthetic microorganisms with unpredictable dissemination patterns or nanoscale-manipulated biological agents evading current detection capabilities. The US National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats is emphasizing prevention while continuing to support the national preparedness goals and response/recovery capabilities. The recent policies, guidelines, and recommendations on overhauling the biological risk management in the United States are a proactive stance to a rapidly changing global environment. They include optimization of the current oversight frameworks and active engagement of the industry and academia in order to reduce the risk that individuals with ill intent may exploit the commercial application of nucleic acid synthesis technology to access genetic material derived from or by encoding Biological Select Agents or Toxins. We are also actively seeking to increase our knowledge of health effects of various types of nanomaterials, and how to assess, control, and prevent harmful exposure, taking into consideration the numerous gaps that currently exist with regard to the distinct behavior of nanoparticles compared to the same chemical or material at "macro-scale". Fundamentally, a biological incident, whether it is of natural, accidental, or deliberate origin, constitutes a public health problem and the United States is engaged with the international community to enhance our collective capability to address emerging health security threats.

  3. Business Performance Measurements in Asset Management with the Support of Big Data Technologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Campos, Jaime; Sharma, Pankaj; Jantunen, Erkki; Baglee, David; Fumagalli, Luca

    2017-09-01

    The paper reviews the performance measurement in the domain of interest. Important data in asset management are further, discussed. The importance and the characteristics of today's ICTs capabilities are also mentioned in the paper. The role of new concepts such as big data and data mining analytical technologies in managing the performance measurements in asset management are discussed in detail. The authors consequently suggest the use of the modified Balanced Scorecard methodology highlighting both quantitative and qualitative aspects, which is crucial for optimal use of the big data approach and technologies.

  4. Integrated System Health Management: Pilot Operational Implementation in a Rocket Engine Test Stand

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Schmalzel, John L.; Morris, Jonathan A.; Turowski, Mark P.; Franzl, Richard

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes a credible implementation of integrated system health management (ISHM) capability, as a pilot operational system. Important core elements that make possible fielding and evolution of ISHM capability have been validated in a rocket engine test stand, encompassing all phases of operation: stand-by, pre-test, test, and post-test. The core elements include an architecture (hardware/software) for ISHM, gateways for streaming real-time data from the data acquisition system into the ISHM system, automated configuration management employing transducer electronic data sheets (TEDS?s) adhering to the IEEE 1451.4 Standard for Smart Sensors and Actuators, broadcasting and capture of sensor measurements and health information adhering to the IEEE 1451.1 Standard for Smart Sensors and Actuators, user interfaces for management of redlines/bluelines, and establishment of a health assessment database system (HADS) and browser for extensive post-test analysis. The ISHM system was installed in the Test Control Room, where test operators were exposed to the capability. All functionalities of the pilot implementation were validated during testing and in post-test data streaming through the ISHM system. The implementation enabled significant improvements in awareness about the status of the test stand, and events and their causes/consequences. The architecture and software elements embody a systems engineering, knowledge-based approach; in conjunction with object-oriented environments. These qualities are permitting systematic augmentation of the capability and scaling to encompass other subsystems.

  5. A conceptual framework and classification of capability areas for business process maturity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Van Looy, Amy; De Backer, Manu; Poels, Geert

    2014-03-01

    The article elaborates on business process maturity, which indicates how well an organisation can perform based on its business processes, i.e. on its way of working. This topic is of paramount importance for managers who try to excel in today's competitive world. Hence, business process maturity is an emerging research field. However, no consensus exists on the capability areas (or skills) needed to excel. Moreover, their theoretical foundation and synergies with other fields are frequently neglected. To overcome this gap, our study presents a conceptual framework with six main capability areas and 17 sub areas. It draws on theories regarding the traditional business process lifecycle, which are supplemented by recognised organisation management theories. The comprehensiveness of this framework is validated by mapping 69 business process maturity models (BPMMs) to the identified capability areas, based on content analysis. Nonetheless, as a consensus neither exists among the collected BPMMs, a classification of different maturity types is proposed, based on cluster analysis and discriminant analysis. Consequently, the findings contribute to the grounding of business process literature. Possible future avenues are evaluating existing BPMMs, directing new BPMMs or investigating which combinations of capability areas (i.e. maturity types) contribute more to performance than others.

  6. Putting Integrated Systems Health Management Capabilities to Work: Development of an Advanced Caution and Warning System for Next-Generation Crewed Spacecraft Missions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mccann, Robert S.; Spirkovska, Lilly; Smith, Irene

    2013-01-01

    Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) technologies have advanced to the point where they can provide significant automated assistance with real-time fault detection, diagnosis, guided troubleshooting, and failure consequence assessment. To exploit these capabilities in actual operational environments, however, ISHM information must be integrated into operational concepts and associated information displays in ways that enable human operators to process and understand the ISHM system information rapidly and effectively. In this paper, we explore these design issues in the context of an advanced caution and warning system (ACAWS) for next-generation crewed spacecraft missions. User interface concepts for depicting failure diagnoses, failure effects, redundancy loss, "what-if" failure analysis scenarios, and resolution of ambiguity groups are discussed and illustrated.

  7. Developing an operational capabilities index of the emergency services sector.

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

    Collins, M.J.; Eaton, L.K.; Shoemaker, Z.M.

    2012-02-20

    In order to enhance the resilience of the Nation and its ability to protect itself in the face of natural and human-caused hazards, the ability of the critical infrastructure (CI) system to withstand specific threats and return to normal operations after degradation must be determined. To fully analyze the resilience of a region and the CI that resides within it, both the actual resilience of the individual CI and the capability of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) to protect against and respond to potential hazards need to be considered. Thus, a regional resilience approach requires the comprehensive consideration of allmore » parts of the CI system as well as the characterization of emergency services. This characterization must generate reproducible results that can support decision making with regard to risk management, disaster response, business continuity, and community planning and management. To address these issues, Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sector Specific Agency - Executive Management Office, developed a comprehensive methodology to create an Emergency Services Sector Capabilities Index (ESSCI). The ESSCI is a performance metric that ranges from 0 (low level of capabilities) to 100 (high). Because an emergency services program has a high ESSCI, however, does not mean that a specific event would not be able to affect a region or cause severe consequences. And because a program has a low ESSCI does not mean that a disruptive event would automatically lead to serious consequences in a region. Moreover, a score of 100 on the ESSCI is not the level of capability expected of emergency services programs; rather, it represents an optimal program that would rarely be observed. The ESSCI characterizes the state of preparedness of a jurisdiction in terms of emergency and risk management. Perhaps the index's primary benefit is that it can systematically capture, at a given point in time, the capabilities of a jurisdiction to protect itself from, mitigate, respond to, and recover from a potential incident. On the basis of this metric, an interactive tool - the ESSCI Dashboard - can identify scenarios for enhancement that can be implemented, and it can identify the repercussions of these scenarios on the jurisdiction. It can assess the capabilities of law enforcement, fire fighting, search and rescue, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response, dispatch/911, and emergency management services in a given jurisdiction and it can help guide those who need to prioritize what limited resources should be used to improve these capabilities. Furthermore, this tool can be used to compare the level of capabilities of various jurisdictions that have similar socioeconomic characteristics. It can thus help DHS define how it can support risk reduction and community preparedness at a national level. This tool aligns directly with Presidential Policy Directive 8 by giving a jurisdiction a metric of its ESS's capabilities and by promoting an interactive approach for defining options to improve preparedness and to effectively respond to a disruptive event. It can be used in combination with other CI performance metrics developed at Argonne National Laboratory, such as the vulnerability index and the resilience index for assessing regional resilience.« less

  8. Understanding practice: the factors that influence management of mild traumatic brain injury in the emergency department--a qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

    PubMed

    Tavender, Emma J; Bosch, Marije; Gruen, Russell L; Green, Sally E; Knott, Jonathan; Francis, Jill J; Michie, Susan; O'Connor, Denise A

    2014-01-13

    Mild traumatic brain injury is a frequent cause of presentation to emergency departments. Despite the availability of clinical practice guidelines in this area, there is variation in practice. One of the aims of the Neurotrauma Evidence Translation program is to develop and evaluate a targeted, theory- and evidence-informed intervention to improve the management of mild traumatic brain injury in Australian emergency departments. This study is the first step in the intervention development process and uses the Theoretical Domains Framework to explore the factors perceived to influence the uptake of four key evidence-based recommended practices for managing mild traumatic brain injury. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with emergency staff in the Australian state of Victoria. The interview guide was developed using the Theoretical Domains Framework to explore current practice and to identify the factors perceived to influence practice. Two researchers coded the interview transcripts using thematic content analysis. A total of 42 participants (9 Directors, 20 doctors and 13 nurses) were interviewed over a seven-month period. The results suggested that (i) the prospective assessment of post-traumatic amnesia was influenced by: knowledge; beliefs about consequences; environmental context and resources; skills; social/professional role and identity; and beliefs about capabilities; (ii) the use of guideline-developed criteria or decision rules to inform the appropriate use of a CT scan was influenced by: knowledge; beliefs about consequences; environmental context and resources; memory, attention and decision processes; beliefs about capabilities; social influences; skills and behavioral regulation; (iii) providing verbal and written patient information on discharge was influenced by: beliefs about consequences; environmental context and resources; memory, attention and decision processes; social/professional role and identity; and knowledge; (iv) the practice of providing brief, routine follow-up on discharge was influenced by: environmental context and resources; social/professional role and identity; knowledge; beliefs about consequences; and motivation and goals. Using the Theoretical Domains Framework, factors thought to influence the management of mild traumatic brain injury in the emergency department were identified. These factors present theoretically based targets for a future intervention.

  9. Program Manager: The Journal of the Defense Systems Management College. Volume 14, Number 1, January-February 1985,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1985-02-01

    world’s most re- its relationship to capital investment, act as a stimulus for decreasing weap- 0,ourcetul and technically capable commonly referred to...remove bar- other serious consequences, adver- an understanding (it what riers to a smooth flow. We need to sarial relationships lead to un- the...NOW?’ LHX VTXTS(T-45TS) ATF "WE CAN’T OFFEND OUR CUSTOMER ." AATWS JVX IEWS "WE CAN’T TAKE A CHANCE DURING THE COMPETI- PERSHING II CV IZ AWS TION

  10. Some Consideration On Knowledge Management Implication On Organization's Competitiveness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Draghici, Anca; Ciortan, Marius Areta; Florea, Claudia

    2015-07-01

    The research described in this paper has been focused on two objectives: to debate the knowledge management's active role for organizations competitive advantage and to describe information technology's capabilities in leveraging the knowledge worker's competencies. For the purposes of this article, competitive advantage is perceived as a strength that provides a market advantage relative to a competitor. Often competitive advantage is related to the core competencies of the organisation, which are frequently based on implicit know-how or tacit knowledge. This intangible, unstructured knowledge is difficult to manage; consequently management has ignored it when designing business strategy. However, the increased competitive pressures of the post-industrial global economy and the exponential advances in computing power have increased management's interest in knowledge as a sustainable source of competitive advantage.

  11. Joint Center for Operational Analysis Journal. Volume 12, Issue 1, Spring 2010

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-01-01

    enable research into captured records with “complete openness and rigid adherence to acadamic freedom and integrity.” The CRRC will thereby...various levels of effort in the former area, the latter provides a common ground and opportunities for developing close collaborations. This allows...consequence management (CM) capability, specifi cally the use of the CM Decision Support Tool (DST) developed by the DTRA. Ms. Jessica Iannotti

  12. Report on Activities and Programs for Countering Proliferation and NBC Terrorism. Volume 1, Executive Summary, Addendum to 2011 Report

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-06-01

    Executive Branch report on research , development, and acquisition (RDA) programs to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Other interagency committees...characterize, secure, disable , and/or destroy a state or non-state actor’s WMD programs and related capabilities in hostile or uncertain environments. Threat...special operations, and security operations to defend against conventionally and unconventionally delivered WMD. WMD Consequence Management. Actions

  13. Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Approach to Enterprise Risk Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bauder, Stephen P.

    2014-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Division has implemented an innovative approach to Enterprise Risk Management under a unique governance structure and streamlined integration model. ESD's mission is to design and build the capability to extend human existence to deep space. The Enterprise consists of three Programs: Space Launch System (SLS), Orion, and Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO). The SLS is a rocket and launch system that will be capable of powering humans, habitats, and support systems to deep space. Orion will be the first spacecraft in history capable of taking humans to multiple destinations within deep space. GSDO is modernizing Kennedy's spaceport to launch spacecraft built and designed by both NASA and private industry. ESD's approach to Enterprise Risk Management is commensurate with affordability and a streamlined management philosophy. ESD Enterprise Risk Management leverages off of the primary mechanisms for integration within the Enterprise. The Enterprise integration approach emphasizes delegation of authority to manage and execute the majority of cross-program activities and products to the individual Programs, while maintaining the overall responsibility for all cross-program activities at the Division. The intent of the ESD Enterprise Risk Management approach is to improve risk communication, to avoid replication and/or contradictory strategies, and to minimize overhead process burden. This is accomplished by the facilitation and integration of risk information within ESD. The ESD Division risks, Orion risks, SLS risks, and GSDO risks are owned and managed by the applicable Program. When the Programs have shared risks with multiple consequences, they are jointly owned and managed. When a risk is associated with the integrated system that involves more than one Program in condition, consequence, or mitigation plan, it is considered an Exploration Systems Integration (ESI) Risk. An ESI risk may require visibility and risk handling by multiple organizations. The Integrated Risk Working Group (IRWG) is a small team of Risk experts that are responsible for collaborating and communicating best practices. In addition, the forum facilitates proper integration of risks across the Enterprise. The IRWG uses a Continuous Risk Management approach for facilitating the identification, analysis, planning, tracking, and controlling of ESI Risks. The ESD Division, Programs, and Integrated Task Teams identify ESI Risks. The IRWG maintains a set of metrics for understanding Enterprise Risk process and the overall Risk Posture. The team is also actively involved in the modeling of risk for Enterprise Performance Management. With the Enterprise being constrained in Schedule and Budget, and with significant technical complexity, the appropriate use of Risk Management techniques is crucial to the success of the Enterprise. The IRWG achieves this through the modified approach, providing a forum for collaboration on risks that cross boundaries between the separate entities.

  14. Decision Support System For Management Of Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal At The Nevada Test Site

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

    Shott, G.; Yucel, V.; Desotell, L.

    2006-07-01

    The long-term safety of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) low-level radioactive disposal facilities is assessed by conducting a performance assessment -- a systematic analysis that compares estimated risks to the public and the environment with performance objectives contained in DOE Manual 435.1-1, Radioactive Waste Management Manual. Before site operations, facilities design features such as final inventory, waste form characteristics, and closure cover design may be uncertain. Site operators need a modeling tool that can be used throughout the operational life of the disposal site to guide decisions regarding the acceptance of problematic waste streams, new disposal cell design, environmental monitoringmore » program design, and final site closure. In response to these needs the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO) has developed a decision support system for the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site in Frenchman Flat on the Nevada Test Site. The core of the system is a probabilistic inventory and performance assessment model implemented in the GoldSim{sup R} simulation platform. The modeling platform supports multiple graphic capabilities that allow clear documentation of the model data sources, conceptual model, mathematical implementation, and results. The combined models have the capability to estimate disposal site inventory, contaminant concentrations in environmental media, and radiological doses to members of the public engaged in various activities at multiple locations. The model allows rapid assessment and documentation of the consequences of waste management decisions using the most current site characterization information, radionuclide inventory, and conceptual model. The model is routinely used to provide annual updates of site performance, evaluate the consequences of disposal of new waste streams, develop waste concentration limits, optimize the design of new disposal cells, and assess the adequacy of environmental monitoring programs. (authors)« less

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

    Brouillette, Greg A.

    These are slides for various presentations on C41SR and urban disasters disasters response and recovery tools. These are all mainly charts and images of disaster response and recovery tools. Slides included have headings such as the following: vignette of a disaster response, situational awareness and common operating picture available to EOC, plume modeling capability, Program ASPECT Chemical Response Products, EPA ASPECT - Hurricane RITA Response 9/25/2005, Angel Fire Imagery, incident commander's view/police chief's view/ EMS' view, common situational awareness and collaborative planning, exercise, training capability, systems diagram, Austere Challenge 06 Sim/C4 Requirements, common situational awareness and collaborative planning, exercise, trainingmore » environment, common situational awareness, real world, crisis response, and consequence management.« less

  16. The social media manifesto: a comprehensive review of the impact of social media on emergency management.

    PubMed

    Crowe, Adam

    2011-02-01

    Over the past five years, social media have impacted emergency management and disaster response in numerous ways. The emergency management professional must begin to accept this impact not as an arbitrary consequence of an uncontrolled disaster, but rather as a tool to help coordinate, manage and facilitate a safe and expected response during emergencies and disasters. This paper will explain the power and purpose of social media as well as how social media systems have equalised capabilities for all levels and sizes of government. Moreover, this paper will also highlight the social media systems that are being used as operational tools as well as what the future holds. Lastly, common implementation challenges will be discussed through a look at systematic approaches to applying social media in emergency management as a positive and valuable tool.

  17. Consequences, control and appraisal: cues and barriers to engaging in self-management among people affected by colorectal cancer - a secondary analysis of qualitative data.

    PubMed

    Kidd, Lisa A

    2014-08-01

    Little is known about peoples' self-management experiences and their desires or expectations to engage in self-management. As such, there is little understanding about individuals' perceived cues and barriers to engagement in self-management, particularly in people affected by cancer. To understand cues and barriers to people's engagement in self-management during chemotherapy treatment for colorectal cancer. Secondary analysis of qualitative data from mixed methods, longitudinal study. Eleven participants undergoing treatment for colorectal cancer. Semi-structured interviews were conducted twice with each participant, at the start and end of a 6-month course of chemotherapy treatment in a Scottish cancer centre. Cues and barriers to engagement in self-management appeared to stem from perceptions of the impact and associated severity of side effects experiences as well as the perceptions about the efficacy of chosen self-management activities and perceptions of control in minimizing the consequences of cancer treatment. Severe, episodic or unexpected side effects coupled with perceptions of uncertainty, lack of control and lack of adequate preparation to engage in self-management were identified as key barriers to engagement. Participants' reflection on, or appraisal of, their treatment-related experiences and personal abilities, confidence and preferences to manage the impact of these shaped their subsequent engagement in self-management. The findings highlight the importance of understanding individual's self-management experiences, perceptions, preferences, priorities and needs to help support, prepare and enable them to feel capable and confident to engage actively and effectively in self-management. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. National health and medical services response to incidents of chemical and biological terrorism.

    PubMed

    Tucker, J B

    1997-08-06

    In response to the growing threat of terrorism with chemical and biological weapons, the US government has developed a national concept of operations for emergency health and medical services response. This capability was developed and tested for the first time during the Atlanta Olympic Games in the summer of 1996. In the event of a chemical or biological terrorist incident that exceeded local and state-level response capabilities, federal agencies would provide specialized teams and equipment to help manage the consequences of the attack and treat, decontaminate, and evacuate casualties. The US Congress has also established a Domestic Preparedness Program that provides for enhanced training of local first-responders and the formation of metropolitan medical strike teams in major cities around the country. While these national response capabilities are promising, their implementation to date has been problematic and their ultimate effectiveness is uncertain.

  19. Identifying training and informational components to develop a psoriasis self- management application

    PubMed Central

    Safdari, Reza; Firoz, Alireza; Masoorian, Hoorie

    2017-01-01

    Background: Psoriasis is a complex disease with lifelong emotional and social consequences for affected patients. It also reduces the patients’ quality of life and requires a long-term management. Therefore, in addition to appropriate treatment of the disease, selfmanagement strategies to improve patient health and quality of life are essential. On the other hand, smartphone-based applications alter the way people interact with health care and public health systems. This study aimed at identifying training and informational components to develop a psoriasis self- management application. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 100 patients with psoriasis and 26 dermatologists who were selected randomly, using Morgan table. The data were collected using a researcher- made questionnaire, which included demographic and clinical information, lifestyle training and management, and application capabilities in psoriasis self-management. A group of experts and a test-retest method were used to confirm the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, respectively. Results: The mean scores for demographic and clinical information, lifestyle training and management, and application capabilities in self-management were 80.55%, 85.7%, and 88.8% from the patients’ perspective, and 83.7%, 71%, and 75% from the specialists’ viewpoint, respectively. Conclusion: Determining self-management components by patients as persons who are suffering from the disease and physicians as specialists in the field will be helpful in efficient psoriasis self-management. It is more likely that self-reliant patients, who are aware of the benefits and risks of their disease management application, will follow their treatment plan and pursue the management of their disease more seriously PMID:29445696

  20. Integrated System Health Management: Foundational Concepts, Approach, and Implementation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando

    2009-01-01

    A sound basis to guide the community in the conception and implementation of ISHM (Integrated System Health Management) capability in operational systems was provided. The concept of "ISHM Model of a System" and a related architecture defined as a unique Data, Information, and Knowledge (DIaK) architecture were described. The ISHM architecture is independent of the typical system architecture, which is based on grouping physical elements that are assembled to make up a subsystem, and subsystems combine to form systems, etc. It was emphasized that ISHM capability needs to be implemented first at a low functional capability level (FCL), or limited ability to detect anomalies, diagnose, determine consequences, etc. As algorithms and tools to augment or improve the FCL are identified, they should be incorporated into the system. This means that the architecture, DIaK management, and software, must be modular and standards-based, in order to enable systematic augmentation of FCL (no ad-hoc modifications). A set of technologies (and tools) needed to implement ISHM were described. One essential tool is a software environment to create the ISHM Model. The software environment encapsulates DIaK, and an infrastructure to focus DIaK on determining health (detect anomalies, determine causes, determine effects, and provide integrated awareness of the system to the operator). The environment includes gateways to communicate in accordance to standards, specially the IEEE 1451.1 Standard for Smart Sensors and Actuators.

  1. Lessons learned from U.S. Department of Defense 911-Bio Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations.

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

    Baldwin, T.; Gasper, W.; Lacher, L.

    1999-07-06

    The US Department of Defense (DoD), in cooperation with other federal agencies, has taken many initiatives to improve its ability to support civilian response to a domestic biological terrorism incident. This paper discusses one initiative, the 911-Bio Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations (ACTDs), conducted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense during 1997 to better understand: (1) the capability of newly developed chemical and biological collection and identification technologies in a field environment; (2) the ability of specialized DoD response teams to use these new technologies within the structure of cooperating DoD and civilian consequence management organizations; and (3) themore » adequacy of current modeling tools for predicting the dispersal of biological hazards. This paper discusses the experience of the ACTDs from the civilian community support perspective. The 911-Bio ACTD project provided a valuable opportunity for DoD and civilian officials to learn how they should use their combined capabilities to manage the aftermath of a domestic biological terrorism incident.« less

  2. Consultative Committee on Ionizing Radiation: Impact on Radionuclide Metrology

    PubMed Central

    Karam, L.R.; Ratel, G.

    2016-01-01

    In response to the CIPM MRA, and to improve radioactivity measurements in the face of advancing technologies, the CIPM’s consultative committee on ionizing radiation developed a strategic approach to the realization and validation of measurement traceability for radionuclide metrology. As a consequence, measurement institutions throughout the world have devoted no small effort to establish radionuclide metrology capabilities, supported by active quality management systems and validated through prioritized participation in international comparisons, providing a varied stakeholder community with measurement confidence. PMID:26688351

  3. The Role of Flight Experiments in the Development of Cryogenic Fluid Management Technologies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chato, David J.

    2006-01-01

    This paper reviews the history of cryogenic fluid management technology development and infusion into both the Saturn and Centaur vehicles. Ground testing and analysis proved inadequate to demonstrate full scale performance. As a consequence flight demonstration with a full scale vehicle was required by both the Saturn and Centaur programs to build confidence that problems were addressed. However; the flight vehicles were highly limited on flight instrumentation and the flight demonstration locked-in the design without challenging the function of design elements. Projects reviewed include: the Aerobee Sounding Rocket Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) tests which served as a valuable stepping stone to flight demonstration and built confidence in the ability to handle hydrogen in low gravity; the Saturn IVB Fluid Management Qualification flight test; the Atlas Centaur demonstration flights to develop two burn capability; and finally the Titan Centaur two post mission flight tests.

  4. Benefits of a European project on diagnostics of highly pathogenic agents and assessment of potential "dual use" issues.

    PubMed

    Grunow, Roland; Ippolito, G; Jacob, D; Sauer, U; Rohleder, A; Di Caro, A; Iacovino, R

    2014-01-01

    Quality assurance exercises and networking on the detection of highly infectious pathogens (QUANDHIP) is a joint action initiative set up in 2011 that has successfully unified the primary objectives of the European Network on Highly Pathogenic Bacteria (ENHPB) and of P4-laboratories (ENP4-Lab) both of which aimed to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and response capabilities of laboratories directed at protecting the health of European citizens against high consequence bacteria and viruses of significant public health concern. Both networks have established a common collaborative consortium of 37 nationally and internationally recognized institutions with laboratory facilities from 22 European countries. The specific objectives and achievements include the initiation and establishment of a recognized and acceptable quality assurance scheme, including practical external quality assurance exercises, comprising living agents, that aims to improve laboratory performance, accuracy, and detection capabilities in support of patient management and public health responses; recognized training schemes for diagnostics and handling of highly pathogenic agents; international repositories comprising highly pathogenic bacteria and viruses for the development of standardized reference material; a standardized and transparent Biosafety and Biosecurity strategy protecting healthcare personnel and the community in dealing with high consequence pathogens; the design and organization of response capabilities dealing with cross-border events with highly infectious pathogens including the consideration of diagnostic capabilities of individual European laboratories. The project tackled several sensitive issues regarding Biosafety, Biosecurity and "dual use" concerns. The article will give an overview of the project outcomes and discuss the assessment of potential "dual use" issues.

  5. Benefits of a European Project on Diagnostics of Highly Pathogenic Agents and Assessment of Potential “Dual Use” Issues

    PubMed Central

    Grunow, Roland; Ippolito, G.; Jacob, D.; Sauer, U.; Rohleder, A.; Di Caro, A.; Iacovino, R.

    2014-01-01

    Quality assurance exercises and networking on the detection of highly infectious pathogens (QUANDHIP) is a joint action initiative set up in 2011 that has successfully unified the primary objectives of the European Network on Highly Pathogenic Bacteria (ENHPB) and of P4-laboratories (ENP4-Lab) both of which aimed to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and response capabilities of laboratories directed at protecting the health of European citizens against high consequence bacteria and viruses of significant public health concern. Both networks have established a common collaborative consortium of 37 nationally and internationally recognized institutions with laboratory facilities from 22 European countries. The specific objectives and achievements include the initiation and establishment of a recognized and acceptable quality assurance scheme, including practical external quality assurance exercises, comprising living agents, that aims to improve laboratory performance, accuracy, and detection capabilities in support of patient management and public health responses; recognized training schemes for diagnostics and handling of highly pathogenic agents; international repositories comprising highly pathogenic bacteria and viruses for the development of standardized reference material; a standardized and transparent Biosafety and Biosecurity strategy protecting healthcare personnel and the community in dealing with high consequence pathogens; the design and organization of response capabilities dealing with cross-border events with highly infectious pathogens including the consideration of diagnostic capabilities of individual European laboratories. The project tackled several sensitive issues regarding Biosafety, Biosecurity and “dual use” concerns. The article will give an overview of the project outcomes and discuss the assessment of potential “dual use” issues. PMID:25426479

  6. Utilization of Local Law Enforcement Aerial Resources in Consequence Management (CM) Response

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

    Wasiolek, Piotr T.; Malchow, Russell L.

    2013-03-12

    During the past decade the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was instrumental in enhancing the nation’s ability to detect and prevent a radiological or nuclear attack in the highest risk cities. Under the DHS Securing the Cities initiative, nearly 13,000 personnel in the New York City region have been trained in preventive radiological and nuclear detection operations, and nearly 8,500 pieces of radiological detection equipment have been funded. As part of the preventive radiological/nuclear detection (PRND) mission, several cities have received funding to purchase commercial aerial radiation detection systems. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Securitymore » Administration Aerial Measuring System (AMS) program started providing Mobile Aerial Radiological Surveillance (MARS) training to such assets, resulting in over 150 HAZMAT teams’ officers and pilots from 10 law enforcement organizations and fire departments being trained in the aerial radiation detection. From the beginning, the MARS training course covered both the PRND and consequence management (CM) missions. Even if the law enforcement main focus is PRND, their aerial assets can be utilized in the collection of initial radiation data for post-event radiological CM response. Based on over 50 years of AMS operational experience and information collected during MARS training, this presentation will focus on the concepts of CM response using aerial assets as well as utilizing law enforcement/fire department aerial assets in CM. Also discussed will be the need for establishing closer relationships between local jurisdictions’ aerial radiation detection capabilities and state and local radiation control program directors, radiological health department managers, etc. During radiological events these individuals may become primary experts/advisers to Incident Commanders for radiological emergency response, especially in the early stages of a response. The knowledge of the existence, specific capabilities, and use of local aerial radiation detection systems would be critical in planning the response, even before federal assets arrive on the scene. The relationship between local and federal aerial assets and the potential role for the further use of the MARS training and expanded AMS Reachback capabilities in facilitating such interactions will be discussed.« less

  7. Integrating reliability and maintainability into a concurrent engineering environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phillips, Clifton B.; Peterson, Robert R.

    1993-02-01

    This paper describes the results of a reliability and maintainability study conducted at the University of California, San Diego and supported by private industry. Private industry thought the study was important and provided the university access to innovative tools under cooperative agreement. The current capability of reliability and maintainability tools and how they fit into the design process is investigated. The evolution of design methodologies leading up to today's capability is reviewed for ways to enhance the design process while keeping cost under control. A method for measuring the consequences of reliability and maintainability policy for design configurations in an electronic environment is provided. The interaction of selected modern computer tool sets is described for reliability, maintainability, operations, and other elements of the engineering design process. These tools provide a robust system evaluation capability that brings life cycle performance improvement information to engineers and their managers before systems are deployed, and allow them to monitor and track performance while it is in operation.

  8. Competence-Based Approach in Value Chain Processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Azevedo, Rodrigo Cambiaghi; D'Amours, Sophie; Rönnqvist, Mikael

    There is a gap between competence theory and value chain processes frameworks. While individually considered as core elements in contemporary management thinking, the integration of the two concepts is still lacking. We claim that this integration would allow for the development of more robust business models by structuring value chain activities around aspects such as capabilities and skills, as well as individual and organizational knowledge. In this context, the objective of this article is to reduce this gap and consequently open a field for further improvements of value chain processes frameworks.

  9. Effects of performance measure implementation on clinical manager and provider motivation.

    PubMed

    Damschroder, Laura J; Robinson, Claire H; Francis, Joseph; Bentley, Douglas R; Krein, Sarah L; Rosland, Ann-Marie; Hofer, Timothy P; Kerr, Eve A

    2014-12-01

    Clinical performance measurement has been a key element of efforts to transform the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). However, there are a number of signs that current performance measurement systems used within and outside the VHA may be reaching the point of maximum benefit to care and in some settings, may be resulting in negative consequences to care, including overtreatment and diminished attention to patient needs and preferences. Our research group has been involved in a long-standing partnership with the office responsible for clinical performance measurement in the VHA to understand and develop potential strategies to mitigate the unintended consequences of measurement. Our aim was to understand how the implementation of diabetes performance measures (PMs) influences management actions and day-to-day clinical practice. This is a mixed methods study design based on quantitative administrative data to select study facilities and quantitative data from semi-structured interviews. Sixty-two network-level and facility-level executives, managers, front-line providers and staff participated in the study. Qualitative content analyses were guided by a team-based consensus approach using verbatim interview transcripts. A published interpretive motivation theory framework is used to describe potential contributions of local implementation strategies to unintended consequences of PMs. Implementation strategies used by management affect providers' response to PMs, which in turn potentially undermines provision of high-quality patient-centered care. These include: 1) feedback reports to providers that are dissociated from a realistic capability to address performance gaps; 2) evaluative criteria set by managers that are at odds with patient-centered care; and 3) pressure created by managers' narrow focus on gaps in PMs that is viewed as more punitive than motivating. Next steps include working with VHA leaders to develop and test implementation approaches to help ensure that the next generation of PMs motivate truly patient-centered care and are clinically meaningful.

  10. Managing neurobehavioral capability when social expediency trumps biological imperatives

    PubMed Central

    Spaeth, Andrea M.; Goel, Namni; Dinges, David F.

    2013-01-01

    Sleep, which is evolutionarily conserved across species, is a biological imperative that cannot be ignored or replaced. However, the percentage of habitually sleep-restricted adults has increased in recent decades. Extended work hours and commutes, shift work schedules, and television viewing are particularly potent social factors that influence sleep duration. Chronic partial sleep restriction, a product of these social expediencies, leads to the accumulation of sleep debt over time and consequently increases sleep propensity, decreases alertness, and impairs critical aspects of cognitive functioning. Significant interindividual variability in the neurobehavioral responses to sleep restriction exists—this variability is stable and phenotypic—suggesting a genetic basis. Identifying vulnerability to sleep loss is essential as many adults cannot accurately judge their level of impairment in response to sleep restriction. Indeed, the consequences of impaired performance and the lack of insight due to sleep loss can be catastrophic. In order to cope with the effects of social expediencies on biological imperatives, identification of biological (including genetic) and behavioral markers of sleep loss vulnerability as well as development of technological approaches for fatigue management are critical. PMID:22877676

  11. The critically ill injured patient.

    PubMed

    Cereda, Maurizio; Weiss, Yoram G; Deutschman, Clifford S

    2007-03-01

    Patients admitted to the ICU after severe trauma require frequent procedures in the operating room, particularly in cases where a damage control strategy is used. The ventilatory management of these patients in the operating room can be particularly challenging. These patients often have severely impaired respiratory mechanics because of acute lung injury and abdominal compartment syndrome. Consequently, the pressure and flow generation capabilities of standard anesthesia ventilators may be inadequate to support ventilation and gas exchange. This article presents the problems that may be encountered in patients who have severe abdominal and lung injuries, and the current management concepts used in caring for these patients in the critical care setting, to provide guidelines for the anesthetist faced with these patients in the operating room.

  12. Capabilities for Clinical Management of Radiation Injuries of the Nikiforov Russian Center of Emergency and Radiation Medicine (EMERCOM of Russia).

    PubMed

    Aleksanin, S

    2016-09-01

    This article presents an overview of the capabilities for clinical management of radiation injuries available at the Nikiforov Russian Center of Emergency and Radiation Medicine (NRCERM) of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM). NRCERM is a federal state budgetary institution and the Russian Federation's head organization for providing medical assistance for persons overexposed to ionizing radiation, responders to radiation emergencies and people evacuated from radiation contaminated areas. As the WHO Collaborating Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Accident Recovery Workers of Nuclear and Other Disasters and a member of the WHO Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network (REMPAN), NRCERM is prepared to provide assistance and technical support in case of a radiation accident. For this purpose, NRCERM hospitals are equipped with technologically advanced facilities and possess well-trained specialist staff. © World Health Organisation 2016. All rights reserved. The World Health Organization has granted Oxford University Press permission for the reproduction of this article.

  13. Improving Patient Safety, Health Data Accuracy, and Remote Self-Management of Health Through the Establishment of a Biometric-Based Global UHID.

    PubMed

    Hembroff, Guy

    2016-01-01

    Healthcare systems globally continue to face challenges surrounding patient identification. Consequences of misidentification include incomplete and inaccurate electronic patient health records potentially jeopardizing patients' safety, a significant amount of cases of medical fraud because of inadequate identification mechanisms, and difficulties affiliated with the value of remote health self-management application data being aggregated accurately into the user's Electronic Health Record (EHR). We introduce a new technique of user identification in healthcare capable of establishing a global identifier. Our research has developed algorithms capable of establishing a Unique Health Identifier (UHID) based on the user's fingerprint biometric, with the utilization of facial-recognition as a secondary validation step before health records can be accessed. Biometric captures are completed using standard smartphones and Web cameras in a touchless method. We present a series of experiments to demonstrate the formation of an accurate, consistent, and scalable UHID. We hope our solution will aid in the reduction of complexities associated with user misidentification in healthcare resulting in lowering costs, enhancing population health monitoring, and improving patient-safety.

  14. Developing the content of two behavioural interventions: Using theory-based interventions to promote GP management of upper respiratory tract infection without prescribing antibiotics #1

    PubMed Central

    Hrisos, Susan; Eccles, Martin; Johnston, Marie; Francis, Jill; Kaner, Eileen FS; Steen, Nick; Grimshaw, Jeremy

    2008-01-01

    Background Evidence shows that antibiotics have limited effectiveness in the management of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) yet GPs continue to prescribe antibiotics. Implementation research does not currently provide a strong evidence base to guide the choice of interventions to promote the uptake of such evidence-based practice by health professionals. While systematic reviews demonstrate that interventions to change clinical practice can be effective, heterogeneity between studies hinders generalisation to routine practice. Psychological models of behaviour change that have been used successfully to predict variation in behaviour in the general population can also predict the clinical behaviour of healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to design two theoretically-based interventions to promote the management of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) without prescribing antibiotics. Method Interventions were developed using a systematic, empirically informed approach in which we: selected theoretical frameworks; identified modifiable behavioural antecedents that predicted GPs intended and actual management of URTI; mapped these target antecedents on to evidence-based behaviour change techniques; and operationalised intervention components in a format suitable for delivery by postal questionnaire. Results We identified two psychological constructs that predicted GP management of URTI: "Self-efficacy," representing belief in one's capabilities, and "Anticipated consequences," representing beliefs about the consequences of one's actions. Behavioural techniques known to be effective in changing these beliefs were used in the design of two paper-based, interactive interventions. Intervention 1 targeted self-efficacy and required GPs to consider progressively more difficult situations in a "graded task" and to develop an "action plan" of what to do when next presented with one of these situations. Intervention 2 targeted anticipated consequences and required GPs to respond to a "persuasive communication" containing a series of pictures representing the consequences of managing URTI with and without antibiotics. Conclusion It is feasible to systematically develop theoretically-based interventions to change professional practice. Two interventions were designed that differentially target generalisable constructs predictive of GP management of URTI. Our detailed and scientific rationale for the choice and design of our interventions will provide a basis for understanding any effects identified in their evaluation. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00376142 PMID:18194527

  15. Assessing the Health-Care Risk: The Clinical-VaR, a Key Indicator for Sound Management.

    PubMed

    Jiménez-Rodríguez, Enrique; Feria-Domínguez, José Manuel; Sebastián-Lacave, Alonso

    2018-03-30

    Clinical risk includes any undesirable situation or operational factor that may have negative consequences for patient safety or capable of causing an adverse event (AE). The AE, intentional or unintentionally, may be related to the human factor, that is, medical errors (MEs). Therefore, the importance of the health-care risk management is a current and relevant issue on the agenda of many public and private institutions. The objective of the management has been evolving from the identification of AE to the assessment of cost-effective and efficient measures that improve the quality control through monitoring. Consequently, the goal of this paper is to propose a Key Risk Indicator (KRI) that enhances the advancement of the health-care management system. Thus, the application of the Value at Risk (VaR) concept in combination to the Loss Distribution Approach (LDA) is proved to be a proactive tool, within the frame of balanced scorecard (BSC), in health organizations. For this purpose, the historical events recorded in the Algo-OpData ® database (Algorithmics Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) have been used. The analysis highlights the importance of risk in the financials outcomes of the sector. The results of paper show the usefulness of the Clinical-VaR to identify and monitor the risk and sustainability of the implemented controls.

  16. Assessing the Health-Care Risk: The Clinical-VaR, a Key Indicator for Sound Management

    PubMed Central

    Jiménez-Rodríguez, Enrique; Sebastián-Lacave, Alonso

    2018-01-01

    Clinical risk includes any undesirable situation or operational factor that may have negative consequences for patient safety or capable of causing an adverse event (AE). The AE, intentional or unintentionally, may be related to the human factor, that is, medical errors (MEs). Therefore, the importance of the health-care risk management is a current and relevant issue on the agenda of many public and private institutions. The objective of the management has been evolving from the identification of AE to the assessment of cost-effective and efficient measures that improve the quality control through monitoring. Consequently, the goal of this paper is to propose a Key Risk Indicator (KRI) that enhances the advancement of the health-care management system. Thus, the application of the Value at Risk (VaR) concept in combination to the Loss Distribution Approach (LDA) is proved to be a proactive tool, within the frame of balanced scorecard (BSC), in health organizations. For this purpose, the historical events recorded in the Algo-OpData® database (Algorithmics Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) have been used. The analysis highlights the importance of risk in the financials outcomes of the sector. The results of paper show the usefulness of the Clinical-VaR to identify and monitor the risk and sustainability of the implemented controls. PMID:29601529

  17. Phytoremediation of landfill leachate.

    PubMed

    Jones, D L; Williamson, K L; Owen, A G

    2006-01-01

    Leachate emissions from landfill sites are of concern, primarily due to their toxic impact when released unchecked into the environment, and the potential for landfill sites to generate leachate for many hundreds of years following closure. Consequently, economically and environmentally sustainable disposal options are a priority in waste management. One potential option is the use of soil-plant based remediation schemes. In many cases, using either trees (including short rotation coppice) or grassland, phytoremediation of leachate has been successful. However, there are a significant number of examples where phytoremediation has failed. Typically, this failure can be ascribed to excessive leachate application and poor management due to a fundamental lack of understanding of the plant-soil system. On balance, with careful management, phytoremediation can be viewed as a sustainable, cost effective and environmentally sound option which is capable of treating 250m(3)ha(-1)yr(-1). However, these schemes have a requirement for large land areas and must be capable of responding to changes in leachate quality and quantity, problems of scheme establishment and maintenance, continual environmental monitoring and seasonal patterns of plant growth. Although the fundamental underpinning science is well understood, further work is required to create long-term predictive remediation models, full environmental impact assessments, a complete life-cycle analysis and economic analyses for a wide range of landfill scenarios.

  18. China's soil and groundwater management challenges: Lessons from the UK's experience and opportunities for China.

    PubMed

    Coulon, Frédéric; Jones, Kevin; Li, Hong; Hu, Qing; Gao, Jingyang; Li, Fasheng; Chen, Mengfang; Zhu, Yong-Guan; Liu, Rongxia; Liu, Ming; Canning, Kate; Harries, Nicola; Bardos, Paul; Nathanail, Paul; Sweeney, Rob; Middleton, David; Charnley, Maggie; Randall, Jeremy; Richell, Martin; Howard, Trevor; Martin, Ian; Spooner, Simon; Weeks, Jason; Cave, Mark; Yu, Fang; Zhang, Fang; Jiang, Ying; Longhurst, Phil; Prpich, George; Bewley, Richard; Abra, Jonathan; Pollard, Simon

    2016-05-01

    There are a number of specific opportunities for UK and China to work together on contaminated land management issues as China lacks comprehensive and systematic planning for sustainable risk based land management, encompassing both contaminated soil and groundwater and recycling and reuse of soil. It also lacks comprehensive risk assessment systems, structures to support risk management decision making, processes for verification of remediation outcome, systems for record keeping and preservation and integration of contamination issues into land use planning, along with procedures for ensuring effective health and safety considerations during remediation projects, and effective evaluation of costs versus benefits and overall sustainability. A consequence of the absence of these overarching frameworks has been that remediation takes place on an ad hoc basis. At a specific site management level, China lacks capabilities in site investigation and consequent risk assessment systems, in particular related to conceptual modelling and risk evaluation. There is also a lack of shared experience of practical deployment of remediation technologies in China, analogous to the situation before the establishment of the independent, non-profit organisation CL:AIRE (Contaminated Land: Applications In Real Environments) in 1999 in the UK. Many local technology developments are at lab-scale or pilot-scale stage without being widely put into use. Therefore, a shared endeavour is needed to promote the development of technically and scientifically sound land management as well as soil and human health protection to improve the sustainability of the rapid urbanisation in China. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. NUCLEAR INCIDENT CAPABILITIES, KNOWLEDGE & ENABLER LEVERAGING

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

    Kinney, J.; Newman, J.; Goodwyn, A.

    2011-04-18

    The detonation of a 10 Kiloton Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) is a serious scenario that the United States must be prepared to address. The likelihood of a single nuclear bomb exploding in a single city is greater today than at the height of the Cold War. Layered defenses against domestic nuclear terrorism indicate that our government continues to view the threat as credible. The risk of such an event is further evidenced by terrorists desire to acquire nuclear weapons. The act of nuclear terrorism, particularly an act directed against a large population center in the United States, will overwhelm themore » capabilities of many local and state governments to respond, and will seriously challenge existing federal response capabilities. A 10 Kiloton IND detonation would cause total infrastructure damage in a 3-mile radius and levels of radiation spanning out 3,000 square miles. In a densely populated urban area, the anticipated casualties would be in excess of several hundred thousand. Although there would be enormous loss of life, housing and infrastructure, an IND detonation is a recoverable event. We can reduce the risk of these high-consequence, nontraditional threats by enhancing our nuclear detection architecture and establishing well planned and rehearsed plans for coordinated response. It is also important for us to identify new and improved ways to foster collaboration regarding the response to the IND threat to ensure the demand and density of expertise required for such an event is postured and prepared to mobilize, integrate, and support a myriad of anticipated challenges. We must be prepared to manage the consequences of such an event in a deliberate manner and get beyond notions of total devastation by adopting planning assumptions around survivability and resiliency. Planning for such a scenario needs to be decisive in determining a response based on competencies and desired outcomes. It is time to synthesize known threats and plausible consequences into action. Much work needs to be accomplished to enhance nuclear preparedness and to substantially bolster and clarify the capacity to deploy competent resources. Until detailed plans are scripted, and personnel and other resources are postured, and exercised, IND specific planning remains an urgent need requiring attention and action. Although strategic guidance, policies, concepts of operations, roles, responsibilities, and plans governing the response and consequence management for the IND scenario exist, an ongoing integration challenge prevails regarding how best to get capable and competent surge capacity personnel (disaster reservists) and other resources engaged and readied in an up-front manner with pre-scripted assignments to augment the magnitude of anticipated demands of expertise. With the above in mind, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) puts science to work to create and deploy practical, high-value, cost-effective nuclear solutions. As the Department of Energy's (DOE) applied research and development laboratory, SRNL supports Savannah River Site (SRS) operations, DOE, national initiatives, and other federal agencies, across the country and around the world. SRNL's parent at SRS also employs more than 8,000 personnel. The team is a great asset that seeks to continue their service in the interest of national security and stands ready to accomplish new missions. Overall, an integral part of the vision for SRNL's National and Homeland Security Directorate is the establishment of a National Security Center at SRNL, and development of state of the science capabilities (technologies and trained technical personnel) for responding to emergency events on local, regional, or national scales. This entails leveraging and posturing the skills, knowledge and experience base of SRS personnel to deliver an integrated capability to support local, state, and federal authorities through the development of pre-scripted requests for assistance, agreements, and plans. It also includes developing plans, training, exercises, recruitment strategies, and processes to establish a 1,000 plus person nuclear disaster workforce capable of providing surge capacity support that can be deployed in part or in all.« less

  20. Cardiac Atrophy and Diastolic Dysfunction During and After Long Duration Spaceflight: Functional Consequences for Orthostatic Intolerance, Exercise Capability and Risk for Cardiac Arrhythmias

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levine, Benjamin D.; Bungo, Michael W.; Platts, Steven H.; Hamilton, Douglas R.; Johnston, Smith L.

    2009-01-01

    Cardiac Atrophy and Diastolic Dysfunction During and After Long Duration Spaceflight: Functional Consequences for Orthostatic Intolerance, Exercise Capability and Risk for Cardiac Arrhythmias (Integrated Cardiovascular) will quantify the extent of long-duration space flightassociated cardiac atrophy (deterioration) on the International Space Station crewmembers.

  1. Influences of mechanical exposure biographies on physical capabilities of workers from automotive industry - a study on possible dose-response relationships and consequences for short and long term job rotation.

    PubMed

    Rademacher, Holger; Bruder, Ralph; Sinn-Behrendt, Andrea; Landau, Kurt

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a field study in production areas of a vehicle manufacturing plant, where 106 male workers (aged from 20 to 63 years) were examined and interviewed by the authors. Aim of study was to identify relationships between specific physical worker capabilities and doses of mechanical exposures using self-developed standardized questionnaires as well as a battery of work-specific tests. The dependent variables are different "physical capabilities", classified using a five-point rating scale with regard to the grade of limitation of the respective capability. Independent variables are "age" and specific "mechanical exposures". Several exposures were combined and multiplied with their respective durations in order to determine doses on three different body regions - back, shoulder-neck and upper limbs. There are significant positive correlations between "age" and "dose of mechanical exposure on back/shoulder-neck/upper limbs region". The analysis of the relationship between dose of exposure and different capabilities to lift or reposition loads (with variable weight) shows weak significant correlations for all three body regions. Data analysis shows no significant correlations between any dose of mechanical exposure and capabilities to work in awkward body postures.These results should be considered in age management programs when scheduling future employee assignments to workplaces, especially for production systems where manual handling tasks are dominant.

  2. Vortical flow management for improved configuration aerodynamics: Recent experiences

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rao, D. M.

    1983-01-01

    Recent progress in vortex-control applications for alleviating the adverse consequences of three dimensional separation and vortical interactions on slender body/swept wing configurations is reported. Examples include helical separation trip to alleviate the side force due to forebody vortex asymmetry; hinged strakes to avoid vortex breakdown effects; compartmentation of swept leading edge separation to delay the pitch-up instability; under wing vortex trip and vortex trip and vortex flaps for drag reduction at high lift; and an apex-flap trimmer to fully utilize the lift capability of trailing-edge flaps for take off and landing of delta wings. Experimental results on generic wind-tunnel models are presented to illustrate the vortex-management concepts involved and to indicate their potential for enhancing the subsonic aerodynamics of supersonic-cruise type vehicles.

  3. Managing corporate capabilities:theory and industry approaches.

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

    Slavin, Adam M.

    2007-02-01

    This study characterizes theoretical and industry approaches to organizational capabilities management and ascertains whether there is a distinct ''best practice'' in this regard. We consider both physical capabilities, such as technical disciplines and infrastructure, and non-physical capabilities such as corporate culture and organizational procedures. We examine Resource-Based Theory (RBT), which is the predominant organizational management theory focused on capabilities. RBT seeks to explain the effect of capabilities on competitiveness, and thus provide a basis for investment/divestment decisions. We then analyze industry approaches described to us in interviews with representatives from Goodyear, 3M, Intel, Ford, NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. Wemore » found diversity amongst the industry capability management approaches. Although all organizations manage capabilities and consider them to some degree in their strategies, no two approaches that we observed were identical. Furthermore, we observed that theory is not a strong driver in this regard. No organization used the term ''Resource-Based Theory'', nor did any organization mention any other guiding theory or practice from the organizational management literature when explaining their capabilities management approaches. As such, we concluded that there is no single best practice for capabilities management. Nevertheless, we believe that RBT and the diverse industry experiences described herein can provide useful insights to support development of capabilities management approaches.« less

  4. Strategies for sustainable management of renewable resources during environmental change.

    PubMed

    Lindkvist, Emilie; Ekeberg, Örjan; Norberg, Jon

    2017-03-15

    As a consequence of global environmental change, management strategies that can deal with unexpected change in resource dynamics are becoming increasingly important. In this paper we undertake a novel approach to studying resource growth problems using a computational form of adaptive management to find optimal strategies for prevalent natural resource management dilemmas. We scrutinize adaptive management, or learning-by-doing, to better understand how to simultaneously manage and learn about a system when its dynamics are unknown. We study important trade-offs in decision-making with respect to choosing optimal actions (harvest efforts) for sustainable management during change. This is operationalized through an artificially intelligent model where we analyze how different trends and fluctuations in growth rates of a renewable resource affect the performance of different management strategies. Our results show that the optimal strategy for managing resources with declining growth is capable of managing resources with fluctuating or increasing growth at a negligible cost, creating in a management strategy that is both efficient and robust towards future unknown changes. To obtain this strategy, adaptive management should strive for: high learning rates to new knowledge, high valuation of future outcomes and modest exploration around what is perceived as the optimal action. © 2017 The Author(s).

  5. Barriers and Facilitators to Exercise Participation in People with Hip and/or Knee Osteoarthritis: Synthesis of the Literature Using Behavior Change Theory.

    PubMed

    Dobson, Fiona; Bennell, Kim L; French, Simon D; Nicolson, Philippa J A; Klaasman, Remco N; Holden, Melanie A; Atkins, Lou; Hinman, Rana S

    2016-05-01

    Exercise is recommended for hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA). Patient initiation of, and adherence to, exercise is key to the success of managing symptoms. This study aimed to (1) identify modifiable barriers and facilitators to participation in intentional exercise in hip and/or knee OA, and (2) synthesize findings using behavior change theory. A scoping review with systematic searches was conducted through March 2015. Two reviewers screened studies for eligibility. Barriers and facilitators were extracted and synthesized according to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) by two independent reviewers. Twenty-three studies (total of 4633 participants) were included. The greatest number of unique barriers and facilitators mapped to the Environmental Context and Resources domain. Many barriers were related to Beliefs about Consequences and Beliefs about Capabilities, whereas many facilitators were related to Reinforcement. Clinicians should take a proactive role in facilitating exercise uptake and adherence, rather than trusting patients to independently overcome barriers to exercise. Strategies that may be useful include a personalized approach to exercise prescription, considering environmental context and available resources, personalized education about beneficial consequences of exercise and reassurance about exercise capability, and use of reinforcement strategies. Future research should investigate the effectiveness of behavior change interventions that specifically target these factors.

  6. Overlay Tolerances For VLSI Using Wafer Steppers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Levinson, Harry J.; Rice, Rory

    1988-01-01

    In order for VLSI circuits to function properly, the masking layers used in the fabrication of those devices must overlay each other to within the manufacturing tolerance incorporated in the circuit design. The capabilities of the alignment tools used in the masking process determine the overlay tolerances to which circuits can be designed. It is therefore of considerable importance that these capabilities be well characterized. Underestimation of the overlay accuracy results in unnecessarily large devices, resulting in poor utilization of wafer area and possible degradation of device performance. Overestimation will result in significant yield loss because of the failure to conform to the tolerances of the design rules. The proper methodology for determining the overlay capabilities of wafer steppers, the most commonly used alignment tool for the production of VLSI circuits, is the subject of this paper. Because cost-effective manufacturing process technology has been the driving force of VLSI, the impact on productivity is a primary consideration in all discussions. Manufacturers of alignment tools advertise the capabilities of their equipment. It is notable that no manufacturer currently characterizes his aligners in a manner consistent with the requirements of producing very large integrated circuits, as will be discussed. This has resulted in the situation in which the evaluation and comparison of the capabilities of alignment tools require the attention of a lithography specialist. Unfortunately, lithographic capabilities must be known by many other people, particularly the circuit designers and the managers responsible for the financial consequences of the high prices of modern alignment tools. All too frequently, the designer or manager is confronted with contradictory data, one set coming from his lithography specialist, and the other coming from a sales representative of an equipment manufacturer. Since the latter generally attempts to make his merchandise appear as attractive as possible, the lithographer is frequently placed in the position of having to explain subtle issues in order to justify his decisions. It is the purpose of this paper to provide that explanation.

  7. "This does my head in". Ethnographic study of self-management by people with diabetes

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Self-management is rarely studied 'in the wild'. We sought to produce a richer understanding of how people live with diabetes and why self-management is challenging for some. Method Ethnographic study supplemented with background documents on social context. We studied a socio-economically and ethnically diverse UK population. We sampled 30 people with diabetes (15 type 1, 15 type 2) by snowballing from patient groups, community contacts and NHS clinics. Participants (aged 5-88, from a range of ethnic and socio-economic groups) were shadowed at home and in the community for 2-4 periods of several hours (total 88 visits, 230 hours); interviewed (sometimes with a family member or carer) about their self-management efforts and support needs; and taken out for a meal. Detailed field notes were made and annotated. Data analysis was informed by structuration theory, which assumes that individuals' actions and choices depend on their dispositions and capabilities, which in turn are shaped and constrained (though not entirely determined) by wider social structures. Results Self-management comprised both practical and cognitive tasks (e.g. self-monitoring, menu planning, medication adjustment) and socio-emotional ones (e.g. coping with illness, managing relatives' input, negotiating access to services or resources). Self-management was hard work, and was enabled or constrained by economic, material and socio-cultural conditions within the family, workplace and community. Some people managed their diabetes skilfully and flexibly, drawing on personal capabilities, family and social networks and the healthcare system. For others, capacity to self-manage (including overcoming economic and socio-cultural constraints) was limited by co-morbidity, cognitive ability, psychological factors (e.g. under-confidence, denial) and social capital. The consequences of self-management efforts strongly influenced people's capacity and motivation to continue them. Conclusion Self-management of diabetes is physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially demanding. Non-engagement with self-management may make sense in the context of low personal resources (e.g. health literacy, resilience) and overwhelming personal, family and social circumstances. Success of self-management as a policy solution will be affected by interacting influences at three levels: [a] at micro level by individuals' dispositions and capabilities; [b] at meso level by roles, relationships and material conditions within the family and in the workplace, school and healthcare organisation; and [c] at macro level by prevailing economic conditions, cultural norms and expectations, and the underpinning logic of the healthcare system. We propose that the research agenda on living with diabetes be extended and the political economy of self-management systematically studied. PMID:22458767

  8. Intelligent model-based diagnostics for vehicle health management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luo, Jianhui; Tu, Fang; Azam, Mohammad S.; Pattipati, Krishna R.; Willett, Peter K.; Qiao, Liu; Kawamoto, Masayuki

    2003-08-01

    The recent advances in sensor technology, remote communication and computational capabilities, and standardized hardware/software interfaces are creating a dramatic shift in the way the health of vehicles is monitored and managed. These advances facilitate remote monitoring, diagnosis and condition-based maintenance of automotive systems. With the increased sophistication of electronic control systems in vehicles, there is a concomitant increased difficulty in the identification of the malfunction phenomena. Consequently, the current rule-based diagnostic systems are difficult to develop, validate and maintain. New intelligent model-based diagnostic methodologies that exploit the advances in sensor, telecommunications, computing and software technologies are needed. In this paper, we will investigate hybrid model-based techniques that seamlessly employ quantitative (analytical) models and graph-based dependency models for intelligent diagnosis. Automotive engineers have found quantitative simulation (e.g. MATLAB/SIMULINK) to be a vital tool in the development of advanced control systems. The hybrid method exploits this capability to improve the diagnostic system's accuracy and consistency, utilizes existing validated knowledge on rule-based methods, enables remote diagnosis, and responds to the challenges of increased system complexity. The solution is generic and has the potential for application in a wide range of systems.

  9. The Role of Interdisciplinary Earth Science in the Assessment of Regional Land Subsidence Hazards: Toward Sustainable Management of Global Land and Subsurface-Fluid Resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galloway, D. L.

    2012-12-01

    Land-level lowering or land subsidence is a consequence of many local- and regional-scale physical, chemical or biologic processes affecting soils and geologic materials. The principal processes can be natural or anthropogenic, and include consolidation or compaction, karst or pseudokarst, hydrocompaction of collapsible soils, mining, oxidation of organic soils, erosive piping, tectonism, and volcanism. In terms of affected area, there are two principal regional-scale anthropogenic processes—compaction of compressible subsurface materials owing to the extraction of subsurface fluids (principally groundwater, oil and gas) and oxidation and compaction accompanying drainage of organic soils—which cause significant hazards related to flooding and infrastructure damage that are amenable to resource management measures. The importance of even small magnitude (< 10 mm/yr) subsidence rates in coastal areas is amplified by its contribution to relative sea-level rise compared to estimated rates of rising eustatic sea levels (2-3 mm/yr) attributed to global climate change. Multi- or interdisciplinary [scientific] studies, including those focused on geodetic, geologic, geophysical, hydrologic, hydrogeologic, geomechanical, geochemical, and biologic factors, improve understanding of these subsidence processes. Examples include geodetic measurement and analysis techniques, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), which have advanced our capabilities to detect, measure and monitor land-surface motion at multiple scales. Improved means for simulating aquifer-system and hydrocarbon-reservoir deformation, and the oxidation and compaction of organic soils are leading to refined predictive capabilities. The role of interdisciplinary earth science in improving the characterization of land subsidence attributed to subsurface fluid withdrawals and the oxidation and compaction of organic soils is examined. How these improved capabilities are translating into improved sustainable management of regional land and water resources in a few select areas worldwide are presented. The importance of incorporating these improved capabilities in coherent resource management strategies to control the depletion of resources and attendant hazards also are discussed.

  10. Microwaving human faecal sludge as a viable sanitation technology option for treatment and value recovery - A critical review.

    PubMed

    Afolabi, Oluwasola O D; Sohail, M

    2017-02-01

    The prolonged challenges and terrible consequences of poor sanitation, especially in developing economies, call for the exploration of new sustainable sanitation technologies. Such technologies must be: capable of effectively treating human faecal wastes without any health or environmental impacts; scalable to address rapid increases in population and urbanization; capable of meeting environmental regulations and standards for faecal management; and competitive with existing strategies. Further and importantly, despite its noxiousness and pathogenic load, the chemical composition of human faecal sludge indicates that it could be considered a potentially valuable, nutrient-rich renewable resource, rather than a problematic waste product. New approaches to faecal sludge management must consequently seek to incorporate a 'valuable resource recovery' approach, compatible with stringent treatment requirements. This review intends to advance the understanding of human faecal sludge as a sustainable organic-rich resource that is typically high in moisture (up to 97 per cent), making it a suitable candidate for dielectric heating, i.e. microwave irradiation, to promote faecal treatment, while also recovering value-added products such as ammonia liquor concentrate (suitable for fertilizers) and chars (suitable for fuel) - which can provide an economic base to sustain the technology. Additionally, microwaving human faecal sludge represents a thermally effective approach that can destroy pathogens, eradicate the foul odour associated human faecal sludge, while also preventing hazardous product formations and/or emissions, aside from other benefits such as improved dewaterability and heavy metals recovery. Key technological parameters crucial for scaling the technology as a complementary solution to the challenges of onsite sanitation are also discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The challenge of sleep management in military operations.

    PubMed

    Wesensten, Nancy J; Balkin, Thomas J

    2013-01-01

    It has long been known that short-term (days) insufficient sleep causes decrements in mental effectiveness that put individuals at increased risk of committing errors and causing accidents. More recently, it has been discovered that chronic poor sleep (over years) is associated with a variety of negative health outcomes (metabolic syndrome, obesity, degraded behavioral health). Implementing an effective sleep health program is, therefore, in the best interests of active duty personnel and their families both in the short- and long-term. Like managing physical activity or nutrition, effectively managing sleep health comes with its unique set of challenges arising from the fact that individuals who routinely do not obtain sufficient sleep are generally desensitized to feeling sleepy and are poor at judging their own performance capabilities--and individuals cannot be compelled to sleep. For these reasons, an optimally effective sleep health program requires 3 components: (1) a rigorous, evidence-based sleep education component to impart actionable knowledge about optimal sleep amounts, healthy sleep behaviors, the known benefits of sleep, the short- and long-term consequences of insufficient sleep, and to dispel myths about sleep; (2) a nonintrusive device that objectively and accurately measures sleep to empower the individual to track his/her own sleep/wake habits; and (3) a meaningful, actionable metric reflecting sleep/wake impact on daily effectiveness so that the individual sees the consequences of his/her sleep behavior and, therefore, can make informed sleep health choices.

  12. Phytoremediation of landfill leachate

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

    Jones, D.L.; Williamson, K.L.; Owen, A.G.

    Leachate emissions from landfill sites are of concern, primarily due to their toxic impact when released unchecked into the environment, and the potential for landfill sites to generate leachate for many hundreds of years following closure. Consequently, economically and environmentally sustainable disposal options are a priority in waste management. One potential option is the use of soil-plant based remediation schemes. In many cases, using either trees (including short rotation coppice) or grassland, phytoremediation of leachate has been successful. However, there are a significant number of examples where phytoremediation has failed. Typically, this failure can be ascribed to excessive leachate applicationmore » and poor management due to a fundamental lack of understanding of the plant-soil system. On balance, with careful management, phytoremediation can be viewed as a sustainable, cost effective and environmentally sound option which is capable of treating 250 m{sup 3} ha{sup -1} yr{sup -1}. However, these schemes have a requirement for large land areas and must be capable of responding to changes in leachate quality and quantity, problems of scheme establishment and maintenance, continual environmental monitoring and seasonal patterns of plant growth. Although the fundamental underpinning science is well understood, further work is required to create long-term predictive remediation models, full environmental impact assessments, a complete life-cycle analysis and economic analyses for a wide range of landfill scenarios.« less

  13. 49 CFR 195.452 - Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Pipeline integrity management in high consequence... Management § 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas. (a) Which pipelines are covered... by this section must: (1) Develop a written integrity management program that addresses the risks on...

  14. 49 CFR 195.452 - Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Pipeline integrity management in high consequence... Management § 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas. (a) Which pipelines are covered... by this section must: (1) Develop a written integrity management program that addresses the risks on...

  15. 49 CFR 195.452 - Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Pipeline integrity management in high consequence... Management § 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas. (a) Which pipelines are covered... by this section must: (1) Develop a written integrity management program that addresses the risks on...

  16. Initiatives and Challenges in Consequence Management after a WMD Attack

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-08-01

    Challenges in Consequence Management people to seek shelter or other protection when possible, to avoid exposure to weapons of mass destruction effects . The...Potential Effects .........................................9 V. Methods for Managing the Consequences of WMD Use.................14 VI. Toward a...mass destruction (WMD). Consequence management1 is a process to mitigate the effects of the use of weapons of mass destruction, including

  17. ALS-related misfolded protein management in motor neurons and muscle cells.

    PubMed

    Galbiati, Mariarita; Crippa, Valeria; Rusmini, Paola; Cristofani, Riccardo; Cicardi, Maria Elena; Giorgetti, Elisa; Onesto, Elisa; Messi, Elio; Poletti, Angelo

    2014-12-01

    Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is the most common form of adult-onset motor neuron disease. It is now considered a multi-factorial and multi-systemic disorder in which alterations of the crosstalk between neuronal and non-neuronal cell types might influence the course of the disease. In this review, we will provide evidence that dysfunctions of affected muscle cells are not only a marginal consequence of denervation associated to motor neurons loss, but a direct consequence of cell muscle toxicity of mutant SOD1. In muscle, the misfolded state of mutant SOD1 protein, unlike in motor neurons, does not appear to have direct effects on protein aggregation and mitochondrial functionality. Muscle cells are, in fact, more capable than motor neurons to handle misfolded proteins, suggesting that mutant SOD1 toxicity in muscle is not mediated by classical mechanisms of intracellular misfolded proteins accumulation. Several recent works indicate that a higher activation of molecular chaperones and degradative systems is present in muscle cells, which for this reason are possibly able to better manage misfolded mutant SOD1. However, several alterations in gene expression and regenerative potential of skeletal muscles have also been reported as a consequence of the expression of mutant SOD1 in muscle. Whether these changes in muscle cells are causative of ALS or a consequence of motor neuron alterations is not yet clear, but their elucidation is very important, since the understanding of the mechanisms involved in mutant SOD1 toxicity in muscle may facilitate the design of treatments directed toward this specific tissue to treat ALS or at least to delay disease progression. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Adaptation of herders to droughts and privatization of rangeland-use rights in the arid Alxa Left Banner of Inner Mongolia.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Chengcheng; Li, Wenjun; Fan, Mingming

    2013-09-15

    Residents of arid areas have developed their own adaptive strategies and adaptive capability to cope with an unstable environment that experiences frequent droughts. These strategies and this capability are based on traditional practices that developed from a profound understanding of their environment, but both the strategies and the capability have been affected by institutional change. Specifically, rangeland-use rights in the Alxa Left Banner were privatized in 1996, and the implementation of this policy decreased the ability of local herders to use traditional solutions. In this paper, we describe the change in their adaptive capability after implementation of this policy. Traditionally, local knowledge of the heterogeneity of resources and of key resources based on a deep understanding of the local environment, combined with tight social relationships, let herders use three traditional grazing strategies (seasonal migration, long-distance migration, and raising a diversity of livestock species) to mitigate the impacts of drought. But privatization has nearly eliminated their ability to rely on these traditional strategies and has weakened the forms of social and other capital that supported these strategies and provided a high adaptive capability. We argue that this institutional change has adversely affected traditional practices and undermined the adaptive capability of herders. Consequently, managers of the Alxa Left Banner must find ways to restore the various forms of capital to restore the herders' adaptive capability, particularly given the growing need to account for future climate change. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The Immuno-Dynamics of Conflict Intervention in Social Systems

    PubMed Central

    Krakauer, David C.; Page, Karen; Flack, Jessica

    2011-01-01

    We present statistical evidence and dynamical models for the management of conflict and a division of labor (task specialization) in a primate society. Two broad intervention strategy classes are observed– a dyadic strategy – pacifying interventions, and a triadic strategy –policing interventions. These strategies, their respective degrees of specialization, and their consequences for conflict dynamics can be captured through empirically-grounded mathematical models inspired by immuno-dynamics. The spread of aggression, analogous to the proliferation of pathogens, is an epidemiological problem. We show analytically and computationally that policing is an efficient strategy as it requires only a small proportion of a population to police to reduce conflict contagion. Policing, but not pacifying, is capable of effectively eliminating conflict. These results suggest that despite implementation differences there might be universal features of conflict management mechanisms for reducing contagion-like dynamics that apply across biological and social levels. Our analyses further suggest that it can be profitable to conceive of conflict management strategies at the behavioral level as mechanisms of social immunity. PMID:21887221

  20. The immuno-dynamics of conflict intervention in social systems.

    PubMed

    Krakauer, David C; Page, Karen; Flack, Jessica

    2011-01-01

    We present statistical evidence and dynamical models for the management of conflict and a division of labor (task specialization) in a primate society. Two broad intervention strategy classes are observed--a dyadic strategy--pacifying interventions, and a triadic strategy--policing interventions. These strategies, their respective degrees of specialization, and their consequences for conflict dynamics can be captured through empirically-grounded mathematical models inspired by immuno-dynamics. The spread of aggression, analogous to the proliferation of pathogens, is an epidemiological problem. We show analytically and computationally that policing is an efficient strategy as it requires only a small proportion of a population to police to reduce conflict contagion. Policing, but not pacifying, is capable of effectively eliminating conflict. These results suggest that despite implementation differences there might be universal features of conflict management mechanisms for reducing contagion-like dynamics that apply across biological and social levels. Our analyses further suggest that it can be profitable to conceive of conflict management strategies at the behavioral level as mechanisms of social immunity.

  1. Relevance of the land use changes related to a megacity development in a Colombian river basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García-Arias, Alicia; Romero Hernández, Claudia Patricia; Francés, Félix

    2017-04-01

    A megacity development is a main driving force for land uses changes. Population in these megacities usually rise depending on some or all of the natural resources related to the occupied area and, among them, water is a pivotal requirement. On the other hand, land use changes determine the catchment hydrology and, in consequence, its management. The better knowledge on land uses cover distribution and characteristics, the higher capabilities to increase the accuracy of hydrological predictions and the efficiency of water management. This study aims to describe the land uses changes occurred during the recent expansion of the megacity of Bogotá (Colombia) and to understand the expected changes. In addition, we propose the base for the consideration of this land use changes in the TETIS distributed hydrological modelling approach. The discussion focus on the necessity of considering this kind of scenarios in hydrological modelling for a responsible management of the water resources.

  2. An operational centre for managing major chemical industrial accidents.

    PubMed

    Kiranoudis, C T; Kourniotis, S P; Christolis, M; Markatos, N C; Zografos, K G; Giannouli, I M; Androutsopoulos, K N; Ziomas, I; Kosmidis, E; Simeonidis, P; Poupkou, N

    2002-01-28

    The most important characteristic of major chemical accidents, from a societal perspective, is their tendency to produce off-site effects. The extent and severity of the accident may significantly affect the population and the environment of the adjacent areas. Following an accident event, effort should be made to limit such effects. Management decisions should be based on rational and quantitative information based on the site specific circumstances and the possible consequences. To produce such information we have developed an operational centre for managing large-scale industrial accidents. Its architecture involves an integrated framework of geographical information system (GIS) and RDBMS technology systems equipped with interactive communication capabilities. The operational centre was developed for Windows 98 platforms, for the region of Thriasion Pedion of West Attica, where the concentration of industrial activity and storage of toxic chemical is immense within areas of high population density. An appropriate case study is given in order to illuminate the use and necessity of the operational centre.

  3. Design and technical evaluation of an enhanced location-awareness service enabler for spatial disorientation management of elderly with mild cognitive impairment.

    PubMed

    Moreno, Pedro A; Hernando, M Elena; Gómez, Enrique J

    2015-01-01

    The progressive ageing of population has turned the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) into a prevalent disease suffered by elderly. Consequently, the spatial disorientation has become a significant problem for older people and their caregivers. The ambient-assisted living applications are offering location-based services for empowering elderly to go outside and encouraging a greater independence. Therefore, this paper describes the design and technical evaluation of a location-awareness service enabler aimed at supporting and managing probable wandering situations of a person with MCI. Through the presence capabilities of the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) architecture, the service will alert patient's contacts if a hazardous situation is detected depending on his location. Furthermore, information about the older person's security areas has been included in the user profile managed by IMS. In doing so, the service enabler introduced contribute to "context-awareness" paradigm allowing the adaptation and personalization of services depending on user's context and specific conditions or preferences.

  4. Medical management of radiation accidents: capabilities and deployment principles of the Bundeswehr Institute of Radiobiology.

    PubMed

    Dörr, Harald; Meineke, Viktor

    2012-10-01

    Radiation accidents are fortunately infrequent occurrences, but since their consequences can be very serious as in the Chernobyl and the Fukushima nuclear accidents, medical management of radiation accidents is of great importance. Besides several other tasks, medical management of radiation accidents is one of the key tasks of the Bundeswehr Institute of Radiobiology. Within a Task Force Unit for medical chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) Defense, the institute provides designated personnel who will perform clinical investigations on the scene and will liaise with the institute, where different methods for biological dosimetry and dose reconstruction will be performed. The most important aspects of efficient medical management of radiation accidents are diagnosis of radiation-induced health damage, determination of the cause, dealing with contamination/incorporation, pathophysiological and therapeutic principles, preparatory planning, national and international cooperation and training. Military and non-military institutions have to work closely together when it comes to radiation accidents and since national resources are limited and could be exhausted, international networks can help to ensure medical treatment for radiation accident victims.

  5. Social support and self-management capabilities in diabetes patients: An international observational study.

    PubMed

    Koetsenruijter, Jan; van Eikelenboom, Nathalie; van Lieshout, Jan; Vassilev, Ivo; Lionis, Christos; Todorova, Elka; Portillo, Mari Carmen; Foss, Christina; Serrano Gil, Manuel; Roukova, Poli; Angelaki, Agapi; Mujika, Agurtzane; Knutsen, Ingrid Ruud; Rogers, Anne; Wensing, Michel

    2016-04-01

    The objective of this study was to explore which aspects of social networks are related to self-management capabilities and if these networks have the potential to reduce the adverse health effects of deprivation. In a cross-sectional study we recruited type 2 diabetes patients in six European countries. Data on self-management capabilities was gathered through written questionnaires and data on social networks characteristics and social support through subsequent personal/telephone interviews. We used regression modelling to assess the effect of social support and education on self-management capabilities. In total 1692 respondents completed the questionnaire and the interview. Extensive informational networks, emotional networks, and attendance of community organisations were linked to better self-management capabilities. The association of self-management capabilities with informational support was especially strong in the low education group, whereas the association with emotional support was stronger in the high education group. Some of the social network characteristics showed a positive relation to self-management capabilities. The effect of informational support was strongest in low education populations and may therefore provide a possibility to reduce the adverse impact of low education on self-management capabilities. Self-management support interventions that take informational support in patients' networks into account may be most effective, especially in deprived populations. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Space station operations management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cannon, Kathleen V.

    1989-01-01

    Space Station Freedom operations management concepts must be responsive to the unique challenges presented by the permanently manned international laboratory. Space Station Freedom will be assembled over a three year period where the operational environment will change as significant capability plateaus are reached. First Element Launch, Man-Tended Capability, and Permanent Manned Capability, represent milestones in operational capability that is increasing toward mature operations capability. Operations management concepts are being developed to accomodate the varying operational capabilities during assembly, as well as the mature operational environment. This paper describes operations management concepts designed to accomodate the uniqueness of Space Station Freedoom, utilizing tools and processes that seek to control operations costs.

  7. The Integrated Design Plan for the Coastal Module of GOOS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malone, T.; Knap, T.

    2003-04-01

    Changes in the ocean-climate system and land-use in coastal drainage basins are major drivers of change in coastal waters of the U.S. EEZ. Consequent changes in physical, biological, chemical and geological processes affect public health and well being, the health of coastal marine ecosystems, and the sustainability of living marine resources. Such changes are related through a hierarchy of interactions that can be represented by robust models of ecosystems dynamics. These observations make a compelling case for an ecosystem-based approach to the management of living marine resources, environmental protection, coastal zone management, and coastal engineering, especially in coastal systems where erosion, flooding, habitat alterations, over-fishing, water pollution, fish kills, invasions of non-indigenous species, and harmful algal blooms are collectively most severe. Implementing an ecosystem-based strategy requires the capability to engage in adaptive management, a decision-making activity that depends on the ability to (1) routinely and rapidly detect changes in the environment and living resources and to (2) provide timely predictions of changes in or the occurrence of the phenomena that affect the capacity of ecosystems to provide goods and services (from surface currents and coastal flooding to habitat modification and the loss of biodiversity). We do not have this capability today. Effective management and sustainable use also depend on efficient and timely coupling of the processes by which new scientific knowledge is gained and the fruits of this knowledge are used for the public good. Today, there is an unacceptable disconnect between these processes. A new approach to detecting and predicting environmental changes is needed that enables adaptive management through routine, continuous and rapid provision of data and information. The Coastal Module of the Global Ocean Observing System is being developed as part of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy to address this challenge. The observing system is not only needed to provide data and information on the time scales that environmental decisions should be made, it is needed to facilitate environmental research and to protect the integrity of the scientific method upon which the development of predictive capabilities depend.

  8. Cognitive Task Analysis of Network Analysts and Managers for Network Situational Awareness

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

    Erbacher, Robert; Frincke, Deborah A.; Wong, Pak C.

    The goal of the project was to create a set of next generation cyber situational awareness capabilities with applications to other domains in the long term. The goal is to improve the decision making process such that decision makers can choose better actions. To this end, we put extensive effort into ensuring we had feedback from network analysts and managers and understood what their needs truly were. Consequently, this is the focus of this portion of the research. This paper discusses the methodology we followed to acquire this feedback from the analysts, namely a cognitive task analysis. Additionally, this papermore » provides the details we acquired from the analysts. This essentially provides details on their processes, goals, concerns, the data and meta-data they analyze, etc. A final result we describe is the generation of a task-flow diagram.« less

  9. [Creation and management of organizational knowledge].

    PubMed

    Shinyashiki, Gilberto Tadeu; Trevizan, Maria Auxiliadora; Mendes, Isabel Amélia

    2003-01-01

    With a view to creating and establishing a sustainable position of competitive advantage, the best organizations are increasingly investing in the application of concepts such as learning, knowledge and competency. The organization's creation or acquisition of knowledge about its actions represents an intangible resource that is capable of conferring a competitive advantage upon them. This knowledge derives from interactions developed in learning processes that occur in the organizational environment. The more specific characteristics this knowledge demonstrates in relation to the organization, the more it will become the foundation of its core competencies and, consequently, an important strategic asset. This article emphasizes nurses' role in the process of knowledge management, placing them in the intersection between horizontal and vertical information levels as well as in the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage. Authors believe that this contribution may represent an opportunity for a reflection about its implications for the scenarious of health and nursing practices.

  10. Water resources planning based on complex system dynamics: A case study of Tianjin city

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, X. H.; Zhang, H. W.; Chen, B.; Chen, G. Q.; Zhao, X. H.

    2008-12-01

    A complex system dynamic (SD) model focusing on water resources, termed as TianjinSD, is developed for the integrated and scientific management of the water resources of Tianjin, which contains information feedback that governs interactions in the system and is capable of synthesizing component-level knowledge into system behavior simulation at an integrated level, thus presenting reasonable predictive results for policy-making on water resources allocation and management. As for the Tianjin city, interactions among 96 components for 12 years are explored and four planning alternatives are chosen, one of which is based on the conventional mode assuming that the existing pattern of human activities will be prevailed, while the others are alternative planning designs based on the interaction of local authorities and planning researchers. Optimal mode is therefore obtained according to different scenarios when compared the simulation results for evaluation of different decisions and dynamic consequences.

  11. Dispersal and fallout simulations for urban consequences management (u)

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

    Grinstein, Fernando F; Wachtor, Adam J; Nelson, Matt

    2010-01-01

    Hazardous chemical, biological, or radioactive releases from leaks, spills, fires, or blasts, may occur (intentionally or accidentally) in urban environments during warfare or as part of terrorist attacks on military bases or other facilities. The associated contaminant dispersion is complex and semi-chaotic. Urban predictive simulation capabilities can have direct impact in many threat-reduction areas of interest, including, urban sensor placement and threat analysis, contaminant transport (CT) effects on surrounding civilian population (dosages, evacuation, shelter-in-place), education and training of rescue teams and services. Detailed simulations for the various processes involved are in principle possible, but generally not fast. Predicting urban airflowmore » accompanied by CT presents extremely challenging requirements. Crucial technical issues include, simulating turbulent fluid and particulate transport, initial and boundary condition modeling incorporating a consistent stratified urban boundary layer with realistic wind fluctuations, and post-processing of the simulation results for practical consequences management. Relevant fluid dynamic processes to be simulated include, detailed energetic and contaminant sources, complex building vortex shedding and flows in recirculation zones, and modeling of particle distributions, including particulate fallout, as well as deposition, re-suspension and evaporation. Other issues include, modeling building damage effects due to eventual blasts, addressing appropriate regional and atmospheric data reduction.« less

  12. Indigenous Research Capability in Aotearoa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ormond, Adreanne; Williams, Les R. Tumoana

    2013-01-01

    This article begins by considering the general nature of capability, from some dictionary meanings, then extends to theoretical perspectives related to the capability approach. As a consequence, we arrive at an operational definition that emphasises the ability to solve problems in a systematic way that brings transformation. In these terms,…

  13. Pharmacokinetic Herb-Drug Interactions: Insight into Mechanisms and Consequences.

    PubMed

    Oga, Enoche F; Sekine, Shuichi; Shitara, Yoshihisa; Horie, Toshiharu

    2016-04-01

    Herbal medicines are currently in high demand, and their popularity is steadily increasing. Because of their perceived effectiveness, fewer side effects and relatively low cost, they are being used for the management of numerous medical conditions. However, they are capable of affecting the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of coadministered conventional drugs. These interactions are particularly of clinically relevance when metabolizing enzymes and xenobiotic transporters, which are responsible for the fate of many drugs, are induced or inhibited, sometimes resulting in unexpected outcomes. This article discusses the general use of herbal medicines in the management of several ailments, their concurrent use with conventional therapy, mechanisms underlying herb-drug interactions (HDIs) as well as the drawbacks of herbal remedy use. The authors also suggest means of surveillance and safety monitoring of herbal medicines. Contrary to popular belief that "herbal medicines are totally safe," we are of the view that they are capable of causing significant toxic effects and altered pharmaceutical outcomes when coadministered with conventional medicines. Due to the paucity of information as well as sometimes conflicting reports on HDIs, much more research in this field is needed. The authors further suggest the need to standardize and better regulate herbal medicines in order to ensure their safety and efficacy when used alone or in combination with conventional drugs.

  14. Collective response to public health emergencies and large-scale disasters: putting hospitals at the core of community resilience.

    PubMed

    Paturas, James L; Smith, Deborah; Smith, Stewart; Albanese, Joseph

    2010-07-01

    Healthcare organisations are a critical part of a community's resilience and play a prominent role as the backbone of medical response to natural and manmade disasters. The importance of healthcare organisations, in particular hospitals, to remain operational extends beyond the necessity to sustain uninterrupted medical services for the community, in the aftermath of a large-scale disaster. Hospitals are viewed as safe havens where affected individuals go for shelter, food, water and psychosocial assistance, as well as to obtain information about missing family members or learn of impending dangers related to the incident. The ability of hospitals to respond effectively to high-consequence incidents producing a massive arrival of patients that disrupt daily operations requires surge capacity and capability. The activation of hospital emergency support functions provides an approach by which hospitals manage a short-term shortfall of hospital personnel through the reallocation of hospital employees, thereby obviating the reliance on external qualified volunteers for surge capacity and capability. Recent revisions to the Joint Commission's hospital emergency preparedness standard have impelled healthcare facilities to participate actively in community-wide planning, rather than confining planning exclusively to a single healthcare facility, in order to harmonise disaster management strategies and effectively coordinate the allocation of community resources and expertise across all local response agencies.

  15. Alignment of process compliance and monitoring requirements in dynamic business collaborations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Comuzzi, Marco

    2017-07-01

    Dynamic business collaborations are intrinsically characterised by change because processes can be distributed or outsourced and partners may be substituted by new ones with enhanced or different capabilities. In this context, compliance requirements management becomes particularly challenging. Partners in a collaboration may join and leave dynamically and tasks over which compliance requirements are specified may be consequently distributed or delegated to new partners. This article considers the issue of aligning compliance requirements in a dynamic business collaboration with the monitoring requirements induced on the collaborating partners when change occurs. We first provide a conceptual model of business collaborations and their compliance requirements, introducing the concept of monitoring capabilities induced by compliance requirements. Then, we present a set of mechanisms to ensure consistency between monitoring and compliance requirements in the presence of change, e.g. when tasks are delegated or backsourced in-house. We also discuss a set of metrics to evaluate the status of a collaboration in respect of compliance monitorability. Finally, we discuss a prototype implementation of our framework.

  16. National Labs and Nuclear Emergency Response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Budil, Kimberly

    2015-04-01

    The DOE national laboratories, and in particular the three NNSA national security laboratories, have long supported a broad suite of national nuclear security missions for the U.S. government. The capabilities, infrastructure and base of expertise developed to support the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile have been applied to such challenges as stemming nuclear proliferation, understanding the nuclear capabilities of adversaries, and assessing and countering nuclear threats including essential support to nuclear emergency response. This talk will discuss the programs that are underway at the laboratories and the essential role that science and technology plays therein. Nuclear scientists provide expertise, fundamental understanding of nuclear materials, processes and signatures, and tools and technologies to aid in the identification and mitigation of nuclear threats as well as consequence management. This talk will also discuss the importance of direct engagement with the response community, which helps to shape research priorities and to enable development of useful tools and techniques for responders working in the field. National Labs and Nuclear Emergency Response.

  17. Consequence and Resilience Modeling for Chemical Supply Chains

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stamber, Kevin L.; Vugrin, Eric D.; Ehlen, Mark A.; Sun, Amy C.; Warren, Drake E.; Welk, Margaret E.

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. chemical sector produces more than 70,000 chemicals that are essential material inputs to critical infrastructure systems, such as the energy, public health, and food and agriculture sectors. Disruptions to the chemical sector can potentially cascade to other dependent sectors, resulting in serious national consequences. To address this concern, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tasked Sandia National Laboratories to develop a predictive consequence modeling and simulation capability for global chemical supply chains. This paper describes that capability , which includes a dynamic supply chain simulation platform called N_ABLE(tm). The paper also presents results from a case study that simulates the consequences of a Gulf Coast hurricane on selected segments of the U.S. chemical sector. The case study identified consequences that include impacted chemical facilities, cascading impacts to other parts of the chemical sector. and estimates of the lengths of chemical shortages and recovery . Overall. these simulation results can DHS prepare for and respond to actual disruptions.

  18. Development of Standard Fuel Models in Boreal Forests of Northeast China through Calibration and Validation

    PubMed Central

    Cai, Longyan; He, Hong S.; Wu, Zhiwei; Lewis, Benard L.; Liang, Yu

    2014-01-01

    Understanding the fire prediction capabilities of fuel models is vital to forest fire management. Various fuel models have been developed in the Great Xing'an Mountains in Northeast China. However, the performances of these fuel models have not been tested for historical occurrences of wildfires. Consequently, the applicability of these models requires further investigation. Thus, this paper aims to develop standard fuel models. Seven vegetation types were combined into three fuel models according to potential fire behaviors which were clustered using Euclidean distance algorithms. Fuel model parameter sensitivity was analyzed by the Morris screening method. Results showed that the fuel model parameters 1-hour time-lag loading, dead heat content, live heat content, 1-hour time-lag SAV(Surface Area-to-Volume), live shrub SAV, and fuel bed depth have high sensitivity. Two main sensitive fuel parameters: 1-hour time-lag loading and fuel bed depth, were determined as adjustment parameters because of their high spatio-temporal variability. The FARSITE model was then used to test the fire prediction capabilities of the combined fuel models (uncalibrated fuel models). FARSITE was shown to yield an unrealistic prediction of the historical fire. However, the calibrated fuel models significantly improved the capabilities of the fuel models to predict the actual fire with an accuracy of 89%. Validation results also showed that the model can estimate the actual fires with an accuracy exceeding 56% by using the calibrated fuel models. Therefore, these fuel models can be efficiently used to calculate fire behaviors, which can be helpful in forest fire management. PMID:24714164

  19. 41 CFR 302-15.13 - What are the income tax consequences when my agency pays for my property management services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are the income tax consequences when my agency pays for my property management services? 302-15.13 Section 302-15.13 Public....13 What are the income tax consequences when my agency pays for my property management services? When...

  20. 41 CFR 302-3.421 - What are the income tax consequences when my agency pays for property management services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are the income tax consequences when my agency pays for property management services? 302-3.421 Section 302-3.421 Public Contracts... § 302-3.421 What are the income tax consequences when my agency pays for property management services...

  1. Leadership capabilities of physiotherapy leaders in Ireland: Part 2. Clinical specialists and advanced physiotherapy practitioners.

    PubMed

    McGowan, E; Elliott, N; Stokes, E

    2018-05-07

    Investigation of the leadership capabilities of physiotherapy managers found that they report predominantly demonstrating capabilities associated with the human resource and structural frames. However, little is known about the leadership capabilities of clinical specialists and advanced physiotherapy practitioners (APPs) who also are identified as having responsibility for leadership. To explore clinical specialists´ and APPs' perceptions of their leadership capabilities and compare them with the reported leadership capabilities of physiotherapy managers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 17 physiotherapy clinical specialists and APPs from a range of practice settings across Ireland. The interviews were analyzed using template analysis and the coding template was based on the Bolman and Deal Leadership framework. The participants described demonstrating leadership capabilities associated with each of the four leadership frames. However, the language used by the clinical specialists/APPs suggested that they work predominantly through the human resource frame. Structural frame capabilities were reported by the clinical specialists/APPs and there were some differences to those reported by the managers. In keeping with the reported leadership capabilities of the physiotherapy managers, the employment of capabilities associated with the political frame varied between participants and symbolic frame capabilities were underused. There are many similarities in the self-reported leadership capabilities of managers and clinical specialists/APPs. However, differences were also noted. Both cohorts of physiotherapy leaders may benefit from specific development programs to develop leadership capabilities associated with the political and symbolic frames.

  2. An Evaluation Method of Equipment Reliability Configuration Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Wei; Feng, Weijia; Zhang, Wei; Li, Yuan

    2018-01-01

    At present, many equipment development companies have been aware of the great significance of reliability of the equipment development. But, due to the lack of effective management evaluation method, it is very difficult for the equipment development company to manage its own reliability work. Evaluation method of equipment reliability configuration management is to determine the reliability management capabilities of equipment development company. Reliability is not only designed, but also managed to achieve. This paper evaluates the reliability management capabilities by reliability configuration capability maturity model(RCM-CMM) evaluation method.

  3. Leadership capabilities of physiotherapy leaders in Ireland: Part 1 physiotherapy managers.

    PubMed

    McGowan, Emer; Elliott, Naomi; Stokes, Emma

    2018-05-07

    Investigation of the leadership capabilities of physiotherapists is needed to allow understanding of current leadership practice and to enable appropriate training programs to be developed. To explore physiotherapy managers´ perceptions of their leadership capabilities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 18 physiotherapy managers from a range of public services and private practices in Ireland. The interviews were analyzed using template analysis and the coding template was based on the Bolman and Deal Leadership framework which details four leadership frames: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic. The physiotherapy managers described demonstrating leadership capabilities associated with each of the four leadership frames. However, the language used by the physiotherapy managers suggested that they work predominantly through the structural and human resource frames. The employment of capabilities associated with the political frame varied between participants; some participants described working through this frame while others reported difficulties. The symbolic frame was underused; there were fewer examples given of capabilities such as communicating their vision, demonstrating passion and facilitating a positive workplace culture. Physiotherapy managers work predominantly through the structural and human resource frames. To successfully meet the leadership requirements of their roles physiotherapy managers may benefit from specific leadership development training to develop leadership capabilities in the political and symbolic frames.

  4. A Review of the Tawny Crazy Ant, Nylanderia fulva, an Emergent Ant Invader in the Southern United States: Is Biological Control a Feasible Management Option?

    PubMed

    Wang, Zinan; Moshman, Lori; Kraus, Emily C; Wilson, Blake E; Acharya, Namoona; Diaz, Rodrigo

    2016-12-15

    The tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), has invaded states of the U.S. including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Native to South America, N. fulva is considered a pest in the U.S. capable of annoying homeowners and farmers, as well as displacing native ant species. As it continues to expand its range, there is a growing need to develop novel management techniques to control the pest and prevent further spread. Current management efforts rely heavily on chemical control, but these methods have not been successful. A review of the biology, taxonomy, ecology, and distribution of N. fulva , including discussion of ecological and economic consequences of this invasive species, is presented. Options for future management are suggested focusing on biological control, including parasitoid flies in the genus Pseudacteon , the microsporidian parasite Myrmecomorba nylanderiae , and a novel polynucleotide virus as potential biological control agents. We suggest further investigation of natural enemies present in the adventive range, as well as foreign exploration undertaken in the native range including Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. We conclude that N. fulva may be a suitable candidate for biological control.

  5. A Review of the Tawny Crazy Ant, Nylanderia fulva, an Emergent Ant Invader in the Southern United States: Is Biological Control a Feasible Management Option?

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Zinan; Moshman, Lori; Kraus, Emily C.; Wilson, Blake E.; Acharya, Namoona; Diaz, Rodrigo

    2016-01-01

    The tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), has invaded states of the U.S. including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Native to South America, N. fulva is considered a pest in the U.S. capable of annoying homeowners and farmers, as well as displacing native ant species. As it continues to expand its range, there is a growing need to develop novel management techniques to control the pest and prevent further spread. Current management efforts rely heavily on chemical control, but these methods have not been successful. A review of the biology, taxonomy, ecology, and distribution of N. fulva, including discussion of ecological and economic consequences of this invasive species, is presented. Options for future management are suggested focusing on biological control, including parasitoid flies in the genus Pseudacteon, the microsporidian parasite Myrmecomorba nylanderiae, and a novel polynucleotide virus as potential biological control agents. We suggest further investigation of natural enemies present in the adventive range, as well as foreign exploration undertaken in the native range including Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. We conclude that N. fulva may be a suitable candidate for biological control. PMID:27983690

  6. ROSA: Resource-Oriented Service Management Schemes for Web of Things in a Smart Home.

    PubMed

    Liao, Chun-Feng; Chen, Peng-Yu

    2017-09-21

    A Pervasive-computing-enriched smart home environment, which contains many embedded and tiny intelligent devices and sensors coordinated by service management mechanisms, is capable of anticipating intentions of occupants and providing appropriate services accordingly. Although there are a wealth of research achievements in recent years, the degree of market acceptance is still low. The main reason is that most of the devices and services in such environments depend on particular platform or technology, making it hard to develop an application by composing the devices or services. Meanwhile, the concept of Web of Things (WoT) is becoming popular recently. Based on WoT, the developers can build applications based on popular web tools or technologies. Consequently, the objective of this paper is to propose a set of novel WoT-driven plug-and-play service management schemes for a smart home called Resource-Oriented Service Administration (ROSA). We have implemented an application prototype, and experiments are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results of this research can be a foundation for realizing the vision of "end user programmable smart environments".

  7. 12 CFR 225.83 - What are the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false What are the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management requirements? 225.83 Section 225.83 Banks and Banking... the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management requirements? (a...

  8. 12 CFR 225.83 - What are the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What are the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management requirements? 225.83 Section 225.83 Banks and Banking... the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management requirements? (a...

  9. [Public health crises in a developed society. Successes and limitations in Spain. SESPAS report 2010].

    PubMed

    Gérvas, Juan; Meneu, Ricard

    2010-12-01

    The perception, acceptability and management of risks are social construction. Consequently, in managing public health crises, the gap between facts, beliefs and feelings tests the responsiveness of official institutions to health alarms that can be objective, potential, or imaginary. On balance, a strong point of the Spanish experience of health crises is the presence of clinicians and public health officers working in an organization capable of responding adequately, although the quasi-federal Spanish political structure has both advantages and disadvantages. Weaknesses include the low profile given to public health and a management structure that relies too heavily on partitocracy. The management of these crises could be improved by transferring greater scope to health professionals in decisions about crisis identification and management (with transparency) and limiting bureaucratic inertia. For some, health crises involve visibility or business opportunities (not always legitimate). Therefore, the perception of crisis will increasingly rest less in the hands of experts and more in those of groups interested in spreading these crises or in providing solutions. While progress is needed to develop participation in strategies to respond to emerging crises, even more essential is the involvement of all healthcare levels in their preparation and dissemination. Copyright © 2010 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  10. Advanced Pulse Oximetry System for Remote Monitoring and Management

    PubMed Central

    Pak, Ju Geon; Park, Kee Hyun

    2012-01-01

    Pulse oximetry data such as saturation of peripheral oxygen (SpO2) and pulse rate are vital signals for early diagnosis of heart disease. Therefore, various pulse oximeters have been developed continuously. However, some of the existing pulse oximeters are not equipped with communication capabilities, and consequently, the continuous monitoring of patient health is restricted. Moreover, even though certain oximeters have been built as network models, they focus on exchanging only pulse oximetry data, and they do not provide sufficient device management functions. In this paper, we propose an advanced pulse oximetry system for remote monitoring and management. The system consists of a networked pulse oximeter and a personal monitoring server. The proposed pulse oximeter measures a patient's pulse oximetry data and transmits the data to the personal monitoring server. The personal monitoring server then analyzes the received data and displays the results to the patient. Furthermore, for device management purposes, operational errors that occur in the pulse oximeter are reported to the personal monitoring server, and the system configurations of the pulse oximeter, such as thresholds and measurement targets, are modified by the server. We verify that the proposed pulse oximetry system operates efficiently and that it is appropriate for monitoring and managing a pulse oximeter in real time. PMID:22933841

  11. Advanced pulse oximetry system for remote monitoring and management.

    PubMed

    Pak, Ju Geon; Park, Kee Hyun

    2012-01-01

    Pulse oximetry data such as saturation of peripheral oxygen (SpO(2)) and pulse rate are vital signals for early diagnosis of heart disease. Therefore, various pulse oximeters have been developed continuously. However, some of the existing pulse oximeters are not equipped with communication capabilities, and consequently, the continuous monitoring of patient health is restricted. Moreover, even though certain oximeters have been built as network models, they focus on exchanging only pulse oximetry data, and they do not provide sufficient device management functions. In this paper, we propose an advanced pulse oximetry system for remote monitoring and management. The system consists of a networked pulse oximeter and a personal monitoring server. The proposed pulse oximeter measures a patient's pulse oximetry data and transmits the data to the personal monitoring server. The personal monitoring server then analyzes the received data and displays the results to the patient. Furthermore, for device management purposes, operational errors that occur in the pulse oximeter are reported to the personal monitoring server, and the system configurations of the pulse oximeter, such as thresholds and measurement targets, are modified by the server. We verify that the proposed pulse oximetry system operates efficiently and that it is appropriate for monitoring and managing a pulse oximeter in real time.

  12. Environmental and socio-economic methodologies and solutions towards integrated water resources management.

    PubMed

    Friesen, Jan; Rodriguez Sinobas, Leonor; Foglia, Laura; Ludwig, Ralf

    2017-03-01

    Semi-arid regions are facing the challenge of managing water resources under conditions of increasing scarcity and drought. These are recently pressured by the impact of climate change favoring the shifting from using surface water to groundwater without taking sustainability issues into account. Likewise, water scarcity raises the competition for water among users, increasing the risk of social conflicts, as the availability of fresh water in sufficient quality and quantity is already one of the major factors limiting socio-economic development. In terms of hydrology, semi-arid regions are characterized by very complex hydro- and hydrogeological systems. The complexity of the water cycle contrasts strongly with the poor data availability, (1) which limits the number of analysis techniques and methods available to researchers, (2) limits the accuracy of models and predictions, and (3) consequently challenges the capabilities to develop appropriate management measures to mitigate or adapt the environment to scarcity and drought conditions. Integrated water resources management is a holistic approach to focus on both environmental as well as on socio-economic factors influencing water availability and supply. The management approaches and solutions adopted, e.g. in form of decision support for specific water resources systems, are often highly specific for individual case studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Toxic release consequence analysis tool (TORCAT) for inherently safer design plant.

    PubMed

    Shariff, Azmi Mohd; Zaini, Dzulkarnain

    2010-10-15

    Many major accidents due to toxic release in the past have caused many fatalities such as the tragedy of MIC release in Bhopal, India (1984). One of the approaches is to use inherently safer design technique that utilizes inherent safety principle to eliminate or minimize accidents rather than to control the hazard. This technique is best implemented in preliminary design stage where the consequence of toxic release can be evaluated and necessary design improvements can be implemented to eliminate or minimize the accidents to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) without resorting to costly protective system. However, currently there is no commercial tool available that has such capability. This paper reports on the preliminary findings on the development of a prototype tool for consequence analysis and design improvement via inherent safety principle by utilizing an integrated process design simulator with toxic release consequence analysis model. The consequence analysis based on the worst-case scenarios during process flowsheeting stage were conducted as case studies. The preliminary finding shows that toxic release consequences analysis tool (TORCAT) has capability to eliminate or minimize the potential toxic release accidents by adopting the inherent safety principle early in preliminary design stage. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Third U.S. Geological Survey Wildland Fire-Science Workshop : Denver, Colorado, November 12-15, 2002

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Livingston, Russell K.

    2004-01-01

    Executive Summary -- The historically significant wildland fire events that occurred in the United States during 2000 and 2002, together with the associated recognition of the need for a different national policy of forest management, has led to an increased awareness of the need for cooperative effort among all Federal agencies in planning for and managing the risks and consequences of wildland fire. The expertise and capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are significant resources in this regard, and the agency is becoming increasingly involved in fire-science activities in support of the various land-management agencies that are dealing directly with this issue. The First USGS Wildland Fire Workshop was held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1997 and helped to establish the direction of USGS in sharing its expertise with the fire-management agencies. The Second USGS Wildland Fire Workshop was held in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 2000 and brought together all the agencies involved in the management of wildland fires in order to determine their needs, to demonstrate USGS capabilities to meet those needs, and to establish methods for the USGS to distribute data and tools useful in fire management. It enhanced the relationships developed during the 1997 workshop and helped to define USGS' role in the fire-management community. The Third USGS Wildland Fire-Science Workshop, held in Denver, Colorado, November 12?15, 2002, was an opportunity for exchange of information on recent progress in the area of fire science and to determine the gaps in fire-science research that could be addressed by the USGS. In addition to more than 90 USGS scientists engaged in fire-related research and managers of organizational units involved in some aspect of wildland fire activities, the workshop was attended by about 30 representatives of 11 other Federal agencies. There also were a number of attendees affiliated with several universities, private companies, and State and local agencies. The 4-day meeting consisted of a pre-workshop field trip to the Hayman Fire area, several keynote presentations, five panel discussions, presentation and 'breakout' discussion of four 'white paper' topics, and a poster session with more than 30 presentations.

  15. 12 CFR 225.83 - What are the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false What are the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management requirements? 225.83 Section 225.83 Banks and Banking....83 What are the consequences of failing to continue to meet applicable capital and management...

  16. Counter-Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Operations

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-01-26

    environment. (Page 10) Consequence management activities serve to reduce the effects of a CBRN attack or event, and assist in the restoration of...can be used quite effectively as attack agents. Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs), Toxic Industrial Materials (TIMs), and other potentially...CBRN pillars. Consequence Management Consequence management (CM) activities serve to reduce the effects of a CBRN attack or event, and assist in

  17. Historical evolution of human anthrax from occupational disease to potentially global threat as bioweapon.

    PubMed

    D'Amelio, Enrico; Gentile, Bernardina; Lista, Florigio; D'Amelio, Raffaele

    2015-12-01

    Anthrax is caused by Bacillus anthracis, which can naturally infect livestock, wildlife and occupationally exposed humans. However, for its resistance due to spore formation, ease of dissemination, persistence in the environment and high virulence, B. anthracis has been considered the most serious bioterrorism agent for a long time. During the last century anthrax evolved from limited natural disease to potentially global threat if used as bioweapon. Several factors may mitigate the consequences of an anthrax attack, including 1. the capability to promptly recognize and manage the illness and its public health consequences; 2. the limitation of secondary contamination risk through an appropriate decontamination; and 3. the evolution of genotyping methods (for microbes characterization at high resolution level) that can influence the course and/or focus of investigations, impacting the response of the government to an attack. A PubMed search has been done using the key words “bioterrorism anthrax”. Over one thousand papers have been screened and the most significant examined to present a comprehensive literature review in order to discuss the current knowledge and strategies in preparedness for a possible deliberate release of B. anthracis spores and to indicate the most current and complete documents in which to deepen. The comprehensive analysis of the two most relevant unnatural anthrax release events, Sverdlovsk in the former Soviet Union (1979) and the contaminated letters in the USA (2001), shows that inhalational anthrax may easily and cheaply be spread resulting in serious consequences. The damage caused by an anthrax attack can be limited if public health organization, first responders, researchers and investigators will be able to promptly manage anthrax cases and use new technologies for decontamination methods and in forensic microbiology.

  18. Development and Validation of an Automated Simulation Capability in Support of Integrated Demand Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arneson, Heather; Evans, Antony D.; Li, Jinhua; Wei, Mei Yueh

    2017-01-01

    Integrated Demand Management (IDM) is a near- to mid-term NASA concept that proposes to address mismatches in air traffic system demand and capacity by using strategic flow management capabilities to pre-condition demand into the more tactical Time-Based Flow Management System (TBFM). This paper describes an automated simulation capability to support IDM concept development. The capability closely mimics existing human-in-the-loop (HITL) capabilities, while automating both the human components and collaboration between operational systems, and speeding up the real-time aircraft simulations. Such a capability allows for parametric studies to be carried out that can inform the HITL simulations, identifying breaking points and parameter values at which significant changes in system behavior occur. The paper describes the initial validation of the automated simulation capability against results from previous IDM HITL experiments, quantifying the differences. The simulator is then used to explore the performance of the IDM concept under the simple scenario of a capacity constrained airport under a wide range of wind conditions.

  19. Program director`s overview report for the Office of Health & Environmental Research

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

    Gilbert, D.

    1994-02-01

    LBL performs basic and applied research and develops technologies in support of the Office of Health and Environmental Research`s mission to explore and mitigate the long-term health and environmental consequences of energy use and to advance solutions to major medical challenges. The ability of the Laboratory to engage in this mission depends upon the strength of its core competencies. In addition, there are several key capabilities that are cross-cutting, or underlie, many of the core competencies. Attention is focused on the following: Facilities and resources; research management practices; research in progress; program accomplishments and research highlights; program orientation; work formore » non-OHER organizations DOE; critical issues; and resource orientation.« less

  20. Contractor and Government: Teamwork and Commitment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Griffin, Gerald D.

    1984-01-01

    The assigned topic, "Contractor and Government: Teamwork and Commitment," is a subject about vitally interested. The successes of the U.S. space program were built on such teamwork and commitment. It seems only a short time ago that man's role in space was an unknown quantity. In rapid succession, however, the flights of Shepard, Glenn, and Armstrong demonstrated man's capability to live and travel in space. Consequently, we no longer live with the same awe of space. The success of these joint industry-NASA efforts in achieving our Nation's space goals testifies to the validity of our team's past commitment, management expertise, communications techniques, and teamwork over a period of 25 years. Today, however, We are at the beginning of a new era in space.

  1. Development and Validation of an Automated Simulation Capability in Support of Integrated Demand Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arneson, Heather; Evans, Antony D.; Li, Jinhua; Wei, Mei Yueh

    2017-01-01

    Integrated Demand Management (IDM) is a near- to mid-term NASA concept that proposes to address mismatches in air traffic system demand and capacity by using strategic flow management capabilities to pre-condition demand into the more tactical Time-Based Flow Management System (TBFM). This paper describes an automated simulation capability to support IDM concept development. The capability closely mimics existing human-in-the-loop (HITL) capabilities, automating both the human components and collaboration between operational systems, and speeding up the real-time aircraft simulations. Such a capability allows for parametric studies that will inform the HITL simulations, identifying breaking points and parameter values at which significant changes in system behavior occur. This paper also describes the initial validation of individual components of the automated simulation capability, and an example application comparing the performance of the IDM concept under two TBFM scheduling paradigms. The results and conclusions from this simulation compare closely to those from previous HITL simulations using similar scenarios, providing an initial validation of the automated simulation capability.

  2. REASONS AND CONSEQUENCES OF APPLIED LEADERSHIP STYLES IN ETHICAL DILEMMAS WHEN NURSE MANAGERS MAKE DECISIONS.

    PubMed

    Zydziunaite, V; Suominen, T

    2014-09-21

    Abstract Background: Understanding the reasons and consequences of leadership styles in ethical dilemmas is fundamental to exploring nurse managers' abilities to influence outcomes for patients and nursing personnel. Purpose: To explain the associations between different leadership styles, reasons for their application and its consequences when nurse managers make decisions in ethical dilemmas. Methods: The data were collected between 15 October 2011 and 30 April 2012 by statistically validated questionnaire. The respondents (n=278) were nurse managers. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0, calculating Spearman's correlations, the Stepwise Regression and ANOVA. Results: The reasons for applying different leadership styles in ethical dilemmas include personal characteristics, years in work position, institutional factors, and the professional authority of nurse managers. The applied leadership styles in ethical dilemmas are associated with the consequences regarding the satisfaction of patients', relatives' and nurse managers' needs. Conclusions: Nurse managers exhibited leadership styles oriented to maintenance, focusing more on the "doing the job" than on managing the decision-making in ethical dilemmas.

  3. Leadership styles of nurse managers in ethical dilemmas: Reasons and consequences.

    PubMed

    Zydziunaite, Vilma; Suominen, Tarja

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Background: Understanding the reasons and consequences of leadership styles in ethical dilemmas is fundamental to exploring nurse managers' abilities to influence outcomes for patients and nursing personnel. To explain the associations between different leadership styles, reasons for their application and its consequences when nurse managers make decisions in ethical dilemmas. The data were collected between 15 October 2011 and 30 April 2012 by statistically validated questionnaire. The respondents (N = 278) were nurse managers. The data were analysed using SPSS 20.0, calculating Spearman's correlations, the Stepwise Regression and ANOVA. The reasons for applying different leadership styles in ethical dilemmas include personal characteristics, years in work position, institutional factors, and the professional authority of nurse managers. The applied leadership styles in ethical dilemmas are associated with the consequences regarding the satisfaction of patients,' relatives' and nurse managers' needs. Nurse managers exhibited leadership styles oriented to maintenance, focussing more on the 'doing the job' than on managing the decision-making in ethical dilemmas.

  4. Development of Modern Performance Assessment Tools and Capabilities for Underground Disposal of Transuranic Waste at WIPP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeitler, T.; Kirchner, T. B.; Hammond, G. E.; Park, H.

    2014-12-01

    The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has been developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the geologic (deep underground) disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste. Containment of TRU waste at the WIPP is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The DOE demonstrates compliance with the containment requirements by means of performance assessment (PA) calculations. WIPP PA calculations estimate the probability and consequence of potential radionuclide releases from the repository to the accessible environment for a regulatory period of 10,000 years after facility closure. The long-term performance of the repository is assessed using a suite of sophisticated computational codes. In a broad modernization effort, the DOE has overseen the transfer of these codes to modern hardware and software platforms. Additionally, there is a current effort to establish new performance assessment capabilities through the further development of the PFLOTRAN software, a state-of-the-art massively parallel subsurface flow and reactive transport code. Improvements to the current computational environment will result in greater detail in the final models due to the parallelization afforded by the modern code. Parallelization will allow for relatively faster calculations, as well as a move from a two-dimensional calculation grid to a three-dimensional grid. The result of the modernization effort will be a state-of-the-art subsurface flow and transport capability that will serve WIPP PA into the future. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. This research is funded by WIPP programs administered by the Office of Environmental Management (EM) of the U.S Department of Energy.

  5. A grounded exploration of the dimensions of managerial capability: A preliminary study of top Australian pharmacist owner-managers.

    PubMed

    Woods, Phillip; Gapp, Rod; King, Michelle A

    2015-01-01

    Australian community pharmacies are experiencing challenges, including government prescription pricing reform and a dramatically increasing competitive environment. Enacting appropriate responsive actions requires capable pharmacy managers. 'Capability' implies managing effectively in the present, but with unknown or emerging contexts and with new problems. A conceptual understanding of managerial capability as practiced by pharmacist owner-managers is unavailable in the literature. This research aimed to address the question: How can we understand managerial capability in relation to effective community pharmacy management? The study's objective was to develop preliminary theoretical departure points for continuing research responding to the research question. The objective was approached by exploring how 5 top Australian pharmacy owner-managers accomplish the management of their businesses in a changing business environment. Qualitative research methods were employed to develop a social process perspective of how the managers enact their management practices. In-depth semi-structured life-world interviews were undertaken as the major method of data collection. Interview text thematic analysis was carried out identifying rich conceptual properties and dimensions, which 'dimensionalized' 3 key integrated categories. The findings show how the managers are immersed in their business, managerial and personal practices in a holistic and relational manner. Managerial processes, reported through three conceptual categories, their properties and dimensions, reveal the highly situational nature of the reality the managers were experiencing, including their need to express their personal/professional identity. The properties and dimensions of the category 'learning generatively' in particular, reveal how the pharmacy owner-managers shape their business activities and their emerging context as time passes. The preliminary interpretive view of managerial capability describes the phenomenon as an emergent human accomplishment rather than a possessed ability. This social process perspective enables the inclusion of context with time. The study acts as a formative departure point for continuing research of pharmacist managerial capability which seeks to better understand the linkage between 'knowing' and 'doing'. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Software Assessment of the Global Force Management (GFM) Search Capability Study

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-02-01

    Study by Timothy Hanratty, Mark Mittrick, Alex Vertlieb, and Frederick Brundick Approved for public release; distribution...Army Research Laboratory Software Assessment of the Global Force Management (GFM) Search Capability Study by Timothy Hanratty, Mark Mittrick...Force Management (GFM) Search Capability Study 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Timothy

  7. A distributed data base management capability for the deep space network

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bryan, A. I.

    1976-01-01

    The Configuration Control and Audit Assembly (CCA) is reported that has been designed to provide a distributed data base management capability for the DSN. The CCA utilizes capabilities provided by the DSN standard minicomputer and the DSN standard nonreal time high level management oriented programming language, MBASIC. The characteristics of the CCA for the first phase of implementation are described.

  8. Seasonal Climate Forecasts and Adoption by Agriculture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garbrecht, Jurgen; Meinke, Holger; Sivakumar, Mannava V. K.; Motha, Raymond P.; Salinger, Michael J.

    2005-06-01

    Recent advances in atmospheric and ocean sciences and a better understanding of the global climate have led to skillful climate forecasts at seasonal to interannual timescales, even in midlatitudes. These scientific advances and forecasting capabilities have opened the door to practical applications that benefit society. The benefits include the reduction of weather/climate related risks and vulnerability, increased economic opportunities, enhanced food security, mitigation of adverse climate impacts, protection of environmental quality, and so forth. Agriculture in particular can benefit substantially from accurate long-lead seasonal climate forecasts. Indeed, agricultural production very much depends on weather, climate, and water availability, and unexpected departures from anticipated climate conditions can thwart the best laid management plans. Timely climate forecasts offer means to reduce losses in drought years, increase profitability in good years, deal more effectively with climate variability, and choose from targeted risk-management strategies. In addition to benefiting farmers, forecasts can also help marketing systems and downstream users prepare for anticipated production outcomes and associated consequences.

  9. Factors that influence effective perioperative temperature management by anesthesiologists: a qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

    PubMed

    Boet, Sylvain; Patey, Andrea M; Baron, Justine S; Mohamed, Karim; Pigford, Ashlee-Ann E; Bryson, Gregory L; Brehaut, Jamie C; Grimshaw, Jeremy M

    2017-06-01

    Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia (IPH) is associated with a range of adverse outcomes. Safe and effective warming techniques exist to prevent IPH; however, IPH remains common. This study aimed to identify factors that anesthesiologists perceive may influence temperature management during the perioperative period. After Research Ethics Board approval, semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff anesthesiologists at a Canadian academic hospital. An interview guide based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was used to capture 14 theoretical domains that may influence temperature management. The interview transcripts were coded using direct content analysis to generate specific beliefs and to identify relevant TDF domains perceived to influence temperature management behaviour. Data saturation was achieved after 15 interviews. The following nine theoretical domains were identified as relevant to designing an intervention for practices in perioperative temperature management: knowledge, beliefs about capabilities, beliefs about consequences, reinforcement, memory/attention/decision-making, environmental context and resources, social/professional role/identity, social influences, and behavioural regulation. Potential target areas to improve temperature management practices include interventions that address information needs about individual temperature management behaviour as well as patient outcome (feedback), increasing awareness of possible temperature management strategies and guidelines, and a range of equipment and surgical team dynamics that influence temperature management. This study identified several potential target areas for future interventions from nine of the TDF behavioural domains that anesthesiologists perceive to drive their temperature management practices. Future interventions that aim to close the evidence-practice gap in perioperative temperature management may include these targets.

  10. Functional Gap Analysis of the Maritime Operations Centers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-12-01

    Messaging Services TBMCS , DJC2 MI.1.3.5 Manage Suspense Control Capability Gap MI.1.3.6 Provide Component IM Cell Services Capability Gap MI.1.4 Provide...Admin Support MSRT MI.1.3.3 Manage Electronic File Plan Capability Gap MI.1.3.4 Manage Messaging Services TBMCS , DJC2 MI.1.3.5 Manage Suspense...1.5.9 Execute C4 Policies & Procedures for the Joint Operations Area GCCS-J, DCGS-N, TBMCS , CENTRIX-M EHQ.1.11 Sub Component Interagency

  11. Responsive and Proactive Stakeholder Orientation in Public Universities: Antecedents and Consequences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alarcón-del-Amo, María-del-Carmen; Casablancas-Segura, Carme; Llonch, Joan

    2016-01-01

    This study, based on institutional theory, dynamic capabilities, and stakeholder theory, investigates the relationships between the antecedents of responsive and proactive stakeholder orientation and their consequences in the public university context. The results obtained mainly stress that the mimetic effect of copying successful university…

  12. A guideline for interpersonal capabilities enhancement to support sustainable facility management practice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sarpin, Norliana; Kasim, Narimah; Zainal, Rozlin; Noh, Hamidun Mohd

    2018-04-01

    Facility management is the key phase in the development cycle of an assets and spans over a considerable length of time. Therefore, facility managers are in a commanding position to maximise the potential of sustainability through the development phases from construction, operation, maintenance and upgrade leading to decommission and deconstruction. Sustainability endeavours in facility management practices will contribute to reducing energy consumption, waste and running costs. Furthermore, it can also help in improving organisational productivity, financial return and community standing of the organisation. Facility manager should be empowered with the necessary knowledge and capabilities at the forefront facing sustainability challenge. However, literature studies show a gap between the level of awareness, specific knowledge and the necessary skills required to pursue sustainability in the facility management professional. People capability is considered as the key enabler in managing the sustainability agenda as well as being central to the improvement of competency and innovation in an organisation. This paper aims to develop a guidelines for interpersonal capabilities to support sustainability in facility management practice. Starting with a total of 7 critical interpersonal capabilities factors identified from previous questionnaire survey, the authors conducted an interview with 3 experts in facility management to assess the perceived importance of these factors. The findings reveal a set of guidelines for the enhancement of interpersonal capabilities among facility managers by providing what can be done to acquire these factors and how it can support the application of sustainability in their practice. The findings of this paper are expected to form the basis of a mechanism framework developed to equip facility managers with the right knowledge, to continue education and training and to develop new mind-sets to enhance the implementation of sustainability measures in FM practices.

  13. Combating Terrorism: Issues in Managing Counterterrorist Programs

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2000-04-06

    major effort to develop a national strategy, to date the strategy does not include a clear desired outcome to be achieved. Resources to combat...Federal exercises, in contrast to earlier years, are now practicing crisis and consequence management simultaneously and including state and local...categories—crisis management and consequence management. Crisis management includes efforts to stop a terrorist attack, arrest terrorists, and gather

  14. Environmental Security Cooperation USARPAC’s: Defense Environmental and International Cooperation (DEIC) Conference (Center of Strategic Leadeship Issue Paper, Volume 07-03, September 2003)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-09-01

    infrastructure, and providing consequence management and mitigation of man-made and natural disasters. The United States Army, Pacifi c (USARPAC), the Offi...Terrorism, Disaster Response and Consequence Management , and Medical Aspects of Environmental Security. The conference brought together military and...consequence management in maintaining governmental legitimacy, and examine salient military roles in preventing, responding to, and mitigating natural

  15. Making strategy: learning by doing.

    PubMed

    Christensen, C M

    1997-01-01

    Companies find it difficult to change strategy for many reasons, but one stands out: strategic thinking is not a core managerial competence at most companies. Executives hone their capabilities by tackling problems over and over again. Changing strategy, however, is not usually a task that they face repeatedly. Once companies have found a strategy that works, they want to use it, not change it. Consequently, most managers do not develop a competence in strategic thinking. This Manager's Tool Kit presents a three-stage method executives can use to conceive and implement a creative and coherent strategy themselves. The first stage is to identify and map the driving forces that the company needs to address. The process of mapping provides strategy-making teams with visual representations of team members' assumptions, those pictures, in turn, enable managers to achieve consensus in determining the driving forces. Once a senior management team has formulated a new strategy, it must align the strategy with the company's resource-allocation process to make implementation possible. Senior management teams can translate their strategy into action by using aggregate project planning. And management teams that link strategy and innovation through that planning process will develop a competence in implementing strategic change. The author guides the reader through the three stages of strategy making by examining the case of a manufacturing company that was losing ground to competitors. After mapping the driving forces, the company's senior managers were able to devise a new strategy that allowed the business to maintain a competitive advantage in its industry.

  16. Anesthesiologists' and surgeons' perceptions about routine pre-operative testing in low-risk patients: application of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify factors that influence physicians' decisions to order pre-operative tests.

    PubMed

    Patey, Andrea M; Islam, Rafat; Francis, Jill J; Bryson, Gregory L; Grimshaw, Jeremy M

    2012-06-09

    Routine pre-operative tests for anesthesia management are often ordered by both anesthesiologists and surgeons for healthy patients undergoing low-risk surgery. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was developed to investigate determinants of behaviour and identify potential behaviour change interventions. In this study, the TDF is used to explore anaesthesiologists' and surgeons' perceptions of ordering routine tests for healthy patients undergoing low-risk surgery. Sixteen clinicians (eleven anesthesiologists and five surgeons) throughout Ontario were recruited. An interview guide based on the TDF was developed to identify beliefs about pre-operative testing practices. Content analysis of physicians' statements into the relevant theoretical domains was performed. Specific beliefs were identified by grouping similar utterances of the interview participants. Relevant domains were identified by noting the frequencies of the beliefs reported, presence of conflicting beliefs, and perceived influence on the performance of the behaviour under investigation. Seven of the twelve domains were identified as likely relevant to changing clinicians' behaviour about pre-operative test ordering for anesthesia management. Key beliefs were identified within these domains including: conflicting comments about who was responsible for the test-ordering (Social/professional role and identity); inability to cancel tests ordered by fellow physicians (Beliefs about capabilities and social influences); and the problem with tests being completed before the anesthesiologists see the patient (Beliefs about capabilities and Environmental context and resources). Often, tests were ordered by an anesthesiologist based on who may be the attending anesthesiologist on the day of surgery while surgeons ordered tests they thought anesthesiologists may need (Social influences). There were also conflicting comments about the potential consequences associated with reducing testing, from negative (delay or cancel patients' surgeries), to indifference (little or no change in patient outcomes), to positive (save money, avoid unnecessary investigations) (Beliefs about consequences). Further, while most agreed that they are motivated to reduce ordering unnecessary tests (Motivation and goals), there was still a report of a gap between their motivation and practice (Behavioural regulation). We identified key factors that anesthesiologists and surgeons believe influence whether they order pre-operative tests routinely for anesthesia management for a healthy adults undergoing low-risk surgery. These beliefs identify potential individual, team, and organisation targets for behaviour change interventions to reduce unnecessary routine test ordering.

  17. The flow structure of jets from transient sources and implications for modeling short-duration explosive volcanic eruptions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chojnicki, K. N.; Clarke, A. B.; Adrian, R. J.; Phillips, J. C.

    2014-12-01

    We used laboratory experiments to examine the rise process in neutrally buoyant jets that resulted from an unsteady supply of momentum, a condition that defines plumes from discrete Vulcanian and Strombolian-style eruptions. We simultaneously measured the analog-jet discharge rate (the supply rate of momentum) and the analog-jet internal velocity distribution (a consequence of momentum transport and dilution). Then, we examined the changes in the analog-jet velocity distribution over time to assess the impact of the supply-rate variations on the momentum-driven rise dynamics. We found that the analog-jet velocity distribution changes significantly and quickly as the supply rate varied, such that the whole-field distribution at any instant differed considerably from the time average. We also found that entrainment varied in space and over time with instantaneous entrainment coefficient values ranging from 0 to 0.93 in an individual unsteady jet. Consequently, we conclude that supply-rate variations exert first-order control over jet dynamics, and therefore cannot be neglected in models without compromising their capability to predict large-scale eruption behavior. These findings emphasize the fundamental differences between unsteady and steady jet dynamics, and show clearly that: (i) variations in source momentum flux directly control the dynamics of the resulting flow; (ii) impulsive flows driven by sources of varying flux cannot reasonably be approximated by quasi-steady flow models. New modeling approaches capable of describing the time-dependent properties of transient volcanic eruption plumes are needed before their trajectory, dilution, and stability can be reliably computed for hazards management.

  18. Development of catchment research, with particular attention to Plynlimon and its forerunner, the East African catchments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blackie, J. R.; Robinson, M.

    2007-01-01

    Dr J.S.G. McCulloch was deeply involved in the establishment of research catchments in East Africa and subsequently in the UK to investigate the hydrological consequences of changes in land use. Comparison of these studies provides an insight into how influential his inputs and direction have been in the progressive development of the philosophy, the instrumentation and the analytical techniques now employed in catchment research. There were great contrasts in the environments: tropical highland (high radiation, intense rainfall) vs. temperate maritime (low radiation and frontal storms), contrasting soils and vegetation types, as well as the differing social and economic pressures in developing and developed nations. Nevertheless, the underlying scientific philosophy was common to both, although techniques had to be modified according to local conditions. As specialised instrumentation and analytical techniques were developed for the UK catchments many were also integrated into the East African studies. Many lessons were learned in the course of these studies and from the experiences of other studies around the world. Overall, a rigorous scientific approach was developed with widespread applicability. Beyond the basics of catchment selection and the quantification of the main components of the catchment water balance, this involved initiating parallel process studies to provide information on specific aspects of catchment behaviour. This information could then form the basis for models capable of extrapolation from the observed time series to other periods/hydrological events and, ultimately, the capability of predicting the consequences of changes in catchment land management to other areas in a range of climates.

  19. Strategic Capability Development in the Higher Education Sector

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Paul

    2004-01-01

    The research adopts a case study approach (in higher education) to investigate how strategic capabilities might be developed in an organisation through strategic management development (SMD). SMD is defined as "Management development interventions which are intended to enhance the strategic capability and corporate performance of an…

  20. Globus Nexus: A Platform-as-a-Service Provider of Research Identity, Profile, and Group Management.

    PubMed

    Chard, Kyle; Lidman, Mattias; McCollam, Brendan; Bryan, Josh; Ananthakrishnan, Rachana; Tuecke, Steven; Foster, Ian

    2016-03-01

    Globus Nexus is a professionally hosted Platform-as-a-Service that provides identity, profile and group management functionality for the research community. Many collaborative e-Science applications need to manage large numbers of user identities, profiles, and groups. However, developing and maintaining such capabilities is often challenging given the complexity of modern security protocols and requirements for scalable, robust, and highly available implementations. By outsourcing this functionality to Globus Nexus, developers can leverage best-practice implementations without incurring development and operations overhead. Users benefit from enhanced capabilities such as identity federation, flexible profile management, and user-oriented group management. In this paper we present Globus Nexus, describe its capabilities and architecture, summarize how several e-Science applications leverage these capabilities, and present results that characterize its scalability, reliability, and availability.

  1. Globus Nexus: A Platform-as-a-Service provider of research identity, profile, and group management

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

    Chard, Kyle; Lidman, Mattias; McCollam, Brendan

    Globus Nexus is a professionally hosted Platform-as-a-Service that provides identity, profile and group management functionality for the research community. Many collaborative e-Science applications need to manage large numbers of user identities, profiles, and groups. However, developing and maintaining such capabilities is often challenging given the complexity of modern security protocols and requirements for scalable, robust, and highly available implementations. By outsourcing this functionality to Globus Nexus, developers can leverage best-practice implementations without incurring development and operations overhead. Users benefit from enhanced capabilities such as identity federation, flexible profile management, and user-oriented group management. In this paper we present Globus Nexus,more » describe its capabilities and architecture, summarize how several e-Science applications leverage these capabilities, and present results that characterize its scalability, reliability, and availability.« less

  2. Globus Nexus: A Platform-as-a-Service Provider of Research Identity, Profile, and Group Management

    PubMed Central

    Lidman, Mattias; McCollam, Brendan; Bryan, Josh; Ananthakrishnan, Rachana; Tuecke, Steven; Foster, Ian

    2015-01-01

    Globus Nexus is a professionally hosted Platform-as-a-Service that provides identity, profile and group management functionality for the research community. Many collaborative e-Science applications need to manage large numbers of user identities, profiles, and groups. However, developing and maintaining such capabilities is often challenging given the complexity of modern security protocols and requirements for scalable, robust, and highly available implementations. By outsourcing this functionality to Globus Nexus, developers can leverage best-practice implementations without incurring development and operations overhead. Users benefit from enhanced capabilities such as identity federation, flexible profile management, and user-oriented group management. In this paper we present Globus Nexus, describe its capabilities and architecture, summarize how several e-Science applications leverage these capabilities, and present results that characterize its scalability, reliability, and availability. PMID:26688598

  3. Exploring local risk managers' use of flood hazard maps for risk communication purposes in Baden-Württemberg

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kjellgren, S.

    2013-07-01

    In response to the EU Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), flood hazard maps are currently produced all over Europe, reflecting a wider shift in focus from "flood protection" to "risk management", for which not only public authorities but also populations at risk are seen as responsible. By providing a visual image of the foreseen consequences of flooding, flood hazard maps can enhance people's knowledge about flood risk, making them more capable of an adequate response. Current literature, however, questions the maps' awareness raising capacity, arguing that their content and design are rarely adjusted to laypeople's needs. This paper wants to complement this perspective with a focus on risk communication by studying how these tools are disseminated and marketed to the public in the first place. Judging from communication theory, simply making hazard maps publicly available is unlikely to lead to attitudinal or behavioral effects, since this typically requires two-way communication and material or symbolic incentives. Consequently, it is relevant to investigate whether and how local risk managers, who are well positioned to interact with the local population, make use of flood hazard maps for risk communication purposes. A qualitative case study of this issue in the German state of Baden-Württemberg suggests that many municipalities lack a clear strategy for using this new information tool for hazard and risk communication. Four barriers in this regard are identified: perceived disinterest/sufficient awareness on behalf of the population at risk; unwillingness to cause worry or distress; lack of skills and resources; and insufficient support. These barriers are important to address - in research as well as in practice - since it is only if flood hazard maps are used to enhance local knowledge resources that they can be expected to contribute to social capacity building.

  4. Integrated Systems Health Management for Intelligent Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Melcher, Kevin

    2011-01-01

    The implementation of an integrated system health management (ISHM) capability is fundamentally linked to the management of data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) with the purposeful objective of determining the health of a system. Management implies storage, distribution, sharing, maintenance, processing, reasoning, and presentation. ISHM is akin to having a team of experts who are all individually and collectively observing and analyzing a complex system, and communicating effectively with each other in order to arrive at an accurate and reliable assessment of its health. In this chapter, concepts, procedures, and approaches are presented as a foundation for implementing an ISHM capability relevant to intelligent systems. The capability stresses integration of DIaK from all elements of a system, emphasizing an advance toward an on-board, autonomous capability. Both ground-based and on-board ISHM capabilities are addressed. The information presented is the result of many years of research, development, and maturation of technologies, and of prototype implementations in operational systems.

  5. Definition, Capabilities, and Components of a Terrestrial Carbon Monitoring System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    West, Tristram O.; Brown, Molly E.; Duren, Riley M.; Ogle, Stephen M.; Moss, Richard H.

    2013-01-01

    Research efforts for effectively and consistently monitoring terrestrial carbon are increasing in number. As such, there is a need to define carbon monitoring and how it relates to carbon cycle science and carbon management. There is also a need to identify capabilities of a carbon monitoring system and the system components needed to develop the capabilities. Capabilities that enable the effective application of a carbon monitoring system for monitoring and management purposes may include: reconciling carbon stocks and fluxes, developing consistency across spatial and temporal scales, tracking horizontal movement of carbon, attribution of emissions to originating sources, cross-sectoral accounting, uncertainty quantification, redundancy and policy relevance. Focused research is needed to integrate these capabilities for sustained estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes. Additionally, if monitoring is intended to inform management decisions, management priorities should be considered prior to development of a monitoring system.

  6. ROSA: Resource-Oriented Service Management Schemes for Web of Things in a Smart Home

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Peng-Yu

    2017-01-01

    A Pervasive-computing-enriched smart home environment, which contains many embedded and tiny intelligent devices and sensors coordinated by service management mechanisms, is capable of anticipating intentions of occupants and providing appropriate services accordingly. Although there are a wealth of research achievements in recent years, the degree of market acceptance is still low. The main reason is that most of the devices and services in such environments depend on particular platform or technology, making it hard to develop an application by composing the devices or services. Meanwhile, the concept of Web of Things (WoT) is becoming popular recently. Based on WoT, the developers can build applications based on popular web tools or technologies. Consequently, the objective of this paper is to propose a set of novel WoT-driven plug-and-play service management schemes for a smart home called Resource-Oriented Service Administration (ROSA). We have implemented an application prototype, and experiments are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results of this research can be a foundation for realizing the vision of “end user programmable smart environments”. PMID:28934159

  7. Vibrational spectroscopy: a tool being developed for the noninvasive monitoring of wound healing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crane, Nicole J.; Elster, Eric A.

    2012-01-01

    Wound care and management accounted for over 1.8 million hospital discharges in 2009. The complex nature of wound physiology involves hundreds of overlapping processes that we have only begun to understand over the past three decades. The management of wounds remains a significant challenge for inexperienced clinicians. The ensuing inflammatory response ultimately dictates the pace of wound healing and tissue regeneration. Consequently, the eventual timing of wound closure or definitive coverage is often subjective. Some wounds fail to close, or dehisce, despite the use and application of novel wound-specific treatment modalities. An understanding of the molecular environment of acute and chronic wounds throughout the wound-healing process can provide valuable insight into the mechanisms associated with the patient's outcome. Pathologic alterations of wounds are accompanied by fundamental changes in the molecular environment that can be analyzed by vibrational spectroscopy. Vibrational spectroscopy, specifically Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, offers the capability to accurately detect and identify the various molecules that compose the extracellular matrix during wound healing in their native state. The identified changes might provide the objective markers of wound healing, which can then be integrated with clinical characteristics to guide the management of wounds.

  8. Towards Requirements in Systems Engineering for Aerospace IVHM Design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Saxena, Abhinav; Roychoudhury, Indranil; Lin, Wei; Goebel, Kai

    2013-01-01

    Health management (HM) technologies have been employed for safety critical system for decades, but a coherent systematic process to integrate HM into the system design is not yet clear. Consequently, in most cases, health management resorts to be an after-thought or 'band-aid' solution. Moreover, limited guidance exists for carrying out systems engineering (SE) on the subject of writing requirements for designs with integrated vehicle health management (IVHM). It is well accepted that requirements are key to developing a successful IVHM system right from the concept stage to development, verification, utilization, and support. However, writing requirements for systems with IVHM capability have unique challenges that require the designers to look beyond their own domains and consider the constraints and specifications of other interlinked systems. In this paper we look at various stages in the SE process and identify activities specific to IVHM design and development. More importantly, several relevant questions are posed that system engineers must address at various design and development stages. Addressing these questions should provide some guidance to systems engineers towards writing IVHM related requirements to ensure that appropriate IVHM functions are built into the system design.

  9. Cognitive Learning Theory Takes a Backseat: Consequences of a Management Development Program for Work Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moesby-Jensen, Cecilie K.

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes the consequences of a cognitive management development program for middle managers in a public organization. The objective was to teach transformational leadership and teamwork but it occasioned a very limited improved articulation of transformational leadership and teamwork and only a modest change in the managers' actions in…

  10. Managing Knowledge Performance: Testing the Components of a Knowledge Management System on Organizational Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cho, Taejun; Korte, Russell

    2014-01-01

    The main purpose of the current study is to validate the framework of knowledge management (KM) capabilities created by Gold ("Towards a theory of organizational knowledge management capabilities." Doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) 2001) in a study of South Korean companies. However, the original framework…

  11. Self-perception in Iranian adolescents with diabetes: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Rostami, Shahnaz; Parsa-Yekta, Zahra; Najafi-Ghezeljeh, Tahereh; Vanaki, Zohreh; Zarea, Kourosh

    2015-01-01

    It is obvious that self-perception can play an important role in the development of self-management behaviours among adolescents with diabetes to promote their health and quality of life. This study seeks to explain self-perception in adolescents with diabetes. This qualitative study, which is of "grounded theory" type, was performed in 2013 in Ahvaz, Iran, through semi-structured interviews with ten adolescents with type 1 diabetes, two parents and a nurse, who were chosen objectively. Data analysis was performed using Strauss and Corbin 1998 method. Four main theme was obtained from the analysis of data, and the consequence theme was inferred as follows: getting insight (knowledge acquisition and belief management), perceiving similarities with others (not hiding the disease, showing the illness is normal, and accepting an active role in the family), and self-care management (independent control of food and treatment regimen and understanding of capabilities to manage the future of life and manage the daily activities of life), and life satisfaction (perception of being healthy and having a normal life). Getting insight into the disease is the most important part of perceiving similarities with others and offering self-care, which can provide a person's positive perception of himself/herself and the illness, as well as life satisfaction for their adolescent over time. These results are an operational guide for personnel providing health care services, especially diabetes specialist nurses.

  12. Software Model Checking of ARINC-653 Flight Code with MCP

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thompson, Sarah J.; Brat, Guillaume; Venet, Arnaud

    2010-01-01

    The ARINC-653 standard defines a common interface for Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) code. In particular, ARINC-653 Part 1 specifies a process- and partition-management API that is analogous to POSIX threads, but with certain extensions and restrictions intended to support the implementation of high reliability flight code. MCP is a software model checker, developed at NASA Ames, that provides capabilities for model checking C and C++ source code. In this paper, we present recent work aimed at implementing extensions to MCP that support ARINC-653, and we discuss the challenges and opportunities that consequentially arise. Providing support for ARINC-653 s time and space partitioning is nontrivial, though there are implicit benefits for partial order reduction possible as a consequence of the API s strict interprocess communication policy.

  13. Health Capability: Conceptualization and Operationalization

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Current theoretical approaches to bioethics and public health ethics propose varied justifications as the basis for health care and public health, yet none captures a fundamental reality: people seek good health and the ability to pursue it. Existing models do not effectively address these twin goals. The approach I espouse captures both of these orientations through a concept here called health capability. Conceptually, health capability illuminates the conditions that affect health and one's ability to make health choices. By respecting the health consequences individuals face and their health agency, health capability offers promise for finding a balance between paternalism and autonomy. I offer a conceptual model of health capability and present a health capability profile to identify and address health capability gaps. PMID:19965570

  14. Panel management, team culture, and worklife experience.

    PubMed

    Willard-Grace, Rachel; Dubé, Kate; Hessler, Danielle; O'Brien, Bridget; Earnest, Gillian; Gupta, Reena; Shunk, Rebecca; Grumbach, Kevin

    2015-09-01

    Burnout and professional dissatisfaction are threats to the primary care workforce. We investigated the relationship between panel management capability, team culture, cynicism, and perceived "do-ability" of primary care among primary care providers (PCPs) and staff in primary care practices. We surveyed 326 PCPs and 142 staff members in 10 county-administered, 6 university-run, and 3 Veterans Affairs primary care clinics in a large urban area in 2013. Predictor variables included capability for performing panel management and perception of team culture. Outcome variables included 2 work experience measures--the Maslach Burnout Inventory cynicism scale and a 1-item measure of the "do-ability" of primary care this year compared with last year. Generalized Estimation Equation (GEE) models were used to account for clustering at the clinic level. Greater panel management capability and higher team culture were associated with lower cynicism among PCPs and staff and higher reported "do-ability" of primary care among PCPs. Panel management capability and team culture interacted to predict the 2 work experience outcomes. Among PCPs and staff reporting high team culture, there was little association between panel management capability and the outcomes, which were uniformly positive. However, there was a strong relationship between greater panel management capability and improved work experience outcomes for PCPs and staff reporting low team culture. Team-based processes of care such as panel management may be an important strategy to protect against cynicism and dissatisfaction in primary care, particularly in settings that are still working to improve their team culture. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Policy Issues in Computer Education. Assessing the Cognitive Consequences of Computer Environments for Learning (ACCCEL).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Linn, Marcia

    This paper analyzes the capabilities of the computer learning environment identified by the Assessing the Cognitive Consequences of Computer Environments for Learning (ACCCEL) Project, augments the analysis with experimental work, and discusses how schools can implement policies which provide for the maximum potential of computers. The ACCCEL…

  16. Integrated software health management for aerospace guidance, navigation, and control systems: A probabilistic reasoning approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mbaya, Timmy

    Embedded Aerospace Systems have to perform safety and mission critical operations in a real-time environment where timing and functional correctness are extremely important. Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) systems substantially rely on complex software interfacing with hardware in real-time; any faults in software or hardware, or their interaction could result in fatal consequences. Integrated Software Health Management (ISWHM) provides an approach for detection and diagnosis of software failures while the software is in operation. The ISWHM approach is based on probabilistic modeling of software and hardware sensors using a Bayesian network. To meet memory and timing constraints of real-time embedded execution, the Bayesian network is compiled into an Arithmetic Circuit, which is used for on-line monitoring. This type of system monitoring, using an ISWHM, provides automated reasoning capabilities that compute diagnoses in a timely manner when failures occur. This reasoning capability enables time-critical mitigating decisions and relieves the human agent from the time-consuming and arduous task of foraging through a multitude of isolated---and often contradictory---diagnosis data. For the purpose of demonstrating the relevance of ISWHM, modeling and reasoning is performed on a simple simulated aerospace system running on a real-time operating system emulator, the OSEK/Trampoline platform. Models for a small satellite and an F-16 fighter jet GN&C (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) system have been implemented. Analysis of the ISWHM is then performed by injecting faults and analyzing the ISWHM's diagnoses.

  17. Resource-Based Capability on Development Knowledge Management Capabilities of Coastal Community

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Teniwut, Roberto M. K.; Hasyim, Cawalinya L.; Teniwut, Wellem A.

    2017-10-01

    Building sustainable knowledge management capabilities in the coastal area might face a whole new challenge since there are many intangible factors involved from openness on new knowledge, access and ability to use the latest technology to the various local wisdom that still in place. The aimed of this study was to identify and analyze the resource-based condition of coastal community in this area to have an empirical condition of tangible and intangible infrastructure on developing knowledge management capability coastal community in Southeast Maluku, Indonesia. We used qualitative and quantitative analysis by depth interview and questionnaire for collecting the data with multiple linear regression as our analysis method. The result provided the information on current state of resource-based capability of a coastal community in this Southeast Maluku to build a sustainability model of knowledge management capabilities especially on utilization marine and fisheries resources. The implication of this study can provide an empirical information for government, NGO and research institution to dictate on how they conducted their policy and program on developing coastal community region.

  18. U.S. Geological Survey Emerging Applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hutt, M. E.

    2012-12-01

    In anticipation of transforming the research methods and resource management techniques employed across the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office is conducting missions using small UAS- sUAS platforms (<20 lbs.). The USGS is dedicated to expanding the use of sUAS technology in support of scientific, resource and land management missions. UAS technology is currently being used by USGS and our partners to monitor environmental conditions, analyze the impacts of climate change, respond to natural hazards, understand landscape change rates and consequences, conduct wildlife inventories and support related land management and law enforcement missions. Our ultimate goal is to support informed decision making by creating the opportunity, via UAS technology, to gain access to an increased level of persistent monitoring of earth surface processes (forest health conditions, wildfires, earthquake zones, invasive species, etc.) in areas that have been logistically difficult, cost prohibitive or technically impossible to obtain consistent, reliable, timely information. USGS is teaming with the Department of the Interior Aviation Management Directorate to ensure the safe and cost effective adoption of UAS technology. While the USGS is concentrating on operating sUAS, the immense value of increased flight time and more robust sensor capabilities available on larger platforms cannot be ignored. We are partnering with several groups including the Department of Homeland Security, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Defense, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for access to data collected from their fleet of high altitude, long endurance (HALE) UAS. The HALE systems include state of the art sensors including Electro-Optical, Thermal Infrared and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The data being collected by High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) systems is can be routinely shared in near real time at several DOI- USGS locations. Analysis tools are becoming available that can produce a robust set of products including a geo-referenced base for value added investigations. Much like the use of global positioning systems, unmanned aircraft systems have the potential of enabling us to be better stewards of the land. We are actively working to develop applications of the traditional full motion video capabilities and are engaged in developing additional sensor capabilities for sUAS including- magnetometers, temperature, radio telemetry, chemical and biological gas detection, and gimbal mounted "photogrammetric" cameras.

  19. Platform development for merging various information sources for water management: methodological, technical and operational aspects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Galvao, Diogo

    2013-04-01

    As a result of various economic, social and environmental factors, we can all experience the increase in importance of water resources at a global scale. As a consequence, we can also notice the increasing need of methods and systems capable of efficiently managing and combining the rich and heterogeneous data available that concerns, directly or indirectly, these water resources, such as in-situ monitoring station data, Earth Observation images and measurements, Meteorological modeling forecasts and Hydrological modeling. Under the scope of the MyWater project, we developed a water management system capable of satisfying just such needs, under a flexible platform capable of accommodating future challenges, not only in terms of sources of data but also on applicable models to extract information from it. From a methodological point of view, the MyWater platform obtains data from distinct sources, and in distinct formats, be they Satellite images or meteorological model forecasts, transforms and combines them in ways that allow them to be fed to a variety of hydrological models (such as MOHID Land, SIMGRO, etc…), which themselves can also be combined, using such approaches as those advocated by the OpenMI standard, to extract information in an automated and time efficient manner. Such an approach brings its own deal of challenges, and further research was developed under this project on the best ways to combine such data and on novel approaches to hydrological modeling (like the PriceXD model). From a technical point of view, the MyWater platform is structured according to a classical SOA architecture, with a flexible object oriented modular backend service responsible for all the model process management and data treatment, while the information extracted can be interacted with using a variety of frontends, from a web portal, including also a desktop client, down to mobile phone and tablet applications. From an operational point of view, a user can not only see these model results on graphically rich user interfaces, but also interact with them in ways that allows them to extract their own information. This platform was then applied to a variety of case studies in such countries as the Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Brazil and Africa, to verify the practicality, accuracy and value that it brings to end users and stakeholders.

  20. The Efficacy of All-Positive Management as a Function of the Prior Use of Negative Consequences.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pfiffner, Linda J.; O'Leary, Susan G.

    1987-01-01

    The study found that in the absence of a history of negative consequences, an all-positive management system for eight first- through third-grade children with academic and/or classroom behavioral problems was not sufficient to maintain on-task rates of academic accuracy. The addition of negative consequences immediately improved on-task behavior…

  1. The value of forage measurement information in rangeland management. [implementation of satellite data in range management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lietzke, K. R.

    1975-01-01

    An economic model and simulation are developed to estimate the potential social benefit arising from the use of alternative measurement systems in rangeland management. In order to estimate these benefits, it was necessary to model three separate systems: the range environment, the rangeland manager, and the information system which links the two. The rancher's decision-making behavior is modeled according to sound economic principles. Results indicate substantial potential benefits, particularly when used in assisting management of government-operated ranges; possible annual benefits in this area range from $20 to $46 million, depending upon the system capabilities assumed. Possible annual benefit in privately-managed stocker operations range from $2.8 to $49.5 million, depending upon where actual rancher capabilities lie and what system capabilities are assumed.

  2. General RMP Guidance - Chapter 7: Prevention Program (Program 3)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Many Program 3 processes are already addressed by the OSHA Process Safety Management Program, which covers on-site consequences. So for compliance with the risk management program, process hazard analysis teams must consider potential offsite consequences.

  3. Critical systems for public health management of floods, North Dakota.

    PubMed

    Wiedrich, Tim W; Sickler, Juli L; Vossler, Brenda L; Pickard, Stephen P

    2013-01-01

    Availability of emergency preparedness funding between 2002 and 2009 allowed the North Dakota Department of Health to build public health response capabilities. Five of the 15 public health preparedness capability areas identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2011 have been thoroughly tested by responses to flooding in North Dakota in 2009, 2010, and 2011; those capability areas are information sharing, emergency operations coordination, medical surge, material management and distribution, and volunteer management. Increasing response effectiveness has depended on planning, implementation of new information technology, changes to command and control procedures, containerized response materials, and rapid contract procedures. Continued improvement in response and maintenance of response capabilities is dependent on ongoing funding.

  4. Research Contributing to Improvements in Controlling Florida's Mosquitoes and Mosquito-borne Diseases.

    PubMed

    Tabachnick, Walter J

    2016-09-28

    Research on mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases has contributed to improvements in providing effective, efficient, and environmentally proper mosquito control. Florida has benefitted from several research accomplishments that have increased the state's mosquito control capabilities. Research with Florida's mosquitoes has resulted in the development of ecologically sound management of mosquito impoundments on Florida's east coast. This strategy, called Rotational Impoundment Management (RIM), has improved the ability to target the delivery of pesticides and has helped to reduce non-target effects and environmental damage. Research has led to the development of an arbovirus surveillance system which includes sentinel chicken surveillance, real time use of environmental contributing factors like meteorology and hydrology to target mosquito control, as well as public health efforts to mitigate disease outbreaks to areas with risk of disease. These research driven improvements have provided substantial benefits to all of Florida. More research is needed to meet the future challenges to reduce emerging pathogens like Zika virus and the consequences of environmental changes like global climate change that are likely to influence the effects of mosquito-borne pathogens on human health and well-being.

  5. Flood forecasting within urban drainage systems using NARX neural network.

    PubMed

    Abou Rjeily, Yves; Abbas, Oras; Sadek, Marwan; Shahrour, Isam; Hage Chehade, Fadi

    2017-11-01

    Urbanization activity and climate change increase the runoff volumes, and consequently the surcharge of the urban drainage systems (UDS). In addition, age and structural failures of these utilities limit their capacities, and thus generate hydraulic operation shortages, leading to flooding events. The large increase in floods within urban areas requires rapid actions from the UDS operators. The proactivity in taking the appropriate actions is a key element in applying efficient management and flood mitigation. Therefore, this work focuses on developing a flooding forecast system (FFS), able to alert in advance the UDS managers for possible flooding. For a forecasted storm event, a quick estimation of the water depth variation within critical manholes allows a reliable evaluation of the flood risk. The Nonlinear Auto Regressive with eXogenous inputs (NARX) neural network was chosen to develop the FFS as due to its calculation nature it is capable of relating water depth variation in manholes to rainfall intensities. The campus of the University of Lille is used as an experimental site to test and evaluate the FFS proposed in this paper.

  6. Defence Capability Plan 2006-2016

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-06-14

    and supply chain management ; and • developing strategies focussing on critical industry capabilities and Defence’s ability to manage supply and... managers undertake pre-approval study activity and prepare the necessary departmental documentation. More formal industry solicitation would continue...Defence Management Systems Improvement Less than $10m JP 2085 Phase 1B Explosive Ordnance Warstock $150m to $200m JP 2090 Phase 1B Combined Information

  7. IEMIS (Integrated Emergency Management Information System) Floodplain Mapping Based on a Lidar Derived Data Set.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-02-05

    0-A193 971 IEMIS (INTEGRATED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM ) FLOODPLRIN MAP.. (U) ARMY ENGINEER WATERWAYS EXPERIMENT STATION VICKSBURG HS J...illustrate the application of the automated mapping capabilities of the Integrated Emergency Management Information System (IEMIS) to FISs. Unclassified...mapping capabilities of the Integrated Emergency Management Information System (IEMIS) to FISs. II. BACKGROUND The concept of mounting laser ranging

  8. Advanced, Cost-Based Indices for Forecasting the Generation of Photovoltaic Power

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bracale, Antonio; Carpinelli, Guido; Di Fazio, Annarita; Khormali, Shahab

    2014-01-01

    Distribution systems are undergoing significant changes as they evolve toward the grids of the future, which are known as smart grids (SGs). The perspective of SGs is to facilitate large-scale penetration of distributed generation using renewable energy sources (RESs), encourage the efficient use of energy, reduce systems' losses, and improve the quality of power. Photovoltaic (PV) systems have become one of the most promising RESs due to the expected cost reduction and the increased efficiency of PV panels and interfacing converters. The ability to forecast power-production information accurately and reliably is of primary importance for the appropriate management of an SG and for making decisions relative to the energy market. Several forecasting methods have been proposed, and many indices have been used to quantify the accuracy of the forecasts of PV power production. Unfortunately, the indices that have been used have deficiencies and usually do not directly account for the economic consequences of forecasting errors in the framework of liberalized electricity markets. In this paper, advanced, more accurate indices are proposed that account directly for the economic consequences of forecasting errors. The proposed indices also were compared to the most frequently used indices in order to demonstrate their different, improved capability. The comparisons were based on the results obtained using a forecasting method based on an artificial neural network. This method was chosen because it was deemed to be one of the most promising methods available due to its capability for forecasting PV power. Numerical applications also are presented that considered an actual PV plant to provide evidence of the forecasting performances of all of the indices that were considered.

  9. From an automated flight-test management system to a flight-test engineer's workstation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Duke, E. L.; Brumbaugh, R. W.; Hewett, M. D.; Tartt, D. M.

    1992-01-01

    Described here are the capabilities and evolution of a flight-test engineer's workstation (called TEST PLAN) from an automated flight-test management system. The concept and capabilities of the automated flight-test management system are explored and discussed to illustrate the value of advanced system prototyping and evolutionary software development.

  10. From an automated flight-test management system to a flight-test engineer's workstation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Duke, E. L.; Brumbaugh, Randal W.; Hewett, M. D.; Tartt, D. M.

    1991-01-01

    The capabilities and evolution is described of a flight engineer's workstation (called TEST-PLAN) from an automated flight test management system. The concept and capabilities of the automated flight test management systems are explored and discussed to illustrate the value of advanced system prototyping and evolutionary software development.

  11. Consequence Maps: A Novel Behavior Management Tool for Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tobin, Catherine E.; Simpson, Richard

    2012-01-01

    Behavior management remains one of the most significant challenges faced by classroom personnel. One relatively novel and promising management approach involves the use of "Consequence Maps". In this article we discuss the use of this method, including its application and evaluation. A case study of a six-year-old boy in a self-contained special…

  12. Pair-Wise Trajectory Management-Oceanic (PTM-O) . [Concept of Operations—Version 3.9

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Kenneth M.

    2014-01-01

    This document describes the Pair-wise Trajectory Management-Oceanic (PTM-O) Concept of Operations (ConOps). Pair-wise Trajectory Management (PTM) is a concept that includes airborne and ground-based capabilities designed to enable and to benefit from, airborne pair-wise distance-monitoring capability. PTM includes the capabilities needed for the controller to issue a PTM clearance that resolves a conflict for a specific pair of aircraft. PTM avionics include the capabilities needed for the flight crew to manage their trajectory relative to specific designated aircraft. Pair-wise Trajectory Management PTM-Oceanic (PTM-O) is a regional specific application of the PTM concept. PTM is sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Concept and Technology Development Project (part of NASA's Airspace Systems Program). The goal of PTM is to use enhanced and distributed communications and surveillance along with airborne tools to permit reduced separation standards for given aircraft pairs, thereby increasing the capacity and efficiency of aircraft operations at a given altitude or volume of airspace.

  13. What is a global manager?

    PubMed

    Bartlett, C A; Ghoshal, S

    1992-01-01

    To compete around the world, a company needs three strategic capabilities: global-scale efficiency, local responsiveness, and the ability to leverage learning worldwide. No single "global" manager can build these capabilities. Rather, groups of specialized managers must integrate assets, resources, and people in diverse operating units. Such managers are made, not born. And how to make them is--and must be--the foremost question for corporate managers. Drawing on their research with leading transnational corporations, Christopher Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal identify three types of global managers. They also illustrate the responsibilities each position involves through a close look at the careers of successful executives: Leif Johansson of Electrolux, Howard Gottlieb of NEC, and Wahib Zaki of Procter & Gamble. The first type is the global business or product-division manager who must build worldwide efficiency and competitiveness. These managers recognize cross-border opportunities and risks as well as link activities and capabilities around the world. The second is the country manager whose unit is the building block for worldwide operations. These managers are responsible for understanding and interpreting local markets, building local resources and capabilities, and contributing to--and participating in--the development of global strategy. Finally, there are worldwide functional specialists--the managers whose potential is least appreciated in many traditional multinational companies. To transfer expertise from one unit to another and leverage learning, these managers must scan the company for good ideas and best practice, cross-pollinate among units, and champion innovations with worldwide applications.

  14. Graduate capabilities for health service managers: reconfiguring health management education @UNSW.

    PubMed

    Meyer, Lois D; Hodgkinson, Alan R; Knight, Rosemary; Ho, Maria Theresa; di Corpo, Sophie K; Bhalla, Sonal

    2007-08-01

    The Master of Health Administration program at UNSW was extensively revised in 2006 to ensure that it effectively meets the challenging and dynamic environment of health service managers in local and global health contexts. This paper describes the innovative approach to the redesign of the health management program within the Faculty of Medicine. It outlines the method and considerations undertaken, particularly in identifying and embedding new graduate capabilities within the program. The paper concludes that using an outcomes-based approach and engaging with key stakeholders provides opportunity to identify and promote critical capabilities needed by managers to support the challenges confronting health services, including workforce flexibility. Further research is required on how such curriculum initiatives might impact on the performance of health service managers, but initial indications are that the health industry recognises the need and value of this approach.

  15. Development, Application, and Implementation of RAMCAP to Characterize Nuclear Power Plant Risk From Terrorism

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

    Gaertner, John P.; Teagarden, Grant A.

    2006-07-01

    In response to increased interest in risk-informed decision making regarding terrorism, EPRI and ERIN Engineering were selected by U.S. DHS and ASME to develop and demonstrate the RAMCAP method for nuclear power plant (NPP) risk assessment. The objective is to characterize plant-specific NPP risk for risk management opportunities and to provide consistent information for DHS decision making. This paper is an update of this project presented at the American Nuclear Society (ANS) International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA05) in September, 2005. The method uses a characterization of risk as a function of Consequence, Vulnerability, and Threat. For eachmore » site, worst case scenarios are developed for each of sixteen benchmark threats. Nuclear RAMCAP hypothesizes that the intent of the perpetrator is to cause offsite radiological consequences. Specific targets are the reactor core, the spent fuel pool, and nuclear spent fuel in a dry storage facility (ISFSI). Results for each scenario are presented as conditional risk for financial loss, early fatalities and early injuries. Expected consequences for each scenario are quantified, while vulnerability is estimated on a relative likelihood scale. Insights for other societal risks are provided. Although threat frequencies are not provided, target attractiveness and threat deterrence are estimated. To assure efficiency, completeness, and consistency; results are documented using standard RAMCAP Evaluator software. Trial applications were successfully performed at four plant sites. Implementation at all other U.S. commercial sites is underway, supported by the Nuclear Sector Coordinating Council (NSCC). Insights from RAMCAP results at 23 U.S. plants completed to date have been compiled and presented to the NSCC. Results are site-specific. Physical security barriers, an armed security force, preparedness for design-basis threats, rugged design against natural hazards, multiple barriers between fuel and environment, accident mitigation capability, severe accident management procedures, and offsite emergency plans are risk-beneficial against all threat types. (authors)« less

  16. ConnectX2 In niBand Management Queues: New support for Network Of oaded

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

    Graham, Richard L; Poole, Stephen W; Shamis, Pavel

    2010-01-01

    This paper introduces the newly developed InfiniBand (IB) Management Queue capability, used by the Host Channel Adapter (HCA) to manage network task data flow dependancies, and progress the communications associated with such flows. These tasks include sends, receives, and the newly supported wait task, and are scheduled by the HCA based on a data dependency description provided by the user. This functionality is supported by the ConnectX-2 HCA, and provides the means for delegating collective communication management and progress to the HCA, also known as collective communication offload. This provides a means for overlapping collective communications managed by the HCAmore » and computation on the Central Processing Unit (CPU), thus making it possible to reduce the impact of system noise on parallel applications using collective operations. This paper further describes how this new capability can be used to implement scalable Message Passing Interface (MPI) collective operations, describing the high level details of how this new capability is used to implement the MPI Barrier collective operation, focusing on the latency sensitive performance aspects of this new capability. This paper concludes with small scale benchmark experiments comparing implementations of the barrier collective operation, using the new network offload capabilities, with established point-to-point based implementations of these same algorithms, which manage the data flow using the central processing unit. These early results demonstrate the promise this new capability provides to improve the scalability of high-performance applications using collective communications. The latency of the HCA based implementation of the barrier is similar to that of the best performing point-to-point based implementation managed by the central processing unit, starting to outperform these as the number of processes involved in the collective operation increases.« less

  17. ConnectX-2 InfiniBand Management Queues: First Investigation of the New Support for Network Offloaded Collective Operations

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

    Graham, Richard L; Poole, Stephen W; Shamis, Pavel

    2010-01-01

    This paper introduces the newly developed Infini-Band (IB) Management Queue capability, used by the Host Channel Adapter (HCA) to manage network task data flow dependancies, and progress the communications associated with such flows. These tasks include sends, receives, and the newly supported wait task, and are scheduled by the HCA based on a data dependency description provided by the user. This functionality is supported by the ConnectX-2 HCA, and provides the means for delegating collective communication management and progress to the HCA, also known as collective communication offload. This provides a means for overlapping collective communications managed by the HCAmore » and computation on the Central Processing Unit (CPU), thus making it possible to reduce the impact of system noise on parallel applications using collective operations. This paper further describes how this new capability can be used to implement scalable Message Passing Interface (MPI) collective operations, describing the high level details of how this new capability is used to implement the MPI Barrier collective operation, focusing on the latency sensitive performance aspects of this new capability. This paper concludes with small scale benchmark experiments comparing implementations of the barrier collective operation, using the new network offload capabilities, with established point-to-point based implementations of these same algorithms, which manage the data flow using the central processing unit. These early results demonstrate the promise this new capability provides to improve the scalability of high performance applications using collective communications. The latency of the HCA based implementation of the barrier is similar to that of the best performing point-to-point based implementation managed by the central processing unit, starting to outperform these as the number of processes involved in the collective operation increases.« less

  18. A Model for a Single Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program Office Managing Joint ISR Capabilities

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-10-01

    reduction in manning from the multiple program office structure to the new single program management model. Additional information regarding this...OFFICE MANAGING JOINT ISR CAPABILITIES by Angela E. Burris A Research Report Submitted to the Faculty In Partial Fulfillment of...research paper is to answer how a single management office could provide greater agility for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS); supporting Joint concepts

  19. Core Technical Capability Laboratory Management System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shaykhian, Linda; Dugger, Curtis; Griffin, Laurie

    2008-01-01

    The Core Technical Capability Lab - oratory Management System (CTCLMS) consists of dynamically generated Web pages used to access a database containing detailed CTC lab data with the software hosted on a server that allows users to have remote access.

  20. Improving emergency preparedness and crisis management capabilities in transportation.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-11-30

    Despite the heightened attention disaster preparedness and emergency management have received over the past decade, serious weaknesses in the United States emergency response capabilities remain at all levels of government and across a wide range ...

  1. A methodology to incorporate life cycle analysis and the triple bottom line mechanism for sustainable management of industrial enterprises

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Ling; Lin, Li

    2004-02-01

    Since 1970"s, the environmental protection movement has challenged industries to increase their investment in Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM) techniques and management tools. Social considerations for global citizens and their descendants also motivated the examination on the complex issues of sustainable development beyond the immediate economic impact. Consequently, industrial enterprises have started to understand sustainable development in considering the Triple Bottom Line (TBL): economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice. For the management, however, a lack of systematic ECM methodologies hinders their effort in planning, evaluating, reporting and auditing of sustainability. To address this critical need, this research develops a framework of a sustainable management system by incorporating a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of industrial operations with the TBL mechanism. A TBL metric system with seven sets of indices for the TBL elements and their complex relations is identified for the comprehensive evaluation of a company"s sustainability performance. Utilities of the TBL indices are estimated to represent the views of various stakeholders, including the company, investors, employees and the society at large. Costs of these indices are also captured to reflect the company"s effort in meeting the utilities. An optimization model is formulated to maximize the economic, environmental and social benefits by the company"s effort in developing sustainable strategies. To promote environmental and social consciousness, the methodology can significantly facilitate management decisions by its capabilities of including "non-business" values and external costs that the company has not contemplated before.

  2. The Earth Science Vision

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schoeberl, Mark; Rychekewkitsch, Michael; Andrucyk, Dennis; McConaughy, Gail; Meeson, Blanche; Hildebrand, Peter; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    NASA's Earth Science Enterprise's long range vision is to enable the development of a national proactive environmental predictive capability through targeted scientific research and technological innovation. Proactive environmental prediction means the prediction of environmental events and their secondary consequences. These consequences range from disasters and disease outbreak to improved food production and reduced transportation, energy and insurance costs. The economic advantage of this predictive capability will greatly outweigh the cost of development. Developing this predictive capability requires a greatly improved understanding of the earth system and the interaction of the various components of that system. It also requires a change in our approach to gathering data about the earth and a change in our current methodology in processing that data including its delivery to the customers. And, most importantly, it requires a renewed partnership between NASA and its sister agencies. We identify six application themes that summarize the potential of proactive environmental prediction. We also identify four technology themes that articulate our approach to implementing proactive environmental prediction.

  3. Measuring Organizational Learning Capability in Indian Managers and Establishing Firm Performance Linkage: An Empirical Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bhatnagar, Jyotsna

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this research is to measure Organizational Learning Capability (OLC) perception in the managers of public, private and multinational organizations and establish the link between OLC and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected from a sample of 612 managers randomly drawn from Indian industry,…

  4. Toward Knowledge Systems for Sustainability Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaks, D. P.; Jahn, M.

    2011-12-01

    Managing ecosystems for the outcomes of agricultural productivity and resilience will require fundamentally different knowledge management systems. In the industrial paradigm of the 20th century, land was considered an open, unconstrained system managed for maximum yield. While dramatic increases in yield occurred in some crops and locations, unintended but often foreseeable consequences emerged. While productivity remains a key objective, we must develop analytic systems that can identify better management options for the full range of monetized and non-monetized inputs, outputs and outcomes that are captured in the following framing question: How much valued service (e.g. food, materials, energy) can we draw from a landscape while maintaining adequate levels of other valued or necessary services (e.g. biodiversity, water, climate regulation, cultural services) including the long-term productivity of the land? This question is placed within our contemporary framing of valued services, but structured to illuminate the shifts required to achieve long-term sufficiency and planetary resilience. This framing also highlights the need for fundamentally new knowledge systems including information management infrastructures, which effectively support decision-making on landscapes. The purpose of this initiative by authors from diverse fields across government and academic science is to call attention to the need for a vision and investment in sustainability science for landscape management. Substantially enhanced capabilities are needed to compare and integrate information from diverse sources, collected over time that link choices made to meet our needs from landscapes to both short and long term consequences. To further the goal of an information infrastructure for sustainability science, three distinct but interlocking domains are best distinguished: 1) a domain of data, information and knowledge assets; 2) a domain that houses relevant models and tools in a curated space; and 3) a domain that includes decision support tools and systems tailored toward frame particular trade-offs, which may focus on inputs or outputs and may range in scale from local to global. An information infrastructure for sustainability science is best built be built and maintained as a modular, open source, open standard, open access, open content platform. We have defined the scope of this challenge, managing choices within agroecosystems, recognizing that any decision on a landscape involves multidimensional tradeoffs. An effort to address this challenge will need a cohesive, coherent and targeted approach toward an integrated knowledge management infrastructure for sustainability science applied to land management is essential to move more rapidly toward sustainable, productive, and resilient landscapes.

  5. Nutritional ecology of ursids: A review of newer methods and management implications

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Robbins, Charles T.; Schwartz, Charles C.; Felicetti, L.A.

    2004-01-01

    The capability to understand the nutritional ecology of free-ranging bears has increased dramatically in the last 20 years. Advancements have occurred because (1) managers and biologists recognized the need to link habitat quality, productivity, and variability with bear movements, home ranges, and demographic parameters like reproductive output, survival, and population growth, and (2) several research teams are using new methods to build on the results of earlier field studies. Our ability to couple new field methods and empirical field research with controlled experiments using captive bears has been central to our increased understanding of bear nutrition. Newer methods include the use of stable isotopes to quantify assimilated diet and nutrient flows within ecosystems, bioelectrical impedance to measure body composition, and naturally occurring mercury to estimate fish intake. Controlled experiments using captive bears have been integral to developing methods, isolating specific variables by controlling the environment, and providing additional nutritional understanding necessary to interpret field observations. We review new methods and apply our increased understanding of bear nutritional ecology to 3 management issues: (1) the importance of salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) to brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Pacific Northwest, (2) the consequences of the closure of the Yellowstone garbage dumps to grizzly bears, and (3) the relocation of problem bears.

  6. Improving emergency preparedness and crisis management capabilities in transportation : year 2.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-03-01

    While disaster preparedness and emergency management have had a high public : profile over the past decade, Hurricane Katrina revealed serious weaknesses in the : United States emergency response capabilities. There is thus much left to do : befor...

  7. A modeling approach to assess coastal management effects on benthic habitat quality: A case study on coastal defense and navigability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cozzoli, Francesco; Smolders, Sven; Eelkema, Menno; Ysebaert, Tom; Escaravage, Vincent; Temmerman, Stijn; Meire, Patrick; Herman, Peter M. J.; Bouma, Tjeerd J.

    2017-01-01

    The natural coastal hydrodynamics and morphology worldwide is altered by human interventions such as embankments, shipping and dredging, which may have consequences for ecosystem functionality. To ensure long-term ecological sustainability, requires capability to predict long-term large-scale ecological effects of altered hydromorphology. As empirical data sets at relevant scales are missing, there is need for integrating ecological modeling with physical modeling. This paper presents a case study showing the long-term, large-scale macrozoobenthic community response to two contrasting human alterations of the hydromorphological habitat: deepening of estuarine channels to enhance navigability (Westerschelde) vs. realization of a storm surge barrier to enhance coastal safety (Oosterschelde). A multidisciplinary integration of empirical data and modeling of estuarine morphology, hydrodynamics and benthic ecology was used to reconstruct the hydrological evolution and resulting long-term (50 years) large-scale ecological trends for both estuaries over the last. Our model indicated that hydrodynamic alterations following the deepening of the Westerschelde had negative implications for benthic life, while the realization of the Oosterschelde storm surge barriers had mixed and habitat-dependent responses, that also include unexpected improvement of environmental quality. Our analysis illustrates long-term trends in the natural community caused by opposing management strategies. The divergent human pressures on the Oosterschelde and Westerschelde are examples of what could happen in a near future for many global coastal ecosystems. The comparative analysis of the two basins is a valuable source of information to understand (and communicate) the future ecological consequences of human coastal development.

  8. Designing an Alternate Mission Operations Control Room

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Montgomery, Patty; Reeves, A. Scott

    2014-01-01

    The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) is a multi-project facility that is responsible for 24x7 real-time International Space Station (ISS) payload operations management, integration, and control and has the capability to support small satellite projects and will provide real-time support for SLS launches. The HOSC is a service-oriented/ highly available operations center for ISS payloads-directly supporting science teams across the world responsible for the payloads. The HOSC is required to endure an annual 2-day power outage event for facility preventive maintenance and safety inspection of the core electro-mechanical systems. While complete system shut-downs are against the grain of a highly available sub-system, the entire facility must be powered down for a weekend for environmental and safety purposes. The consequence of this ground system outage is far reaching: any science performed on ISS during this outage weekend is lost. Engineering efforts were focused to maximize the ISS investment by engineering a suitable solution capable of continuing HOSC services while supporting safety requirements. The HOSC Power Outage Contingency (HPOC) System is a physically diversified compliment of systems capable of providing identified real-time services for the duration of a planned power outage condition from an alternate control room. HPOC was designed to maintain ISS payload operations for approximately three continuous days during planned HOSC power outages and support a local Payload Operations Team, International Partners, as well as remote users from the alternate control room located in another building.

  9. Heart Rhythm Monitoring in the Constellation Lunar and Launch/Landing EVA Suit: Recommendations from an Expert Panel

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Scheuring, Richard A.; Hamilton, D.; Jones, J. A.; Alexander, D.

    2008-01-01

    Currently there are several physiological monitoring requirements for Extravehicular Activity (EVA) in the Human-Systems Interface Requirements (HSIR) document, including continuous heart rhythm monitoring. However, it is not known whether heart rhythm monitoring in the lunar surface space suit is a necessary capability for lunar surface operations or in launch/landing suit the event of a cabin depressurization enroute to or from the moon. Methods: Current US astronaut corps demographic information was provided to an expert panel of cardiovascular medicine experts, including specialists in electrophysiology, exercise physiology, interventional cardiology and arrhythmia. This information included averages for male/female age, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammatory markers, echocardiogram, ranges for coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores for long duration astronauts, and ranges for heart rate (HR) and metabolic (MET) rates obtained during microgravity and lunar EVA. Results: The panel determined that no uncontrolled hazard was likely to occur in the suit during lunar surface or contingency microgravity ops that would require ECG monitoring in the highly screened US astronaut population. However having the capability for rhythm monitoring inside the vehicle (IVA) was considered critical to manage an astronaut in distress. Discussion: Heart rate (HR) monitoring alone allows effective monitoring of astronaut health and function. Consequently, electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring capability as a clinical tool is not essential in the lunar or launch/landing space suit. However, the panel considered that rhythm monitoring could be useful in certain clinical situations, it was not considered required for safe operations. Also, lunar vehicles should be required to have ECG monitoring capability with a minimum of 5-lead ECG (derived 12- lead) for IVA medical assessments.

  10. Improving self-management in insulin-treated adults participating in diabetes education. The role of overprotection by the partner.

    PubMed

    Hagedoorn, M; Keers, J C; Links, T P; Bouma, J; Ter Maaten, J C; Sanderman, R

    2006-03-01

    To examine the role of overprotection by the partner--i.e. excessive protection, unnecessary help, excessive praise for accomplishments, or attempts to restrict activities as a consequence of underestimating the patient's capabilities--in changes in patient self-management in the context of diabetes education. Sixty-seven insulin-treated patients with a partner completed questionnaires on admission to a Multidisciplinary Intensive Education Programme (MIEP) and 3 months after completing the core module of MIEP. Factors assessed were overprotection by their partner and three aspects of diabetes self-management, namely internal locus of control, diabetes-related distress and HbA1c. Regression analyses were used to test the independent associations of patient sex, baseline overprotection and the interaction between sex and overprotection with diabetes self-management at the follow-up stage, controlling for the baseline value of the dependent variable. The increase in internal locus of control and decrease in HbA1c were both significantly less for female patients who perceived their partner to be rather overprotective than for female patients who did not perceive their partner to be overprotective. The more patients, both male and female, perceived their partner to be overprotective, the less their diabetes-related distress decreased. Overprotection by the partner showed a negative association with improvement in diabetes self-management, especially for female patients. Thus, an intervention programme with the aim of reducing overprotection by the partner, or the perception of this, may enhance self-management in patients participating in diabetes education.

  11. NASA UAV Airborne Science Capabilities in Support of Water Resource Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fladeland, Matthew

    2015-01-01

    This workshop presentation focuses on potential uses of unmanned aircraft observations in support of water resource management and agriculture. The presentation will provide an overview of NASA Airborne Science capabilities with an emphasis on past UAV missions to provide context on accomplishments as well as technical challenges. I will also focus on recent NASA Ames efforts to assist in irrigation management and invasive species management using airborne and satellite datasets.

  12. The economic value of remote sensing of earth resources from space: An ERTS overview and the value of continuity of service. Volume 5: Inland water resources

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wetzler, E.; Peterson, W.; Putnam, M.

    1974-01-01

    The economic value of an ERTS system in the area of inland water resources management is investigated. Benefits are attributed to new capabilities for managing inland water resources in the field of power generation, agriculture, and urban water supply. These benefits are obtained in the area of equal capability (cost savings) and increased capability (equal budget), and are estimated by applying conservative assumptions to Federal budgeting information, Congressional appropriation hearings, and ERTS technical capabilities.

  13. Anesthesiologists’ and surgeons’ perceptions about routine pre-operative testing in low-risk patients: application of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify factors that influence physicians’ decisions to order pre-operative tests

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Routine pre-operative tests for anesthesia management are often ordered by both anesthesiologists and surgeons for healthy patients undergoing low-risk surgery. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was developed to investigate determinants of behaviour and identify potential behaviour change interventions. In this study, the TDF is used to explore anaesthesiologists’ and surgeons’ perceptions of ordering routine tests for healthy patients undergoing low-risk surgery. Methods Sixteen clinicians (eleven anesthesiologists and five surgeons) throughout Ontario were recruited. An interview guide based on the TDF was developed to identify beliefs about pre-operative testing practices. Content analysis of physicians’ statements into the relevant theoretical domains was performed. Specific beliefs were identified by grouping similar utterances of the interview participants. Relevant domains were identified by noting the frequencies of the beliefs reported, presence of conflicting beliefs, and perceived influence on the performance of the behaviour under investigation. Results Seven of the twelve domains were identified as likely relevant to changing clinicians’ behaviour about pre-operative test ordering for anesthesia management. Key beliefs were identified within these domains including: conflicting comments about who was responsible for the test-ordering (Social/professional role and identity); inability to cancel tests ordered by fellow physicians (Beliefs about capabilities and social influences); and the problem with tests being completed before the anesthesiologists see the patient (Beliefs about capabilities and Environmental context and resources). Often, tests were ordered by an anesthesiologist based on who may be the attending anesthesiologist on the day of surgery while surgeons ordered tests they thought anesthesiologists may need (Social influences). There were also conflicting comments about the potential consequences associated with reducing testing, from negative (delay or cancel patients’ surgeries), to indifference (little or no change in patient outcomes), to positive (save money, avoid unnecessary investigations) (Beliefs about consequences). Further, while most agreed that they are motivated to reduce ordering unnecessary tests (Motivation and goals), there was still a report of a gap between their motivation and practice (Behavioural regulation). Conclusion We identified key factors that anesthesiologists and surgeons believe influence whether they order pre-operative tests routinely for anesthesia management for a healthy adults undergoing low-risk surgery. These beliefs identify potential individual, team, and organisation targets for behaviour change interventions to reduce unnecessary routine test ordering. PMID:22682612

  14. Managing Computer Systems Development: Understanding the Human and Technological Imperatives.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1985-06-01

    for their organization’s use? How can they predict tle impact of future systems ca their management control capabilities ? Cf equal importance is the...commercial organizations discovered that there was only a limited capability of interaction between various types of computers. These organizations were...Viewed together, these three interrelated subsystems, EDP, MIS, and DSS, establish the framework of an overall systems capability known as a Computer

  15. Simulation of the consequences of different fire regimes to support wildland fire use decisions

    Treesearch

    Carol Miller

    2007-01-01

    The strategy known as wildland fire use, in which lightning-ignited fires are allowed to burn, is rapidly gaining momentum in the fire management community. Managers need to know the consequences of an increase in area burned that might result from an increase in wildland fire use. One concern of land managers as they consider implementing wildland fire use is whether...

  16. 5 CFR 250.103 - Consequences of improper agency actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Consequences of improper agency actions. 250.103 Section 250.103 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN AGENCIES Authority for Personnel Actions in Agencies § 250.103...

  17. Crisis management, capabilities and preparedness: the case of public hospitals in Iran.

    PubMed

    Najafbagy, Reza

    2010-01-01

    Crises occurred in recent decades show that organizations' preparedness to predict and respond to undesired problems is directly related to the degree of their capabilities and preparedness to manage crises in this context, hospitals compared to other organizations are more viable to suffer damages if a crisis occurs. This study investigates the degree of public hospitals capabilities and preparedness to handled possible crises. Responses from hospital managers and directors show that most of them were not familiar with crisis management, while majority of them mentioned that they had crisis management plan and committee in their hospitals. Moreover, most of the respondents believed that if a crisis occurs in the hospital, patients, personnel and documents will be the first victims of the crisis. The study also indicates that having a crisis plan and crisis committee without being familiar with knowledge of crisis management, do not help managers to cope with crisis. Moreover, correlations show that older managers were more familiar with crisis management experiences abroad, and defined responsibilities contributed to setting up crisis committee, and taking crisis seriously.

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

    Taylor, Antoniette J

    Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) uses external peer review to measure and continuously improve the quality of its science, technology and engineering (STE). LANL uses capability reviews to assess the STE quality and institutional integration and to advise Laboratory Management on the current and future health of the STE. Capability reviews address the STE integration that LANL uses to meet mission requirements. STE capabilities are define to cut across directorates providing a more holistic view of the STE quality, integration to achieve mission requirements, and mission relevance. The scope of these capabilities necessitate that there will be significant overlap inmore » technical areas covered by capability reviews (e.g ., materials research and weapons science and engineering). In addition, LANL staff may be reviewed in different capability reviews because of their varied assignments and expertise. LANL plans to perform a complete review of the Laboratory's STE capabilities (hence staff) in a three-year cycle. The principal product of an external review is a report that includes the review committee's assessments, commendations, and recommendations for STE. The Capability Review Committees serve a dual role of providing assessment of the Laboratory's technical contributions and integration towards its missions and providing advice to Laboratory Management. The assessments and advice are documented in reports prepared by the Capability Review Committees that are delivered to the Director and to the Principal Associate Director for Science, Technology and Engineering (PADSTE). This report will be used by Laboratory Management for STE assessment and planning. The report is also provided to the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of LANL's Annual Performance Plan and to the Los Alamos National Security (LANS) LLC's Science and Technology Committee (STC) as part of its responsibilities to the LANS Board of Governors. LANL has defined fourteen STE capabilities. Table 1 lists the five STE capabilities that LANL Management (Director, PADSTE, technical Associate Directors) have identified for review in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009.« less

  19. Work, family, and managerial attitudes and practices in the European workplace: comparing Dutch, British, and Slovenian financial sector managers.

    PubMed

    Dulk, Laura Den; Peper, Bram; Sadar, Nevenka Černigoj; Lewis, Suzan; Smithson, Janet; Van Doorne-Huiskes, Anneke

    2011-01-01

    Managers are key actors shaping employees’ capabilities to utilize work–life policies. However, most research on managers’ implementation of these policies has been conducted in liberal welfare states and ignores the impact of institutional context. In this study, we situate managers within specific workplace and national layers of context. We investigated how managers in financial organizations in the Netherlands, UK, and Slovenia talk about the utilization of work–life policies. Managers’ discourses stressed disruption and dependency considerations in these case studies, as in the US research. However, a further management discourse of the moral case or right thing to do also emerged. The lack of resources for replacing staff on leave creates disruption and reduces managers capability to support the use of work–life policies, even when they are statutory or if managers are inclined be supportive (dependency or moral argument). This is likely to impact on parents' capabilities.

  20. 40 CFR 1400.2 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION... analysis (OCA) information means sections 2 through 5 of a risk management plan (consisting of an... consequence analysis (OCA) data elements means the results of the off-site consequence analysis conducted by a...

  1. 40 CFR 1400.2 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION... analysis (OCA) information means sections 2 through 5 of a risk management plan (consisting of an... consequence analysis (OCA) data elements means the results of the off-site consequence analysis conducted by a...

  2. 40 CFR 1400.2 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION... analysis (OCA) information means sections 2 through 5 of a risk management plan (consisting of an... consequence analysis (OCA) data elements means the results of the off-site consequence analysis conducted by a...

  3. 40 CFR 1400.2 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION... analysis (OCA) information means sections 2 through 5 of a risk management plan (consisting of an... consequence analysis (OCA) data elements means the results of the off-site consequence analysis conducted by a...

  4. Legal Aspects: Civilians/Contractors in the War Zone And Disaster Relief Support Joint Center for Operational Analysis Journal, Volume 10, Issue 2, June 2008

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-06-01

    operations . The JSC, however, has analyzed the new legislation and their JCOA Journal, June 2008 13 recommendations for managing how these cases are...CBRNE) consequence management operations . 4 While the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 5 is...affect the Department of Defense’s consequence management operations in support of a primary federal agency. Although the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy

  5. SSE software test management STM capability: Using STM in the Ground Systems Development Environment (GSDE)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Church, Victor E.; Long, D.; Hartenstein, Ray; Perez-Davila, Alfredo

    1992-01-01

    This report is one of a series discussing configuration management (CM) topics for Space Station ground systems software development. It provides a description of the Software Support Environment (SSE)-developed Software Test Management (STM) capability, and discusses the possible use of this capability for management of developed software during testing performed on target platforms. This is intended to supplement the formal documentation of STM provided by the SEE Project. How STM can be used to integrate contractor CM and formal CM for software before delivery to operations is described. STM provides a level of control that is flexible enough to support integration and debugging, but sufficiently rigorous to insure the integrity of the testing process.

  6. Integrated corridor management initiative : demonstration phase evaluation – Dallas technical capability analysis test plan.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-08-01

    This report presents the test plan for conducting the Technical Capability Analysis for the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) evaluation of the Dallas U.S. 75 Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Initiative Demonstration. The ICM ...

  7. Physician organization care management capabilities associated with effective inpatient utilization management: a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis.

    PubMed

    Sheehy, Thomas J; Thygeson, N Marcus

    2014-12-03

    We studied the relationship between physician organization (PO) care management capabilities and inpatient utilization in order to identify PO characteristics or capabilities associated with low inpatient bed-days per thousand. We used fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to conduct an exploratory comparative case series study. Data about PO capabilities were collected using structured interviews with medical directors at fourteen California POs that are delegated to provide inpatient utilization management (UM) for HMO members of a California health plan. Health plan acute hospital claims from 2011 were extracted from a reporting data warehouse and used to calculate inpatient utilization statistics. Supplementary analyses were conducted using Fisher's Exact Test and Student's T-test. POs with low inpatient bed-days per thousand minimized length of stay and surgical admissions by actively engaging in concurrent review, discharge planning, and surgical prior authorization, and by contracting directly with hospitalists to provide UM-related services. Disease and case management were associated with lower medical admissions and readmissions, respectively, but not lower bed-days per thousand. Care management methods focused on managing length of stay and elective surgical admissions are associated with low bed-days per thousand in high-risk California POs delegated for inpatient UM. Reducing medical admissions alone is insufficient to achieve low bed-days per thousand. California POs with high bed-days per thousand are not applying care management best practices.

  8. Consequence Management: A Disconnect Between National Security Policy and Force Structure?

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-03-15

    effects or the consequences of a detonated and/or released weapon(s) has only recently been given much attention. Despite several warnings of the...with the exposure ? Second, the time required to establish and field a regional JTF would prevent the force from having a strong positive effect on the... outcome of the situation. One of the critical missions of a successful consequence management force is its ability to provide a strong deterrent

  9. Exploring the Development of Competence in Lean Management through Action Learning Groups: A Study of the Introduction of Lean to a Facilities Management Function

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wyton, Paul; Payne, Robin

    2014-01-01

    The introduction of a Lean approach to management requires the development of understanding and capability. This in turn requires a structured training intervention and other supporting activities. This paper explores, through a case study, the way in which action learning groups (ALGs) supported the development of Lean capabilities in the…

  10. Factors affecting preparedness and capacity to manage pandemic influenza: perceptions of healthcare managers.

    PubMed

    Adini, B; Laor, D; Aharonson-Daniel, L

    2014-08-01

    Numerous interventions seeking to increase preparedness for pandemic influenza have been implemented, but low compliance of healthcare providers has been reported in many instances. The aim of this study was to identify factors that affect preparedness for pandemic influenza by examining: hospital managers' perceptions of measures implemented to promote preparedness for pandemic influenza; hospital managers' assessments of the readiness and capability of their hospitals to manage pandemic influenza; and the effectiveness of a national pandemic preparedness programme in Israel over time. A quasi-experiment was conducted following implementation of a national pandemic preparedness programme in Israel. A survey assessed hospital managers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the programme, and the preparedness and capacity of their hospitals to manage pandemic influenza. Two independent evaluations of preparedness for biological threats were conducted, based on a validated tool that included 60 objective parameters. Correlations between perceived preparedness and capacity and components of the preparedness programme were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 17. Stepwise logistic regression was used to determine the components that influence preparedness and capability to manage pandemic influenza. All general hospital managers in Israel were approached twice (first and second evaluations). Ninety-one percent rated themselves as highly/very highly prepared for pandemic influenza, and 87% rated themselves as highly/very highly capable of dealing with pandemic influenza. Strong correlation was found between hospital managers' perceived preparedness and capacity to manage pandemic influenza (rho = 0.761, P = 0.000), and between perceived preparedness and familiarity with the disease (rho = 0.605, P = 0.003). Familiarity with guidelines accounted for 35% of the variance in perceived capability (adjusted R(2) = 0.346, P = 0.002). Inclusion of preparedness evaluations explained an additional 15% of the variance (R(2) change = 0.146, P = 0.026). An increase in mean total score for emergency preparedness was found in the second evaluation compared with the first evaluation. Familiarity with guidelines and preparedness evaluations affect the perceptions of healthcare managers regarding preparedness and capability to manage pandemic influenza. Copyright © 2014 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Data management support for selected climate data sets using the climate data access system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reph, M. G.

    1983-01-01

    The functional capabilities of the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Climate Data Access System (CDAS), an interactive data storage and retrieval system, and the archival data sets which this system manages are discussed. The CDAS manages several climate-related data sets, such as the First Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) Global Experiment (FGGE) Level 2-b and Level 3-a data tapes. CDAS data management support consists of three basic functions: (1) an inventory capability which allows users to search or update a disk-resident inventory describing the contents of each tape in a data set, (2) a capability to depict graphically the spatial coverage of a tape in a data set, and (3) a data set selection capability which allows users to extract portions of a data set using criteria such as time, location, and data source/parameter and output the data to tape, user terminal, or system printer. This report includes figures that illustrate menu displays and output listings for each CDAS function.

  12. Behavior Management: Examining the Functions of Behavior

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alstot, Andrew E.; Alstot, Crystal D.

    2015-01-01

    Appropriate student behavior is essential for the success of a physical education lesson. Despite using effective proactive management strategies, teachers may need to also use reactive techniques to reduce problem behaviors by applying suitable consequences. For these consequences to be effective, they must be aligned with the function, or cause,…

  13. Cyber-Victimization and Its Psychosocial Consequences: Relationships with Behavior Management and Traditional Bullying

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mindrila, Diana; Moore, Lori; Davis, Pamela

    2015-01-01

    The current study investigated the relationship between behavior management, traditional bullying, cyber-victimization, and several psychosocial consequences of cyber-victimization. Findings from previous research were used to specify a complex path model, which allowed the simultaneous estimation of multiple direct and indirect effects. Data were…

  14. The Pathway to a Safe and Effective Spaceflight Medication Formulary: Expert Review Panel Recommendations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Daniels, V. R.; Bayuse, T. M.; Mulcahy, R. A.; McGuire, R. K. M.; Antonsen, E. L.

    2018-01-01

    Exploration spaceflight poses several challenges to the provision of a comprehensive medication formulary. This formulary must accommodate the size and space limitations of the spacecraft, while addressing individual medication needs and preferences of the crew, consequences of a degrading inventory over time, the inability to resupply used or expired medications, and the need to forecast the best possible medication candidates to treat conditions that may occur. The Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element's Pharmacy Project Team has developed a research plan (RP) that is focused on evidence-based models and theories as well as new diagnostic tools, treatments, or preventive measures aimed to ensure an available, safe, and effective pharmacy sufficient to manage potential medical threats during exploration spaceflight. Here, we will discuss the ways in which the ExMC Pharmacy Project Team pursued expert evaluation and guidance, and incorporated acquired insight into an achievable research pathway, reflected in the revised RP.

  15. [Adapting the service portfolio of a public health organisation to shrinking resources].

    PubMed

    Villalbí, Joan R; Borrell, Carme; Macía, Manel; Subirana, Teresa; López, María José; Portaña, Samuel; Llebaria, Xavier; Casas, Conrad

    This paper describes the review process of the Agency of Public Health of Barcelona's service portfolio in response to the budget cuts introduced since 2010 in the public administrations in Spain. A working group reviewed the different business activities, taking into account their costs and generated revenue and their justification, assessing factors such as the existence of legal constraints, tied funding, explicit demands from the founding administrations and other actors that may be capable of undertaking particular activities. The changes and their consequences are described. The new service portfolio has been consolidated and is considered ratified by the Agency board, which was renewed after political changes. We conclude that this is because it was based on professional consensus and management criteria, which are key for the smooth operation of a public autonomous executive organisation. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  16. KOALA RETROVIRUS: A REVIEW.

    PubMed

    Kinney, Matthew E; Pye, Geoffrey W

    2016-06-01

    Koala retrovirus (KoRV) is a gammaretrovirus that has been identified in both captive and free-ranging koalas ( Phascolarctos cinereus ) with variable geographic distribution in Australia. KoRV is capable of both exogenous and endogenous transmission, which provides an interesting research platform for scientists to study active retrovirus endogenization into a host genome and offers veterinary scientists an opportunity to examine the clinical consequences of KoRV infection in koalas. Causation between KoRV and frequently recognized clinical conditions associated with immune suppression and neoplasia in koalas has not been definitively established, however research continues to evaluate a potential association. Three KoRV variants, KoRV-A, KoRV-B, and KoRV-J, have been the most thoroughly described and preliminary evidence suggests KoRV variability may be fundamental in host pathogenicity. In addition to reviewing what is currently known about KoRV, this article discusses treatment, management, and future research directions.

  17. Evaluation of the Intel iWarp parallel processor for space flight applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hine, Butler P., III; Fong, Terrence W.

    1993-01-01

    The potential of a DARPA-sponsored advanced processor, the Intel iWarp, for use in future SSF Data Management Systems (DMS) upgrades is evaluated through integration into the Ames DMS testbed and applications testing. The iWarp is a distributed, parallel computing system well suited for high performance computing applications such as matrix operations and image processing. The system architecture is modular, supports systolic and message-based computation, and is capable of providing massive computational power in a low-cost, low-power package. As a consequence, the iWarp offers significant potential for advanced space-based computing. This research seeks to determine the iWarp's suitability as a processing device for space missions. In particular, the project focuses on evaluating the ease of integrating the iWarp into the SSF DMS baseline architecture and the iWarp's ability to support computationally stressing applications representative of SSF tasks.

  18. Towards a Functionally-Formed Air Traffic System-of-Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Conway, Sheila R.; Consiglio, Maria C.

    2005-01-01

    Incremental improvements to the national aviation infrastructure have not resulted in sufficient increases in capacity and flexibility to meet emerging demand. Unfortunately, revolutionary changes capable of substantial and rapid increases in capacity have proven elusive. Moreover, significant changes have been difficult to implement, and the operational consequences of such change, difficult to predict due to the system s complexity. Some research suggests redistributing air traffic control functions through the system, but this work has largely been dismissed out of hand, accused of being impractical. However, the case for functionally-based reorganization of form can be made from a theoretical, systems perspective. This paper investigates Air Traffic Management functions and their intrinsic biases towards centralized/distributed operations, grounded in systems engineering and information technology theories. Application of these concepts to a small airport operations design is discussed. From this groundwork, a robust, scalable system transformation plan may be made in light of uncertain demand.

  19. Bioprecipitation: a feedback cycle linking earth history, ecosystem dynamics and land use through biological ice nucleators in the atmosphere.

    PubMed

    Morris, Cindy E; Conen, Franz; Alex Huffman, J; Phillips, Vaughan; Pöschl, Ulrich; Sands, David C

    2014-02-01

    Landscapes influence precipitation via the water vapor and energy fluxes they generate. Biologically active landscapes also generate aerosols containing microorganisms, some being capable of catalyzing ice formation and crystal growth in clouds at temperatures near 0 °C. The resulting precipitation is beneficial for the growth of plants and microorganisms. Mounting evidence from observations and numerical simulations support the plausibility of a bioprecipitation feedback cycle involving vegetated landscapes and the microorganisms they host. Furthermore, the evolutionary history of ice nucleation-active bacteria such as Pseudomonas syringae supports that they have been part of this process on geological time scales since the emergence of land plants. Elucidation of bioprecipitation feedbacks involving landscapes and their microflora could contribute to appraising the impact that modified landscapes have on regional weather and biodiversity, and to avoiding inadvertent, negative consequences of landscape management. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. The Systematic Use of Positive and Negative Consequences in Managing Classroom Encopresis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    George, Thomas W.; And Others

    1977-01-01

    This study reports a successful classroom intervention program which was designed to curb encopresis. It used positive consequences in combination with negative consequences, rather than negative consequences alone. Also it utilized a reversal strategy to evalulate the efficacy of the treatment variables. (Author)

  1. Using an implicitly-coupled hydrologic and river-operations models to investigate the trade-offs of artificial recharge in agricultural areas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morway, E. D.; Niswonger, R. G.; Triana, E.

    2016-12-01

    In irrigated agricultural regions supplied by both surface-water and groundwater, increased reliance on groundwater during sustained drought leads to long-term water table drawdown and subsequent surface-water losses. This, in turn, may threaten the sustainability of the irrigation project. To help offset groundwater resource losses and restore water supply reliability, an alternative management strategy commonly referred to as managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in agricultural regions helps mitigate long-term aquifer drawdown and provides additional water for subsequent withdraw. Sources of MAR in this investigation are limited to late winter runoff in years with above average precipitation (i.e., above average snowpack). However, where winter MAR results in an elevated water table, non-beneficial consumptive use may increase from evapotranspiration in adjacent and down-gradient fallow and naturally vegetated lands. To rigorously explore this trade-off, the recently published MODSIM-MODFLOW model was applied to quantify both the benefits and unintended consequences of MAR. MODSIM-MODFLOW is a generalized modeling tool capable of exploring the effects of altered river operations within an integrated groundwater and surface-water (GW-SW) model. Thus, the MODSIM-MODFLOW model provides a modeling platform capable of simulating MAR in amounts and duration consistent with other senior water rights in the river system (e.g., minimum in-stream flow requirements). Increases in non-beneficial consumptive use resulting from winter MAR are evaluated for a hypothetical model patterned after alluvial aquifers common in arid and semi-arid areas of the western United States. Study results highlight (1) the benefit of an implicitly-coupled river operations and hydrologic modeling tool, (2) the balance between winter MAR and the potential increase in non-beneficial consumptive use, and (3) conditions where MAR may or may not be an appropriate management option, such as the availability of surface-water storage.

  2. Safe Operations of Unmanned Systems for Reconnaissance in Complex Environments Army Technology Objective (SOURCE ATO)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-04-25

    must adapt its planning to vehicle size, shape, wheelbase, wheel and axle configuration, the specific obstacle-crossing capabilities of the vehicle...scalability of the ANS is a consequence of making each sensing modality capable of performing reasonable perception tasks while allowing a wider...autonomous system design achieves flexibility by exploiting redundant sensing modalities where possible, and by a decision-making process that

  3. Taking out violence.

    PubMed

    Loafmann, B

    2001-01-01

    An analysis of how consequences impact your company from inside or outside will enable you to prevent the situations that can build up until they explode into violence. Specific skill enhancement on the use of feedback and consequences will broaden the base of involvement and foster early intervention opportunities before things get out of control. Understanding how consequences influence behavior also can improve self-management efforts. When these strategies are coupled with security hardware and appropriate policies, we can once again help our managers and employees work without fear of violence.

  4. Globus: Service and Platform for Research Data Lifecycle Management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ananthakrishnan, R.; Foster, I.

    2017-12-01

    Globus offers a range of data management capabilities to the community as hosted services, encompassing data transfer and sharing, user identity and authorization, and data publication. Globus capabilities are accessible via both a web browser and REST APIs. Web access allows researchers to use Globus capabilities through a software-as-a-service model; and the REST APIs address the needs of developers of research services, who can now use Globus as a platform, outsourcing complex user and data management tasks to Globus services. In this presentation, we review Globus capabilities and outline how it is being applied as a platform for scientific services, and highlight work done to link computational analysis flows to the underlying data through an interactive Jupyter notebook environment to promote immediate data usability, reusability of these flows by other researchers, and future analysis extensibility.

  5. Integrated Systems Health Management for Intelligent Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Melcher, Kevin

    2011-01-01

    The implementation of an integrated system health management (ISHM) capability is fundamentally linked to the management of data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) with the purposeful objective of determining the health of a system. It is akin to having a team of experts who are all individually and collectively observing and analyzing a complex system, and communicating effectively with each other in order to arrive at an accurate and reliable assessment of its health. In this paper, concepts, procedures, and approaches are presented as a foundation for implementing an intelligent systems ]relevant ISHM capability. The capability stresses integration of DIaK from all elements of a system. Both ground-based (remote) and on-board ISHM capabilities are compared and contrasted. The information presented is the result of many years of research, development, and maturation of technologies, and of prototype implementations in operational systems.

  6. Telescience Resource Kit Software Capabilities and Future Enhancements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schneider, Michelle

    2004-01-01

    The Telescience Resource Kit (TReK) is a suite of PC-based software applications that can be used to monitor and control a payload on board the International Space Station (ISS). This software provides a way for payload users to operate their payloads from their home sites. It can be used by an individual or a team of people. TReK provides both local ground support system services and an interface to utilize remote services provided by the Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC). by the POIC and to perform local data functions such as processing the data, storing it in local files, and forwarding it to other computer systems. TReK can also be used to build, send, and track payload commands. In addition to these features, work is in progress to add a new command management capability. This capability will provide a way to manage a multi- platform command environment that can include geographically distributed computers. This is intended to help those teams that need to manage a shared on-board resource such as a facility class payload. The environment can be configured such that one individual can manage all the command activities associated with that payload. This paper will provide a summary of existing TReK capabilities and a description of the new command management capability. For example, 7'ReK can be used to receive payload data distributed

  7. Interactive energy atlas for Colorado and New Mexico: an online resource for decisionmakers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Carr, Natasha B.; Ignizio, Drew A.; Diffendorfer, James E.; Latysh, Natalie; Matherne, Ann Marie; Linard, Joshua I.; Leib, Kenneth J.; Hawkins, Sarah J.

    2013-01-01

    Throughout the western United States, increased demand for energy is driving the rapid development of nonrenewable and renewable energy resources. Resource managers must balance the benefits of energy development with the potential consequences for ecological resources and ecosystem services. To facilitate access to geospatial data related to energy resources, energy infrastructure, and natural resources that may be affected by energy development, the U.S. Geological Survey has developed an online Interactive Energy Atlas (Energy Atlas) for Colorado and New Mexico. The Energy Atlas is designed to meet the needs of varied users who seek information about energy in the western United States. The Energy Atlas has two primary capabilities: a geographic information system (GIS) data viewer and an interactive map gallery. The GIS data viewer allows users to preview and download GIS data related to energy potential and development in Colorado and New Mexico. The interactive map gallery contains a collection of maps that compile and summarize thematically related data layers in a user-friendly format. The maps are dynamic, allowing users to explore data at different resolutions and obtain information about the features being displayed. The Energy Atlas also includes an interactive decision-support tool, which allows users to explore the potential consequences of energy development for species that vary in their sensitivity to disturbance.

  8. Implementation of Risk Management in NASA's CEV Project- Ensuring Mission Success

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perera, Jeevan; Holsomback, Jerry D.

    2005-12-01

    Most project managers know that Risk Management (RM) is essential to good project management. At NASA, standards and procedures to manage risk through a tiered approach have been developed - from the global agency-wide requirements down to a program or project's implementation. The basic methodology for NASA's risk management strategy includes processes to identify, analyze, plan, track, control, communicate and document risks. The identification, characterization, mitigation plan, and mitigation responsibilities associated with specific risks are documented to help communicate, manage, and effectuate appropriate closure. This approach helps to ensure more consistent documentation and assessment and provides a means of archiving lessons learned for future identification or mitigation activities.A new risk database and management tool was developed by NASA in 2002 and since has been used successfully to communicate, document and manage a number of diverse risks for the International Space Station, Space Shuttle, and several other NASA projects and programs including at the Johnson Space Center. Organizations use this database application to effectively manage and track each risk and gain insight into impacts from other organization's viewpoint to develop integrated solutions. Schedule, cost, technical and safety issues are tracked in detail through this system.Risks are tagged within the system to ensure proper review, coordination and management at the necessary management level. The database is intended as a day-to- day tool for organizations to manage their risks and elevate those issues that need coordination from above. Each risk is assigned to a managing organization and a specific risk owner who generates mitigation plans as appropriate. In essence, the risk owner is responsible for shepherding the risk through closure. The individual that identifies a new risk does not necessarily get assigned as the risk owner. Whoever is in the best position to effectuate comprehensive closure is assigned as the risk owner. Each mitigation plan includes the specific tasks that will be conducted to either decrease the likelihood of the risk occurring and/or lessen the severity of the consequences if they do occur. As each mitigation task is completed, the responsible managing organization records the completion of the task in the risk database and then re-scores the risk considering the task's results. By keeping scores updated, a managing organization's current top risks and risk posture can be readily identified including the status of any risk in the system.A number of metrics measure risk process trends from data contained in the database. This allows for trend analysis to further identify improvements to the process and assist in the management of all risks. The metrics will also scrutinize both the effectiveness and compliance of risk management requirements.The risk database is an evolving tool and will be continuously improved with capabilities requested by the NASA project community. This paper presents the basic foundations of risk management, the elements necessary for effective risk management, and the capabilities of this new risk database and how it is implemented to support NASA's risk management needs.

  9. Improvements to information management systems simulator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bilek, R. W.

    1972-01-01

    The performance of personnel in the augmentation and improvement of the interactive IMSIM information management simulation model is summarized. With this augmented model, NASA now has even greater capabilities for the simulation of computer system configurations, data processing loads imposed on these configurations, and executive software to control system operations. Through these simulations, NASA has an extremely cost effective capability for the design and analysis of computer-based data management systems.

  10. 10 CFR 830 Major Modification Determination for the Advanced Test Reactor Remote Monitoring and Management Capability

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

    Bohachek, Randolph Charles

    2015-09-01

    The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR; TRA-670), which is located in the ATR Complex at Idaho National Laboratory, was constructed in the 1960s for the purpose of irradiating reactor fuels and materials. Other irradiation services, such as radioisotope production, are also performed at ATR. While ATR is safely fulfilling current mission requirements, assessments are continuing. These assessments intend to identify areas to provide defense–in-depth and improve safety for ATR. One of the assessments performed by an independent group of nuclear industry experts recommended that a remote accident management capability be provided. The report stated that: “contemporary practice in commercial power reactorsmore » is to provide a remote shutdown station or stations to allow shutdown of the reactor and management of long-term cooling of the reactor (i.e., management of reactivity, inventory, and cooling) should the main control room be disabled (e.g., due to a fire in the control room or affecting the control room).” This project will install remote reactor monitoring and management capabilities for ATR. Remote capabilities will allow for post scram reactor management and monitoring in the event the main Reactor Control Room (RCR) must be evacuated.« less

  11. The Australian Geodetic Observing Program. Current Status and Future Plans

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnston, G.; Dawson, J. H.

    2015-12-01

    Over the last decade, the Australian government has through programs like AuScope, the Asia Pacific Reference Frame (APREF), and the Pacific Sea Level Monitoring (PSLM) Project made a significant contribution to the Global Geodetic Observing Program. In addition to supporting the national research priorities, this contribution is justified by Australia's growing economic dependence on precise positioning to underpin efficient transportation, geospatial data management, and industrial automation (e.g., robotic mining and precision agriculture) and the consequent need for the government to guarantee provision of precise positioning products to the Australian community. It is also well recognised within Australia that there is an opportunity to exploit our near unique position as being one of the few regions in the world to see all new and emerging satellite navigation systems including Galileo (Europe), GPS III (USA), GLONASS (Russia), Beidou (China), QZSS (Japan) and IRNSS (India). It is in this context that the Australian geodetic program will build on earlier efforts and further develop its key geodetic capabilities. This will include the creation of an independent GNSS analysis capability that will enable Australia to contribute to the International GNSS Service (IGS) and an upgrade of key geodetic infrastructure including the national VLBI and GNSS arrays. This presentation will overview the significant geodetic activities undertaken by the Australian government and highlight its future plans.

  12. Right Size Determining the Staff Necessary to Sustain Simulation and Computing Capabilities for Nuclear Security

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

    Nikkel, Daniel J.; Meisner, Robert

    The Advanced Simulation and Computing Campaign, herein referred to as the ASC Program, is a core element of the science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP), which enables assessment, certification, and maintenance of the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile without the need to resume nuclear testing. The use of advanced parallel computing has transitioned from proof-of-principle to become a critical element for assessing and certifying the stockpile. As the initiative phase of the ASC Program came to an end in the mid-2000s, the National Nuclear Security Administration redirected resources to other urgent priorities, and resulting staff reductions inmore » ASC occurred without the benefit of analysis of the impact on modern stockpile stewardship that is dependent on these new simulation capabilities. Consequently, in mid-2008 the ASC Program management commissioned a study to estimate the essential size and balance needed to sustain advanced simulation as a core component of stockpile stewardship. The ASC Program requires a minimum base staff size of 930 (which includes the number of staff necessary to maintain critical technical disciplines as well as to execute required programmatic tasks) to sustain its essential ongoing role in stockpile stewardship.« less

  13. Integrated System Health Management: Foundational Concepts, Approach, and Implementation.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Schmalzel, John; Walker, Mark; Venkatesh, Meera; Kapadia, Ravi; Morris, Jon; Turowski, Mark; Smith, Harvey

    2009-01-01

    Implementation of integrated system health management (ISHM) capability is fundamentally linked to the management of data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) with the purposeful objective of determining the health of a system. It is akin to having a team of experts who are all individually and collectively observing and analyzing a complex system, and communicating effectively with each other in order to arrive to an accurate and reliable assessment of its health. We present concepts, procedures, and a specific approach as a foundation for implementing a credible ISHM capability. The capability stresses integration of DIaK from all elements of a system. The intent is also to make possible implementation of on-board ISHM capability, in contrast to a remote capability. The information presented is the result of many years of research, development, and maturation of technologies, and of prototype implementations in operational systems (rocket engine test facilities). The paper will address the following topics: 1. ISHM Model of a system 2. Detection of anomaly indicators. 3. Determination and confirmation of anomalies. 4. Diagnostic of causes and determination of effects. 5. Consistency checking cycle. 6. Management of health information 7. User Interfaces 8. Example implementation ISHM has been defined from many perspectives. We define it as a capability that might be achieved by various approaches. We describe a specific approach that has been matured throughout many years of development, and pilot implementations. ISHM is a capability that is achieved by integrating data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) that might be distributed throughout the system elements (which inherently implies capability to manage DIaK associated with distributed sub-systems). DIaK must be available to any element of a system at the right time and in accordance with a meaningful context. ISHM Functional Capability Level (FCL) is measured by how well a system performs the following functions: (1) detect anomalies, (2) diagnose causes, (3) predict future anomalies/failures, and (4) provide the user with an integrated awareness about the condition of every element in the system and guide user decisions.

  14. Y-12 Integrated Materials Management System

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

    Alspaugh, D. H.; Hickerson, T. W.

    2002-06-03

    The Integrated Materials Management System, when fully implemented, will provide the Y-12 National Security Complex with advanced inventory information and analysis capabilities and enable effective assessment, forecasting and management of nuclear materials, critical non-nuclear materials, and certified supplies. These capabilities will facilitate future Y-12 stockpile management work, enhance interfaces to existing National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) corporate-level information systems, and enable interfaces to planned NNSA systems. In the current national nuclear defense environment where, for example, weapons testing is not permitted, material managers need better, faster, more complete information about material properties and characteristics. They now must manage non-special nuclearmore » material at the same high-level they have managed SNM, and information capabilities about both must be improved. The full automation and integration of business activities related to nuclear and non-nuclear materials that will be put into effect by the Integrated Materials Management System (IMMS) will significantly improve and streamline the process of providing vital information to Y-12 and NNSA managers. This overview looks at the kinds of information improvements targeted by the IMMS project, related issues, the proposed information architecture, and the progress to date in implementing the system.« less

  15. Parent training education program: a pilot study, involving families of children with Prader-Willi syndrome.

    PubMed

    Kodra, Yllka; Kondili, Loreta A; Ferraroni, Alessia; Serra, Maria Antonietta; Caretto, Flavia; Ricci, Maria Antonietta; Taruscio, Domenica

    2016-01-01

    Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by severe hypotonia during the neonatal period and the first two years of life, the onset of hyperphagia with a risk of obesity during infancy and adulthood, learning difficulties and behavioral or severe psychiatric problems. This complex disease has severe consequences and difficult management issues also for patients' families. Parents of children with PWS need appropriate psychoeducational intervention in order to better manage their children with PWS. The purpose of this study was the implementation and evaluation of a PWS psychoeducational parent training program. The Italian National Center for Rare Diseases implemented a pilot parent training program offered to parents of children with PWS. The intervention's effects was evaluated using questionnaires comprised of 11 items rated on a 7 point Likert scale. The intervention was offered to 43 parents. The behavior problems management, dietary restrictions, autonomy and relationships were indicated by parents as the priority topics which needed to be addressed. Evaluations, immediately post-intervention and after 6 months, were reported by parents, fulfilling specific questionnaires. 90% of parents involved in the study, appreciated the methodology, 86% felt more informed about PWS, 47-62% felt more capable to better approach behaviour's problems, 20-25% felt better about the child's health situation and future expectations. Feeling more capable to help the child autonomy and relationships were reported in 62% and 63% of parents respectively, which decreased significantly (p < 0.05) according to the evaluation 6 months after the intervention. Younger age of parents (< 44 years of age) was significantly correlated with better understanding on how to help the child's autonomy (OR: 0.05; CI: 0.04-0.8) and to better collaborate with the child's teachers (OR: 0.02; CI: 0.001-0.9). Parent training is a promising intervention for parents of children with behavior's problems. Interventions with a behaviorally oriented program, addressed to parents of PWS affected children, is a useful tool in increasing their ability to manage the problems related to the disease.

  16. Leadership Values, Trust and Negative Capability: Managing the Uncertainties of Future English Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jameson, Jill

    2012-01-01

    The complex leadership attribute of "negative capability" in managing uncertainty and engendering trust may be amongst the qualities enabling institutions to cope with multiple recent government policy challenges affecting English higher education, including significant increases in student fees. Research findings are reported on changes…

  17. Biogeochemical Research Priorities for Sustainable Biofuel and Bioenergy Feedstock Production in the Americas.

    PubMed

    Gollany, Hero T; Titus, Brian D; Scott, D Andrew; Asbjornsen, Heidi; Resh, Sigrid C; Chimner, Rodney A; Kaczmarek, Donald J; Leite, Luiz F C; Ferreira, Ana C C; Rod, Kenton A; Hilbert, Jorge; Galdos, Marcelo V; Cisz, Michelle E

    2015-12-01

    Rapid expansion in biomass production for biofuels and bioenergy in the Americas is increasing demand on the ecosystem resources required to sustain soil and site productivity. We review the current state of knowledge and highlight gaps in research on biogeochemical processes and ecosystem sustainability related to biomass production. Biomass production systems incrementally remove greater quantities of organic matter, which in turn affects soil organic matter and associated carbon and nutrient storage (and hence long-term soil productivity) and off-site impacts. While these consequences have been extensively studied for some crops and sites, the ongoing and impending impacts of biomass removal require management strategies for ensuring that soil properties and functions are sustained for all combinations of crops, soils, sites, climates, and management systems, and that impacts of biomass management (including off-site impacts) are environmentally acceptable. In a changing global environment, knowledge of cumulative impacts will also become increasingly important. Long-term experiments are essential for key crops, soils, and management systems because short-term results do not necessarily reflect long-term impacts, although improved modeling capability may help to predict these impacts. Identification and validation of soil sustainability indicators for both site prescriptions and spatial applications would better inform commercial and policy decisions. In an increasingly inter-related but constrained global context, researchers should engage across inter-disciplinary, inter-agency, and international lines to better ensure the long-term soil productivity across a range of scales, from site to landscape.

  18. [Mobile phone-computer wireless interactive graphics transmission technology and its medical application].

    PubMed

    Huang, Shuo; Liu, Jing

    2010-05-01

    Application of clinical digital medical imaging has raised many tough issues to tackle, such as data storage, management, and information sharing. Here we investigated a mobile phone based medical image management system which is capable of achieving personal medical imaging information storage, management and comprehensive health information analysis. The technologies related to the management system spanning the wireless transmission technology, the technical capabilities of phone in mobile health care and management of mobile medical database were discussed. Taking medical infrared images transmission between phone and computer as an example, the working principle of the present system was demonstrated.

  19. CCSDS Mission Operations Action Service Core Capabilities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reynolds, Walter F.; Lucord, Steven A.; Stevens, John E.

    2009-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the operations concepts of the command (action) services. Since the consequences of sending the wrong command are unacceptable, the command system provides a collaborative and distributed work environment for flight controllers and operators. The system prescribes a review and approval process where each command is viewed by other individuals before being sent to the vehicle. The action service needs additional capabilities to support he operations concepts of manned space flight. These are : (1) Action Service methods (2) Action attributes (3) Action parameter/argument attributes (4 ) Support for dynamically maintained action data. (5) Publish subscri be capabilities.

  20. A high reliability battery management system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moody, M. H.

    1986-01-01

    Over a period of some 5 years Canadian Astronautics Limited (CAL) has developed a system to autonomously manage, and thus prolong the life of, secondary storage batteries. During the development, the system was aimed at the space vehicle application using nickel cadmium batteries, but is expected to be able to enhance the life and performance of any rechargeable electrochemical couple. The system handles the cells of a battery individually and thus avoids the problems of over, and under, drive that inevitably occur in a battery of cells managed by an averaging system. This individual handling also allow cells to be totally bypassed in the event of failure, thus avoiding the losses associated with low capacity, partial short circuit, and the catastrophe of open circuit. The system has an optional capability of managing redundant batteries simultaneously, adding the advantage of on line reconditioning of one battery, while the other maintains the energy storage capability of the overall system. As developed, the system contains a dedicated, redundant, microprocessor, but the capability exists to have this computing capability time shared, or remote, and operating through a data link. As adjuncts to the basic management system CAL has developed high efficiency, polyphase, power regulators for charge and discharge power conditioning.

  1. Consequence Management Symposium

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-09-01

    AND SUBTITLE Consequence Management Symposium 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e...log i cal agents and their effects was deemed essen tial for “first respond ers,” includ ing emer gency medi cal and hospi tal prac ti tio ners

  2. Formulation of an Integrated Community Based Disaster Management for Hydroelectric facilities: The Malaysia Case

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hijazzi, Norshamirra; Thiruchelvam, Sivadass; Sabri Muda, Rahsidi; Nasharuddin Mustapha, Kamal; Che Muda, Zakaria; Ghazali, Azrul; Kamal Kadir, Ahmad; Hakimie, Hazlinda; Sahari, Khairul Salleh Mohamed; Hasini, Hasril; Mohd Sidek, Lariyah; Itam, Zarina; Fadhli Mohamad, Mohd; Razad, Azwin Zailti Abdul

    2016-03-01

    Dams, however significant their contributions are to the society, are not immune to failures and diminishing lifespan not unlike other structural elements in our infrastructure. Despite continuing efforts on design, construction, operation, and maintenance of dams to improve the safety of the dams, the possibility of unforeseen events of dam failures is still possible. Seeing that dams are usually integrated into close approximities with the community, dam failures may consequent in tremendous loss of lives and properties. The aims of formulation of Integrated Community Based Disaster Management (ICBDM) is to simulate evacuation modelling and emergency planning in order to minimize loss of life and property damages in the event of a dam-related disaster. To achieve the aim above, five main pillars have been identified for the formulation of ICBDM. A series of well-defined program inclusive of hydrological 2-D modelling, life safety modelling, community based EWS and CBTAP will be conducted. Finally, multiple parties’ engagement is to be carried out in the form of table top exercise to measure the readiness of emergency plans and response capabilities of key players during the state of a crisis.

  3. Orbital management and design considerations for NiCd satellite power systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tausch, Benjamin J., II

    1994-01-01

    Several recently manufactured 50 and 60 ampere hour aerospace NiCd battery cell lots, produced by Gates Aerospace Batteries, are prone to premature on orbit performance degradation. The failure mechanism is cadmium migration, and the consequent development of soft shorts. A Martin Marietta Astronautics satellite program instituted an orbital management strategy for a set of these batteries that reduced the rate of degradation and brought the system to stable operation. This strategy involves: (1) minimizing the accumulated battery overcharge; (2) regular discharge exercises; and (3) periodic battery reconditioning. Because of changes in the NiCd cell manufacturing process, the actual performance of subsequent lots of NiCd cells is open to question. Future NiCd based power system designs should therefore allow for fine control of charge parameters, and an on orbit battery reconditioning capability. To minimize risk, it is much better to perform a full life test to qualify the cells before launch, rather than in parallel with orbital operations. If there are any changes in the manufacturing process of cells, it is extremely important to maintain very strong cognizance of secondary subcontractors, recognizing that the cell and battery manufacturing discipline is easily atrophied.

  4. Research Contributing to Improvements in Controlling Florida’s Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Tabachnick, Walter J.

    2016-01-01

    Research on mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases has contributed to improvements in providing effective, efficient, and environmentally proper mosquito control. Florida has benefitted from several research accomplishments that have increased the state’s mosquito control capabilities. Research with Florida’s mosquitoes has resulted in the development of ecologically sound management of mosquito impoundments on Florida’s east coast. This strategy, called Rotational Impoundment Management (RIM), has improved the ability to target the delivery of pesticides and has helped to reduce non-target effects and environmental damage. Research has led to the development of an arbovirus surveillance system which includes sentinel chicken surveillance, real time use of environmental contributing factors like meteorology and hydrology to target mosquito control, as well as public health efforts to mitigate disease outbreaks to areas with risk of disease. These research driven improvements have provided substantial benefits to all of Florida. More research is needed to meet the future challenges to reduce emerging pathogens like Zika virus and the consequences of environmental changes like global climate change that are likely to influence the effects of mosquito-borne pathogens on human health and well-being. PMID:27690112

  5. Wait time management strategies for total joint replacement surgery: sustainability and unintended consequences.

    PubMed

    Pomey, Marie-Pascale; Clavel, Nathalie; Amar, Claudia; Sabogale-Olarte, Juan Carlos; Sanmartin, Claudia; De Coster, Carolyn; Noseworthy, Tom

    2017-09-07

    In Canada, long waiting times for core specialized services have consistently been identified as a key barrier to access. Governments and organizations have responded with strategies for better access management, notably for total joint replacement (TJR) of the hip and knee. While wait time management strategies (WTMS) are promising, the factors which influence their sustainable implementation at the organizational level are understudied. Consequently, this study examined organizational and systemic factors that made it possible to sustain waiting times for TJR within federally established limits and for at least 18 months or more. The research design is a multiple case study of WTMS implementation. Five cases were selected across five Canadian provinces. Three success levels were pre-defined: 1) the WTMS maintained compliance with requirements for more than 18 months; 2) the WTMS met requirements for 18 months but could not sustain the level thereafter; 3) the WTMS never met requirements. For each case, we collected documents and interviewed key informants. We analyzed systemic and organizational factors, with particular attention to governance and leadership, culture, resources, methods, and tools. We found that successful organizations had specific characteristics: 1) management of the whole care continuum, 2) strong clinical leadership; 3) dedicated committees to coordinate and sustain strategy; 4) a culture based on trust and innovation. All strategies led to relatively similar unintended consequences. The main negative consequence was an initial increase in waiting times for TJR and the main positive consequence was operational enhancement of other areas of specialization based on the TJR model. This study highlights important differences in factors which help to achieve and sustain waiting times. To be sustainable, a WTMS needs to generate greater synergies between contextual-level strategy (provincial or regional) and organizational objectives and constraints. Managers at the organizational level should be vigilant with regard to unintended consequences that a WTMS in one area can have for other areas of care. A more systemic approach to sustainability can help avoid or mitigate undesirable unintended consequences.

  6. The Dynamic Terrorist Threat: An Assessment of Group Motivations and Capabilities in a Changing World

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-01-01

    performed in four programs: Aerospace Force Development; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; Resource Management ; and Strategy and Doctrine. Additional...in- capable group, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), would likely be just as challenging if it managed to increase its capabilities to the...2002, p. A1; “The Old West Comes to Israel,” Asia Times, November 16, 2002. 69McGeary (2001, p. 52). 70Jared Kotler , “Guerrillas to Study Curbing the

  7. Structural capabilities in small and medium-sized patient-centered medical homes.

    PubMed

    Alidina, Shehnaz; Schneider, Eric C; Singer, Sara J; Rosenthal, Meredith B

    2014-07-01

    1) Evaluate structural capabilities associated with the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model in PCMH pilots in Colorado, Ohio, and Rhode Island; 2) evaluate changes in capabilities over 2 years in the Rhode Island pilot; and 3) evaluate facilitators and barriers to the adoption of capabilities. We assessed structural capabilities in the 30 pilot practices using a cross-sectional study design and examined changes over 2 years in 5 Rhode Island practices using a pre/post design. We used National Committee for Quality Assurance's Physician Practice Connections-Patient-Centered Medical Home (PPC/PCMH) accreditation survey data to measure capabilities. We stratified by high and low performance based on total score and by practice size. We analyzed change from baseline to 24 months for the Rhode Island practices. We analyzed qualitative data from interviews with practice leaders to identify facilitators and barriers to building capabilities. On average, practices scored 73 points (out of 100 points) for structural capabilities. High and low performers differed most on electronic prescribing, patient self-management, and care-management standards. Rhode Island practices averaged 42 points at baseline, and reached 90 points by the end of year 2. Some of the key facilitators that emerged were payment incentives, "transformation coaches," learning collaboratives, and data availability supporting performance management and quality improvement. Barriers to improvement included the extent of transformation required, technology shortcomings, slow cultural change, change fatigue, and lack of broader payment reform. For these early adopters, prevalence of structural capabilities was high, and performance was substantially improved for practices with initially lower capabilities. We conclude that building capabilities requires payment reform, attention to implementation, and cultural change.

  8. Researching pharmacist managerial capability: philosophical perspectives and paradigms of inquiry.

    PubMed

    Woods, Phillip; Gapp, Rod; King, Michelle A

    2015-01-01

    In successful community pharmacy business enterprises suitably responsive actions to meet ever-increasing change require capable pharmacy managers who readily learn and adapt. Capability as a concept is generally understood to be the ability of a manager to identify and act to solve unfamiliar problems in unfamiliar situations. Capability is characterized by adaptability and flexibility. However, different understandings of the concept 'capability' and what it means to be 'capable' are indirect and incomplete. This paper aims to clarify current theories regarding the concept of 'capability' at the level of the individual, and through this to make more explicit what is known about the phenomenon, but more particularly, how we know what we know. The analysis includes the concept of 'competence' because explanations of capability include competence, and the two concepts are not clearly separated in the literature. By probing the epistemological origins of current theory concerning both concepts, the limiting taken for granted assumptions are revealed. Assumptions about context and time, and the psychological theory through which individuals are assumed to perceive, know and learn, are illuminated. The analysis, in connection with the literature, shows how the interpretive philosophic research approach may reveal a different and useful theoretical perspective for explaining capability as a dynamic performance. It is suggested that such a perspective may narrow the gap between the theory of capability and its practice. The interpretive perspective holds potential to reveal how capability, as performed by successful community pharmacy managers, might be further researched and strengthened. This paper supports the challenging suggestion that pharmacy social research needs to rebalance the dominance of purely empirical research by exploring interpretive methodologies to better understand human actions and relations in the context of pharmacy. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Risk-based input-output analysis of influenza epidemic consequences on interdependent workforce sectors.

    PubMed

    Santos, Joost R; May, Larissa; Haimar, Amine El

    2013-09-01

    Outbreaks of contagious diseases underscore the ever-looming threat of new epidemics. Compared to other disasters that inflict physical damage to infrastructure systems, epidemics can have more devastating and prolonged impacts on the population. This article investigates the interdependent economic and productivity risks resulting from epidemic-induced workforce absenteeism. In particular, we develop a dynamic input-output model capable of generating sector-disaggregated economic losses based on different magnitudes of workforce disruptions. An ex post analysis of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in the national capital region (NCR) reveals the distribution of consequences across different economic sectors. Consequences are categorized into two metrics: (i) economic loss, which measures the magnitude of monetary losses incurred in each sector, and (ii) inoperability, which measures the normalized monetary losses incurred in each sector relative to the total economic output of that sector. For a simulated mild pandemic scenario in NCR, two distinct rankings are generated using the economic loss and inoperability metrics. Results indicate that the majority of the critical sectors ranked according to the economic loss metric comprise of sectors that contribute the most to the NCR's gross domestic product (e.g., federal government enterprises). In contrast, the majority of the critical sectors generated by the inoperability metric include sectors that are involved with epidemic management (e.g., hospitals). Hence, prioritizing sectors for recovery necessitates consideration of the balance between economic loss, inoperability, and other objectives. Although applied specifically to the NCR, the proposed methodology can be customized for other regions. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

  10. Women's experiences of hormonal therapy for breast cancer: exploring influences on medication-taking behaviour.

    PubMed

    Cahir, Caitriona; Dombrowski, Stephan U; Kelly, Catherine M; Kennedy, M John; Bennett, Kathleen; Sharp, Linda

    2015-11-01

    Five to 10 years of adjuvant hormonal therapy is recommended to prevent breast cancer recurrence. This study investigated modifiable influences on adjuvant hormonal therapy medication-taking behaviour (MTB) in women with stage I-III breast cancer. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews among women with stage I-III breast cancer prescribed adjuvant hormonal therapy purposively sampled by their MTB at two cancer centres. Thematic analysis was conducted based on the Framework approach, with the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) informing the analysis framework; the TDF is an integrative framework consisting of 14 domains of behavioural change to inform intervention design. Thirty-one women participated in interviews (14 adherent/persistent; 7 non-adherent/persistent; 10 non-persistent). Three domains identified both barriers and enablers to hormonal therapy MTB across the three MTB strata: beliefs about consequences, intentions and goals and behaviour regulation, but their influence was different across the strata. Other domains influenced individual MTB strata. Key enablers for adherent/persistent women were identified within the domain beliefs about consequences (breast cancer recurrence), intentions and goals (high-priority), beliefs about capabilities (side effects) and behaviour regulation (managing medication). Barriers were identified within the domain behaviour regulation (no routine), memory, attention and decision processes (forgetting) and environmental context and resources (stressors) for non-adherent/persistent women and intentions and goals (quality of life), behaviour regulation (temporal self-regulation), reinforcement, beliefs about consequences (non-necessity) and social influences (clinical support) for non-persistent women. This study identified modifiable influences on hormonal therapy MTB. Targeting these influences in clinical practice may improve MTB and hence survival in this population.

  11. Risk-Based Input-Output Analysis of Influenza Epidemic Consequences on Interdependent Workforce Sectors

    PubMed Central

    Santos, Joost R.; May, Larissa; Haimar, Amine El

    2013-01-01

    Outbreaks of contagious diseases underscore the ever-looming threat of new epidemics. Compared to other disasters that inflict physical damage to infrastructure systems, epidemics can have more devastating and prolonged impacts on the population. This paper investigates the interdependent economic and productivity risks resulting from epidemic-induced workforce absenteeism. In particular, we develop a dynamic input-output model capable of generating sector-disaggregated economic losses based on different magnitudes of workforce disruptions. An ex post analysis of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in the National Capital Region (NCR) reveals the distribution of consequences across different economic sectors. Consequences are categorized into two metrics: (i) economic loss, which measures the magnitude of monetary losses incurred in each sector, and (ii) inoperability, which measures the normalized monetary losses incurred in each sector relative to the total economic output of that sector. For a simulated mild pandemic scenario in NCR, two distinct rankings are generated using the economic loss and inoperability metrics. Results indicate that the majority of the critical sectors ranked according to the economic loss metric comprise of sectors that contribute the most to the NCR's gross domestic product (e.g., federal government enterprises). In contrast, the majority of the critical sectors generated by the inoperability metric include sectors that are involved with epidemic management (e.g., hospitals). Hence, prioritizing sectors for recovery necessitates consideration of the balance between economic loss, inoperability, and other objectives. Although applied specifically to the NCR region, the proposed methodology can be customized for other regions. PMID:23278756

  12. The limits of scientific information for informing forest policy decisions under changing climate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McLachlan, J. S.

    2011-12-01

    The distribution of tree species is largely determined by climate, with important consequences for ecosystem function, biodiversity, and the human economy. In the past, conflicts about priority among these various goods have produced persistent debate about forest policy and management. Despite this history of conflict, there has been general agreement on the framework for the debate: Our benchmark for assessing human impact is generally some historical condition (in the New World, this is often pre-European settlement). Wilderness is to be managed with minimal human intervention. Native species are preferred over non-natives. And regional landscapes can be effectively partitioned into independent jurisdictions with different management priorities. Each of these principles was always somewhat mythical, but the dynamics of broad scale species range shifts under climate change make all of them untenable in the future. Managed relocation (MR, or assisted migration) is a controversial proposal partly because it demands scientific answers that we do not have: Are trees naturally capable of shifting their ranges as fast as climate will force them? Will deliberate introductions of species beyond their native ranges have adverse impacts on the receiving ecosystem? What are appropriate targets for hydrologic or fire management under novel no-analog climates? However, these demands on science mask a more fundamental concern: the ethical framework underlying existing forest policy is unsupported in the context of long-term non-stationary environmental trends. Whether or not we conclude that MR is a useful policy option, debate about MR is useful because it forces us to place the global change ecology agenda in a larger ethical debate about our goals when managing novel ecosystems.

  13. Bayesian adaptive survey protocols for resource management

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Halstead, Brian J.; Wylie, Glenn D.; Coates, Peter S.; Casazza, Michael L.

    2011-01-01

    Transparency in resource management decisions requires a proper accounting of uncertainty at multiple stages of the decision-making process. As information becomes available, periodic review and updating of resource management protocols reduces uncertainty and improves management decisions. One of the most basic steps to mitigating anthropogenic effects on populations is determining if a population of a species occurs in an area that will be affected by human activity. Species are rarely detected with certainty, however, and falsely declaring a species absent can cause improper conservation decisions or even extirpation of populations. We propose a method to design survey protocols for imperfectly detected species that accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty in the detection process, is capable of quantitatively incorporating expert opinion into the decision-making process, allows periodic updates to the protocol, and permits resource managers to weigh the severity of consequences if the species is falsely declared absent. We developed our method using the giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas), a threatened species precinctive to the Central Valley of California, as a case study. Survey date was negatively related to the probability of detecting the giant gartersnake, and water temperature was positively related to the probability of detecting the giant gartersnake at a sampled location. Reporting sampling effort, timing and duration of surveys, and water temperatures would allow resource managers to evaluate the probability that the giant gartersnake occurs at sampled sites where it is not detected. This information would also allow periodic updates and quantitative evaluation of changes to the giant gartersnake survey protocol. Because it naturally allows multiple sources of information and is predicated upon the idea of updating information, Bayesian analysis is well-suited to solving the problem of developing efficient sampling protocols for species of conservation concern.

  14. A risk-based approach to sanitary sewer pipe asset management.

    PubMed

    Baah, Kelly; Dubey, Brajesh; Harvey, Richard; McBean, Edward

    2015-02-01

    Wastewater collection systems are an important component of proper management of wastewater to prevent environmental and human health implications from mismanagement of anthropogenic waste. Due to aging and inadequate asset management practices, the wastewater collection assets of many cities around the globe are in a state of rapid decline and in need of urgent attention. Risk management is a tool which can help prioritize resources to better manage and rehabilitate wastewater collection systems. In this study, a risk matrix and a weighted sum multi-criteria decision-matrix are used to assess the consequence and risk of sewer pipe failure for a mid-sized city, using ArcGIS. The methodology shows that six percent of the uninspected sewer pipe assets of the case study have a high consequence of failure while four percent of the assets have a high risk of failure and hence provide priorities for inspection. A map incorporating risk of sewer pipe failure and consequence is developed to facilitate future planning, rehabilitation and maintenance programs. The consequence of failure assessment also includes a novel failure impact factor which captures the effect of structurally defective stormwater pipes on the failure assessment. The methodology recommended in this study can serve as a basis for future planning and decision making and has the potential to be universally applied by municipal sewer pipe asset managers globally to effectively manage the sanitary sewer pipe infrastructure within their jurisdiction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. DDP-516 Computer Graphics System Capabilities

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1972-06-01

    This report describes the capabilities of the DDP-516 Computer Graphics System. One objective of this report is to acquaint DOT management and project planners with the system's current capabilities, applications hardware and software. The Appendix i...

  16. The Business Case for Systems Engineering Study: Results of the Systems Engineering Effectiveness Survey

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-11-01

    reflecting the fact that project managers can often optimize the value of one of these parameters, but only at the expense of the other two. For example...which system developers can compare their SE capabilities to manage SE process improvements. As a reward for their participation, the companion...higher requirements development and management capability is strongly associat- ed with better program performance, particularly on challenging projects

  17. Understanding the Social Implications of ICT in Medicine and Health: The Role of Professional Societies.

    PubMed

    O'connell, Brian M; Laxminarayan, Swamy

    2005-01-01

    In past times, engineers and other ICT professionals could normally function exclusively within an environment of purely technical dimensions. This sphere could be easily delineated from those involving policy, political or social questions. Consequently, these professions could well be characterized as generally isolated from mainstream society, engendering a condition that Zussman (1985) has described as a "technical rationality that is the engineer's stock-in-trade requir[ing] the calculation of means for the realization of given ends. But it requir[ing] no broad insight into those ends or their consequences". This condition has often led to a perceived technical mindset that according to Florman (1976), draws upon "the comfort that comes with the total absorption in a mechanical environment. The world becomes reduced and manageable, controlled and unchaotic".In a relatively short period of time, ICT has been radically transformed in both its capabilities and reach. Specifically, within the context of this event, the permeation of digital technologies into nearly every aspect of bioengineering and healthcare delivery have broken down the borders between technological pursuits and the larger dynamics of society. This has in turn has produced, according to Williams (2000) a discipline that has "evolved into an open-ended Profession of Everything in a world where technology shades into science, into art, and into management, with no strong institutions to define an overarching mission". Within ICT, H.C. von Baeyer (2003) affirms this status in noting "the frustration of engineers who have at their disposal a variety of methods for measuring the amount of information in a message, but to none deal with its meaning".

  18. Leading with integrity: a qualitative research study.

    PubMed

    Storr, Loma

    2004-01-01

    This research paper gives an account of a study into the relationship between leadership and integrity. There is a critical analysis of the current literature for effective, successful and ethical leadership particularly, integrity. The purpose and aim of this paper is to build on the current notions of leadership within the literature, debate contemporary approaches, focussing specifically on practices within the UK National Health Service in the early 21st century. This leads to a discussion of the literature on ethical leadership theory, which includes public service values, ethical relationships and leading with integrity. A small study was undertaken consisting of 18 interviews with leaders and managers within a District General HospitaL Using the Repertory Grid technique and analysis 15 themes emerged from the constructs elicited, which were compared to the literature for leadership and integrity and other studies. As well as finding areas of overlap, a number of additional constructs were elicited which suggested that effective leadership correlates with integrity and the presence of integrity will improve organisational effectiveness. The study identified that perceptions of leadership character and behaviour are used to judge the effectiveness and integrity of a leader. However, the ethical implications and consequences of leaders' scope of power and influence such as policy and strategy are somewhat neglected and lacking in debate. The findings suggest that leaders are not judged according to the ethical nature of decision making, and leading and managing complex change but that the importance of integrity and ethical leadership correlated with higher levels of hierarchical status and that it is assumed by virtue of status and success that leaders lead with integrity. Finally, the findings of this study seem to suggest that nurse leadership capability is developing as a consequence of recent national investment.

  19. Preventing accidents

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2005-08-01

    As the most effective strategy for improving safety is to prevent accidents from occurring at all, the Volpe Center applies a broad range of research techniques and capabilities to determine causes and consequences of accidents and to identify, asses...

  20. 41 CFR 105-55.024 - Consideration of tax consequences to the Government.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... consequences to the Government. 105-55.024 Section 105-55.024 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal... consequences to the Government. In negotiating a compromise, the General Services Administration (GSA) may consider the tax consequences to the Government. In particular, GSA may consider requiring a waiver of tax...

  1. Exoskeleton Enhancements for Marines: Tactical-level Technology for an Operational Consequence

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-01-01

    wearable mechanical capability to assist Marines in the form of a robotic anthropomorphic exoskeleton system. This capability may be a key enabler to...or human attributes.”37 In this case exoskeletons are a device that follows the human form and direction. "Exoskeleton" within the robotics community...technology. An exoskeleton is not a panacea and will likely still require parallel development with other robotic alternatives to support

  2. Imperfect construction of microclusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schneider, E.; Zhou, K.; Gilbert, G.; Weinstein, Y. S.

    2014-01-01

    Microclusters are the basic building blocks used to construct cluster states capable of supporting fault-tolerant quantum computation. In this paper, we explore the consequences of errors on microcluster construction using two error models. To quantify the effect of the errors we calculate the fidelity of the constructed microclusters and the fidelity with which two such microclusters can be fused together. Such simulations are vital for gauging the capability of an experimental system to achieve fault tolerance.

  3. Chemical and Biological National Security Program (CBNP) Annual Report FY2002 Overview Local Integration of NARAC With Cities (LINC)

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

    Ermak, D L; Nasstrom, J S; Tull, J E

    The objective of the Local Integration of NARAC With Cities (LINC) project is to demonstrate the capability for providing local government agencies with advanced, CBNP-developed operational atmospheric plume prediction capabilities that can be seamlessly integrated with appropriate federal agency support for homeland security. LINC's approach is to integrate Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) tools and services with local emergency management and response centers. In the event of an airborne chemical or biological agent release in an urban area, large portions of the city and even the surrounding suburbs may be affected by the airbornemore » plume, depending on the type of agent, size of release, dissemination mechanism and ambient meteorological conditions. The goal of LINC is to provide real-time predictions that would be used by emergency managers and responders (fire, police, hazmat, etc.) to map the extent and effects of hazardous airborne material. Prompt predictions are provided to guide first responders in determining protective actions to be taken (use of personal protective equipment, evacuation, sheltering in place, etc.), safe locations for incident command posts, and critical facilities that may be at risk (hospitals, schools, etc.). LINC also provides response teams from multiple jurisdictions (local, state, and federal) with tools to effectively share information regarding the areas and populations at risk. The ultimate goal of LINC is a seamless and coordinated nationwide system that integrates NARAC prediction and situation awareness resources with the appropriate local, state and federal agencies for homeland security applications ranging from planning to emergency response to consequence assessment and attribution.« less

  4. Innovative power conversion system for the French SFR prototype, ASTRID

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

    Cachon, L.; Biscarrat, C.; Morin, F.

    2012-07-01

    In the framework of the French Act of 28 June 2006 about nuclear materials and waste management, the prototype ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration), foreseen in operation by the 20's, will have to demonstrate not only the minor actinide transmutation capability, but also the progress made in Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR) technology on an industrial scale, by qualifying innovative options. Some of these options still require improvements, especially in the field of operability and safety. In fact, one of the main issues with the standard steam/water Power Conversion System (PCS) of SFR is the fast and energeticmore » chemical reaction between water and sodium, which could occur in steam generators in case of tube failure. To manage the sodium/water reaction, one way consists in minimizing the impact of such event: hence studies are carried out on steam generator design, improvement of the physical knowledge of this phenomenon, development of numerical simulation to predict the reaction onset and consequences, and associated detection improvement. On the other hand, the other way consists in eliminating sodium/water reaction. In this frame, the CEA contribution to the feasibility evaluation of an alternative innovative PCS (replacing steam/water by 180 bar pressurised nitrogen) is focused on the following main topics: - The parametric study leading to nitrogen selection: the thermodynamic cycle efficiency optimisation on Brayton cycles is performed with several gases at different pressures. - The design of innovative compact heat exchangers for the gas loop: here the key points are the nuclear codification associated with inspection capability, the innovative welding process and the thermal-hydraulic and thermal-mechanic optimisations. After a general introduction of the ASTRID project, this paper presents in detail these different feasibility studies being led on the innovative gas PCS for an SFR. (authors)« less

  5. Programmatic Perspectives on Using `Rapid Prototyping Capability' for Water Management Applications Using NASA Products

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toll, D.; Friedl, L.; Entin, J.; Engman, E.

    2006-12-01

    The NASA Water Management Program addresses concerns and decision making related to water availability, water forecast and water quality. The goal of the Water Management Program Element is to encourage water management organizations to use NASA Earth science data, models products, technology and other capabilities in their decision support tools (DSTs) for problem solving. The goal of the NASA Rapid Prototyping Capability (RPC) is to speed the evaluation of these NASA products and technologies to improve current and future DSTs by reducing the time to access, configure, and assess the effectiveness of NASA products and technologies. The NASA Water Management Program Element partners with Federal agencies, academia, private firms, and may include international organizations. Currently, the NASA Water Management Program oversees eight application projects. However, water management is a very broad descriptor of a much larger number of activities that are carried out to insure safe and plentiful water supply for humans, industry and agriculture, promote environmental stewardship, and mitigate disaster such as floods and droughts. The goal of this presentation is to summarize how the RPC may further enhance the effectiveness of using NASA products for water management applications.

  6. Establishing Semantic Interoperability, Under Denied, Disconnected, Intermittant, and Limited Telecommunications Conditions

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-06-01

    functionalities and capabilities of DDS. We present a middleware design based on the DDS specifications as developed by the Object Management Group . The...functionalities and capabilities of DDS. We present a middleware design based on the DDS specifications as developed by the Object Management Group ...32 c. History .....................................................................................33 d

  7. Use of Smartphones to Estimate Carbohydrates in Foods for Diabetes Management.

    PubMed

    Huang, Jurong; Ding, Hang; McBride, Simon; Ireland, David; Karunanithi, Mohan

    2015-01-01

    Over 380 million adults worldwide are currently living with diabetes and the number has been projected to reach 590 million by 2035. Uncontrolled diabetes often lead to complications, disability, and early death. In the management of diabetes, dietary intervention to control carbohydrate intake is essential to help manage daily blood glucose level within a recommended range. The intervention traditionally relies on a self-report to estimate carbohydrate intake through a paper based diary. The traditional approach is known to be inaccurate, inconvenient, and resource intensive. Additionally, patients often require a long term of learning or training to achieve a certain level of accuracy and reliability. To address these issues, we propose a design of a smartphone application that automatically estimates carbohydrate intake from food images. The application uses imaging processing techniques to classify food type, estimate food volume, and accordingly calculate the amount of carbohydrates. To examine the proof of concept, a small fruit database was created to train a classification algorithm implemented in the application. Consequently, a set of fruit photos (n=6) from a real smartphone were applied to evaluate the accuracy of the carbohydrate estimation. This study demonstrates the potential to use smartphones to improve dietary intervention, although further studies are needed to improve the accuracy, and extend the capability of the smartphone application to analyse broader food contents.

  8. 41 CFR 302-14.7 - Are there tax consequences when I receive a home marketing incentive payment?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Are there tax consequences when I receive a home marketing incentive payment? 302-14.7 Section 302-14.7 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES RESIDENCE TRANSACTION ALLOWANCES...

  9. Action errors, error management, and learning in organizations.

    PubMed

    Frese, Michael; Keith, Nina

    2015-01-03

    Every organization is confronted with errors. Most errors are corrected easily, but some may lead to negative consequences. Organizations often focus on error prevention as a single strategy for dealing with errors. Our review suggests that error prevention needs to be supplemented by error management--an approach directed at effectively dealing with errors after they have occurred, with the goal of minimizing negative and maximizing positive error consequences (examples of the latter are learning and innovations). After defining errors and related concepts, we review research on error-related processes affected by error management (error detection, damage control). Empirical evidence on positive effects of error management in individuals and organizations is then discussed, along with emotional, motivational, cognitive, and behavioral pathways of these effects. Learning from errors is central, but like other positive consequences, learning occurs under certain circumstances--one being the development of a mind-set of acceptance of human error.

  10. 40 CFR 68.165 - Offsite consequence analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Offsite consequence analysis. 68.165 Section 68.165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.165 Offsite consequence...

  11. 40 CFR 68.165 - Offsite consequence analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Offsite consequence analysis. 68.165 Section 68.165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.165 Offsite consequence...

  12. Overview of practice management in child and adolescent psychiatry.

    PubMed

    Schreter, Robert K

    2010-01-01

    The manager of a psychiatric practice must create and direct a clinical delivery system, design and oversee the administrative services necessary to support the system, and guide the business operations that contribute to its success. Regardless of the size of the practice, the psychiatrist administrator must handle seven core administrative responsibilities and oversee individual functions and capabilities within each domain. These responsibilities include practice development, clinical services management, medical office operations, clinical management, information management, business management, and risk management. This article provides a roadmap for creating and sustaining successful clinical and administrative endeavors. It can also be used by existing practices as an audit instrument to provide a snapshot of current capabilities so that strengths as well as opportunities for continued growth can be identified.

  13. Research on the tourism resource development from the perspective of network capability-Taking Wuxi Huishan Ancient Town as an example

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bao, Yanli; Hua, Hefeng

    2017-03-01

    Network capability is the enterprise's capability to set up, manage, maintain and use a variety of relations between enterprises, and to obtain resources for improving competitiveness. Tourism in China is in a transformation period from sightseeing to leisure and vacation. Scenic spots as well as tourist enterprises can learn from some other enterprises in the process of resource development, and build up its own network relations in order to get resources for their survival and development. Through the effective management of network relations, the performance of resource development will be improved. By analyzing literature on network capability and the case analysis of Wuxi Huishan Ancient Town, the role of network capacity in the tourism resource development is explored and resource development path is built from the perspective of network capability. Finally, the tourism resource development process model based on network capacity is proposed. This model mainly includes setting up network vision, resource identification, resource acquisition, resource utilization and tourism project development. In these steps, network construction, network management and improving network center status are key points.

  14. Manual of Documentation Practices Applicable to Defence-Aerospace Scientific and Technical Information. Volume 1. Section 1 - Acquisition and Sources. Section 2 - Descriptive Cataloguing. Section 3 - Abstracting and Subject Analysis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1978-08-01

    weeding I I ORGANISATION & MANAGEMENT Aims and objectives, staffing, promotional activities, identifying u;ers 12 NETWORKS & EXTERNAL SOURCES OF...Acquisition Clerks with typing capability are required for meticulous recordkeeping. Typing capability of 50 words per minute and a working knowledge ...81 Adminhistration and Management Includes management planning and research. 64 Numerical Analysis Includes iteration, difference equations, and 82

  15. Making the Buses Run.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fickes, Michael

    1998-01-01

    Examines issues concerning outsourcing student transportation services: cost; management needs and capabilities; goals; and politics. Critical areas of transportation management are highlighted such as personnel management, student management and discipline, risk management, fleet analysis, and routing and scheduling. (GR)

  16. North Korean Paradoxes. Circumstances, Costs, and Consequences of Korean Unification

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-01-01

    consequences of Korean unification / Charles Wolf, Jr., Kamil Akramov. p. cm. "MG-333." Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3762-5 (pbk. : alk ...Institute of Technology NBER National Bureau for Economic Research OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develoment OSD Office of the Secretary of...opment ( OECD ) with a per capita income over $10,000 and the other a "lights-out" but nuclear-capable dynastic state-is the riddle; how to link economic

  17. Using health information technology to manage a patient population in accountable care organizations.

    PubMed

    Wu, Frances M; Rundall, Thomas G; Shortell, Stephen M; Bloom, Joan R

    2016-06-20

    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe the current landscape of health information technology (HIT) in early accountable care organizations (ACOs), the different strategies ACOs are using to develop HIT-based capabilities, and how ACOs are using these capabilities within their care management processes to advance health outcomes for their patient population. Design/methodology/approach - Mixed methods study pairing data from a cross-sectional National Survey of ACOs with in-depth, semi-structured interviews with leaders from 11 ACOs (both completed in 2013). Findings - Early ACOs vary widely in their electronic health record, data integration, and analytic capabilities. The most common HIT capability was drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks, with 53.2 percent of respondents reporting that the ACO possessed the capability to a high degree. Outpatient and inpatient data integration was the least common HIT capability (8.1 percent). In the interviews, ACO leaders commented on different HIT development strategies to gain a more comprehensive picture of patient needs and service utilization. ACOs realize the necessity for robust data analytics, and are exploring a variety of approaches to achieve it. Research limitations/implications - Data are self-reported. The qualitative portion was based on interviews with 11 ACOs, limiting generalizability to the universe of ACOs but allowing for a range of responses. Practical implications - ACOs are challenged with the development of sophisticated HIT infrastructure. They may benefit from targeted assistance and incentives to implement health information exchanges with other providers to promote more coordinated care management for their patient population. Originality/value - Using new empirical data, this study increases understanding of the extent of ACOs' current and developing HIT capabilities to support ongoing care management.

  18. Competing on capabilities: the new rules of corporate strategy.

    PubMed

    Stalk, G; Evans, P; Shulman, L E

    1992-01-01

    In the 1980s, companies discovered time as a new source of competitive advantage. In the 1990s, they will discover that time is only one piece of a more far-reaching transformation in the logic of competition. Using examples from Wal-Mart and other highly successful companies, Stalk, Evans, and Shulman of the Boston Consulting Group provide managers with a guide to the new world of "capabilities-based competition." In today's dynamic business environment, strategy too must become dynamic. Competition is a "war of movement" in which success depends on anticipation of market trends and quick response to changing customer needs. In such an environment, the essence of strategy is not the structure of a company's products and markets but the dynamics of its behavior. To succeed, a company must weave its key business processes into hard-to-imitate strategic capabilities that distinguish it from its competitors in the eyes of customers. A capability is a set of business processes strategically understood--for example, Wal-Mart's expertise in inventory replenishment, Honda's skill at dealer management, or Banc One's ability to "out-local the national banks and out-national the local banks." Such capabilities are collective and cross-functional--a small part of many people's jobs, not a large part of a few. Finally, competing on capabilities requires strategic investments in support systems that span traditional SBUs and functions and go far beyond what traditional cost-benefit metrics can justify. A CEO's success in building and managing a company's capabilities will be the chief test of management skill in the 1990s. The prize: companies that combine scale and flexibility to outperform the competition.

  19. Meeting the Growing Demand for Sustainability-Focused Management Education: A Case Study of a PRME Academic Institution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Suzanne; Nagpal, Swati

    2013-01-01

    The current business landscape has created the impetus to develop management graduates with capabilities that foster responsible leadership and sustainability. Through the lens of Gitsham's 3C Model (Complexity, Context and Connection) of graduate capabilities, this paper discusses the experience of implementing the United Nations Principles for…

  20. The Telecommunications and Data Acquisition Report

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Posner, E. C. (Editor)

    1990-01-01

    Archival reports on developments in programs managed by the JPL Office of Telecommunications and Data Acquisition (TDA) are provided. Topics covered include: DSN advanced systems (tracking and ground-based navigation; communications, spacecraft-ground; and station control and system technology) and DSN systems implementation (capabilities for existing projects; capabilities for new projects; TDA program management and analysis; and Goldstone solar system radar).

  1. Managing Human Resource Capabilities for Sustainable Competitive Advantage: An Empirical Analysis from Indian Global Organisations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khandekar, Aradhana; Sharma, Anuradha

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the role of human resource capability (HRC) in organisational performance and sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in Indian global organisations. Design/Methodology/Approach: To carry out the present study, an empirical research on a random sample of 300 line or human resource managers from…

  2. Digital processing of mesoscale analysis and space sensor data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hickey, J. S.; Karitani, S.

    1985-01-01

    The mesoscale analysis and space sensor (MASS) data management and analysis system on the research computer system is presented. The MASS data base management and analysis system was implemented on the research computer system which provides a wide range of capabilities for processing and displaying large volumes of conventional and satellite derived meteorological data. The research computer system consists of three primary computers (HP-1000F, Harris/6, and Perkin-Elmer 3250), each of which performs a specific function according to its unique capabilities. The overall tasks performed concerning the software, data base management and display capabilities of the research computer system in terms of providing a very effective interactive research tool for the digital processing of mesoscale analysis and space sensor data is described.

  3. Configuration management issues and objectives for a real-time research flight test support facility

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yergensen, Stephen; Rhea, Donald C.

    1988-01-01

    Presented are some of the critical issues and objectives pertaining to configuration management for the NASA Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR) of Ames Research Center. The primary mission of the WATR is to provide a capability for the conduct of aeronautical research flight test through real-time processing and display, tracking, and communications systems. In providing this capability, the WATR must maintain and enforce a configuration management plan which is independent of, but complimentary to, various research flight test project configuration management systems. A primary WATR objective is the continued development of generic research flight test project support capability, wherein the reliability of WATR support provided to all project users is a constant priority. Therefore, the processing of configuration change requests for specific research flight test project requirements must be evaluated within a perspective that maintains this primary objective.

  4. Weather modeling for hazard and consequence assessment operations during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hayes, P.; Trigg, J. L.; Stauffer, D.; Hunter, G.; McQueen, J.

    2006-05-01

    Consequence assessment (CA) operations are those processes that attempt to mitigate negative impacts of incidents involving hazardous materials such as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosive (CBRNE) agents, facilities, weapons, or transportation. Incident types range from accidental spillage of chemicals at/en route to/from a manufacturing plant, to the deliberate use of radiological or chemical material as a weapon in a crowded city. The impacts of these incidents are highly variable, from little or no impact to catastrophic loss of life and property. Local and regional scale atmospheric conditions strongly influence atmospheric transport and dispersion processes in the boundary layer, and the extent and scope of the spread of dangerous materials in the lower levels of the atmosphere. Therefore, CA personnel charged with managing the consequences of CBRNE incidents must have detailed knowledge of current and future weather conditions to accurately model potential effects. A meteorology team was established at the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to provide weather support to CA personnel operating DTRA's CA tools, such as the Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC) tool. The meteorology team performs three main functions: 1) regular provision of meteorological data for use by personnel using HPAC, 2) determination of the best performing medium-range model forecast for the 12 - 48 hour timeframe and 3) provision of real-time help-desk support to users regarding acquisition and use of weather in HPAC CA applications. The normal meteorology team operations were expanded during a recent modeling project which took place during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. The meteorology team took advantage of special weather observation datasets available in the domain of the Winter Olympic venues and undertook a project to improve weather modeling at high resolution. The varied and complex terrain provided a special challenge to the modelers on the meteorology team. Some of the Olympic venues were located in the mountains to the west of Torino, while the rest were located on the relatively flat plain in and around the cities of Pinerolo and Torino to the east. DTRA partners at Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) established data collection and assimilation, and forecast modeling processes that used special weather station observations provided by the Area Previsione e Monitoraggio Ambientale of Italy's ARPA Piemonte. At PSU a version of the MM5 was especially prepared to use observation data to forecast weather in a four-nest configuration. Two other DTRA partners provided independent weather forecast models against which the PSU model data were compared. The U.S. Air Force Weather Agency provided its MM5 forecast model data and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Prediction provided data from a special version of their WRF model. The project produced many opportunities to improve the modeling and forecasting capability at DTRA. DTRA and its partners plan to expand upon this experience during upcoming field tests, and to further improve and expand the capability to provide accurate high-resolution weather forecast information to hazard and consequence assessment operations.

  5. On-line evaluation of multiloop digital controller performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wieseman, Carol D.

    1993-01-01

    The purpose of this presentation is to inform the Guidance and Control community of capabilities which were developed by the Aeroservoelasticity Branch to evaluate the performance of multivariable control laws, on-line, during wind-tunnel testing. The capabilities are generic enough to be useful for all kinds of on-line analyses involving multivariable control in experimental testing. Consequently, it was decided to present this material at this workshop even though it has been presented elsewhere. Topics covered include: essential on-line analysis requirements; on-line analysis capabilities; on-line analysis software; frequency domain procedures; controller performance evaluation frequency-domain flutter suppression; and plant determination.

  6. Occupational Stress in Secondary Education in Cyprus: Causes, Symptoms, Consequences and Stress Management

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hadjisymeou, Georgia

    2010-01-01

    The survey attempted to look into the causes, symptoms and consequences that occupational stress has on teachers in Secondary Education in Cyprus and find ways to manage it. Thirty eight schools with 553 teachers participated in the survey. The sample chosen is a result of a simple random sampling and it is representative of the country's…

  7. Healthcare managers in negative media focus: a qualitative study of personification processes and their personal consequences

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Over the last decade healthcare management and managers have increasingly been in focus in public debate. The purpose of the present study was to gain a deeper understanding of how prolonged, unfavorable media focus can influence both the individual as a person and his or her managerial practice in the healthcare organization. Methods In-depth interviews (n = 49) with 24 managers and their superiors, or subordinate human resources/information professionals, and partners were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results The conceptual model explains how perceived uncertainties related to the managerial role influence personification and its negative consequences. The role ambiguities comprised challenges regarding the separation of individual identity from the professional function, the interaction with intra-organizational support and political play, and the understanding and acceptance of roles in society. A higher degree of uncertainty in role ambiguity increased both personification and the personal reaction to intense media pressure. Three types of reactions were related to the feeling of being infringed: avoidance and narrow-mindedness; being hard on self, on subordinates, and/or family members; and resignation and dejection. The results are discussed so as to elucidate the importance of support from others within the organization when under media scrutiny. Conclusions The degree of personification seems to determine the personal consequences as well as the consequences for their managerial practice. Organizational support for managers appearing in the media would probably be beneficial for both the manager and the organization. PMID:24397306

  8. A Method for Dynamic Risk Assessment and Management of Rockbursts in Drill and Blast Tunnels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Guo-Feng; Feng, Xia-Ting; Feng, Guang-Liang; Chen, Bing-Rui; Chen, Dong-Fang; Duan, Shu-Qian

    2016-08-01

    Focusing on the problems caused by rockburst hazards in deep tunnels, such as casualties, damage to construction equipment and facilities, construction schedule delays, and project cost increase, this research attempts to present a methodology for dynamic risk assessment and management of rockbursts in D&B tunnels. The basic idea of dynamic risk assessment and management of rockbursts is determined, and methods associated with each step in the rockburst risk assessment and management process are given, respectively. Among them, the main parts include a microseismic method for early warning the occurrence probability of rockburst risk, an estimation method that aims to assess potential consequences of rockburst risk, an evaluation method that utilizes a new quantitative index considering both occurrence probability and consequences for determining the level of rockburst risk, and the dynamic updating. Specifically, this research briefly describes the referenced microseismic method of warning rockburst, but focuses on the analysis of consequences and associated risk assessment and management of rockburst. Using the proposed method of risk assessment and management of rockburst, the occurrence probability, potential consequences, and the level of rockburst risk can be obtained in real-time during tunnel excavation, which contributes to the dynamic optimisation of risk mitigation measures and their application. The applicability of the proposed method has been verified by those cases from the Jinping II deep headrace and water drainage tunnels at depths of 1900-2525 m (with a length of 11.6 km in total for D&B tunnels).

  9. Research for Stakeholders: Delivering the ShakeOut Earthquake Scenario to Golden Guardian Emergency Exercise Planners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perry, S. C.; Holbrook, C. C.

    2008-12-01

    The ShakeOut Scenario of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault was developed to fit needs of end users, particularly emergency managers at Federal, State, and local levels. Customization has continued after initial publication. The Scenario, a collaboration among some 300 experts in physical and social sciences, engineering, and industry, was released in May, 2008, to a key planning conference for the November 2008 Golden Guardian Exercise series. According to long-standing observers, the 2008 exercise is the most ambitious of their experience. The scientific foundation has attracted a large number of participants and there are already requests to continue use of the Scenario in 2009. Successful exercises cover a limited range of capabilities, in order to test performance in measurable ways, and to train staff without overwhelming them. Any one exercise would fail if it attempted to capture the complexity of impacts from a major earthquake. Instead, exercise planners have used the Scenario like a magnifying glass to identify risk and capabilities most critical to their own jurisdictions. Presentations by Scenario scientists and a 16-page narrative provided an initial overview. However, many planners were daunted in attempts to extract details from a 300-page report, 12 supplemental studies, and 10 appendices, or in attempts to cast the reality into straightforward events to drive successful exercises. Thus we developed an evolving collection of documents, presentations, and consultations that included impacts to specific jurisdictions; distillations of damages and consequences; and annotated lists of capabilities and situations to consider. Some exercise planners needed realistic extrapolations beyond posited damages; others sought reality checks; yet others needed new formats or perspectives. Through all this, it was essential to maintain flexibility, assisting planners to adjust findings where appropriate, while indicating why some results could not be changed. The results of these efforts have been exercises that use a richer set of scientific findings; planners and participants with a broader understanding of the regional impacts of a major earthquake; and for future scenarists, increased insight into emergency management application of hazard science results, and into the value of ongoing engagement with stakeholders.

  10. Viewing the functional consequences of traumatic brain injury by using brain SPECT.

    PubMed

    Pavel, D; Jobe, T; Devore-Best, S; Davis, G; Epstein, P; Sinha, S; Kohn, R; Craita, I; Liu, P; Chang, Y

    2006-03-01

    High-resolution brain SPECT is increasingly benefiting from improved image processing software and multiple complementary display capabilities. This enables detailed functional mapping of the disturbances in relative perfusion occurring after TBI. The patient population consisted of 26 cases (ages 8-61 years)between 3 months and 6 years after traumatic brain injury.A very strong case can be made for the routine use of Brain SPECT in TBI. Indeed it can provide a detailed evaluation of multiple functional consequences after TBI and is thus capable of supplementing the clinical evaluation and tailoring the therapeutic strategies needed. In so doing it also provides significant additional information beyond that available from MRI/CT. The critical factor for Brain SPECT's clinical relevance is a carefully designed technical protocol, including displays which should enable a comprehensive description of the patterns found, in a user friendly mode.

  11. Non-Solenoidal Startup Research Directions on the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fonck, R. J.; Bongard, M. W.; Lewicki, B. T.; Reusch, J. A.; Winz, G. R.

    2017-10-01

    The Pegasus research program has been focused on developing a physical understanding and predictive models for non-solenoidal tokamak plasma startup using Local Helicity Injection (LHI). LHI employs strong localized electron currents injected along magnetic field lines in the plasma edge that relax through magnetic turbulence to form a tokamak-like plasma. Pending approval, the Pegasus program will address a broader, more comprehensive examination of non-solenoidal tokamak startup techniques. New capabilities may include: increasing the toroidal field to 0.6 T to support critical scaling tests to near-NSTX-U field levels; deploying internal plasma diagnostics; installing a coaxial helicity injection (CHI) capability in the upper divertor region; and deploying a modest (200-400 kW) electron cyclotron RF capability. These efforts will address scaling of relevant physics to higher BT, separate and comparative studies of helicity injection techniques, efficiency of handoff to consequent current sustainment techniques, and the use of ECH to synergistically improve the target plasma for consequent bootstrap and neutral beam current drive sustainment. This has an ultimate goal of validating techniques to produce a 1 MA target plasma in NSTX-U and beyond. Work supported by US DOE Grant DE-FG02-96ER54375.

  12. Modeling the Cloud to Enhance Capabilities for Crises and Catastrophe Management

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-11-16

    order for cloud computing infrastructures to be successfully deployed in real world scenarios as tools for crisis and catastrophe management, where...Statement of the Problem Studied As cloud computing becomes the dominant computational infrastructure[1] and cloud technologies make a transition to hosting...1. Formulate rigorous mathematical models representing technological capabilities and resources in cloud computing for performance modeling and

  13. Improved Financial Capability Can Reduce Material Hardship among Mothers.

    PubMed

    Huang, Jin; Nam, Yunju; Sherraden, Michael; Clancy, Margaret M

    2016-10-01

    This study draws on the theoretical framework of financial capability in investigating whether financial access (that is, availability of financial products and services) and financial knowledge (that is, understanding of basic financial concepts) can influence the risk of material hardship. Authors examine the possibility of direct associations as well as of indirect ones in which financial management (that is, individual financial behaviors) serves as a mediator. The probability sample of mothers with young children born in Oklahoma during 2007 (N = 2,529) was selected from Oklahoma birth certificates. Results from structural equation modeling analyses show that financial access is positively associated with financial management (p < 0.001) but that financial knowledge is not; both financial access (p < 0.001) and financial management (p < 0.001) are negatively correlated with material hardship. Similar results are obtained from analyses with a subsample of low-income mothers. Findings suggest that financial capability, particularly the financial access component, is critical for improving financial management and reducing the risk of material hardship among mothers with young children, including low-income mothers. Efforts to promote financial capability offer social workers an important strategy for improving their clients’ economic well-being.

  14. Prototype Flight Management Capabilities to Explore Temporal RNP Concepts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ballin, Mark G.; Williams, David H.; Allen, Bonnie Danette; Palmer, Michael T.

    2008-01-01

    Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) concepts of operation may require aircraft to fly planned trajectories in four dimensions three spatial dimensions and time. A prototype 4D flight management capability is being developed by NASA to facilitate the development of these concepts. New trajectory generation functions extend today's flight management system (FMS) capabilities that meet a single Required Time of Arrival (RTA) to trajectory solutions that comply with multiple RTA constraints. When a solution is not possible, a constraint management capability relaxes constraints to achieve a trajectory solution that meets the most important constraints as specified by candidate NextGen concepts. New flight guidance functions provide continuous guidance to the aircraft s flight control system to enable it to fly specified 4D trajectories. Guidance options developed for research investigations include a moving time window with varying tolerances that are a function of proximity to imposed constraints, and guidance that recalculates the aircraft s planned trajectory as a function of the estimation of current compliance. Compliance tolerances are related to required navigation performance (RNP) through the extension of existing RNP concepts for lateral containment. A conceptual temporal RNP implementation and prototype display symbology are proposed.

  15. [Risk of long-lasting negative cognitive consequences after electroconvulsive therapy].

    PubMed

    Svendsen, Anne Marie; Miskowiak, Kamilla; Vinberg, Maj

    2013-10-28

    This case study describes a patient who had a unipolar depression and experienced long-lasting cognitive problems after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Neuropsychological testing revealed lower scores on measures of learning, memory and sustained attention. These results stress the importance of informing patients who have ECT of the potential cognitive consequences of this treatment as it may influence the patients' functional capabilities. Prospective studies are needed since we do not have sufficient knowledge regarding the 3-5% of these patients who experience sustained cognitive problems.

  16. Preparing for the Unthinkable: DOD Support to Foreign Consequence Management

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-05-03

    Nuclear Disaster ” (research paper, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air University, 2001), 23. 17 Department of Defense Consequence Management...States Government Response to an Overseas Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear Disaster ” (research paper, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air...Government Response to an Overseas Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear Disaster .” Research paper, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air University

  17. Intermittent auscultation versus continuous fetal monitoring: exploring factors that influence birthing unit nurses' fetal surveillance practice using theoretical domains framework.

    PubMed

    Patey, Andrea M; Curran, Janet A; Sprague, Ann E; Francis, Jill J; Driedger, S Michelle; Légaré, France; Lemyre, Louise; Pomey, Marie-Pascale A; Grimshaw, Jeremy M

    2017-09-25

    Intermittent Auscultation (IA) is the recommended method of fetal surveillance for healthy women in labour. However, the majority of women receive continuous electronic monitoring. We used the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to explore the views of Birthing Unit nurses about using IA as their primary method of fetal surveillance for healthy women in labour. Using a semi-structured interview guide, we interviewed a convenience sample of birthing unit nurses throughout Ontario, Canada to elicit their views about fetal surveillance. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were content analysed using the TDF and themes were framed as belief statements. Domains potentially key to changing fetal surveillance behaviour and informing intervention design were identified by noting the frequencies of beliefs, content, and their reported influence on the use of IA. We interviewed 12 birthing unit nurses. Seven of the 12 TDF domains were perceived to be key to changing birthing unit nurses' behaviour The nurses reported that competing tasks, time constraints and the necessity to multitask often limit their ability to perform IA (domains Beliefs about capabilities; Environmental context and resources). Some nurses noted the decision to use IA was something that they consciously thought about with every patient while others stated it their default decision as long as there were no risk factors (Memory, attention and decision processes, Nature of behaviour). They identified positive consequences (e.g. avoid unnecessary interventions, mother-centered care) and negative consequences of using IA (e.g. legal concerns) and reported that the negative consequences can often outweigh positive consequences (Beliefs about consequences). Some reported that hospital policies and varying support from care teams inhibited their use of IA (Social influences), and that support from the entire team and hospital management would likely increase their use (Social influences; Behavioural regulation). We identified potential influences on birthing unit nurses' use of IA as their primary method of fetal surveillance. These beliefs suggest potential targets for behaviour change interventions to promote IA use.

  18. Construction Management: Building Schools Faster in the International Marketplace

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scarano, Joseph J.

    1976-01-01

    Construction management accelerates school construction, increases quality and labor productivity, lowers costs, and offers developing nations an opportunity to improve their own management capabilities. (MLF)

  19. Manpower management information system /MIS/

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gravette, M. C.; King, W. L.

    1971-01-01

    System of programs capable of building and maintaining data bank provides all levels of management with regular manpower evaluation reports and data source for special management exercises on manpower.

  20. End-of-Life Care Planning in Accountable Care Organizations: Associations with Organizational Characteristics and Capabilities.

    PubMed

    Ahluwalia, Sangeeta C; Harris, Benjamin J; Lewis, Valerie A; Colla, Carrie H

    2018-06-01

    To measure the extent to which accountable care organizations (ACOs) have adopted end-of-life (EOL) care planning processes and characterize those ACOs that have established processes related to EOL. This study uses data from three waves (2012-2015) of the National Survey of ACOs. Respondents were 397 ACOs participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial ACO contracts. This is a cross-sectional survey study using multivariate ordered logit regression models. We measured the extent to which the ACO had adopted EOL care planning processes as well as organizational characteristics, including care management, utilization management, health informatics, and shared decision-making capabilities, palliative care, and patient-centered medical home experience. Twenty-one percent of ACOs had few or no EOL care planning processes, 60 percent had some processes, and 19.6 percent had advanced processes. ACOs with a hospital in their system (OR: 3.07; p = .01), and ACOs with advanced care management (OR: 1.43; p = .02), utilization management (OR: 1.58, p = .00), and shared decision-making capabilities (OR: 16.3, p = .000) were more likely to have EOL care planning processes than those with no hospital or few to no capabilities. There remains considerable room for today's ACOs to increase uptake of EOL care planning, possibly by leveraging existing care management, utilization management, and shared decision-making processes. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  1. Designing an Alternate Mission Operations Control Room

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Montgomery, Patty; Reeves, A. Scott

    2014-01-01

    The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) is a multi-project facility that is responsible for 24x7 real-time International Space Station (ISS) payload operations management, integration, and control and has the capability to support small satellite projects and will provide real-time support for SLS launches. The HOSC is a serviceoriented/ highly available operations center for ISS payloads-directly supporting science teams across the world responsible for the payloads. The HOSC is required to endure an annual 2-day power outage event for facility preventive maintenance and safety inspection of the core electro-mechanical systems. While complete system shut-downs are against the grain of a highly available sub-system, the entire facility must be powered down for a weekend for environmental and safety purposes. The consequence of this ground system outage is far reaching: any science performed on ISS during this outage weekend is lost. Engineering efforts were focused to maximize the ISS investment by engineering a suitable solution capable of continuing HOSC services while supporting safety requirements. The HOSC Power Outage Contingency (HPOC) System is a physically diversified compliment of systems capable of providing identified real-time services for the duration of a planned power outage condition from an alternate control room. HPOC was designed to maintain ISS payload operations for approximately three continuous days during planned HOSC power outages and support a local Payload Operations Team, International Partners, as well as remote users from the alternate control room located in another building. This paper presents the HPOC architecture and lessons learned during testing and the planned maiden operational commissioning. Additionally, this paper documents the necessity of an HPOC capability given the unplanned HOSC Facility power outage on April 27th, 2011, as a result of the tornado outbreak that damaged the electrical grid to such a degree that significantly inhibited the Tennessee Valley Authority's ability to transmit electricity throughout the North Alabama region.

  2. Achieving Cyber Resilience, Reducing Cybercrime and Increasing Cyber Defense Capabilities: Where Should the U.S. Department of Defense Concentrate Today to Prevent Cyberattacks of Significant Consequence

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-24

    the Cybersecurity in the United States – Brief Overview 13 2.1. Data Breaches in the United States 14 2.2. Security and...Capacity to Defend 15 2.2.1. Cybersecurity Capabilities in the United States 18 2.3. Internationalization of Cybersecurity ...The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Org Chart 43 2.2.1.2 National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) Org

  3. MINIS: Multipurpose Interactive NASA Information System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1976-01-01

    The Multipurpose Interactive NASA Information Systems (MINIS) was developed in response to the need for a data management system capable of operation on several different minicomputer systems. The desired system had to be capable of performing the functions of a LANDSAT photo descriptive data retrieval system while remaining general in terms of other acceptable user definable data bases. The system also had to be capable of performing data base updates and providing user-formatted output reports. The resultant MINI System provides all of these capabilities and several other features to complement the data management system. The MINI System is currently implemented on two minicomputer systems and is in the process of being installed on another minicomputer system. The MINIS is operational on four different data bases.

  4. The Marine Engineers in Today’s MAGTF: Historical Perspective, Consequences and Alternatives

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-04-15

    Inhibited Flexibility for Resource Leveling ...........................................................................17 Mission and Capability...21 Inhibited Flexibility for Resource Leveling ...ground combat element ( GCE ); an engineer support battalion (ESB) supports the logistics combat element (LCE); and engineer operations divisions

  5. Curriculum Mapping to Embed Graduate Capabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spencer, David; Riddle, Matthew; Knewstubb, Bernadette

    2012-01-01

    Graduate capabilities are an essential aspect of undergraduate development in higher education. Accordingly, La Trobe University's "Design for learning" has identified particular university-wide graduate capabilities and required all faculties to explicitly embed these in their curricula. The Faculty of Law and Management developed an approach to…

  6. Telematics Options and Capabilities

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

    Hodge, Cabell

    This presentation describes the data tracking and analytical capabilities of telematics devices. Federal fleet managers can use the systems to keep their drivers safe, maintain a fuel efficient fleet, ease their reporting burden, and save money. The presentation includes an example of how much these capabilities can save fleets.

  7. Toward information management in corporations (4)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yamamoto, Takeo

    The roles of personal computers (PC's) and workstations (WS's) in developing the corporate information system is discussed. The history and state of art for PC's and WS's are reviewed. Checkpoints for introducing PC's and WS's are ; Japanese word-processing capabilities, multi-media capabilities and network capabilities.

  8. Baseline Assessment and Prioritization Framework for IVHM Integrity Assurance Enabling Capabilities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cooper, Eric G.; DiVito, Benedetto L.; Jacklin, Stephen A.; Miner, Paul S.

    2009-01-01

    Fundamental to vehicle health management is the deployment of systems incorporating advanced technologies for predicting and detecting anomalous conditions in highly complex and integrated environments. Integrated structural integrity health monitoring, statistical algorithms for detection, estimation, prediction, and fusion, and diagnosis supporting adaptive control are examples of advanced technologies that present considerable verification and validation challenges. These systems necessitate interactions between physical and software-based systems that are highly networked with sensing and actuation subsystems, and incorporate technologies that are, in many respects, different from those employed in civil aviation today. A formidable barrier to deploying these advanced technologies in civil aviation is the lack of enabling verification and validation tools, methods, and technologies. The development of new verification and validation capabilities will not only enable the fielding of advanced vehicle health management systems, but will also provide new assurance capabilities for verification and validation of current generation aviation software which has been implicated in anomalous in-flight behavior. This paper describes the research focused on enabling capabilities for verification and validation underway within NASA s Integrated Vehicle Health Management project, discusses the state of the art of these capabilities, and includes a framework for prioritizing activities.

  9. Integrated System Health Management: Foundational Concepts, Approach, and Implementation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando

    2009-01-01

    Implementation of integrated system health management (ISHM) capability is fundamentally linked to the management of data, information, and knowledge (DIaK) with the purposeful objective of determining the health of a system. It is akin to having a team of experts who are all individually and collectively observing and analyzing a complex system, and communicating effectively with each other in order to arrive to an accurate and reliable assessment of its health. This paper presents concepts, procedures, and a specific approach as a foundation for implementing a credible ISHM capability. The capability stresses integration of DIaK from all elements of a subsystem. The intent is also to make possible implementation of on-board ISHM capability, in contrast to a remote capability. The information presented is the result of many years of research, development, and maturation of technologies, and of prototype implementations in operational systems (rocket engine test facilities). The paper will address the following topics: ISHM Model of a system; detection of anomaly indicators; determination and confirmation of anomalies; diagnostic of causes and determination of effects; consistency checking cycle; sharing of health information; sharing of display information; storage and retrieval of health information; and example implementation.

  10. Supplemental Interscalene Blockade to General Anesthesia for Shoulder Arthroscopy: Effects on Fast Track Capability, Analgesic Quality, and Lung Function.

    PubMed

    Zoremba, Martin; Kratz, Thomas; Dette, Frank; Wulf, Hinnerk; Steinfeldt, Thorsten; Wiesmann, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    After shoulder surgery performed in patients with interscalene nerve block (without general anesthesia), fast track capability and postoperative pain management in the PACU are improved compared with general anesthesia alone. However, it is not known if these evidence-based benefits still exist when the interscalene block is combined with general anesthesia. We retrospectively analyzed a prospective cohort data set of 159 patients undergoing shoulder arthroscopy with general anesthesia alone (n = 60) or combined with an interscalene nerve block catheter (n = 99) for fast track capability time. Moreover, comparisons were made for VAS scores, analgesic consumption in the PACU, pain management, and lung function measurements. The groups did not differ in mean time to fast track capability (22 versus 22 min). Opioid consumption in PACU was significantly less in the interscalene group, who had significantly better VAS scores during PACU stay. Patients receiving interscalene blockade had a significantly impaired lung function postoperatively, although this did not affect postoperative recovery and had no impact on PACU times. The addition of interscalene block to general anesthesia for shoulder arthroscopy did not enhance fast track capability. Pain management and VAS scores were improved in the interscalene nerve block group.

  11. Forest fire management to avoid unintended consequences: a case study of Portugal using system dynamics.

    PubMed

    Collins, Ross D; de Neufville, Richard; Claro, João; Oliveira, Tiago; Pacheco, Abílio P

    2013-11-30

    Forest fires are a serious management challenge in many regions, complicating the appropriate allocation to suppression and prevention efforts. Using a System Dynamics (SD) model, this paper explores how interactions between physical and political systems in forest fire management impact the effectiveness of different allocations. A core issue is that apparently sound management can have unintended consequences. An instinctive management response to periods of worsening fire severity is to increase fire suppression capacity, an approach with immediate appeal as it directly treats the symptom of devastating fires and appeases the public. However, the SD analysis indicates that a policy emphasizing suppression can degrade the long-run effectiveness of forest fire management. By crowding out efforts to preventative fuel removal, it exacerbates fuel loads and leads to greater fires, which further balloon suppression budgets. The business management literature refers to this problem as the firefighting trap, wherein focus on fixing problems diverts attention from preventing them, and thus leads to inferior outcomes. The paper illustrates these phenomena through a case study of Portugal, showing that a balanced approach to suppression and prevention efforts can mitigate the self-reinforcing consequences of this trap, and better manage long-term fire damages. These insights can help policymakers and fire managers better appreciate the interconnected systems in which their authorities reside and the dynamics that may undermine seemingly rational management decisions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. 5 CFR 250.103 - Consequences of improper agency actions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Consequences of improper agency actions. 250.103 Section 250.103 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE... Consequences of improper agency actions. If OPM finds that an agency has taken an action contrary to a law...

  13. Advances in Atmospheric Radiation Measurements and Modeling Needed to Improve Air Safety

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tobiska, W. Kent; Atwell, William; Beck, Peter; Benton, Eric; Copeland, Kyle; Dyer, Clive; Gersey, Brad; Getley, Ian; Hands, Alex; Holland, Michael; Hong, Sunhak; Hwang, Junga; Jones, Bryn; Malone, Kathleen; Meier, Matthias M.; Mertens, Chris; Phillips, Tony; Ryden, Keith; Schwadron, Nathan; Wender, Stephen A.; Wilkins, Richard; Xapsos, Michael A.

    2015-04-01

    Air safety is tied to the phenomenon of ionizing radiation from space weather, primarily from galactic cosmic rays but also from solar energetic particles. A global framework for addressing radiation issues in this environment has been constructed, but more must be done at international and national levels. Health consequences from atmospheric radiation exposure are likely to exist. In addition, severe solar radiation events may cause economic consequences in the international aviation community due to exposure limits being reached by some crew members. Impacts from a radiation environment upon avionics from high-energy particles and low-energy, thermalized neutrons are now recognized as an area of active interest. A broad community recognizes that there are a number of mitigation paths that can be taken relative to the human tissue and avionics exposure risks. These include developing active monitoring and measurement programs as well as improving scientific modeling capabilities that can eventually be turned into operations. A number of roadblocks to risk mitigation still exist, such as effective pilot training programs as well as monitoring, measuring, and regulatory measures. An active international effort toward observing the weather of atmospheric radiation must occur to make progress in mitigating radiation exposure risks. Stakeholders in this process include standard-making bodies, scientific organizations, regulatory organizations, air traffic management systems, aircraft owners and operators, pilots and crew, and even the public.

  14. Improving Collaborative Behaviour Planning in Adult Auditory Rehabilitation: Development of the I-PLAN Intervention Using the Behaviour Change Wheel.

    PubMed

    Barker, Fiona; Lusignan, Simon de; Deborah, Cooke

    2018-05-18

    The consequences of poorly managed hearing loss can be ameliorated with hearing aid use but rates of use are sub-optimal. The impact of audiologist behaviour on subsequent use, particularly over the long term, is unknown. This study aimed to describe the role of the behaviour change wheel in developing an intervention to introduce and embed particular clinical behaviours into adult hearing aid fitting consultations, within the framework of the Medical Research Council guidance on complex interventions. Following the steps of the behaviour change wheel, audiologist behaviours that might influence hearing aid use were identified based on a systematic review and qualitative work with audiologists. An analysis, using the COM-B model, identified potential drivers of the target behaviours. This was used to select intervention functions and behaviour change techniques likely to influence behaviour in this context. The target behaviours were as follows: giving information about the benefits of hearing aid use and the negative consequences of non-use, providing prompts for use and engaging in collaborative behavioural planning for use. The behavioural analysis suggested that psychological capability, opportunity and motivation were potential drivers of these behaviours. The intervention functions of education, coercion, training, environmental restructuring, modelling and enablement were selected and combined to develop a single complex intervention that seeks to address the target behaviours.

  15. The National Institute of Justice's Technology Efforts to Meet the Evolving Needs of the Responder Community

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boyd, D.

    2002-05-01

    The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research arm of the Department of Justice. Through its Office of Science & Technology (OS&T), NIJ has actively pursued development of better tools for public safety agencies to combat terrorism since 1997, when, pursuant to the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Penalty Act of 1996 (P.L. 104 -132), it began development of technology to better enable law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism. NIJ quickly realized that effectively combating terrorism required a multi disciplinary, multi agency response. Additionally, it came to understand that, as noted by the Gilmore Commission, the best way to prepare the responder community to deal with the consequences of terrorist incidents, was to ``emphasize programs and initiatives that build appropriately on existing State and local capabilities for other emergencies and disasters.'' For example, an effective critical incident management system is just as important to the ability to deal with a terrorist attack, such as occurred at the World Trade Center, as with a major natural disaster or the crash of a commercial airliner or passenger train. Consequently, NIJ's efforts have evolved to focus on the responder community's common, unaddressed needs for better tools to deal with critical incidents. The Institutes efforts focus on five technology areas: infrastructure security, personnel location, explosives detection and remediation, communications and information technology and training, and development of standards.

  16. Theories of lean management: an empirical evaluation.

    PubMed

    Handel, Michael J

    2014-03-01

    Debates within organization theory traditionally argued the relative merits of bureaucracy but today there is broad agreement across different perspectives that bureaucratic organization is inefficient and outmoded. Despite their differences, post-bureaucratic and neo-liberal theories argue that organizations with relatively flat hierarchies and low management overhead are better adapted to current market requirements. Post-bureaucratic theory also argues that employees, as well as firms, benefit from leaner management structures. This paper investigates trends in managerial leanness, proposed explanations for such trends, and the consequences of leanness for firms and employees. Although there is a trend toward flatter management hierarchies, there is only weak support for current claims regarding both the causes and consequences of lean management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Assessment of a Bayesian Belief Network-GIS framework as a practical tool to support marine planning.

    PubMed

    Stelzenmüller, V; Lee, J; Garnacho, E; Rogers, S I

    2010-10-01

    For the UK continental shelf we developed a Bayesian Belief Network-GIS framework to visualise relationships between cumulative human pressures, sensitive marine landscapes and landscape vulnerability, to assess the consequences of potential marine planning objectives, and to map uncertainty-related changes in management measures. Results revealed that the spatial assessment of footprints and intensities of human activities had more influence on landscape vulnerabilities than the type of landscape sensitivity measure used. We addressed questions regarding consequences of potential planning targets, and necessary management measures with spatially-explicit assessment of their consequences. We conclude that the BN-GIS framework is a practical tool allowing for the visualisation of relationships, the spatial assessment of uncertainty related to spatial management scenarios, the engagement of different stakeholder views, and enables a quick update of new spatial data and relationships. Ultimately, such BN-GIS based tools can support the decision-making process used in adaptive marine management. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Connecting the Force from Space: The IRIS Joint Capability Technology Demonstration

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-01-01

    the Joint in Joint Capability Technology Demonstration, we have two sponsors, both U.S. Strategic Command and the Defense Information Systems...Capability Technology Demonstration will provide an excellent source of data on space-based Internet Protocol net- working. Operational... Internet Routing in Space Joint Capability Technology Demonstration Operational Manager, Space and Missile Defense Battle Lab, Colorado Springs

  19. Biometrics Enabling Capability Increment 1 (BEC Inc 1)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-01

    2016 Major Automated Information System Annual Report Biometrics Enabling Capability Increment 1 (BEC Inc 1) Defense Acquisition Management...Phone: 227-3119 DSN Fax: Date Assigned: July 15, 2015 Program Information Program Name Biometrics Enabling Capability Increment 1 (BEC Inc 1) DoD...therefore, no Original Estimate has been established. BEC Inc 1 2016 MAR UNCLASSIFIED 4 Program Description The Biometrics Enabling Capability (BEC

  20. Proceedings of the Air Transportation Management Workshop

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tobias, Leonard (Editor); Tashker, Michael G. (Editor); Boyle, Angela M. (Editor)

    1995-01-01

    The Air Transportation Management (ATM) Workshop was held 31 Jan. - 1 Feb. 1995 at NASA Ames Research Center. The purpose of the workshop was to develop an initial understanding of user concerns and requirements for future ATM capabilities and to initiate discussions of alternative means and technologies for achieving more effective ATM capabilities. The topics for the sessions were as follows: viewpoints of future ATM capabilities, user requirements, lessons learned, and technologies for ATM. In addition, two panel sessions discussed priorities for ATM, and potential contributions of NASA to ATM. The proceedings contain transcriptions of all sessions.

  1. 40 CFR 68.165 - Offsite consequence analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.165 Offsite consequence... released in pounds; (7) Release rate; (8) Release duration; (9) Wind speed and atmospheric stability class...

  2. 40 CFR 68.165 - Offsite consequence analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.165 Offsite consequence... released in pounds; (7) Release rate; (8) Release duration; (9) Wind speed and atmospheric stability class...

  3. 40 CFR 68.165 - Offsite consequence analysis.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.165 Offsite consequence... released in pounds; (7) Release rate; (8) Release duration; (9) Wind speed and atmospheric stability class...

  4. Small changes in climate can profoundly alter the dynamics and ecosystem services of tropical crater lakes.

    PubMed

    Saulnier-Talbot, Émilie; Gregory-Eaves, Irene; Simpson, Kyle G; Efitre, Jackson; Nowlan, Tobias E; Taranu, Zofia E; Chapman, Lauren J

    2014-01-01

    African tropical lakes provide vital ecosystem services including food and water to some of the fastest growing human populations, yet they are among the most understudied ecosystems in the world. The consequences of climate change and other stressors on the tropical lakes of Africa have been informed by long-term analyses, but these studies have largely focused on the massive Great Rift Valley lakes. Our objective was to evaluate how recent climate change has altered the functioning and services of smaller tropical lakes, which are far more abundant on the landscape. Based on a paired analysis of 20 years of high-resolution water column data and a paleolimnological record from a small crater lake in western Uganda, we present evidence that even a modest warming of the air (∼0.9°C increase over 20 years) and changes in the timing and intensity of rainfall can have significant consequences on the dynamics of this common tropical lake type. For example, we observed a significant nonlinear increase (R(2) adj  = 0.23, e.d.f. = 7, p<0.0001) in thermal stability over the past 20 years. This resulted in the expansion of anoxic waters and consequent deterioration of fish habitat and appears to have abated primary production; processes that may impair ecosystem services for a vulnerable human population. This study on a system representative of small tropical crater lakes highlights the far-reaching effects of global climatic change on tropical waters. Increased research efforts into tropical aquatic ecosystem health and the development of sound management practices are necessary in order to strengthen adaptive capabilities in tropical regions.

  5. ATR Spent Fuel Options Study

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

    Connolly, Michael James; Bean, Thomas E.; Brower, Jeffrey O.

    The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is a materials and fuels test nuclear reactor that performs irradiation services for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Naval Reactors, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and other research programs. ATR achieved initial criticality in 1967 and is expected to operate in support of needed missions until the year 2050 or beyond. It is anticipated that ATR will generate approximately 105 spent nuclear fuel (SNF) elements per year through the year 2050. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) currently stores 2,008 ATR SNF elements in dry storage, 976 in wet storage,more » and expects to have 1,000 elements in wet storage before January 2017. A capability gap exists at INL for long-term (greater than the year 2050) management, in compliance with the Idaho Settlement Agreement (ISA), of ATR SNF until a monitored retrievable geological repository is open. INL has significant wet and dry storage capabilities that are owned by the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) and operated and managed by Fluor Idaho, which include the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center’s (INTEC’s) CPP-666, CPP-749, and CPP-603. In addition, INL has other capabilities owned by DOE-NE and operated and managed by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), which are located at the Materials and Fuel Complex (MFC). Additional storage capabilities are located on the INL Site at the Naval Reactors Facility (NRF). Current INL SNF management planning, as defined in the Fluor Idaho contract, shows INTEC dry fuel storage, which is currently used for ATR SNF, will be nearly full after transfer of an additional 1,000 ATR SNF from wet storage. DOE-NE tasked BEA with identifying and analyzing options that have the potential to fulfill this capability gap. BEA assembled a team comprised of SNF management experts from Fluor Idaho, Savannah River Site (SRS), INL/BEA, and the MITRE Corp with an objective of developing and analyzing options for fulfilling the capability gap. This management options analysis is not an alternatives analysis as defined by DOE Order 413.3B; rather, it is an evaluation of near-term, mid term and long-term actions needed to fulfill the capability gap. The actions are described in sufficient detail to inform stakeholders and DOE decision makers regarding a potential path forward. The recommended path forward will inform Fiscal Year 2019 budget formulation, support potential National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses, and may or may not include capital asset projects.« less

  6. Beliefs About Dysmenorrhea and Their Relationship to Self-Management.

    PubMed

    Chen, Chen X; Kwekkeboom, Kristine L; Ward, Sandra E

    2016-08-01

    Dysmenorrhea is highly prevalent and is the leading cause of work and school absences among women of reproductive age. However, self-management of dysmenorrhea is not well understood in the US, and little evidence is available on factors that influence dysmenorrhea self-management. Guided by the Common Sense Model, we examined women's representations of dysmenorrhea (beliefs about causes, symptoms, consequences, timeline, controllability, coherence, and emotional responses), described their dysmenorrhea self-management behaviors, and investigated the relationship between representations and self-management behaviors. We conducted a cross-sectional, web-based survey of 762 adult women who had dysmenorrhea symptoms in the last six months. Participants had varied beliefs about the causes of their dysmenorrhea symptoms, which were perceived as a normal part of life. Dysmenorrhea symptoms were reported as moderately severe, with consequences that moderately affected daily life. Women believed they understood their symptoms moderately well and perceived them as moderately controllable but them to continue through menopause. Most women did not seek professional care but rather used a variety of pharmacologic and complementary health approaches. Care-seeking and use of self-management strategies were associated with common sense beliefs about dysmenorrhea cause, consequences, timeline, and controllability. The findings may inform development and testing of self-management interventions that address dysmenorrhea representations and facilitate evidence-based management. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Autonomic Cluster Management System (ACMS): A Demonstration of Autonomic Principles at Work

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baldassari, James D.; Kopec, Christopher L.; Leshay, Eric S.; Truszkowski, Walt; Finkel, David

    2005-01-01

    Cluster computing, whereby a large number of simple processors or nodes are combined together to apparently function as a single powerful computer, has emerged as a research area in its own right. The approach offers a relatively inexpensive means of achieving significant computational capabilities for high-performance computing applications, while simultaneously affording the ability to. increase that capability simply by adding more (inexpensive) processors. However, the task of manually managing and con.guring a cluster quickly becomes impossible as the cluster grows in size. Autonomic computing is a relatively new approach to managing complex systems that can potentially solve many of the problems inherent in cluster management. We describe the development of a prototype Automatic Cluster Management System (ACMS) that exploits autonomic properties in automating cluster management.

  8. 76 FR 4708 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, OMB No...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-26

    ... assess disaster logistics planning and response capabilities and identify areas of relative strength and...; Logistics Capability Assessment Tool (LCAT) AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS. ACTION: Notice...: Collection of Information Title: Logistics Capability Assessment Tool (LCAT). Type of Information Collection...

  9. Monitoring and Evaluation: Statistical Support for Life-cycle Studies, Annual Report 2003.

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

    Skalski, John

    2003-11-01

    The ongoing mission of this project is the development of statistical tools for analyzing fisheries tagging data in the most precise and appropriate manner possible. This mission also includes providing statistical guidance on the best ways to design large-scale tagging studies. This mission continues because the technologies for conducting fish tagging studies continuously evolve. In just the last decade, fisheries biologists have seen the evolution from freeze-brands and coded wire tags (CWT) to passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, balloon-tags, radiotelemetry, and now, acoustic-tags. With each advance, the technology holds the promise of more detailed and precise information. However, the technologymore » for analyzing and interpreting the data also becomes more complex as the tagging techniques become more sophisticated. The goal of the project is to develop the analytical tools in parallel with the technical advances in tagging studies, so that maximum information can be extracted on a timely basis. Associated with this mission is the transfer of these analytical capabilities to the field investigators to assure consistency and the highest levels of design and analysis throughout the fisheries community. Consequently, this project provides detailed technical assistance on the design and analysis of tagging studies to groups requesting assistance throughout the fisheries community. Ideally, each project and each investigator would invest in the statistical support needed for the successful completion of their study. However, this is an ideal that is rarely if every attained. Furthermore, there is only a small pool of highly trained scientists in this specialized area of tag analysis here in the Northwest. Project 198910700 provides the financial support to sustain this local expertise on the statistical theory of tag analysis at the University of Washington and make it available to the fisheries community. Piecemeal and fragmented support from various agencies and organizations would be incapable of maintaining a center of expertise. The mission of the project is to help assure tagging studies are designed and analyzed from the onset to extract the best available information using state-of-the-art statistical methods. The overarching goals of the project is to assure statistically sound survival studies so that fish managers can focus on the management implications of their findings and not be distracted by concerns whether the studies are statistically reliable or not. Specific goals and objectives of the study include the following: (1) Provide consistent application of statistical methodologies for survival estimation across all salmon life cycle stages to assure comparable performance measures and assessment of results through time, to maximize learning and adaptive management opportunities, and to improve and maintain the ability to responsibly evaluate the success of implemented Columbia River FWP salmonid mitigation programs and identify future mitigation options. (2) Improve analytical capabilities to conduct research on survival processes of wild and hatchery chinook and steelhead during smolt outmigration, to improve monitoring and evaluation capabilities and assist in-season river management to optimize operational and fish passage strategies to maximize survival. (3) Extend statistical support to estimate ocean survival and in-river survival of returning adults. Provide statistical guidance in implementing a river-wide adult PIT-tag detection capability. (4) Develop statistical methods for survival estimation for all potential users and make this information available through peer-reviewed publications, statistical software, and technology transfers to organizations such as NOAA Fisheries, the Fish Passage Center, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey (USGS), US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Public Utility Districts (PUDs), the Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB), and other members of the Northwest fisheries community. (5) Provide and maintain statistical software for tag analysis and user support. (6) Provide improvements in statistical theory and software as requested by user groups. These improvements include extending software capabilities to address new research issues, adapting tagging techniques to new study designs, and extending the analysis capabilities to new technologies such as radio-tags and acoustic-tags.« less

  10. Risk Quantification of Systems Engineering Documents Improves Probability of DOD Project Success

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-09-01

    comprehensive risk model for DoD milestone review documentation as well as recommended changes to the Capability Maturity Model Integration ( CMMI ) Project...Milestone Documentation, Project Planning, Rational Frame, Political Frame, CMMI Project Planning Process Area, CMMI Risk Management Process Area...well as recommended changes to the Capability Maturity Model Integration ( CMMI ) Project Planning and Risk Management process areas. The intent is to

  11. Three Big Ideas for Reforming Acquisition: Evidence-Based Propositions for Transformation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-04-30

    specific ideas for improving key aspects of defense acquisition reforming the process for managing capabilities, addressing technology insertion, and...offers three specific ideas for improving key aspects of defense acquisition: reforming the process for managing capabilities, addressing technology...and process changes need to be made for any significant change to be seen. This paper offers reform ideas in three specific areas: achieving the

  12. All Hazards Risk Assessment Transition Project: Report on Capability Assessment Management System (CAMS) Automation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-04-01

    All Hazards Risk Assessment Transition Project : Report on Capability Assessment Management System (CAMS) Automation...Prepared by: George Giroux Computer Applications Specialist Modis155 Queen Street, Suite 1206 Ottawa, ON K1P 6L1 Contract # THS 2335474-2 Project ...Under a Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP) targeted investigation (TI) project (CSSP-2012-TI- 1108), Defence Research and Development

  13. Identity management and privacy languages technologies: Improving user control of data privacy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García, José Enrique López; García, Carlos Alberto Gil; Pacheco, Álvaro Armenteros; Organero, Pedro Luis Muñoz

    The identity management solutions have the capability to bring confidence to internet services, but this confidence could be improved if user has more control over the privacy policy of its attributes. Privacy languages could help to this task due to its capability to define privacy policies for data in a very flexible way. So, an integration problem arises: making work together both identity management and privacy languages. Despite several proposals for accomplishing this have already been defined, this paper suggests some topics and improvements that could be considered.

  14. Cross-Cultural Group Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Rebecca; Boyle, Brendan; Nicholas, Stephen

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to explore the assumption that the impact of cultural diversity on knowledge creating capability is consequent to associated differences in knowledge and perspectives, and suggests that these knowledge differences produce their effect by triggering deliberative, collaborative behaviours. Design/methodology/approach: To…

  15. Advanced traveler information system capabilities : human factors research needs : summary report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2003-09-01

    The number and intensity of domestic and international terrorist events, along with the September 11, 2001, attacks, change the way Americans think and live. Terrorists attack targets where human casualties and economic consequences are likely to be ...

  16. Conceptual Model of Weight Management in Overweight and Obese African-American Females.

    PubMed

    Sutton, Suzanne M; Magwood, Gayenell S; Nemeth, Lynne S; Jenkins, Carolyn M

    2017-04-01

    Weight management of overweight and obese (OWO) African-American females (AAFs) is a poorly defined concept, leading to ineffective treatment of overweight and obesity, prevention of health sequelae, and risk reduction. A conceptual model of the phenomenon of weight management in OWO AAFs was developed through dimensional analysis of the literature. Constructs were identified and sorted into the dimensions of perspective, context, conditions, process, and consequences and integrated into an explanatory matrix. Through dimensional analysis, weight management in OWO AAFs was characterized as a multidimensional concept, defined from the perspective of weight loss in community-dwelling AAFs. Behaviors associated with weight management are strongly influenced by intrinsic factors and extrinsic conditions, which influence engagement in the processes and consequences of weight management. The resulting conceptual model of weight management in OWO AAFs provides a framework for research interventions applicable in a variety of settings. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Discipline in early childhood.

    PubMed

    Howard, B J

    1991-12-01

    As pediatricians we have an opportunity and a responsibility to guide parents in the structure of discipline they set up for their children. The major goals of this structure are to help children develop a sense of being both lovable and capable. To feel lovable a child needs an enduring responsive relationship that conveys positive regard. Attending to children promptly, giving individual time daily, acknowledging positive behaviors, and ignoring minor transgressions all help them feel valued. Active listening without judgment demonstrates acceptance of children's feelings. Talking to children without labels or generalizations but with specific feedback about their actions and with congruent emotional tone is respectful and promotes self-esteem. Children also deserve assistance with transitions, thanks, and apologies as appropriate. To feel (and become) capable, children need a consistent structure of routines, good models, respectful instruction, and progressive expectations so that they have an ongoing experience of success. To grow as individuals they need opportunities to make choices relevant to their interests and role-taking opportunities to gain perspective on social interaction. Praise and rewards motivate as well as instruct children, but they also need to experience consequences to their actions. Natural consequences are optimal but parents also need to design logical consequences that are graded, related, prompt, and reasonable for a child's misbehaviors. Consequences are most effective when given after only one request, exactly as clearly promised by the adult involved without interference by others. Time out is one of the most effective consequences for young children when used properly. Physical punishment has multiple negative effects on a child's development, especially if used noncontingently. Intrapersonal and family factors predispose parents to predictable problems in establishing healthy discipline. Pediatricians can play an important role in promoting the emotional development of children by anticipating, guiding, and counseling families about discipline as well as referring them effectively.

  18. A Web Service Protocol Realizing Interoperable Internet of Things Tasking Capability.

    PubMed

    Huang, Chih-Yuan; Wu, Cheng-Hung

    2016-08-31

    The Internet of Things (IoT) is an infrastructure that interconnects uniquely-identifiable devices using the Internet. By interconnecting everyday appliances, various monitoring, and physical mashup applications can be constructed to improve human's daily life. In general, IoT devices provide two main capabilities: sensing and tasking capabilities. While the sensing capability is similar to the World-Wide Sensor Web, this research focuses on the tasking capability. However, currently, IoT devices created by different manufacturers follow different proprietary protocols and are locked in many closed ecosystems. This heterogeneity issue impedes the interconnection between IoT devices and damages the potential of the IoT. To address this issue, this research aims at proposing an interoperable solution called tasking capability description that allows users to control different IoT devices using a uniform web service interface. This paper demonstrates the contribution of the proposed solution by interconnecting different IoT devices for different applications. In addition, the proposed solution is integrated with the OGC SensorThings API standard, which is a Web service standard defined for the IoT sensing capability. Consequently, the Extended SensorThings API can realize both IoT sensing and tasking capabilities in an integrated and interoperable manner.

  19. A rapid radioimmunoassay using /sup 125/I-labeled staphylococcal protein A for antibody to varicella-zoster virus

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

    Richman, D.D.; Cleveland, P.H.; Oxman, M.N.

    1981-05-01

    A sensitive radioimmunoassay for serum antibody to varicella-zoster virus is described; it uses 125I-labeled staphylococcal protein A and a specially designed immunofiltration apparatus. The assay accurately distinguishes between individuals who are susceptible and those who are immune to infection with varicella-zoster virus. In addition, it can detect passive antibody in recipients of varicella-zoster immune globulin. This radioimmunoassay also detects the heterologous antibody responses that occasionally occur in patients infected with herpes simplex virus, which also have been detected by other antibody assays. The particular advantages of this assay are the use of noninfectious reagents, the speed of execution (less thanmore » 3 hr), the requirement for only small quantities of serum (30 microliters), the objectivity of end-point determination, and the capability of screening large numbers of sera. Consequently, this radioimmunoassay is especially useful for the rapid identification of susceptible individuals, which is essential for the appropriate management of patients and hospital personnel after exposure to varicella.« less

  20. A multidisciplinary decision support system for forest fire crisis management.

    PubMed

    Keramitsoglou, Iphigenia; Kiranoudis, Chris T; Sarimveis, Haralambos; Sifakis, Nicolaos

    2004-02-01

    A wildland fire is a serious threat for forest ecosystems in Southern Europe affecting severely and irreversibly regions of significant ecological value as well as human communities. To support decision makers during large-scale forest fire incidents, a multidisciplinary system has been developed that provides rational and quantitative information based on the site-specific circumstances and the possible consequences. The system's architecture consists of several distinct supplementary modules of near real-time satellite monitoring and fire forecast using an integrated framework of satellite Remote Sensing, GIS, and RDBMS technologies equipped with interactive communication capabilities. The system may handle multiple fire ignitions and support decisions regarding dispatching of utilities, equipment, and personnel that would appropriately attack the fire front. The operational system was developed for the region of Penteli Mountain in Attika, Greece, one of the mountain areas in the country most hit by fires. Starting from a real fire incident in August 2000, a scenario is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  1. Electronic patient registration and tracking at mass vaccination clinics: a clinical study.

    PubMed

    Billittier, Anthony J; Lupiani, Patrick; Masterson, Gary; Masterson, Tim; Zak, Christopher

    2003-01-01

    To protect the citizens of the United States from the use of dangerous biological agents, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been actively preparing to deal with the consequences of such an attack. Their plans include the deployment of mass immunization clinics to handle postevent vaccinations. As part of the planning efforts by the Western New York Public Health Alliance, a Web-based electronic patient registration and tracking system was developed and tested at a recent trial smallpox vaccination clinic. Initial goals were to determine what the pitfalls and benefits of using such a system might be in comparison to other methods of data collection. This exercise proved that use of an electronic system capable of scanning two-dimensional bar codes was superior to both paper-based and optical character recognition (OCR) methods of data collection and management. Major improvements in speed and/or accuracy were evident in all areas of the clinic, especially in patient registration, vaccine tracking and postclinic data analysis.

  2. Volume server: A scalable high speed and high capacity magnetic tape archive architecture with concurrent multi-host access

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rybczynski, Fred

    1993-01-01

    A major challenge facing data processing centers today is data management. This includes the storage of large volumes of data and access to it. Current media storage for large data volumes is typically off line and frequently off site in warehouses. Access to data archived in this fashion can be subject to long delays, errors in media selection and retrieval, and even loss of data through misplacement or damage to the media. Similarly, designers responsible for architecting systems capable of continuous high-speed recording of large volumes of digital data are faced with the challenge of identifying technologies and configurations that meet their requirements. Past approaches have tended to evaluate the combination of the fastest tape recorders with the highest capacity tape media and then to compromise technology selection as a consequence of cost. This paper discusses an architecture that addresses both of these challenges and proposes a cost effective solution based on robots, high speed helical scan tape drives, and large-capacity media.

  3. Operations management system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brandli, A. E.; Eckelkamp, R. E.; Kelly, C. M.; Mccandless, W.; Rue, D. L.

    1990-01-01

    The objective of an operations management system is to provide an orderly and efficient method to operate and maintain aerospace vehicles. Concepts are described for an operations management system and the key technologies are highlighted which will be required if this capability is brought to fruition. Without this automation and decision aiding capability, the growing complexity of avionics will result in an unmanageable workload for the operator, ultimately threatening mission success or survivability of the aircraft or space system. The key technologies include expert system application to operational tasks such as replanning, equipment diagnostics and checkout, global system management, and advanced man machine interfaces. The economical development of operations management systems, which are largely software, will require advancements in other technological areas such as software engineering and computer hardware.

  4. Learning to live with complexity.

    PubMed

    Sargut, Gökçe; McGrath, Rita Gunther

    2011-09-01

    Business life has always featured the unpredictable, the surprising, and the unexpected. But in today's hyperconnected world, complexity is the norm. Systems that used to be separate are now intertwined and interdependent, and knowing the starting conditions is no guide to predicting outcomes; too many continuously changing interactive elements are in play. Managers looking to navigate these difficulties need to adopt new approaches. They should drop outmoded forecasting tools-for example, ones that rely on averages, which are often less important than outliers. Instead, they should use models that simulate the behavior of the system. They should also make sure that their data include a good amount of future-oriented information. Risk mitigation is crucial as well. Managers should minimize the need to rely on predictions-for instance, they can give users a say in product design. They can decouple elements in a system and build in redundancy to minimize the consequences of a partial system failure, and turn to outside partners to extend their own company's capabilities. They can complement hard analysis with "soft" methods such as storytelling to make potentially important future possibilities more real. And they can make trade-offs that keep early failures small and provide the diversity of thought needed in a nimble organization faced with complexity on virtually every front.

  5. Formal Verification of a Conflict Resolution and Recovery Algorithm

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maddalon, Jeffrey; Butler, Ricky; Geser, Alfons; Munoz, Cesar

    2004-01-01

    New air traffic management concepts distribute the duty of traffic separation among system participants. As a consequence, these concepts have a greater dependency and rely heavily on on-board software and hardware systems. One example of a new on-board capability in a distributed air traffic management system is air traffic conflict detection and resolution (CD&R). Traditional methods for safety assessment such as human-in-the-loop simulations, testing, and flight experiments may not be sufficient for this highly distributed system as the set of possible scenarios is too large to have a reasonable coverage. This paper proposes a new method for the safety assessment of avionics systems that makes use of formal methods to drive the development of critical systems. As a case study of this approach, the mechanical veri.cation of an algorithm for air traffic conflict resolution and recovery called RR3D is presented. The RR3D algorithm uses a geometric optimization technique to provide a choice of resolution and recovery maneuvers. If the aircraft adheres to these maneuvers, they will bring the aircraft out of conflict and the aircraft will follow a conflict-free path to its original destination. Veri.cation of RR3D is carried out using the Prototype Verification System (PVS).

  6. Vision in the common bed bug Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae): eye morphology and spectral sensitivity.

    PubMed

    McNeill, C A; Allan, S A; Koehler, P G; Pereira, R M; Weeks, E N I

    2016-12-01

    Bed bugs as pests of public health importance recently experienced a resurgence in populations throughout the U.S. and other countries. Consequently, recent research efforts have focused on improving understanding of bed bug physiology and behaviour to improve management. While few studies have investigated the visual capabilities of bed bugs, the present study focused specifically on eye morphology and spectral sensitivity. A 3-D imaging technique was used to document bed bug eye morphology from the first instar through adult and revealed morphological characteristics that differentiate the common bed bug from the tropical bed bug as well as sex-specific differences. Electrophysiological measurements were used to evaluate the spectral sensitivity of adult bed bugs. Male bed bugs were more responsive than females at some wavelengths. Electrophysiological studies provided evidence for at least one photoreceptor with a spectral sensitivity curve peak in the green (λ max 520 nm) region of the spectrum. The broadened long wavelength portion of the spectral sensitivity curve may potentially indicate another photoreceptor in the yellow-green (λ max 550 nm) portion of the spectrum or screening pigments. Understanding more about bed bug visual biology is vital for designing traps, which are an important component of integrated bed bug management. © 2016 The Royal Entomological Society.

  7. Uncertainty quantification and reliability assessment in operational oil spill forecast modeling system.

    PubMed

    Hou, Xianlong; Hodges, Ben R; Feng, Dongyu; Liu, Qixiao

    2017-03-15

    As oil transport increasing in the Texas bays, greater risks of ship collisions will become a challenge, yielding oil spill accidents as a consequence. To minimize the ecological damage and optimize rapid response, emergency managers need to be informed with how fast and where oil will spread as soon as possible after a spill. The state-of-the-art operational oil spill forecast modeling system improves the oil spill response into a new stage. However uncertainty due to predicted data inputs often elicits compromise on the reliability of the forecast result, leading to misdirection in contingency planning. Thus understanding the forecast uncertainty and reliability become significant. In this paper, Monte Carlo simulation is implemented to provide parameters to generate forecast probability maps. The oil spill forecast uncertainty is thus quantified by comparing the forecast probability map and the associated hindcast simulation. A HyosPy-based simple statistic model is developed to assess the reliability of an oil spill forecast in term of belief degree. The technologies developed in this study create a prototype for uncertainty and reliability analysis in numerical oil spill forecast modeling system, providing emergency managers to improve the capability of real time operational oil spill response and impact assessment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Utilization and recycling of industrial magnesite refractory waste material for removal of certain radionuclides

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

    Morcos, T.N.; Tadrous, N.A.; Borai, E.H.

    2007-07-01

    Increased industrialization over the last years in Egypt has resulted in an increased and uncontrolled generation of industrial hazardous waste. The current lack of management of the solid waste in Egypt has created a situation where large parts of the land (especially industrial areas) are covered by un-planned dumps of industrial wastes. Consequently, in the present work, industrial magnesite waste produced in large quantities after production process of magnesium sulfate in Zinc Misr factory, Egypt, was tried to be recycled. Firstly, this material has been characterized applying different analytical techniques such as infrared spectroscopy (IR), surface analyzer (BET), particle sizemore » distribution (PSD), elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The magnesite material has been used as a source of producing aluminum, chromium, and magnesium oxides that has better chemical stability than conventional metal oxides. Secondly, utilization of magnesite material for removal of certain radionuclides was applied. Different factors affecting the removal capability such as pH, contacting time, metal concentration, particle size were systematically investigated. The overall objective was aimed at determining feasible and economic solution to the environmental problems related to re-use of the industrial solid waste for radioactive waste management. (authors)« less

  9. Medical managers' managerial self-efficacy and role clarity: How do they bridge the budgetary participation-performance link?

    PubMed

    Macinati, Manuela S; Cantaluppi, Gabriele; Rizzo, Marco Giovanni

    2017-02-01

    This study explains the process ''how'' organizational accounting practices, such as budgetary participation, influence medical doctors' perceptions and beliefs associated with their hybrid role and what the consequences are on their performance. Building on social cognitive theory, we hypothesize a structural model in which managerial self-efficacy and role clarity mediate the effects of budgetary participation on performance. The data were collected by a survey conducted in an Italian hospital. The research hypotheses were tested employing a path model. The results suggest that role clarity and managerial self-efficacy fully mediate the link between budgetary participation and performance. From a managerial viewpoint results suggest that organizations that invest in budgetary participation will also affect individual beliefs about the perceived benefits of participation itself, since an information-rich internal environment allows employees to experience a clearer sense of direction through organizational goals. According to our results, organizations that seek self-directed employees should pay attention to the experience the medical managers acquire through budgetary participation. In fact, this event influences the employees' mental states-and specifically provides them with information needed to perform in the role and enhance their judgment of their own capabilities to organize and execute the required course of actions-which take on internal psychological motivation to reach performance levels.

  10. Joint Peru/United States report on Peru/United States cooperative energy assessment. Volume 4 of 4 Volumes Annexes 8-11

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

    Not Available

    1979-08-01

    A comprehensive assessment of the biofuel potential of Peru is presented. Topics discussed cover current biofuel utilization practices; evaluation of Peruvian biomass productivity; identification of Peruvian agricultural and forestry resources; assessment of resource development and management concerns; identification of market considerations; description of biofuel technological options; and regional identification of biofuel technology applications. The discussion of current biofuel utilization centers on a qualitative description of the main conversion approaches now being practiced in Peru. Biomass productivity is evaluated in the context of the terrain, soil, and climatic conditions found in Peru. A quantitative description of the energy potential that couldmore » be realized from agricultural and forestry resources of Peru follows. A regional picture is given for the production of agricultural residues and forest resources that could potentially supply energy. The assessment of resource development and management concerns focuses on harvesting, reforestation, training, and the environmental consequences of utilization of forest resources. Market factors assessed include: importation, internal market development, external market development, energy policy and pricing, and transportation. Ten biofuel technology options for Peru were identified: small- to medium-scale gasification, a wood waste inventory, stationary and mobile charcoal production systems, wood distillation, forest resource development and management, electrical cogeneration, anaerobic digestion technology, development of ethanol production capabilities, and agricultural strategies for fuel production.Based upon these biofuel options, nine applications were identified for the Costa Region, eight for the Sierra Region, and ten for the Selva Region.« less

  11. Assessment of Peruvian biofuel resources and alternatives

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

    Harper, J.P.; Smith, W.; Mariani, E.

    1979-08-01

    Comprehensive assessment of the biofuel potential of Peru is based on: determination of current biofuel utilization practices, evauation of Peruvian biomass productivity, identification of Peruvian agricultural and forestry resources, assessment of resource development and management concerns, identification of market considerations, description of biofuel technological options, and identification of regional biofuel technology applications. Discussion of current biofuel utilization centers on a qualitative description of the main conversion approaches currently being practiced in Peru. Biomass productivity evaluations consider the terrain and soil, and climatic conditions found in Peru. The potential energy from Peruvian agricultural and forestry resources is described quantitatively. Potental regionalmore » production of agricultural residues and forest resources that could supply energy are identified. Assessment of resource development and management concerns focuses on harvesting, reforestation, training, and environmental consequences of utilization of forest resources. Market factors assessed include: importation, internal market development, external market development, energy policy and pricing, and transportation. Nine biofuel technology options for Peru are identified: (1) small-to-medium-scale gasification, (2) a wood waste inventory, (3) stationary and mobile charcoal production systems, (4) wood distillation, (5) forest resource development and management, (6) electrical cogeneration, (7) anaerobic digestion technology, (8) development of ethanol production capabilities, and (9) agricultural strategies for fuel production. Applications of these biofuel options are identified for each of the three major regions - nine applications for the Costa Region, eight for the Sierra Region, and ten for the Selva Region.« less

  12. Intelligent fault diagnosis and failure management of flight control actuation systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bonnice, William F.; Baker, Walter

    1988-01-01

    The real-time fault diagnosis and failure management (FDFM) of current operational and experimental dual tandem aircraft flight control system actuators was investigated. Dual tandem actuators were studied because of the active FDFM capability required to manage the redundancy of these actuators. The FDFM methods used on current dual tandem actuators were determined by examining six specific actuators. The FDFM capability on these six actuators was also evaluated. One approach for improving the FDFM capability on dual tandem actuators may be through the application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Existing AI approaches and applications of FDFM were examined and evaluated. Based on the general survey of AI FDFM approaches, the potential role of AI technology for real-time actuator FDFM was determined. Finally, FDFM and maintainability improvements for dual tandem actuators were recommended.

  13. Capability maturity models for offshore organisational management.

    PubMed

    Strutt, J E; Sharp, J V; Terry, E; Miles, R

    2006-12-01

    The goal setting regime imposed by the UK safety regulator has important implications for an organisation's ability to manage health and safety related risks. Existing approaches to safety assurance based on risk analysis and formal safety assessments are increasingly considered unlikely to create the step change improvement in safety to which the offshore industry aspires and alternative approaches are being considered. One approach, which addresses the important issue of organisational behaviour and which can be applied at a very early stage of design, is the capability maturity model (CMM). The paper describes the development of a design safety capability maturity model, outlining the key processes considered necessary to safety achievement, definition of maturity levels and scoring methods. The paper discusses how CMM is related to regulatory mechanisms and risk based decision making together with the potential of CMM to environmental risk management.

  14. Health capabilities and diabetes self-management: the impact of economic, social, and cultural resources.

    PubMed

    Weaver, Robert R; Lemonde, Manon; Payman, Naghmeh; Goodman, William M

    2014-02-01

    While the "social determinants of health" view compels us to explore how social structures shape health outcomes, it often ignores the role individual agency plays. In contrast, approaches that focus on individual choice and personal responsibility for health often overlook the influence of social structures. Amartya Sen's "capabilities" framework and its derivative the "health capabilities" (HC) approach attempts to accommodate both points of view, acknowledging that individuals function under social conditions over which they have little control, while also acting as agents in their own health and well-being. This paper explores how economic, social, and cultural resources shape the health capability of people with diabetes, focusing specifically on dietary practices. Health capability and agency are central to dietary practices, while also being shaped by immediate and broader social conditions that can generate habits and a lifestyle that constrain dietary behaviors. From January 2011 to December 2012, we interviewed 45 people with diabetes from a primary care clinic in Ontario (Canada) to examine how their economic, social, and cultural resources combine to influence dietary practices relative to their condition. We classified respondents into low, medium, and high resource groups based on economic circumstances, and compared how economic resources, social relationships, health-related knowledge and values combine to enhance or weaken health capability and dietary management. Economic, social, and cultural resources conspired to undermine dietary management among most in the low resource group, whereas social influences significantly influenced diet among many in the medium group. High resource respondents appeared most motivated to maintain a healthy diet, and also had the social and cultural resources to enable them to do so. Understanding the influence of all three types of resources is critical for constructing ways to enhance health capability, chronic disease self-management, and health. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  15. [Drug shortage: determinants, consequences and management].

    PubMed

    Reis, Adriano Max Moreira; Perini, Edson

    2008-04-01

    The present study analyzes drug shortage as a problem reaching beyond the logistic aspect of the health field and discusses its consequences with respect to quality, safety and cost of health care delivery. The pharmaceutical supply chain and the factors that determine the distribution and availability of drugs are discussed. The contribution of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee in preventing and managing drug shortage in health institutions is stressed and measures for drug shortage management are suggested. Finally it is emphasized that drugs should be considered health products rather than consumer goods and as such be given a different treatment by the supply chain.

  16. Landscape Change Priorities at the U.S.Geological Survey, 2005-2015

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McMahon, G.; Loveland, T. R.

    2004-12-01

    In February 2004 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) convened a Science Planning Team with a charge to create a succinct strategy to define, organize, manage, and expand the scientific activities of the Geography Discipline over the next 10 years (2005-2015). Over the ensuing months the Team has held listening sessions in five cities, meeting with 150 scientists and science managers from inside and outside the USGS to gain understanding of the strategic science issues and opportunities for the Geography Discipline. In a draft of the science plan the Science Planning Team has identified 10 priority science goals in three areas of societal interest: landscape change, the societal impacts of landscape change, especially related to hazards, environment, and natural resources, and the development, management, and access to geospatial information. Landscape change is a primary focus of the strategy and includes goals to (1) describe and understand the status of the nation's land surface and how is it changing; (2) describe and understand the local, regional, national, and global drivers of change; (3) predict the likely landscape changes over the next 20-50 years; and (4) describe and understand the consequences of landscape change on human and environmental systems. The critical steps identified to realize these goals are: development of a land use history of North America; development of periodic assessments of land cover responses associated with regional to global drivers, including economic globalization; development of a local to regional-scale land cover forecasting capability; and assessment of biodiversity and habitat consequences associated with landscape changes at the boundaries between human settlements and less developed areas. In most cases successful outcomes associated with these actions will require collaboration with scientists from the USGS, other government agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations. As part of the implementation of the plan, a USGS Land Cover Institute is proposed that would include a strong focus on landscape change and the addition of at least 20 doctoral-level researchers. The final plan is expected to be released in January 2005.

  17. Identifying factors likely to influence compliance with diagnostic imaging guideline recommendations for spine disorders among chiropractors in North America: a focus group study using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

    PubMed

    Bussières, André E; Patey, Andrea M; Francis, Jill J; Sales, Anne E; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Brouwers, Melissa; Godin, Gaston; Hux, Jan; Johnston, Marie; Lemyre, Louise; Pomey, Marie-Pascale; Sales, Anne; Zwarenstein, Merrick

    2012-08-31

    The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was developed to investigate determinants of specific clinical behaviors and inform the design of interventions to change professional behavior. This framework was used to explore the beliefs of chiropractors in an American Provider Network and two Canadian provinces about their adherence to evidence-based recommendations for spine radiography for uncomplicated back pain. The primary objective of the study was to identify chiropractors' beliefs about managing uncomplicated back pain without x-rays and to explore barriers and facilitators to implementing evidence-based recommendations on lumbar spine x-rays. A secondary objective was to compare chiropractors in the United States and Canada on their beliefs regarding the use of spine x-rays. Six focus groups exploring beliefs about managing back pain without x-rays were conducted with a purposive sample. The interview guide was based upon the TDF. Focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by two independent assessors using thematic content analysis based on the TDF. Five domains were identified as likely relevant. Key beliefs within these domains included the following: conflicting comments about the potential consequences of not ordering x-rays (risk of missing a pathology, avoiding adverse treatment effects, risks of litigation, determining the treatment plan, and using x-ray-driven techniques contrasted with perceived benefits of minimizing patient radiation exposure and reducing costs; beliefs about consequences); beliefs regarding professional autonomy, professional credibility, lack of standardization, and agreement with guidelines widely varied ( social/professional role & identity); the influence of formal training, colleagues, and patients also appeared to be important factors ( social influences); conflicting comments regarding levels of confidence and comfort in managing patients without x-rays ( belief about capabilities); and guideline awareness and agreements ( knowledge). Chiropractors' use of diagnostic imaging appears to be influenced by a number of factors. Five key domains may be important considering the presence of conflicting beliefs, evidence of strong beliefs likely to impact the behavior of interest, and high frequency of beliefs. The results will inform the development of a theory-based survey to help identify potential targets for behavioral-change strategies.

  18. Quantifying Carbon Consequences of Recent Land Management and Disturbances in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystems (GYE) by linking inventory data, remote sensing and carbon modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, F.; Huang, C.; Healey, S. P.; McCarter, J. B.; Garrard, C.; Zhu, Z.

    2015-12-01

    Natural disturbances and land management directly change C stored in biomass and soil pools, and can have indirect impacts on long-term C balance. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), located in Central Rocky Mountains of United States, is of different land ownerships within similar environmental settings, making it an ideal site to examine the impacts of management and disturbances on regional carbon dynamics. Recent advances in the remote sensing of vegetation condition and change, along with new techniques linking remote sensing with inventory records, have allowed investigations that are much more tightly constrained to actual landscape environment, instead of hypothetical or generalized conditions. These new capabilities are built into the Forest Carbon Management Framework (ForCaMF), which is being used by the National Forest System to not only model, but to monitor across very specific management units, the impact of different kinds of disturbance on carbon storage. In this study, we used the ForCaMF approach to evaluate carbon effects of natural disturbances (e.g. wildfire) and land management (e.g. harvests) in GYE National Parks, Wilderness Area and National Forests. As might be expected, wildfire has been the dominant disturbance factor in the carbon cycle of GYE's administratively protected areas since the mid-1980s, while harvests have dominated storage trends on the managed land in the region's National Forests. Moving beyond this monitoring result but maintaining the same fidelity to historical vegetation patterns, we are also able to simulate alternative disturbance scenarios to provide landscape-specific insights to forest managers. We can estimate likely carbon storage impacts in GYE protected areas, for example, if more active fire suppression had been pursued since the mid-1980s. Likewise, we can identify differences in current carbon storage on managed lands if high harvest rates during the same period had been moderated. We discuss emerging links between carbon storage and management in GYE, and we consider the potential for expanding this kind of analysis using globally available satellite resources and nationally available inventory data.

  19. Advanced Ground Systems Maintenance Enterprise Architecture Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harp, Janicce Leshay

    2014-01-01

    The project implements an architecture for delivery of integrated health management capabilities for the 21st Century launch complex. Capabilities include anomaly detection, fault isolation, prognostics and physics-based diagnostics.

  20. Mature data transport and command management services for the Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Carper, R. D.

    1986-01-01

    The duplex space/ground/space data services for the Space Station are described. The need to separate the uplink data service functions from the command functions is discussed. Command management is a process shared by an operation control center and a command management system and consists of four functions: (1) uplink data communications, (2) management of the on-board computer, (3) flight resource allocation and management, and (4) real command management. The new data service capabilities provided by microprocessors, ground and flight nodes, and closed loop and open loop capabilities are studied. The need for and functions of a flight resource allocation management service are examined. The system is designed so only users can access the system; the problems encountered with open loop uplink access are analyzed. The procedures for delivery of operational, verification, computer, and surveillance and monitoring data directly to users are reviewed.

  1. Supported self-management for cancer survivors to address long-term biopsychosocial consequences of cancer and treatment to optimize living well.

    PubMed

    Howell, Doris D

    2018-03-01

    As individuals are living longer with cancer as a chronic disease, they face new health challenges that require the application of self-management behaviors and skills that may not be in their usual repertoire of self-regulatory health behaviors. Increasing attention is focused on supported self-management (SSM) programs to enable survivors in managing the long-term biopsychosocial consequences and health challenges of survivorship. This review explores current directions and evidence for SSM programs that enable survivors to manage these consequences and optimize health. Cancer survivors face complex health challenges that affect daily functioning and well being. Multiple systematic reviews show that SSM programs have positive effects on health outcomes in typical chronic diseases. However, the efficacy of these approaches in cancer survivors are in their infancy; and the 'one-size' fits all approach for chronic disease self-management may not be adequate for cancer as a complex chronic illness. This review suggests that SSM has promising potential for improving health and well being of cancer survivors, but there is a need for standardizing SSM for future research. Although there is increasing enthusiasm for SSM programs tailored to cancer survivors, there is a need for further research of their efficacy on long-term health outcomes.

  2. Integrated Demand Management: Minimizing Unanticipated Excessive Departure Delay while Ensuring Fairness from a Traffic Management Initiative

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yoo, Hyo-Sang; Brasil, Connie; Buckley, Nathan; Mohlenbrink, Christoph; Speridakos, Constantine; Parke, Bonny; Hodell, Gita; Lee, Paul U.; Smith, Nancy M.

    2017-01-01

    This paper introduces NASA's Integrated Demand Management (IDM) concept and presents the results from an early proof-of-concept evaluation and an exploratory experiment. An initial development of the concept was focused on integrating two systems - i.e. the FAA's newly deployed Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS) tool called the Collaborative Trajectory Options Program (CTOP) and the Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM) system with Extended Metering (XM) capabilities to manage projected heavy traffic demand into a capacity-constrained airport. A human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation experiment was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the initial development of the concept by adapting it to an arrival traffic problem at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) during clear weather conditions. In this study, the CTOP was utilized to strategically plan the arrival traffic demand by controlling take-off times of both short- and long-haul flights (long-hauls specify aircraft outside TBFM regions and short-hauls specify aircraft within TBFM regions) in a way that results in equitable delays among the groups. Such strategic planning allows less airborne delay to occur within TBFM by feeding manageable long-haul traffic demand while reserving sufficient slots in the overhead streams for the short-haul departures. The manageable traffic demand indicates the TBFM scheduler assigns no more airborne delay than its assigned airspace is capable of absorbing. TBFM then uses its time-based metering capabilities to deliver the desirable throughput by tactically rescheduling the TBFM entered long-haul flights and short-haul departures. Additional research was also performed to explore use of Required Time of Arrival (RTA) capabilities as a potential control mechanism for the airborne flights to improve arrival traffic delivery accuracy of scheduled long-haul traffic demand. The study results show that both short- and long-haul flights received similar ground delays. In addition, there was a noticeable reduction in the total amount of excessive unanticipated last-minute ground delays, i.e. delays that are frequently imposed on the short-haul flight in current day operations due to saturation in the overhead stream, commonly referred to as 'double penalty'. Furthermore, the concept achieved the target throughput while minimizing the expected cost associated with overall delays in arrival traffic. Assessment of the RTA capabilities showed that there was indeed improvement of the scheduled entry times into TBFM regions by using RTA capabilities. However, with respect to reduction in delays incurred within TBFM, there was no observable benefit of improving the precision of long-haul flights entry times.

  3. 76 FR 8349 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-14

    ... provides the Military Health System (MHS) with a comprehensive enterprise wide Blood Donor Management System (DBMS) and Blood Transfusion Management System (BTMS) with capabilities to manage blood donors... donors, patients, and products; automated, blood order issue, and transfusion records; manage enterprise...

  4. Comparisons of self-ratings on managerial competencies, research capability, time management, executive power, workload and work stress among nurse administrators.

    PubMed

    Kang, Chun-Mei; Chiu, Hsiao-Ting; Hu, Yi-Chun; Chen, Hsiao-Lien; Lee, Pi-Hsia; Chang, Wen-Yin

    2012-10-01

    To assess the level of and the differences in managerial competencies, research capability, time management, executive power, workload and work-stress ratings among nurse administrators (NAs), and to determine the best predictors of managerial competencies for NAs. Although NAs require multifaceted managerial competencies, research related to NAs' managerial competencies is limited. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 330 NAs from 16 acute care hospitals. Managerial competencies were determined through a self-developed questionnaire. Data were collected in 2011. All NAs gave themselves the highest rating on integrity and the lowest on both financial/budgeting and business acumen. All scores for managerial competencies, research capability, time management and executive power showed a statistically significant correlation. The stepwise regression analysis revealed that age; having received NA training; having completed a nursing project independently; and scores for research capability, executive power and workload could explain 63.2% of the total variance in managerial competencies. The present study provides recommendations for future administrative training programmes to increase NAs' managerial competency in fulfilling their management roles and functions. The findings inform leaders of hospitals where NAs need to develop additional competencies concerning the type of training NAs need to function proficiently. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING OF INCREASES IN NUTRIENT EXPORT DUE TO FUTURE URBANIZATION

    EPA Science Inventory

    Urbanization replaces the extant natural resource base (e.g., forests, wet- lands) with an infrastructure that is capable of supporting humans. One ecological consequence of urbanization is higher concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) in streams, lakes, and estuaries...

  6. Barriers and facilitators to preventing pressure ulcers in nursing home residents: A qualitative analysis informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework.

    PubMed

    Lavallée, Jacqueline F; Gray, Trish A; Dumville, Jo; Cullum, Nicky

    2018-06-01

    Pressure ulcers are areas of localised damage to the skin and underlying tissue; and can cause pain, immobility, and delay recovery, impacting on health-related quality of life. The individuals who are most at risk of developing a pressure ulcer are those who are seriously ill, elderly, have impaired mobility and/or poor nutrition; thus, many nursing home residents are at risk. To understand the context of pressure ulcer prevention in nursing homes and to explore the potential barriers and facilitators to evidence-informed practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nursing home nurses, healthcare assistants and managers, National Health Service community-based wound specialist nurses (known in the UK as tissue viability nurses) and a nurse manager in the North West of England. The interview guide was developed using the Theoretical Domains Framework to explore the barriers and facilitators to pressure ulcer prevention in nursing home residents. Data were analysed using a framework analysis and domains were identified as salient based on their frequency and the potential strength of their impact. 25 participants (nursing home: 2 managers, 7 healthcare assistants, 11 qualified nurses; National Health Service community services: 4 tissue viability nurses, 1 manager) were interviewed. Depending upon the behaviours reported and the context, the same domain could be classified as both a barrier and a facilitator. We identified seven domains as relevant in the prevention of pressure ulcers in nursing home residents mapping to four "barrier" domains and six "facilitator" domains. The four "barrier" domains were knowledge, physical skills, social influences and environmental context and resources and the six "facilitator" domains were interpersonal skills, environmental context and resources, social influences, beliefs about capabilities, beliefs about consequences and social/professional role and identity). Knowledge and insight into these barriers and facilitators provide a theoretical understanding of the complexities in preventing pressure ulcers with reference to the staff capabilities, opportunities and motivation related to pressure ulcer prevention. Pressure ulcer prevention in nursing home residents is complex and is influenced by several factors. The findings will inform a theory and evidence-based intervention to aid the prevention of pressure ulcers in nursing home settings. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  7. Understanding diagnosis and management of dementia and guideline implementation in general practice: a qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework.

    PubMed

    Murphy, Kerry; O'Connor, Denise A; Browning, Colette J; French, Simon D; Michie, Susan; Francis, Jill J; Russell, Grant M; Workman, Barbara; Flicker, Leon; Eccles, Martin P; Green, Sally E

    2014-03-03

    Dementia is a growing problem, causing substantial burden for patients, their families, and society. General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in diagnosing and managing dementia; however, there are gaps between recommended and current practice. The aim of this study was to explore GPs' reported practice in diagnosing and managing dementia and to describe, in theoretical terms, the proposed explanations for practice that was and was not consistent with evidence-based guidelines. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with GPs in Victoria, Australia. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) guided data collection and analysis. Interviews explored the factors hindering and enabling achievement of 13 recommended behaviours. Data were analysed using content and thematic analysis. This paper presents an in-depth description of the factors influencing two behaviours, assessing co-morbid depression using a validated tool, and conducting a formal cognitive assessment using a validated scale. A total of 30 GPs were interviewed. Most GPs reported that they did not assess for co-morbid depression using a validated tool as per recommended guidance. Barriers included the belief that depression can be adequately assessed using general clinical indicators and that validated tools provide little additional information (theoretical domain of 'Beliefs about consequences'); discomfort in using validated tools ('Emotion'), possibly due to limited training and confidence ('Skills'; 'Beliefs about capabilities'); limited awareness of the need for, and forgetting to conduct, a depression assessment ('Knowledge'; 'Memory, attention and decision processes'). Most reported practising in a manner consistent with the recommendation that a formal cognitive assessment using a validated scale be undertaken. Key factors enabling this were having an awareness of the need to conduct a cognitive assessment ('Knowledge'); possessing the necessary skills and confidence ('Skills'; 'Beliefs about capabilities'); and having adequate time and resources ('Environmental context and resources'). This is the first study to our knowledge to use a theoretical approach to investigate the barriers and enablers to guideline-recommended diagnosis and management of dementia in general practice. It has identified key factors likely to explain GPs' uptake of the guidelines. The results have informed the design of an intervention aimed at supporting practice change in line with dementia guidelines, which is currently being evaluated in a cluster randomised trial.

  8. A survey of pandemic influenza preparedness and response capabilities in Chicago area hospital security departments.

    PubMed

    Kimmerly, David P

    2009-01-01

    This article is a summary based on a December 2007 paper prepared by the author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree in business and organizational security management at Webster University. The project described was intended to assess Chicago-area healthcare organization security departments' preparedness and response capabilities for a potential influenza pandemic. While the author says healthcare organizations are learning from the pandemics of the past, little research has been conducted on the requirements necessary within hospital security departments. The article explores staffing, planning, preparation and response capabilities within a healthcare security context to determine existing resources available to the healthcare security community. Eleven completed surveys were received from hospital security managers throughout the geographical Chicago area. They reveal that hospital security managers are conscious of the risks of a pandemic influenza outbreak. Yet, it was found that several gaps existed within hospital security department staffing and response capabilities, as hospital security departments may not have the available resources necessary to adequately maintain their operations during a pandemic incident.

  9. NASA Stennis Space Center Integrated System Health Management Test Bed and Development Capabilities

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Holland, Randy; Coote, David

    2006-01-01

    Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) is a capability that focuses on determining the condition (health) of every element in a complex System (detect anomalies, diagnose causes, prognosis of future anomalies), and provide data, information, and knowledge (DIaK)-not just data-to control systems for safe and effective operation. This capability is currently done by large teams of people, primarily from ground, but needs to be embedded on-board systems to a higher degree to enable NASA's new Exploration Mission (long term travel and stay in space), while increasing safety and decreasing life cycle costs of spacecraft (vehicles; platforms; bases or outposts; and ground test, launch, and processing operations). The topics related to this capability include: 1) ISHM Related News Articles; 2) ISHM Vision For Exploration; 3) Layers Representing How ISHM is Currently Performed; 4) ISHM Testbeds & Prototypes at NASA SSC; 5) ISHM Functional Capability Level (FCL); 6) ISHM Functional Capability Level (FCL) and Technology Readiness Level (TRL); 7) Core Elements: Capabilities Needed; 8) Core Elements; 9) Open Systems Architecture for Condition-Based Maintenance (OSA-CBM); 10) Core Elements: Architecture, taxonomy, and ontology (ATO) for DIaK management; 11) Core Elements: ATO for DIaK Management; 12) ISHM Architecture Physical Implementation; 13) Core Elements: Standards; 14) Systematic Implementation; 15) Sketch of Work Phasing; 16) Interrelationship Between Traditional Avionics Systems, Time Critical ISHM and Advanced ISHM; 17) Testbeds and On-Board ISHM; 18) Testbed Requirements: RETS AND ISS; 19) Sustainable Development and Validation Process; 20) Development of on-board ISHM; 21) Taxonomy/Ontology of Object Oriented Implementation; 22) ISHM Capability on the E1 Test Stand Hydraulic System; 23) Define Relationships to Embed Intelligence; 24) Intelligent Elements Physical and Virtual; 25) ISHM Testbeds and Prototypes at SSC Current Implementations; 26) Trailer-Mounted RETS; 27) Modeling and Simulation; 28) Summary ISHM Testbed Environments; 29) Data Mining - ARC; 30) Transitioning ISHM to Support NASA Missions; 31) Feature Detection Routines; 32) Sample Features Detected in SSC Test Stand Data; and 33) Health Assessment Database (DIaK Repository).

  10. Identifying strengths and weaknesses of Quality Management Unit University of Sumatera Utara software using SCAMPI C

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gunawan, D.; Amalia, A.; Rahmat, R. F.; Muchtar, M. A.; Siregar, I.

    2018-02-01

    Identification of software maturity level is a technique to determine the quality of the software. By identifying the software maturity level, the weaknesses of the software can be observed. As a result, the recommendations might be a reference for future software maintenance and development. This paper discusses the software Capability Level (CL) with case studies on Quality Management Unit (Unit Manajemen Mutu) University of Sumatera Utara (UMM-USU). This research utilized Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement class C (SCAMPI C) model with continuous representation. This model focuses on activities for developing quality products and services. The observation is done in three process areas, such as Project Planning (PP), Project Monitoring and Control (PMC), and Requirements Management (REQM). According to the measurement of software capability level for UMM-USU software, turns out that the capability level for the observed process area is in the range of CL1 and CL2. Planning Project (PP) is the only process area which reaches capability level 2, meanwhile, PMC and REQM are still in CL 1 or in performed level. This research reveals several weaknesses of existing UMM-USU software. Therefore, this study proposes several recommendations for UMM-USU to improve capability level for observed process areas.

  11. Global risk from extreme geophysical events: threat identification and assessment.

    PubMed

    McGuire, W J

    2006-08-15

    In an increasingly interconnected world, any single geophysical hazard is capable of having consequences far beyond the range of immediate physical effects. Most recently, this was demonstrated by the 2004 Asian tsunami, which took the lives of citizens from 57 different nations, and by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, which raised fuel prices worldwide and contributed to a record UK trade deficit in the month following the devastation of New Orleans. On an altogether wider scale, global geophysical events (GGEs) are natural phenomena capable of having wholesale deleterious consequences for the world's environment, economy and society. These may arise (i) due to a global physical effect, such as an episode of severe planetary cooling in response to a volcanic 'super-eruption' or large comet or asteroid impact, or (ii) as a result of subsidiary ramifications for the global economy and social fabric of a cataclysmic regional event, such as an Atlantic- or Pacific-wide 'mega-tsunami', or a more spatially confined event at a strategically sensitive location, for example the awaited major Tokyo earthquake. While very infrequent, the wide-ranging-and potentially ruinous-consequences of a GGE for the well-being of the international community make it essential that they are seriously considered within any comprehensive assessment of natural threats.

  12. Measuring Financial Capability and Its Determinants Using Survey Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Financial capability, or people's ability to manage and take control of their finances, is receiving increasing interest among policy makers as more people find themselves in difficult financial situations during the current economic downturn. We tackle the problem of how to measure financial capability--with a specific focus on making ends meet…

  13. Management and Capability ot the Major Range and Test Facility Bases

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1995-07-27

    The audit objective was to evaluate management oversight provided to the test ranges and determine whether management oversight could be streamlined... The audit also evaluated whether program managers were procuring test resources that already existed at the test ranges. Management controls related to the objectives were also evaluated.

  14. What can we learn from the deadly flash floods? Post Event Review Capability (PERC) analysis of the Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg flood events in Summer 2016

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Szoenyi, Michael

    2017-04-01

    In May/June 2016, stationary low pressure systems brought intense rainfall with record-braking intensities of well above 100 mm rain in few hours locally in the southern states of Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria, Germany. In steep terrains, small channels and creeks became devastating torrents impacting, among others, the villages of Simbach/Inn, Schwäbisch-Gmünd and Braunsbach. Just few days prior, France had also seen devastating rainfall and flooding. Damage in Germany alone is estimated at 2.8 M USD, of which less than 50% are insured. The loss of life was significant, with 18 fatalities reported across the events. This new forensic event analysis as part of Zurich's Post Event Review Capability (PERC) investigates the flash flood events following these record rainfalls in Southern Germany and tries to answer the following questions holistically, across the five capitals (5C) and the full disaster risk management (DRM) cycle, which are key to understanding how to become more resilient to such flood events: - Why have these intense rainfall events led to such devastating consequences? The EU Floods directive and its implementation in the various member states, as well as the 2002 and 2013 Germany floods, have focused on larger rivers and the main asset concentration. The pathway and mechanism of the 2016 floods are very different and need to be better understood. Flash floods and surface flooding may need to become the new focus and be much better communicated to people at risk, as the awareness for such perils has been identified as low. - How can the prevalence for such flash floods be better identified and mapped? Research indicated that affected people and decision makers alike attribute the occurrence of such flash floods as arbitrary, but we argue that hotspots can and must be identified based on an overlay of rainfall intensity maps, topography leading to flash flood processes, and vulnerable assets. In Germany, there are currently no comprehensive hazard maps for flash and/or surface flooding. - What recommendations can be made from the investigation of the consequences? We highlight how additional processes that cause significant damage, such as log jams, backwater increase, temporary dam formation, etc., are currently insufficiently understood and incorporated into decision-making. - What are the social and human long-term effects of such flash flood events, and how can the insights from this review be incorporated into future decision-making to better protect people and assets as part of integrated flood risk management?

  15. A Threshold Concept in Managing: What Students in Introductory Management Courses Must Know

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Donovan, Paul

    2017-01-01

    In the field of management, a practice--theory gap has developed and consequently, management education has been criticized for being irrelevant to the needs of stakeholders. This article argues that introduction to management courses in higher education perpetuate this gap by not teaching what managers do. These courses fail to communicate well…

  16. The study of knowledge management capability and organizational effectiveness in Taiwanese public utility: the mediator role of organizational commitment.

    PubMed

    Chiu, Chia-Nan; Chen, Huei-Huang

    2016-01-01

    Many studies on the significance of knowledge management (KM) in the business world have been performed in recent years. Public sector KM is a research area of growing importance. Findings show that few authors specialize in the field and there are several obstacles to developing a cohesive body of literature. In order to examine their effect of the knowledge management capability [which consists of knowledge infrastructure capability (KIC) and knowledge process capability (KPC)] and organizational effectiveness (OE), this study conducted structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses with 302 questionnaires of Taipei Water Department staffs in Taiwan. In exploring the model developed in this study, the findings show that there exists a significant relationship between KPC and OE, while KIC and OE are insignificant. These results are different from earlier findings in the literature. Furthermore, this research proposed organizational commitment (OC) as the mediator role. The findings suggest that only OC has significant mediating effects between KPC and OE, whereas this is not the case for KIC and OE. It is noteworthy that the above findings inspired managers, in addition to construct the knowledge infrastructure more than focus on social media tools on the Internet, which engage knowledge workers in "peer-to-peer" knowledge sharing across organizational and company boundaries. The results are likely to help organizations (particularly public utilities) sharpen their knowledge management strategies. Academic and practical implications were drawn based on the findings.

  17. Advanced Ground Systems Maintenance Enterprise Architecture Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Perotti, Jose M. (Compiler)

    2015-01-01

    The project implements an architecture for delivery of integrated health management capabilities for the 21st Century launch complex. The delivered capabilities include anomaly detection, fault isolation, prognostics and physics based diagnostics.

  18. Why Rules Matter in Complex Event Processing...and Vice Versa

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vincent, Paul

    Many commercial and research CEP solutions are moving beyond simple stream query languages to more complete definitions of "process" and thence to "decisions" and "actions". And as capabilities increase in event processing capabilities, there is an increasing realization that the humble "rule" is as relevant to the event cloud as it is to specific services. Less obvious is how much event processing has to offer the process and rule execution and management technologies. Does event processing change the way we should manage businesses, processes and services, together with their embedded (and hopefully managed) rulesets?

  19. Psychometric properties of the self-efficacy for situational communication management questionnaire (SESMQ).

    PubMed

    Jennings, Mary Beth; Cheesman, Margaret F; Laplante-Lévesque, Ariane

    2014-01-01

    Perceived self-efficacy (PSE) is one's beliefs in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations. In audiologic rehabilitation, PSE could influence a person with hearing loss' activity limitations, participation restrictions, and response to audiologic rehabilitation. This article reports the psychometric properties of the Self-Efficacy for Situational Communication Management Questionnaire (SESMQ), developed to measure PSE for managing communication in adults with acquired hearing loss. The SESMQ contains 20 situations that are rated on two scales (hearing ability and PSE). Respondents rate how well they can hear from 0 (not well at all) to 10 (very well) and their degree of confidence in managing communication in the situation, or PSE, from 0 (not confident at all) to 10 (very confident). Total scores on each scale can range from 0 to 200, with higher scores indicating greater hearing ability or PSE. Psychometric properties were determined using data collected from The National Centre for Audiology (London, Canada) and the Communication Disability Centre at The University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia). Participants were 338 adults aged 50 to 93 years with an average high-frequency pure-tone hearing loss in the better ear of 46 dB HL; 157 of the participants owned hearing aids. A two-factor solution was found to be optimal for the SESMQ, with hearing ability accounting for 46.4% of the variation and confidence accounting for 11.6% of the variation in SESMQ scores. Test-retest reliability on a subset of 40 participants resulted in intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.94 for the SESMQ, 0.93 for the hearing ability scale, and 0.94 for the confidence scale, The SESMQ and its scales exhibited high internal consistency, with Cronbach's α of 0.94 for the SESMQ, 0.93 for the hearing ability scale, and 0.94 for the confidence scale. Participants scored lower on the hearing scale items (92.6, SD = 37.1), on average, than on the PSE scale items (123.0, SD = 37.9). SESMQ hearing ability scores were significantly associated with duration of hearing loss, and duration of hearing aid ownership. Only the hearing ability scale of the SESMQ was negatively associated with hearing loss when controlling for age. SESMQ hearing ability and confidence scores were negatively associated with consequences of hearing loss and negative beliefs and attitudes toward hearing loss and its consequences. The results support the SESMQ as an informative measure of PSE specific to communication for adults with hearing loss. The SESMQ may prove useful in both research and clinical practice.

  20. Real-Time Rocket/Vehicle System Integrated Health Management Laboratory For Development and Testing of Health Monitoring/Management Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aguilar, R.

    2006-01-01

    Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has developed a real-time engine/vehicle system integrated health management laboratory, or testbed, for developing and testing health management system concepts. This laboratory simulates components of an integrated system such as the rocket engine, rocket engine controller, vehicle or test controller, as well as a health management computer on separate general purpose computers. These general purpose computers can be replaced with more realistic components such as actual electronic controllers and valve actuators for hardware-in-the-loop simulation. Various engine configurations and propellant combinations are available. Fault or failure insertion capability on-the-fly using direct memory insertion from a user console is used to test system detection and response. The laboratory is currently capable of simulating the flow-path of a single rocket engine but work is underway to include structural and multiengine simulation capability as well as a dedicated data acquisition system. The ultimate goal is to simulate as accurately and realistically as possible the environment in which the health management system will operate including noise, dynamic response of the engine/engine controller, sensor time delays, and asynchronous operation of the various components. The rationale for the laboratory is also discussed including limited alternatives for demonstrating the effectiveness and safety of a flight system.

  1. Emergency drinking water treatment during source water pollution accidents in China: origin analysis, framework and technologies.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiao-Jian; Chen, Chao; Lin, Peng-Fei; Hou, Ai-Xin; Niu, Zhang-Bin; Wang, Jun

    2011-01-01

    China has suffered frequent source water contamination accidents in the past decade, which has resulted in severe consequences to the water supply of millions of residents. The origins of typical cases of contamination are discussed in this paper as well as the emergency response to these accidents. In general, excessive pursuit of rapid industrialization and the unreasonable location of factories are responsible for the increasing frequency of accidental pollution events. Moreover, insufficient attention to environmental protection and rudimentary emergency response capability has exacerbated the consequences of such accidents. These environmental accidents triggered or accelerated the promulgation of stricter environmental protection policy and the shift from economic development mode to a more sustainable direction, which should be regarded as the turning point of environmental protection in China. To guarantee water security, China is trying to establish a rapid and effective emergency response framework, build up the capability of early accident detection, and develop efficient technologies to remove contaminants from water.

  2. NASA Stennis Space Center integrated system health management test bed and development capabilities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Holland, Randy; Coote, David

    2006-05-01

    Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) capability for rocket propulsion testing is rapidly evolving and promises substantial reduction in time and cost of propulsion systems development, with substantially reduced operational costs and evolutionary improvements in launch system operational robustness. NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC), along with partners that includes NASA, contractor, and academia; is investigating and developing technologies to enable ISHM capability in SSC's rocket engine test stands (RETS). This will enable validation and experience capture over a broad range of rocket propulsion systems of varying complexity. This paper describes key components that constitute necessary ingredients to make possible implementation of credible ISHM capability in RETS, other NASA ground test and operations facilities, and ultimately spacecraft and space platforms and systems: (1) core technologies for ISHM, (2) RETS as ISHM testbeds, and (3) RETS systems models.

  3. Strengthening the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster response capabilities.

    PubMed

    Cannon, Glenn M

    2008-04-01

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Operations Directorate provides the core federal response capability to save lives and to protect property in US communities that have been overwhelmed by the impact of a major disaster or emergency. The directorate executes its mission through three main programme areas: operational direction, command and control; operational teams; and operational planning. Based on lessons learned from years of disaster response experience, FEMA is now taking a more proactive and collaborative approach with its partners. This paper discusses how FEMA is placing a greater emphasis on response operations and strengthening capabilities across the full range of operational and support missions by comprehensively revamping its disaster operations model; enhancing its headquarters and regional operations centres; enhancing its headquarters and regional operational planning capabilities; and addressing catastrophic disaster planning and related critical preparedness issues.

  4. Management of Pregnant Women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Consequences of Fetal Programming in Their Offspring.

    PubMed

    Berry, Diane C; Boggess, Kim; Johnson, Quinetta B

    2016-05-01

    The obesity epidemic has fueled an epidemic of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus in women of childbearing age. This paper examines the state of the science on preconception and pregnancy management of women with type 2 diabetes to optimize outcomes for the women and their infants. In addition, the consequence of fetal programming as a result of suboptimal maternal glycemic control is discussed. The paper focuses on type 2 diabetes, not type 1 diabetes or gestational diabetes. Management of women with type 2 diabetes includes preconception counseling, preconception weight management and weight loss, proper weight gain during pregnancy, self-monitoring of blood glucose levels, medication, medical nutrition therapy, and exercise.

  5. UK report on waste management

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

    Ferguson, J.

    1995-09-01

    Arising jointly from the National and European Union requirements for more intensive attention to be paid to the environment, the United Kingdom (UK) has taken many strides forward in protecting the environment from pollution and preventing harm to human health arising from the handling, transport and disposal of wastes. Major adjustments are taking place in Europe following the opening up of the Eastern European countries. The consequences of the illegal movement of wastes and its mistreatment and disposal are now recognised within the European Union. The UK as a member State is well aware of the consequences which arise frommore » the lack of proper waste management. This paper discusses waste management and legislation pertaining to waste management in the United Kingdom.« less

  6. [Principles of management of All-Russia Disaster Medicine Services].

    PubMed

    Sakhno, I I

    2000-11-01

    Experience of liquidation of earthquake consequences in Armenia (1988) has shown that it is extremely necessary to create the system of management in regions of natural disaster, large accident or catastrophe before arrival of main forces in order to provide reconnaissance, to receive the arriving units. It will help to make well-grounded decisions, to set tasks in time, to organize and conduct emergency-and-rescue works. The article contains general material concerning the structure of All-Russia service of disaster medicine (ARSDM), organization of management at all levels and interaction between the components of ARSDM and other subsystems of Russian Service of Extreme Situations. It is recommended how to organize management of ARSDM during liquidation of medical-and-sanitary consequences of large-scale extreme situations.

  7. Enabling information management systems in tactical network environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carvalho, Marco; Uszok, Andrzej; Suri, Niranjan; Bradshaw, Jeffrey M.; Ceccio, Philip J.; Hanna, James P.; Sinclair, Asher

    2009-05-01

    Net-Centric Information Management (IM) and sharing in tactical environments promises to revolutionize forward command and control capabilities by providing ubiquitous shared situational awareness to the warfighter. This vision can be realized by leveraging the tactical and Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANET) which provide the underlying communications infrastructure, but, significant technical challenges remain. Enabling information management in these highly dynamic environments will require multiple support services and protocols which are affected by, and highly dependent on, the underlying capabilities and dynamics of the tactical network infrastructure. In this paper we investigate, discuss, and evaluate the effects of realistic tactical and mobile communications network environments on mission-critical information management systems. We motivate our discussion by introducing the Advanced Information Management System (AIMS) which is targeted for deployment in tactical sensor systems. We present some operational requirements for AIMS and highlight how critical IM support services such as discovery, transport, federation, and Quality of Service (QoS) management are necessary to meet these requirements. Our goal is to provide a qualitative analysis of the impact of underlying assumptions of availability and performance of some of the critical services supporting tactical information management. We will also propose and describe a number of technologies and capabilities that have been developed to address these challenges, providing alternative approaches for transport, service discovery, and federation services for tactical networks.

  8. Chief Executive Officers: Academic Leaders or Business Managers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doring, Allan

    This paper explores the role and preparation of academics for senior management and executive positions in colleges and universities, particularly in Australia. A background section cites trends in higher education management and recent critiques of that management and the consequent scrutiny of leadership effectiveness. There follows an…

  9. A PDA study management tool (SMT) utilizing wireless broadband and full DICOM viewing capability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Documet, Jorge; Liu, Brent; Zhou, Zheng; Huang, H. K.; Documet, Luis

    2007-03-01

    During the last 4 years IPI (Image Processing and Informatics) Laboratory has been developing a web-based Study Management Tool (SMT) application that allows Radiologists, Film librarians and PACS-related (Picture Archiving and Communication System) users to dynamically and remotely perform Query/Retrieve operations in a PACS network. The users utilizing a regular PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) can remotely query a PACS archive to distribute any study to an existing DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) node. This application which has proven to be convenient to manage the Study Workflow [1, 2] has been extended to include a DICOM viewing capability in the PDA. With this new feature, users can take a quick view of DICOM images providing them mobility and convenience at the same time. In addition, we are extending this application to Metropolitan-Area Wireless Broadband Networks. This feature requires Smart Phones that are capable of working as a PDA and have access to Broadband Wireless Services. With the extended application to wireless broadband technology and the preview of DICOM images, the Study Management Tool becomes an even more powerful tool for clinical workflow management.

  10. UTM Technical Capabilities Level 2 (TLC2) Test at Reno-Stead Airport.

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-10-06

    Test of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) technical capability Level 2 (TCL2) at Reno-Stead Airport, Nevada. During the test, five drones simultaneously crossed paths, separated by altitude. Two drones flew beyond visual line-of-sight and three flew within line-of-sight of their operators. Engineer Joey Mercer reviews flight paths using the UAS traffic management research platform UTM coordinator app to verify and validate flight paths.

  11. Information Technology. DOD Needs to Strengthen Management of Its Statutorily Mandated Software and System Process Improvement Efforts

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-09-01

    NII)/CIO Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration/Chief Information Officer CMMI Capability Maturity Model...a Web-based portal to share knowledge about software process-related methodologies, such as the SEI’s Capability Maturity Model Integration ( CMMI ...19 SEI’s IDEALSM model, and Lean Six Sigma.20 For example, the portal features content areas such as software acquisition management, the SEI CMMI

  12. DoD Information Assurance and Agile: Challenges and Recommendations Gathered Through Interviews with Agile Program Managers and DoD Accreditation Reviewers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-11-01

    Tradeoff Analysis Method; ATAM, Capability Maturity Model , Capability Maturity Modeling , Carnegie Mellon, CERT, CERT Coordination Center, CMM, CMMI...Hermansen, Product Design, Sphere of Influence (https://www.SphereOfInfluence.com) Joel McAteer, Information Assurance Manager, Modeling ...use of them does introduce some challenges related to delivering software features rapidly and/or in- crementally . • Challenges with respect to

  13. The interns' learning assessment in obstetrics and gynecology department of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences.

    PubMed

    Roudbari, Masoud; Yaghmaei, Minoo

    2007-09-01

    One of the aims of management priorities in medical universities is the evaluation of learning in educational departments in order to prevent educational retardation and to improve the quality of education. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interns' learning in the obstetrics and gynecology (O&G) department at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (ZUMS). The study was performed in ZUMS, Iran, in 2002-2003 on all interns at the O&G department, including 30 men and 40 women. For data collection, a questionnaire was used and included some questions regarding the common emergencies and diseases in O&G, together with different learning indicators such as reading, observation, hearing, management, and the capability of management. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, tables, t test, and chi-square test using the SPSS software. The mean percentages of learning indicators of observation, bedside teaching, supervised management, and personal management in the common emergencies and diseases of O&G in male interns were significantly lower than those in female interns. Also, the mean percentages of managing capabilities were 12% and 70.5% in common emergencies and 14.2% and 59.3% in common diseases for male and female interns, respectively. The chi-square test showed a significant difference between the mean percentages of the managing capabilities in male and female interns for the majority of the common emergencies and diseases. Also, the chi-square test revealed a significant relationship between the learning indicators and the interns' managing capabilities for common emergencies and diseases. Some learning indicators in the male interns were very low. This needs urgent improvement of the learning quality in the O&G department, especially for the male interns, particularly those who are supposed to work in the deprived areas of the country after graduation in the public service.

  14. A Primer on Risks, Issues and Opportunities

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-08-01

    likelihood or consequence. A risk has three main parts: a future root cause, a likelihood and a consequence. The future root cause is determined...through root cause analysis, which is the most important part of any risk management effort. SPECIAL SECTION: RISK MANAGEMENT Defense AT&L: July-August...2016 10 Root cause analysis gets to the heart of the risk. Why does the risk exist? What is its nature? How will the risk occur? What should be

  15. Risk Management and Critical Infrastructure Protection: Assessing, Integrating, and Managing Threats, Vulnerabilities and Consequences

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-09-02

    Consequences 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7...OSLGCP now administers the grants programs. 30According to the guidance, threat assessment determines the relative likelihood of a known potential...information on critical infrastructure assets. The Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (OSLGCP) administers two grant

  16. Risk Management and Critical Infrastructure Protection: Assessing, Integrating, and Managing Threats, Vulnerabilities and Consequences

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-02-04

    Consequences 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7...OSLGCP). The OSLGCP now administers the grants programs. 37 According to the guidance, threat assessment determines the relative likelihood of a...Preparedness (OSLGCP) administers two grant programs that give states the opportunity to identify critical infrastructure assets: the State Homeland Security

  17. Robot Lies in Health Care: When Is Deception Morally Permissible?

    PubMed

    Matthias, Andreas

    2015-06-01

    Autonomous robots are increasingly interacting with users who have limited knowledge of robotics and are likely to have an erroneous mental model of the robot's workings, capabilities, and internal structure. The robot's real capabilities may diverge from this mental model to the extent that one might accuse the robot's manufacturer of deceiving the user, especially in cases where the user naturally tends to ascribe exaggerated capabilities to the machine (e.g. conversational systems in elder-care contexts, or toy robots in child care). This poses the question, whether misleading or even actively deceiving the user of an autonomous artifact about the capabilities of the machine is morally bad and why. By analyzing trust, autonomy, and the erosion of trust in communicative acts as consequences of deceptive robot behavior, we formulate four criteria that must be fulfilled in order for robot deception to be morally permissible, and in some cases even morally indicated.

  18. A Case Study of the United States Navy’s Enterprise Resource Planning System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-06-01

    incarnations, MRP-II added the capabilities of shop-floor management and distribution management activities. Later versions included the ability to manage ... finances , human resources, engineering, and project management. Enterprise Resource Planning systems were then developed as an integrated system

  19. 13 CFR 107.130 - Requirement for qualified management.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... qualified management. When applying for a license, you must show, to the satisfaction of SBA, that your current or proposed management is qualified and has the knowledge, experience, and capability necessary... management. 107.130 Section 107.130 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SMALL...

  20. 13 CFR 107.130 - Requirement for qualified management.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... qualified management. When applying for a license, you must show, to the satisfaction of SBA, that your current or proposed management is qualified and has the knowledge, experience, and capability necessary... management. 107.130 Section 107.130 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SMALL...

  1. 13 CFR 107.130 - Requirement for qualified management.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... qualified management. When applying for a license, you must show, to the satisfaction of SBA, that your current or proposed management is qualified and has the knowledge, experience, and capability necessary... management. 107.130 Section 107.130 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SMALL...

  2. Decision support system for drinking water management

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Janža, M.

    2012-04-01

    The problems in drinking water management are complex and often solutions must be reached under strict time constrains. This is especially distinct in case of environmental accidents in the catchment areas of the wells that are used for drinking water supply. The beneficial tools that can help decision makers and make program of activities more efficient are decision support systems (DSS). In general they are defined as computer-based support systems that help decision makers utilize data and models to solve unstructured problems. The presented DSS was developed in the frame of INCOME project which is focused on the long-term stable and safe drinking water supply in Ljubljana. The two main water resources Ljubljana polje and Barje alluvial aquifers are characterized by a strong interconnection of surface and groundwater, high vulnerability, high velocities of groundwater flow and pollutant transport. In case of sudden pollution, reactions should be very fast to avoid serious impact to the water supply. In the area high pressures arising from urbanization, industry, traffic, agriculture and old environmental burdens. The aim of the developed DSS is to optimize the activities in cases of emergency water management and to optimize the administrative work regarding the activities that can improve groundwater quality status. The DSS is an interactive computer system that utilizes data base, hydrological modelling, and experts' and stakeholders' knowledge. It consists of three components, tackling the different abovementioned issues in water management. The first one utilizes the work on identification, cleaning up and restoration of illegal dumpsites that are a serious threat to the qualitative status of groundwater. The other two components utilize the predictive capability of the hydrological model and scenario analysis. The user interacts with the system by a graphical interface that guides the user step-by-step to the recommended remedial measures. Consequently, the acquisition of information to support the water management's decisions is simplified and faster, thus contributing to more efficient water management and a safer supply of drinking water.

  3. Wastewater management and Marcellus Shale gas development: trends, drivers, and planning implications.

    PubMed

    Rahm, Brian G; Bates, Josephine T; Bertoia, Lara R; Galford, Amy E; Yoxtheimer, David A; Riha, Susan J

    2013-05-15

    Extraction of natural gas from tight shale formations has been made possible by recent technological advances, including hydraulic fracturing with horizontal drilling. Global shale gas development is seen as a potential energy and geopolitical "game-changer." However, widespread concern exists with respect to possible environmental consequences of this development, particularly impacts on water resources. In the United States, where the most shale gas extraction has occurred, the Marcellus Shale is now the largest natural gas producing play. To date, over 6,000,000 m(3) of wastewater has been generated in the process of extracting natural gas from this shale in the state of Pennsylvania (PA) alone. Here we examine wastewater management practices and trends for this shale play through analysis of industry-reported, publicly available data collected from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Oil and Gas Reporting Website. We also analyze the tracking and transport of shale gas liquid waste streams originating in PA using a combination of web-based and GIS approaches. From 2008 to 2011 wastewater reuse increased, POTW use decreased, and data tracking became more complete, while the average distance traveled by wastewater decreased by over 30%. Likely factors influencing these trends include state regulations and policies, along with low natural gas prices. Regional differences in wastewater management are influenced by industrial treatment capacity, as well as proximity to injection disposal capacity. Using lessons from the Marcellus Shale, we suggest that nations, states, and regulatory agencies facing new unconventional shale development recognize that pace and scale of well drilling leads to commensurate wastewater management challenges. We also suggest they implement wastewater reporting and tracking systems, articulate a policy for adapting management to evolving data and development patterns, assess local and regional wastewater treatment infrastructure in terms of capacity and capability, promote well-regulated on-site treatment technologies, and review and update wastewater management regulations and policies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. 40 CFR 1400.8 - Access to off-site consequence analysis information by Federal government officials.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACCIDENTAL RELEASE PREVENTION REQUIREMENTS; RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7); DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS...

  5. Performance of district disaster management teams after undergoing an operational level planners' training in Uganda.

    PubMed

    Orach, Christopher Garimol; Mayega, Roy William; Woboya, Vincent; William, Bazeyo

    2013-06-01

    Uganda is vulnerable to several natural, man-made and a hybrid of disasters including drought, famine, floods, warfare, and disease outbreaks. We assessed the district disaster team's performance, roles and experiences following the training. The disasters most commonly experienced by the district teams were epidemics of diseases in humans (7 of 12), animals (epizoonotics) (3 of 12) and crops (3 of 12); hailstorms and floods (3 of 12). The capabilities viewed most useful for management of disasters were provision of health care services (9/12) and response management (8 of 12). The capability domains most often consulted during the disasters were general response management (31%), health services (29%) and water and sanitation (17%). The skills areas perceived to be vital following the training were response to epidemics 10/12, disaster management planning 8/12, hazards and vulnerability analysis 7/12 and principles of disaster planning 7/12 respectively. Main challenges mentioned by district teams were inadequacy of finance and logistics, lack of commitment by key partners towards disaster preparedness and response. The most common disaster experienced disasters related to outbreaks of diseases in man, animals and crops. The most frequently applied capabilities were response management and provision of emergency health services. The activities most frequently implemented following disaster management teams training were conducting planning meetings, refinement of plans and dissemination of skills gained. The main challenges were related to limited budget allocations and legal frameworks for disaster management that should be addressed by both central and local governments.

  6. 5 CFR 1315.3 - Responsibilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... standardized information and electronic data exchange to the central management agency. Systems shall provide complete, timely, reliable, useful and consistent financial management information. Payment capabilities... Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET OMB DIRECTIVES PROMPT PAYMENT § 1315.3 Responsibilities...

  7. Dialogue Systems and Dialogue Management

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-12-01

    dialogue management capability within DST Group’s Consensus project . UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED Author Deeno Burgan National Security...3.1 Survey Process This research into dialogue management is part of a joint collaboration between DST Group and CSIRO. The project team comprised...

  8. Unintended consequences and trade-offs of fish passage

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McLaughlin, Robert L.; Smyth, Eric R.; Castro-Santos, Theodore; Jones, Michael L.; Koops, Marten A.; Pratt, Thomas C.; Vélez-Espino, Luis-Antonio

    2012-01-01

    We synthesized evidence for unintended consequences and trade-offs associated with the passage of fishes. Provisioning of fish passageways at dams and dam removals are being carried out increasingly as resource managers seek ways to reduce fragmentation of migratory fish populations and restore biodiversity and nature-like ecosystem services in tributaries altered by dams. The benefits of provisioning upstream passage are highlighted widely. Possible unwanted consequences and trade-offs of upstream passage are coming to light, but remain poorly examined and underappreciated. Unintended consequences arise when passage of native and desirable introduced fishes is delayed, undone (fallback), results in patterns of movement and habitat use that reduce Darwinian fitness (e.g. ecological traps), or is highly selective taxonomically and numerically. Trade-offs arise when passage decisions intended to benefit native species interfere with management decisions intended to control the unwanted spread of non-native fishes and aquatic invertebrates, or genes, diseases and contaminants carried by hatchery and wild fishes. These consequences and trade-offs will vary in importance from system to system and can result in large economic and environmental costs. For some river systems, decisions about how to manage fish passage involve substantial risks and could benefit from use of a formal, structured process that allows transparent, objective and, where possible, quantitative evaluation of these risks. Such a process can also facilitate the design of an adaptive framework that provides valuable insights into future decisions.

  9. 10 rules for managing global innovation.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Keeley; Doz, Yves L

    2012-10-01

    More and more companies recognize that their dispersed, global operations are a treasure trove of ideas and capabilities for innovation. But it's proving harder than expected to unearth those ideas or exploit those capabilities. Part of the problem is that companies manage global innovation the same way they manage traditional, single-location projects. Single-location projects draw on a large reservoir of tacit knowledge, shared context, and trust that global projects lack. The management challenge, therefore, is to replicate the positive aspects of colocation while harnessing the opportunities of dispersion. In this article, Insead's Wilson and Doz draw on research into global strategy and innovation to present a set of guidelines for setting up and managing global innovation. They explore in detail the challenges that make global projects inherently different and show how these can be overcome by applying superior project management skills across teams, fostering a strong collaborative culture, and using a robust array of communications tools.

  10. Detection and visualization of storm hydrograph changes under urbanization: an impulse response approach.

    PubMed

    Farahmand, Touraj; Fleming, Sean W; Quilty, Edward J

    2007-10-01

    Urbanization often alters catchment storm responses, with a broad range of potentially significant environmental and engineering consequences. At a practical, site-specific management level, efficient and effective assessment and control of such downstream impacts requires a technical capability to rapidly identify development-induced storm hydrograph changes. The method should also speak specifically to alteration of internal watershed dynamics, require few resources to implement, and provide results that are intuitively accessible to all watershed stakeholders. In this short paper, we propose a potential method which might satisfy these criteria. Our emphasis lies upon the integration of existing concepts to provide tools for pragmatic, relatively low-cost environmental monitoring and management. The procedure involves calibration of rainfall-runoff time-series models in each of several successive time windows, which sample varying degrees of watershed urbanization. As implemented here, only precipitation and stream discharge or stage data are required. The readily generated unit impulse response functions of these time-series models might then provide a mathematically formal, yet visually based and intuitive, representation of changes in watershed storm response. Nominally, the empirical response functions capture such changes as soon as they occur, and the assessments of storm hydrograph alteration are independent of variability in meteorological forcing. We provide a preliminary example of how the technique may be applied using a low-order linear ARX model. The technique may offer a fresh perspective on such watershed management issues, and potentially also several advantages over existing approaches. Substantial further testing is required before attempting to apply the concept as a practical environmental management technique; some possible directions for additional work are suggested.

  11. Federal collaboration in science for invasive mammal management in U.S. National Parks and Wildlife Refuges of the Pacific Islands

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hess, Steven C.; Hu, Darcy; Loh, Rhonda; Banko, Paul C.; Conner, L.M.; Smith, M.D.

    2016-01-01

    Some of the most isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean are home to US National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. These islands are known for flora and fauna that occur nowhere else, but also for invasive species and other factors which have resulted in the disproportionate extinction of native species. The control of invasive mammals is the single most expensive natural resource management activity essential for restoring ecological integrity to parks in the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, and the islands of Guam and Saipan. Science-based applications supporting management efforts have been shaped by longstanding collaborative federal research programs over the past four decades. Consequently, feral goats (Capra hircus) have been removed from >690 km2 in National Parks, and feral pigs (Sus scrofa) have been removed from >367 km2 of federal lands of Hawai‘i, bringing about the gradual recovery of forest ecosystems. The exclusion of other non-native ungulates and invasive mammals is now being undertaken with more sophisticated control techniques and fences. New fence designs are now capable of excluding feral cats (Felis catus) from large areas to protect endangered native waterfowl and nesting seabirds. Rodenticides which have been tested and registered for hand and aerial broadcast in Hawai‘i have been used to eradicate rats from small offshore islands to protect nesting seabirds and are now being applied to montane environments of larger islands to protect forest birds. Forward-looking infrared radar (FLIR) is also being applied to locate wild ungulates which were more recently introduced to some islands. All invasive mammals have been eradicated from some remote small islands, and it may soon be possible to manage areas on larger islands to be free of invasive mammals at least during seasonally important periods for native species.

  12. Crisis management during anaesthesia: difficult intubation.

    PubMed

    Paix, A D; Williamson, J A; Runciman, W B

    2005-06-01

    Anaesthetists may experience difficulty with intubation unexpectedly which may be associated with difficulty in ventilating the patient. If not well managed, there may be serious consequences for the patient. A simple structured approach to this problem was developed to assist the anaesthetist in this difficult situation. To examine the role of a specific sub-algorithm for the management of difficult intubation. The potential performance of a structured approach developed by review of the literature and analysis of each of the relevant incidents among the first 4000 reported to the Australian Incident Monitoring Study (AIMS) was compared with the actual management as reported by the anaesthetists involved. There were 147 reports of difficult intubation capable of analysis among the first 4000 incidents reported to AIMS. The difficulty was unexpected in 52% of cases; major physiological changes occurred in 37% of these cases. Saturation fell below 90% in 22% of cases, oesophageal intubation was reported in 19%, and an emergency transtracheal airway was required in 4% of cases. Obesity and limited neck mobility and mouth opening were the most common anatomical contributing factors. The data confirm previously reported failures to predict difficult intubation with existing preoperative clinical tests and suggest an ongoing need to teach a pre-learned strategy to deal with difficult intubation and any associated problem with ventilation. An easy-to-follow structured approach to these problems is outlined. It is recommended that skilled assistance be obtained (preferably another anaesthetist) when difficulty is expected or the patient's cardiorespiratory reserve is low. Patients should be assessed postoperatively to exclude any sequelae and to inform them of the difficulties encountered. These should be clearly documented and appropriate steps taken to warn future anaesthetists.

  13. Patch burn grazing management in a semiarid grassland: Consequences for pronghorn, plains pricklypear and wind erosion

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rangeland management strategies that allow for spatial and temporal interactions between fire and herbivores can achieve multiple management goals related to livestock production and wildlife conservation in mesic grasslands and savannas. Less is known about integrated management of herbivores and f...

  14. Development of a Minimum Data Set (MDS) for C-Section Anesthesia Information Management System (AIMS)

    PubMed Central

    Sheykhotayefeh, Mostafa; Safdari, Reza; Ghazisaeedi, Marjan; Khademi, Seyed Hossein; Seyed Farajolah, Seyedeh Sedigheh; Maserat, Elham; Jebraeily, Mohamad; Torabi, Vahid

    2017-01-01

    Background Caesarean section, also known as C-section, is a very common procedure in the world. Minimum data set (MDS) is defined as a set of data elements holding information regarding a series of target entities to provide a basis for planning, management, and performance evaluation. MDS has found a great use in health care information systems. Also, it can be considered as a basis for medical information management and has shown a great potential for contributing to the provision of high quality care and disease control measures. Objectives The principal aim of this research was to determine MDS and required capabilities for Anesthesia information management system (AIMS) in C-section in Iran. Methods Data items collected from several selected AIMS were studied to establish an initial set of data. The population of this study composed of 115 anesthesiologists was asked to review the proposed data elements and score them in order of importance by using a five-point Likert scale. The items scored as important or highly important by at least 75% of the experts were included in the final list of minimum data set. Results Overall 8 classes of data (consisted of 81 key data elements) were determined as final set. Also, the most important required capabilities were related to airway management and hypertension and hypotension management. Conclusions In the development of information system (IS) based on MDS and identification, because of the broad involvement of users, IS capabilities must focus on the users’ needs to form a successful system. Therefore, it is essential to assess MDS watchfully by considering the planned uses of data. Also, IS should have essential capabilities to meet the needs of its users. PMID:28824861

  15. Development of a Minimum Data Set (MDS) for C-Section Anesthesia Information Management System (AIMS).

    PubMed

    Sheykhotayefeh, Mostafa; Safdari, Reza; Ghazisaeedi, Marjan; Khademi, Seyed Hossein; Seyed Farajolah, Seyedeh Sedigheh; Maserat, Elham; Jebraeily, Mohamad; Torabi, Vahid

    2017-04-01

    Caesarean section, also known as C-section, is a very common procedure in the world. Minimum data set (MDS) is defined as a set of data elements holding information regarding a series of target entities to provide a basis for planning, management, and performance evaluation. MDS has found a great use in health care information systems. Also, it can be considered as a basis for medical information management and has shown a great potential for contributing to the provision of high quality care and disease control measures. The principal aim of this research was to determine MDS and required capabilities for Anesthesia information management system (AIMS) in C-section in Iran. Data items collected from several selected AIMS were studied to establish an initial set of data. The population of this study composed of 115 anesthesiologists was asked to review the proposed data elements and score them in order of importance by using a five-point Likert scale. The items scored as important or highly important by at least 75% of the experts were included in the final list of minimum data set. Overall 8 classes of data (consisted of 81 key data elements) were determined as final set. Also, the most important required capabilities were related to airway management and hypertension and hypotension management. In the development of information system (IS) based on MDS and identification, because of the broad involvement of users, IS capabilities must focus on the users' needs to form a successful system. Therefore, it is essential to assess MDS watchfully by considering the planned uses of data. Also, IS should have essential capabilities to meet the needs of its users.

  16. Assessing Graduate Sustainability Capability Post-Degree Completion: Why Is It Important and What Are the Challenges?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sandri, Orana; Holdsworth, Sarah; Thomas, Ian

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight both the need for measurement of graduate capabilities post-degree completion and the challenges posed by such a task. Higher education institutions provide an important site of learning that can equip future professionals with capabilities to manage and respond to complex sustainability…

  17. Defence Capability Plan 2009 (Australian Department of Defence). Public Version

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-01-24

    workings or Intellectual Property . > Armoured vehicles. This capability relates to the repair, maintenance and some upgrades of specialist military...cryptographic equipment. > Composite and exotic materials. This is the ability to repair specialist alloys and composite materials, to develop new...manufacture of some high usage munitions, ammunition components, propellants and explosives. > Signature management. Includes the capabilities and coatings

  18. A Web Service Protocol Realizing Interoperable Internet of Things Tasking Capability

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Chih-Yuan; Wu, Cheng-Hung

    2016-01-01

    The Internet of Things (IoT) is an infrastructure that interconnects uniquely-identifiable devices using the Internet. By interconnecting everyday appliances, various monitoring, and physical mashup applications can be constructed to improve human’s daily life. In general, IoT devices provide two main capabilities: sensing and tasking capabilities. While the sensing capability is similar to the World-Wide Sensor Web, this research focuses on the tasking capability. However, currently, IoT devices created by different manufacturers follow different proprietary protocols and are locked in many closed ecosystems. This heterogeneity issue impedes the interconnection between IoT devices and damages the potential of the IoT. To address this issue, this research aims at proposing an interoperable solution called tasking capability description that allows users to control different IoT devices using a uniform web service interface. This paper demonstrates the contribution of the proposed solution by interconnecting different IoT devices for different applications. In addition, the proposed solution is integrated with the OGC SensorThings API standard, which is a Web service standard defined for the IoT sensing capability. Consequently, the Extended SensorThings API can realize both IoT sensing and tasking capabilities in an integrated and interoperable manner. PMID:27589759

  19. 75 FR 9916 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, OMB No...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-04

    ... sustaining all-hazards emergency management capabilities. The EMPG Work Plan narrative must demonstrate how proposed projects address gaps, deficiencies, and capabilities in current programs and the ability to...

  20. Collaborative Learning Environments for Management Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seufert, Sabine; Seufert, Andreas

    Confronted with the pressure of a rapidly changing environment, organizations demand new skills and capabilities of future managers. These demands and the findings of learning theory necessitate a corresponding change in education of tomorrow's managers. Future management education requires a balance between the imparting of knowledge to the…

  1. Education for Effective Case Management Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dickerson, Pamela S.; Mansfield, Jerry A.

    2003-01-01

    Managed care organization employees (n=115) attended case management training that included case studies, problem solving and communication skills, and focus on internal capability. Three-month follow-up showed that case managers now ask more questions, have more confidence, mentor new employees, and work with greater accuracy. (SK)

  2. Manage "Human Capital" Strategically

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Odden, Allan

    2011-01-01

    To strategically manage human capital in education means restructuring the entire human resource system so that schools not only recruit and retain smart and capable individuals, but also manage them in ways that support the strategic directions of the organization. These management practices must be aligned with a district's education improvement…

  3. The Contribution of School Counselors' Self-Efficacy to Their Programmatic Service Delivery

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mullen, Patrick R.; Lambie, Glenn W.

    2016-01-01

    Self-efficacy pertains to individuals' belief about their capability to accomplish a task; consequently, school counselors' positive self-efficacy is a theoretically based prerequisite for their facilitation of school-based interventions. In addition, school counselor-led interventions and comprehensive, developmental guidance programs benefit…

  4. Busting Myths about Nuclear Deterrence

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-01-01

    clearly showed Kim Jung Un’s in- tent to develop ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead against an Asian ally and possibly US...consequences of such aggression against the United States. Carl von Clausewitz ob- served in his classic work, On War, that when the potential exists for

  5. Gene flow in genetically engineered perennial grasses: Lessons for modification of dedicated bioenergy crops

    EPA Science Inventory

    The potential ecological consequences of the commercialization of genetically engineered (GD) crops have been the subject of intense debate, particularly when the GE crops are perennial and capable of outcrossing to wild relatives. The essential ecological impact issues for engi...

  6. Self-Management Patient Education and Weight Loss

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stombaugh, Angela M.

    2010-01-01

    Self-management of a disease is defined as "having or being able to obtain, the skills and resources necessary to best accommodate to the chronic disease and its consequences" (Holman & Lorig, 1992, p. 309). Self-management has been used in the management of several chronic conditions and this model may be useful in the management of weight loss.…

  7. Increasing the visibility of watershed management as a land management profession

    Treesearch

    Daniel G. Neary; Peter F. Ffolliott; Kenneth N. Brooks

    2000-01-01

    Population increases will continue to severely pressure water resources in the 21st century. Consequently, the importance of watershed management will increase. The potential demand in the next century for information on, and individuals skilled in, watershed management raises several important issues: the need for watershed management to have a central voice to gain...

  8. Large-scale interdisciplinary experiments inform current and future forestry management options in the U.S

    Treesearch

    C.E. Peterson; P.D. Anderson

    2009-01-01

    Over the last 20 years, changing public values and increased ecological understanding have led to a paradigm shift in forestry from timber management to sustainable ecosystem management on U.S. federal lands. Forest managers are now seeking alternative management approaches that simultaneously meet socio-cultural, ecological and economic goals. Consequently, many field...

  9. Evaluation of fleet management techniques for timber highway bridges

    Treesearch

    Brent M. Phares; Travis K. Hosteng; Justin Dahlberg; Michael A. Ritter

    2011-01-01

    The general condition of the nation's bridges presents a complex management issue when considering cost, safety, and time. Consequently, the management of those bridges can become an overwhelming task. The need for a management system that is specific to rural systems may help to improve the management of this significant number of bridges. Although individual...

  10. 41 CFR 302-12.108 - What are the income tax consequences that we must consider when offering relocation services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES RESIDENCE... Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 5501, Washington, DC 20224, for information on the income tax consequences of...

  11. 41 CFR 302-12.115 - What are the income tax consequences that we must consider when offering relocation services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES RESIDENCE... Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 5501, Washington, DC 20224, for information on the income tax consequences of...

  12. 41 CFR 302-12.115 - What are the income tax consequences that we must consider when offering relocation services?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES RESIDENCE... Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 5501, Washington, DC 20224, for information on the income tax consequences of...

  13. Improving National Defense Acquisition and Resource Management through Enterprise Organization, Capabilities Assessment, Radical Reengineering, Capital and Longer-term Budgeting and Privatization/Marketization

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-04-30

    demonstrating (ii) how it encompasses the new approach to defense capabilities thinking, planning and management as a preamble to our argument for ... for understanding something about the new economics of organizations and a critique of bureaucratic organization as critical intellectual components...understanding something about the new economics of organizations as a critical intellectual component of support for the arguments we make for defense

  14. Department of Defense Command and Control Implementation Plan, Version 1.0

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-10-01

    needs • Be maintained by the C2 Capability Portfolio Manager ( CPM ) and updated every 2 years to address emerging C2 operational concepts, changing and...including sources managed by the C2 CPM as well as other CPMs (e.g., Net- Centric, Battlespace Awareness, and Logistics). C2 platforms and facilities with...incremental delivery of improved capabilities over time. Implementation planning is a C2 CPM -facilitated activity that involves identifying and

  15. A database management capability for Ada

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chan, Arvola; Danberg, SY; Fox, Stephen; Landers, Terry; Nori, Anil; Smith, John M.

    1986-01-01

    The data requirements of mission critical defense systems have been increasing dramatically. Command and control, intelligence, logistics, and even weapons systems are being required to integrate, process, and share ever increasing volumes of information. To meet this need, systems are now being specified that incorporate data base management subsystems for handling storage and retrieval of information. It is expected that a large number of the next generation of mission critical systems will contain embedded data base management systems. Since the use of Ada has been mandated for most of these systems, it is important to address the issues of providing data base management capabilities that can be closely coupled with Ada. A comprehensive distributed data base management project has been investigated. The key deliverables of this project are three closely related prototype systems implemented in Ada. These three systems are discussed.

  16. 77 FR 71177 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-11-29

    ... automated Tri-Service, Web- based database containing credentialing, privileging, risk management, and... credentialing, privileging, risk- management and adverse actions capabilities which support medical quality... submitting comments. Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 4800 Mark Center Drive, East Tower, 2nd...

  17. Intra-operative visualization of brain tumors with 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced fluorescence.

    PubMed

    Widhalm, Georg

    2014-01-01

    Precise histopathological diagnosis of brain tumors is essential for the correct patient management. Furthermore, complete resection of brain tumors is associated with an improved patient prognosis. However, histopathological undergrading and incomplete tumor removal are not uncommon, especially due to insufficient intra-operative visualization of brain tumor tissue. The fluorescent dye 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is currently applied for fluorescence-guided resections of high-grade gliomas. The value of 5-ALA-induced protoporphyrin (PpIX) fluorescence for intra-operative visualization of other tumors than high-grade gliomas remains unclear. Within the frame of this thesis, we found a significantly higher rate of complete resections of our high-grade gliomas as compared to control cases by using the newly established 5-ALA fluorescence technology at our department. Additionally, we showed that MRI spectroscopy-based chemical shift imaging (CSI) is capable to identify intratumoral high-grade glioma areas (= anaplastic foci) during navigation guided resections to avoid histopathological undergrading. However, the accuracy of navigation systems with integrated pre-operative imaging data such as CSI declines during resections due to intra-operative brainshift. In two further studies, we found that 5-ALA induced PpIX fluorescence is capable as a novel intra-operative marker to detect anaplastic foci within initially suspected low-grade gliomas independent of brainshift. Finally, we showed that the application of 5-ALA is also of relevance in needle biopsies for intra-operative identification of representative brain tumor tissue. These data indicate that 5-ALA is not only of major importance for resection of high-grade gliomas, but also for intra-operative visualization of anaplastic foci as well as representative brain tumor tissue in needle biopsies unaffected by brainshift. Consequently, this new technique might become a novel standard in brain tumor surgery that optimizes the patient management and improves the patient prognosis by maximizing the extent of tumor resection and enabling a precise histopathological tumor diagnosis.

  18. Hydrologic impacts of thawing permafrost—A review

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Walvoord, Michelle Ann; Kurylyk, Barret L.

    2016-01-01

    Where present, permafrost exerts a primary control on water fluxes, flowpaths, and distribution. Climate warming and related drivers of soil thermal change are expected to modify the distribution of permafrost, leading to changing hydrologic conditions, including alterations in soil moisture, connectivity of inland waters, streamflow seasonality, and the partitioning of water stored above and below ground. The field of permafrost hydrology is undergoing rapid advancement with respect to multiscale observations, subsurface characterization, modeling, and integration with other disciplines. However, gaining predictive capability of the many interrelated consequences of climate change is a persistent challenge due to several factors. Observations of hydrologic change have been causally linked to permafrost thaw, but applications of process-based models needed to support and enhance the transferability of empirical linkages have often been restricted to generalized representations. Limitations stem from inadequate baseline permafrost and unfrozen hydrogeologic characterization, lack of historical data, and simplifications in structure and process representation needed to counter the high computational demands of cryohydrogeologic simulations. Further, due in part to the large degree of subsurface heterogeneity of permafrost landscapes and the nonuniformity in thaw patterns and rates, associations between various modes of permafrost thaw and hydrologic change are not readily scalable; even trajectories of change can differ. This review highlights promising advances in characterization and modeling of permafrost regions and presents ongoing research challenges toward projecting hydrologic and ecologic consequences of permafrost thaw at time and spatial scales that are useful to managers and researchers.

  19. Overview of NASA MSFC IEC Multi-CAD Collaboration Capability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moushon, Brian; McDuffee, Patrick

    2005-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation provides an overview of a Design and Data Management System (DDMS) for Computer Aided Design (CAD) collaboration in order to support the Integrated Engineering Capability (IEC) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

  20. Computer graphics for management: An abstract of capabilities and applications of the EIS system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Solem, B. J.

    1975-01-01

    The Executive Information Services (EIS) system, developed as a computer-based, time-sharing tool for making and implementing management decisions, and including computer graphics capabilities, was described. The following resources are available through the EIS languages: centralized corporate/gov't data base, customized and working data bases, report writing, general computational capability, specialized routines, modeling/programming capability, and graphics. Nearly all EIS graphs can be created by a single, on-line instruction. A large number of options are available, such as selection of graphic form, line control, shading, placement on the page, multiple images on a page, control of scaling and labeling, plotting of cum data sets, optical grid lines, and stack charts. The following are examples of areas in which the EIS system may be used: research, estimating services, planning, budgeting, and performance measurement, national computer hook-up negotiations.

  1. The pilot climate data system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Reph, M. G.; Treinish, L. A.; Smith, P. H.

    1984-01-01

    The Pilot Climate Data System (PCDS) is an interactive scientific information management system for locating, obtaining, manipulating, and displaying climate-research data. The PCDS was developed to manage a large collection of data of interest to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) research community and currently provides such support for approximately twenty data sets. In order to provide the PCDS capabilities, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC) has integrated the capabilities of several general-purpose software packages with specialized software for reading and reformatting the supported data sets. These capabilities were integrated in a manner which allows the PCDS to be easily expanded, either to provide support for additional data sets or to provide additional functional capabilities. This also allows the PCDS to take advantage of new technology as it becomes available, since parts of the system can be replaced with more powerful components without significantly affecting the user interface.

  2. Playing It Safe: Identity Management and Single Sign-On

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alawneh, John

    2012-01-01

    Whenever thousands of users need to connect seamlessly to a vast number of online resources, identity management (IDM) becomes a critical capability. Although several products on the market can deliver a robust identity management solution, there is no one-size-fits-all. Identity management requires business processes and a supporting…

  3. Spectrum Situational Awareness Capability: The Military Need and Potential Implementation Issues

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-10-01

    Management Sensor Systems Frequency Management EW Systems Frequency Management Allied Battlespace Spectrum Management Restricted Frequency List Frequency...Management Restricted Frequency List Frequency Allocation Table Civil Frequency Use Data Inputs Negotiation and allocation process © Dstl 2006 26th...Management Restricted Frequency List Data Inputs Negotiation and allocation process Frequency Allocation Table SSA ES INT COP etc WWW Spectrum

  4. Real-Time Simulation for Verification and Validation of Diagnostic and Prognostic Algorithms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aguilar, Robet; Luu, Chuong; Santi, Louis M.; Sowers, T. Shane

    2005-01-01

    To verify that a health management system (HMS) performs as expected, a virtual system simulation capability, including interaction with the associated platform or vehicle, very likely will need to be developed. The rationale for developing this capability is discussed and includes the limited capability to seed faults into the actual target system due to the risk of potential damage to high value hardware. The capability envisioned would accurately reproduce the propagation of a fault or failure as observed by sensors located at strategic locations on and around the target system and would also accurately reproduce the control system and vehicle response. In this way, HMS operation can be exercised over a broad range of conditions to verify that it meets requirements for accurate, timely response to actual faults with adequate margin against false and missed detections. An overview is also presented of a real-time rocket propulsion health management system laboratory which is available for future rocket engine programs. The health management elements and approaches of this lab are directly applicable for future space systems. In this paper the various components are discussed and the general fault detection, diagnosis, isolation and the response (FDIR) concept is presented. Additionally, the complexities of V&V (Verification and Validation) for advanced algorithms and the simulation capabilities required to meet the changing state-of-the-art in HMS are discussed.

  5. Symmetric Key Services Markup Language (SKSML)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noor, Arshad

    Symmetric Key Services Markup Language (SKSML) is the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) being standardized by the OASIS Enterprise Key Management Infrastructure Technical Committee for requesting and receiving symmetric encryption cryptographic keys within a Symmetric Key Management System (SKMS). This protocol is designed to be used between clients and servers within an Enterprise Key Management Infrastructure (EKMI) to secure data, independent of the application and platform. Building on many security standards such as XML Signature, XML Encryption, Web Services Security and PKI, SKSML provides standards-based capability to allow any application to use symmetric encryption keys, while maintaining centralized control. This article describes the SKSML protocol and its capabilities.

  6. Globus platform-as-a-service for collaborative science applications

    DOE PAGES

    Ananthakrishnan, Rachana; Chard, Kyle; Foster, Ian; ...

    2014-03-13

    Globus, developed as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for research data management, also provides APIs that constitute a flexible and powerful Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) to which developers can outsource data management activities such as transfer and sharing, as well as identity, profile and group management. By providing these frequently important but always challenging capabilities as a service, accessible over the network, Globus PaaS streamlines web application development and makes it easy for individuals, teams, and institutions to create collaborative applications such as science gateways for science communities. We introduce the capabilities of this platform and review representative applications.

  7. Globus Platform-as-a-Service for Collaborative Science Applications.

    PubMed

    Ananthakrishnan, Rachana; Chard, Kyle; Foster, Ian; Tuecke, Steven

    2015-02-01

    Globus, developed as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for research data management, also provides APIs that constitute a flexible and powerful Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) to which developers can outsource data management activities such as transfer and sharing, as well as identity, profile and group management. By providing these frequently important but always challenging capabilities as a service, accessible over the network, Globus PaaS streamlines web application development and makes it easy for individuals, teams, and institutions to create collaborative applications such as science gateways for science communities. We introduce the capabilities of this platform and review representative applications.

  8. Globus Platform-as-a-Service for Collaborative Science Applications

    PubMed Central

    Ananthakrishnan, Rachana; Chard, Kyle; Foster, Ian; Tuecke, Steven

    2014-01-01

    Globus, developed as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for research data management, also provides APIs that constitute a flexible and powerful Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) to which developers can outsource data management activities such as transfer and sharing, as well as identity, profile and group management. By providing these frequently important but always challenging capabilities as a service, accessible over the network, Globus PaaS streamlines web application development and makes it easy for individuals, teams, and institutions to create collaborative applications such as science gateways for science communities. We introduce the capabilities of this platform and review representative applications. PMID:25642152

  9. Interval Management: Development and Implementation of an Airborne Spacing Concept

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Barmore, Bryan E.; Penhallegon, William J.; Weitz, Lesley A.; Bone, Randall S.; Levitt, Ian; Flores Kriegsfeld, Julia A.; Arbuckle, Doug; Johnson, William C.

    2016-01-01

    Interval Management is a suite of ADS-B-enabled applications that allows the air traffic controller to instruct a flight crew to achieve and maintain a desired spacing relative to another aircraft. The flight crew, assisted by automation, manages the speed of their aircraft to deliver more precise inter-aircraft spacing than is otherwise possible, which increases traffic throughput at the same or higher levels of safety. Interval Management has evolved from a long history of research and is now seen as a core NextGen capability. With avionics standards recently published, completion of an Investment Analysis Readiness Decision by the FAA, and multiple flight tests planned, Interval Management will soon be part of everyday use in the National Airspace System. Second generation, Advanced Interval Management capabilities are being planned to provide a wider range of operations and improved performance and benefits. This paper briefly reviews the evolution of Interval Management and describes current development and deployment plans. It also reviews concepts under development as the next generation of applications.

  10. Risk analysis of urban gas pipeline network based on improved bow-tie model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hao, M. J.; You, Q. J.; Yue, Z.

    2017-11-01

    Gas pipeline network is a major hazard source in urban areas. In the event of an accident, there could be grave consequences. In order to understand more clearly the causes and consequences of gas pipeline network accidents, and to develop prevention and mitigation measures, the author puts forward the application of improved bow-tie model to analyze risks of urban gas pipeline network. The improved bow-tie model analyzes accident causes from four aspects: human, materials, environment and management; it also analyzes the consequences from four aspects: casualty, property loss, environment and society. Then it quantifies the causes and consequences. Risk identification, risk analysis, risk assessment, risk control, and risk management will be clearly shown in the model figures. Then it can suggest prevention and mitigation measures accordingly to help reduce accident rate of gas pipeline network. The results show that the whole process of an accident can be visually investigated using the bow-tie model. It can also provide reasons for and predict consequences of an unfortunate event. It is of great significance in order to analyze leakage failure of gas pipeline network.

  11. An implementation of a data-transmission pipelining algorithm on Imote2 platforms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xu; Dorvash, Siavash; Cheng, Liang; Pakzad, Shamim

    2011-04-01

    Over the past several years, wireless network systems and sensing technologies have been developed significantly. This has resulted in the broad application of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in many engineering fields and in particular structural health monitoring (SHM). The movement of traditional SHM toward the new generation of SHM, which utilizes WSNs, relies on the advantages of this new approach such as relatively low costs, ease of implementation and the capability of onboard data processing and management. In the particular case of long span bridge monitoring, a WSN should be capable of transmitting commands and measurement data over long network geometry in a reliable manner. While using single-hop data transmission in such geometry requires a long radio range and consequently a high level of power supply, multi-hop communication may offer an effective and reliable way for data transmissions across the network. Using a multi-hop communication protocol, the network relays data from a remote node to the base station via intermediary nodes. We have proposed a data-transmission pipelining algorithm to enable an effective use of the available bandwidth and minimize the energy consumption and the delay performance by the multi-hop communication protocol. This paper focuses on the implementation aspect of the pipelining algorithm on Imote2 platforms for SHM applications, describes its interaction with underlying routing protocols, and presents the solutions to various implementation issues of the proposed pipelining algorithm. Finally, the performance of the algorithm is evaluated based on the results of an experimental implementation.

  12. A taxonomy of green supply chain management capability among electronics-related manufacturing firms in Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Shang, Kuo-Chung; Lu, Chin-Shan; Li, Shaorui

    2010-05-01

    This study investigated crucial green supply chain management (GSCM) capability dimensions and firm performance based on electronics-related manufacturing firms in Taiwan. On the basis of a factor analysis, six green supply chain management dimensions were identified: green manufacturing and packaging, environmental participation, green marketing, green suppliers, green stock, and green eco-design. According to their factor scores in the GSCM dimensions, a cluster analysis subsequently assigned responding firms into four groups, namely, the weak GSCM oriented group, the green marketing oriented group, the green supplier oriented group, and the green stock oriented group. Differences in firm performance and GSCM dimensions among groups were examined. Results indicated that the green marketing oriented group performed best. Based on the resource-based view (RBV), the capability of the green marketing oriented group was considered to be the deployment of a collection of resources that enables it to successfully compete against rivals. The importance of green marketing as a GSCM capability and strategic asset/critical resources for electronics-related manufacturing firms to obtain a competitive edge is therefore highlighted in this study. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Ground Operations Autonomous Control and Integrated Health Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Figueroa, Fernando; Walker, Mark; Wilkins, Kim; Johnson, Robert; Sass, Jared; Youney, Justin

    2014-01-01

    An intelligent autonomous control capability has been developed and is currently being validated in ground cryogenic fluid management operations. The capability embodies a physical architecture consistent with typical launch infrastructure and control systems, augmented by a higher level autonomous control (AC) system enabled to make knowledge-based decisions. The AC system is supported by an integrated system health management (ISHM) capability that detects anomalies, diagnoses causes, determines effects, and could predict future anomalies. AC is implemented using the concept of programmed sequences that could be considered to be building blocks of more generic mission plans. A sequence is a series of steps, and each executes actions once conditions for the step are met (e.g. desired temperatures or fluid state are achieved). For autonomous capability, conditions must consider also health management outcomes, as they will determine whether or not an action is executed, or how an action may be executed, or if an alternative action is executed instead. Aside from health, higher level objectives can also drive how a mission is carried out. The capability was developed using the G2 software environment (www.gensym.com) augmented by a NASA Toolkit that significantly shortens time to deployment. G2 is a commercial product to develop intelligent applications. It is fully object oriented. The core of the capability is a Domain Model of the system where all elements of the system are represented as objects (sensors, instruments, components, pipes, etc.). Reasoning and decision making can be done with all elements in the domain model. The toolkit also enables implementation of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), which are represented as root cause trees. FMEA's are programmed graphically, they are reusable, as they address generic FMEA referring to classes of subsystems or objects and their functional relationships. User interfaces for integrated awareness by operators have been created.

  14. Mathematics and Experiential Learning--Are They Compatible?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davidovitch, Nitza; Yavich, Roman; Keller, Nelly

    2014-01-01

    In the process of experiential learning, students acquire skills and values as the consequence of a direct experience. Experiential learning draws on senses, emotions, and cognition and appeals to learners' entire being. Such learning, by nature, enables the development of a variety of capabilities, such as planning, teamwork, coping with…

  15. Preparing Principals: What Can We Learn from MBA and MPA Programmes?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hallinger, Philip; Lu, Jiafang

    2013-01-01

    The past two decades have witnessed increasing global acceptance of the important role that capable leadership plays in education reform and school improvement. Consequently, policymakers internationally have actively sought means of strengthening capacity for school-level leadership, with a particular focus on the design of more effective…

  16. STRUCTURAL CAPABILITIES OF NO-DIG MANHOLE REHABILITATION (WE&RF Report INFR1R12)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Failure of a manhole may have catastrophic consequences such as a sinkhole. At a minimum, wastewater flow will be blocked and flow upstream of the manhole will backup, causing a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO). Accordingly, the structural condition of a manhole is an important perf...

  17. Partnerships for progress at the U.S. Geological Survey

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    1995-01-01

    This is about opportunity for the private sector. It is about combining the research capabilities of Government scientists with the commercial development potential of private companies. It is, consequently, about partnerships leading to products and services to enhance the quality of life and strengthen the American economy.

  18. The Influence of the Teaching and Learning Environment on the Development of Generic Capabilities Needed for a Knowledge-Based Society

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kember, David; Leung, Doris Y. P.

    2005-01-01

    The effect of the teaching and learning environment on the development of generic capabilities was examined through a survey of 1756 undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong. The survey assessed students' perceptions of the development of the six capabilities of critical thinking, self-managed learning, adaptability, problem solving,…

  19. RMP Guidance for Chemical Distributors - Chapter 7: Prevention Program (Program 3)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The OSHA Process Safety Management program has legal authority for on-site consequences, EPA's Prevention Program for offsite consequences, so your process hazard analysis (PHA) team may have to assess new hazards to the public and offsite environment.

  20. 40 CFR 1400.1 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION... chemical accidents and submit the results of their analyses to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as... the portions of risk management plans containing the results of those analyses and certain related...

  1. 40 CFR 1400.1 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION... chemical accidents and submit the results of their analyses to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as... the portions of risk management plans containing the results of those analyses and certain related...

  2. 40 CFR 1400.1 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION... chemical accidents and submit the results of their analyses to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as... the portions of risk management plans containing the results of those analyses and certain related...

  3. 40 CFR 1400.1 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION... chemical accidents and submit the results of their analyses to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as... the portions of risk management plans containing the results of those analyses and certain related...

  4. Teaching Tip: Utilizing Classroom Simulation to Convey Key Concepts in IT Portfolio Management

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Larson, Eric C.

    2013-01-01

    Managing a portfolio of IT projects is an important capability for firms and their managers. The classroom simulation described here provides students in an MBA information systems management/strategy course with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the key concepts that should be considered in managing an IT portfolio and helps…

  5. 76 FR 62420 - Statement of Organization, Functions and Delegations of Authority

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-07

    ... leadership, consultation, training, and management services for HRSA's enterprise computing environment; (2... responsibility with improved security management capabilities and improved alignment of current security... responsible for the organization, management, and administrative functions necessary to carry out the...

  6. Silvopasture: Small ruminants for establishment, management and usage

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Small farm pastures, hayfields, and woodlots are very productive in terms of forage, animal and wood products. Inherent livestock production capability can be improved through better herbage and animal management. Woodlot management can increase economic return, species diversity, and farm aesthetic...

  7. 25 CFR 1200.1 - Purpose of this regulation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... processes by which Indian tribes can manage tribal funds currently held in trust by the United States. It... they may request technical assistance or grants to help prepare plans to manage funds or to ensure the capability to manage those funds. ...

  8. 25 CFR 1200.1 - Purpose of this regulation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... processes by which Indian tribes can manage tribal funds currently held in trust by the United States. It... they may request technical assistance or grants to help prepare plans to manage funds or to ensure the capability to manage those funds. ...

  9. 25 CFR 1200.1 - Purpose of this regulation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... processes by which Indian tribes can manage tribal funds currently held in trust by the United States. It... they may request technical assistance or grants to help prepare plans to manage funds or to ensure the capability to manage those funds. ...

  10. 25 CFR 1200.1 - Purpose of this regulation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... processes by which Indian tribes can manage tribal funds currently held in trust by the United States. It... they may request technical assistance or grants to help prepare plans to manage funds or to ensure the capability to manage those funds. ...

  11. 25 CFR 1200.1 - Purpose of this regulation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... processes by which Indian tribes can manage tribal funds currently held in trust by the United States. It... they may request technical assistance or grants to help prepare plans to manage funds or to ensure the capability to manage those funds. ...

  12. US EPA Modeling Tools for Stormwater Management

    EPA Science Inventory

    Effective stormwater management is critical to the protection of human life, urban infrastructure systems, and the environment. Over the last 40 years, the US EPA has invested heavily in stormwater management research and development. This talk will describe the capabilities of t...

  13. Management of thinned Emory oak coppice for multiple resource benefits

    Treesearch

    D. Catlow Shipek; Peter F. Ffolliott

    2005-01-01

    Managers are increasingly moving toward an ecosystem-based, multiple-use approach in managing Emory oak woodlands in the Southwestern United States. Often of particular interest is managing the coppice that evolves from earlier fuelwood harvesting activities. Emory oak (Quercus emoryi) is a prolific sprouting species and, as a consequence, post-...

  14. 41 CFR 302-12.9 - What are the income tax consequences if I use a relocation services company?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What are the income tax consequences if I use a relocation services company? 302-12.9 Section 302-12.9 Public Contracts and Property... the income tax consequences if I use a relocation services company? You may incur income taxes on...

  15. Adaptive social impact management for conservation and environmental management.

    PubMed

    Kaplan-Hallam, Maery; Bennett, Nathan J

    2018-04-01

    Concerns about the social consequences of conservation have spurred increased attention the monitoring and evaluation of the social impacts of conservation projects. This has resulted in a growing body of research that demonstrates how conservation can produce both positive and negative social, economic, cultural, health, and governance consequences for local communities. Yet, the results of social monitoring efforts are seldom applied to adaptively manage conservation projects. Greater attention is needed to incorporating the results of social impact assessments in long-term conservation management to minimize negative social consequences and maximize social benefits. We bring together insights from social impact assessment, adaptive management, social learning, knowledge coproduction, cross-scale governance, and environmental planning to propose a definition and framework for adaptive social impact management (ASIM). We define ASIM as the cyclical process of monitoring and adaptively managing social impacts over the life-span of an initiative through the 4 stages of profiling, learning, planning, and implementing. We outline 14 steps associated with the 4 stages of the ASIM cycle and provide guidance and potential methods for social-indicator development, predictive assessments of social impacts, monitoring and evaluation, communication of results, and identification and prioritization of management responses. Successful ASIM will be aided by engaging with best practices - including local engagement and collaboration in the process, transparent communication of results to stakeholders, collective deliberation on and choice of interventions, documentation of shared learning at the site level, and the scaling up of insights to inform higher-level conservation policies-to increase accountability, trust, and perceived legitimacy among stakeholders. The ASIM process is broadly applicable to conservation, environmental management, and development initiatives at various scales and in different contexts. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

  16. 2008 Combat Vehicles Conference

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-10-22

    reduction — Reduced logistics burdens — Regenerative braking / energy recovery • Enhance functionality, flexibility, power quality, and management...ground based maneuver tasks. The MPC, as the medium capability category platform, provides a bridge in capability between the EFV and JLTV and a

  17. Dryden's David Bushman explains the capabilities of the Altus UAV to NASA Langley's Charles Hudgins

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2003-05-27

    David Bushman, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) mission manager in NASA Dryden's Airborne Science Program, explains the capabilities of the Altus UAV to Charles Hudgins of NASA Langley's Chemistry and Dynamics Branch.

  18. Strategic Plan 2011 to 2016

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-02-01

    search capability for Air Force Research Information Management System (AFRIMS) data as a part of federated search under DTIC Online Access...provide vetted requests to dataset owners. • Develop a federated search capability for databases containing limited distribution material. • Deploy

  19. Large-scale interdisciplinary experiments inform current and future forestry management options in the U.S. Pacific Northwest

    Treesearch

    Charles E. Peterson; Paul D. Anderson

    2009-01-01

    Over the last 20 years, changing public values and increased ecological understanding have led to a paradigm shift in forestry from timber management to sustainable ecosystem management on U.S. federal lands. Forest managers are now seeking alternative management approaches that simultaneously meet socio-cultural, ecological and economic goals. Consequently, many field...

  20. Step 1: Human System Integration (HSI) FY05 Pilot-Technology Interface Requirements for Contingency Management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2005-01-01

    This document involves definition of technology interface requirements for Contingency Management. This was performed through a review of Contingency Management-related, HSI requirements documents, standards, and recommended practices. Technology concepts in use by the Contingency Management Work Package were considered. Beginning with HSI high-level functional requirements for Contingency Management, and Contingency Management technology elements, HSI requirements for the interface to the pilot were identified. Results of the analysis describe (1) the information required by the pilot to have knowledge of system failures and associated contingency procedures, and (2) the control capability needed by the pilot to obtain system status and procedure information. Fundamentally, these requirements provide the candidate Contingency Management technology concepts with the necessary human-related elements to make them compatible with human capabilities and limitations. The results of the analysis describe how Contingency Management operations and functions should interface with the pilot to provide the necessary Contingency Management functionality to the UA-pilot system. Requirements and guidelines for Contingency Management are partitioned into four categories: (1) Health and Status and (2) Contingency Management. Each requirement is stated and is supported with a rationale and associated reference(s).

  1. UTM Technical Capabilities Level 2 (TLC2) Test at Reno-Stead Airport.

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2016-10-06

    Test of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) technical capability Level 2 (TCL2) at Reno-Stead Airport, Nevada. During the test, five drones simultaneously crossed paths, separated by altitude. Two drones flew beyond visual line-of-sight and three flew within line-of-sight of their operators. Engineers Priya Venkatesan and Joey Mercer review flight paths using the UAS traffic management research platform at flight operations mission control at NASA’s UTM TCL2 test.

  2. Intelligent Load Manager (LOADMAN): Application of Expert System Technology to Load Management Problems in Power Generation and Distribution Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-08-10

    addrsesed to it, the wall-receptacle module energizes a relay. Modules can be built to use a triac instead and have the capacity to increase or decrease... modulated by other constraints for a safe, functional ana effective power distribution system. 2.2.3 BackuR Equipment Alternate power sources are...environments have limited sensor capability and no remote control capability. However, future enhancements to current equipment, such as frequency- modulated

  3. Determining your organization's 'risk capability'.

    PubMed

    Hannah, Bill; Hancock, Melinda

    2014-05-01

    An assessment of a provider's level of risk capability should focus on three key elements: Business intelligence, including sophisticated analytical models that can offer insight into the expected cost and quality of care for a given population. Clinical enterprise maturity, marked by the ability to improve health outcomes and to manage utilization and costs to drive change. Revenue transformation, emphasizing the need for a revenue cycle platform that allows for risk acceptance and management and that provides incentives for performance against defined objectives.

  4. Space Weather Products at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hesse, Michael; Kuznetsova, M.; Pulkkinen, A.; Maddox, M.; Rastaetter, L.; Berrios, D.; MacNeice, P.

    2010-01-01

    The Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) is a US inter-agency activity aiming at research in support of the generation of advanced space weather models. As one of its main functions, the CCMC provides to researchers the use of space science models, even if they are not model owners themselves. The second CCMC activity is to support Space Weather forecasting at national Space Weather Forecasting Centers. This second activity involves model evaluations, model transitions to operations, and the development of space weather forecasting tools. Owing to the pace of development in the science community, new model capabilities emerge frequently. Consequently, space weather products and tools involve not only increased validity, but often entirely new capabilities. This presentation will review the present state of space weather tools as well as point out emerging future capabilities.

  5. NAS: The first year

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, F. R.; Kutler, Paul

    1988-01-01

    Discussed are the capabilities of NASA's Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation (NAS) Program and its application as an advanced supercomputing system for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research. First, the paper describes the NAS computational system, called the NAS Processing System Network, and the advanced computational capabilities it offers as a consequence of carrying out the NAS pathfinder objective. Second, it presents examples of pioneering CFD research accomplished during NAS's first operational year. Examples are included which illustrate CFD applications for predicting fluid phenomena, complementing and supplementing experimentation, and aiding in design. Finally, pacing elements and future directions for CFD and NAS are discussed.

  6. Proceedings of a Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Workshop for the Western United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Thorsteinson, Lyman; Hirsch, Derrick; Helweg, David; Dhanju, Amardeep; Barmenski, Joan; Ferrero, Richard

    2011-01-01

    Recent scientific and ocean policy assessments demonstrate that a fundamental change in our current management system is required to achieve the long-term health of our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes in order to sustain the services and benefits they provide to society. The present (2011) species- and sector-centric way we manage these ecosystems cannot account properly for cumulative effects, sustaining multiple ecosystem services, and holistically and explicitly evaluating the tradeoffs associated with proposed alternative and multiple human uses. A transition to an ecosystem-based approach to management and conservation of coastal and marine resources is needed. Competing uses and activities such as commerce, recreation, cultural practices, energy development, conservation, and national security are increasing pressure for new and expanded resource usage in coastal marine ecosystems. Current management efforts use a sector-by-sector approach that mostly focuses on a limited range of tools and outcomes [for example, oil and gas leases, fishery management plans, and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)]. A comprehensive, ecosystem-based, and proactive approach to planning and managing these uses and activities is needed. Further, scientific understanding and information are essential to achieve an integrated decision-making process that includes knowledge of ecosystem services, existing and possible future conditions, and potential consequences of natural and anthropogenic events. Because no single government agency has executive authority for coastal or ocean resources, conflicting objectives around competing uses abound. In recent years, regional- and state-level initiatives in Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) have emerged to coordinate management activities. In some respects, the components and steps of the overall CMSP process are similar to how existing ocean resources are regulated and managed. For example, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) uses spatial planning exercises in State Renewable Energy Task Force meetings to identify competing and conflicting ocean uses, and to delineate areas suitable for renewable energy development. Similarly terrestrial areas such as in national parks and national wildlife refuges managed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) prepare management plans for preservation and restoration of species and habitats of concern, some of which are protected by law. The analogy to CMSP is clear - multiple users and multiple expectations, resulting in the requirement to establish spatial plans for management of different resources and different ecosystem services. A two-day workshop on December 1-2, 2010, was convened for DOI representatives and several key non-DOI participants with roles in CMSP as a step toward clarifying national perspectives and consequences of the National Ocean Policy for the West (appendix 1). Discussions helped to develop an understanding of CMSP from the federal perspective and to identify regional priorities. An overarching theme was to promote a better understanding of current and future science needs. The workshop format included briefings by key Federal agencies on their understanding of the national focus followed by discussion of regional issues, including the needs for scientific information and coordination. The workshop also explored potential science contributions by Federal agencies and others; utilizing current capabilities, data, and information systems; and provided a foundation for possible future regional workshops focusing in turn on the West Coast Region (California, Oregon, and Washington), Pacific Islands (sometimes referred to as Oceania) and Alaska. Participants were asked to share information in the following areas, recognizing that the purpose would be to learn more about the national perspective (see appendixes 2-4): Explore how the Western U.S. (Alaska, Pacific Islands, and West Coast Region) migh

  7. Critical Essay: Building new management theories on sound data? The case of neuroscience

    PubMed Central

    Lindebaum, Dirk

    2015-01-01

    In this critical essay, I contend that accelerating demands for novel theories in management studies imply that new methodologies and data are sometimes accepted prematurely as supply of these novel theories. This point is illustrated with reference to how neuroscience can inform management research. I propose two demand forces that foster the increased focus on neuroscience in management studies, these being (i) the direction of public research funding, and (ii) publication bias as a boost for journal impact factor. Looking at the supply side, I note that (i) the statistical power of studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (or fMRI, the ‘gold’ standard) is unacceptably low, (ii) the use of imprecise ‘motherhood’ statements, and (iii) the dismissal of ethical concerns in the formulation of management theories and practice informed by neuroscience. I then briefly outline the bad consequences of this for management theory and practice, emphasize why it is important to prevent these consequences, and offer some methodological suggestions for future research. PMID:27041766

  8. Current Perspectives on Novel Drug Delivery Systems and Therapies for Management of Prostate Cancer: An Inclusive Review.

    PubMed

    Bhosale, Rohit R; Gangadharappa, H V; Hani, Umme; Ali M Osmani, Riyaz; Vaghela, Rudra; Kulkarni, P K; Koganti, Venkata Sairam

    2017-01-01

    Prostate cancer (PC) is a prostate gland cells carcinoma, the foremost reason of cancer deaths in men in developed countries, representing most common malignancy in adult males. The key obstacle to achieve practicable therapeutic effect of active drugs and capable hopeful agents including proteins and peptides, and nucleic acid for prostate cancer is the scarcity of targeted drug delivery to cells of prostate cancer. As a result, need for novel systems, strategies or therapeutic approaches to enhance the assortment of active agents meant for prostate cancer becomes an important criterion. Currently cancer research focuses on improving treatment of prostate cancer using various novel drug delivery systems of chemotherapeutic agents. These novel drug delivery systems comprise nanoparticles and liposomes. Also, strategies or therapeutic approaches intended for the prostate cancer include radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer, hormonal therapy for suppressing tumor growth, and gene-and-immunologic therapy. These systems and approaches can deliver the drugs to their selected or targeted cancer cells for the drug release in cancer atmosphere of prostate thereby enhancing the effectiveness of tumor penetration. The objective was to collect and report the recent research findings to manage the PC. Present review encloses existing diverse novel drug delivery systems and approaches intended for the management of PC. The reported miscellaneous novel drug delivery systems along with the diverse therapies are seem to be precise, secure and relatively effective; and in consequence could lead to a new track for obliteration of prostate cancer. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  9. Linking Indicators: Key Research Questions to Guide Decisions on What to Measure, Map and Model

    EPA Science Inventory

    Public policy increasingly demands insight into the social consequences of environmental policy and drivers of human behaviors that affect the environment. Social consequences can provide potent justifications for environmental protection and management, and human preferences and...

  10. 77 FR 74825 - Information Collection: Federal and Non-Federal Financial Assistant Instruments

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-18

    ... recipient's accounting system and financial management capabilities. In addition to FFA, Congress created... addressed to Clark Woolley, USDA Forest Service, Director of Acquisitions Management, 1400 Independence Ave... INFORMATION CONTACT: Clark Woolley, Acquisitions Management, 703-605-4654. Individuals who use...

  11. 7 CFR 1491.4 - Program requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... capability to acquire, manage, and enforce easements; (3) Sufficient number of staff dedicated to monitoring... of easement management, monitoring, and enforcement where such fund is sufficiently capitalized in accordance with NRCS standards. The dedicated fund must be dedicated to the purposes of managing, monitoring...

  12. Sexual Difficulties after Pelvic Radiotherapy: Improving Clinical Management.

    PubMed

    White, I D

    2015-11-01

    Modern multimodality cancer treatment has led to more than 2 million people living with and beyond cancer in the UK, an impressive survival statistic on which clinicians and services continue to build. However, what is less readily acknowledged by health professionals and patients alike are the 500,000 people whose daily lives are adversely affected by the longer term consequences of cancer treatment. Macmillan Cancer Support estimate as many as 350,000 people in the UK experience sexual consequences of cancer and its treatment, an aspect of survivorship and rehabilitation that receives relatively scant attention in service provision, policy development and research terms. This overview addresses the sexual impact of radical pelvic radiotherapy for the more common (prostate, ano-rectal, cervical and endometrial) adult malignancies. Through discussion of the clinical assessment and management of desire, arousal, orgasmic and sexual pain difficulties that arise after pelvic radiotherapy, this overview offers an integrated biopsychosocial model of practice that incorporates the physical, psychological and relationship elements of these treatment sequelae. It is important that clinicians raise the profile of the sexual consequences of cancer treatment as a legitimate aspect of survivorship and service provision. Only in this way can the identification and management of treatment-induced sexual difficulties, frequently experienced by patients and their partners, be better understood and managed. Increased focus on the sexual consequences of treatment and cancer survivorship more broadly may, in time, lead to greater clinical recognition, service development and, most importantly, increased research devoted to the effective management of what remains a neglected aspect of cancer care. Copyright © 2015 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Nuclear capabilities of the Arabs and Israel and their implications for the Arab-Israeli conflict

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

    Mustajel, S.Y.

    The dissertation discusses the implications of such capabilities for the ongoing Arab-Israeli confict within the context of traditional deterrence - especially nuclear deterrence - theory. The major focus is on the resulting balance of terror and how it is likely to determine the outcome of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In part 1, a brief survey of the present and planned nuclear power and nuclear-power-related facilities, installations, research institutions, and possible nuclear delivery means possessed by the Arabs and the Israelis is presented. This survey is based only on readily available information. Part 2 presents an examination of the implications of themore » introduction of nuclear military capabilties by both sides or either side in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Egypt, with whatever nuclear capability it has, or will have, is considered in this study to be part of the Arab camp even though it has recently signed a separate peace treaty with Israel. Then, suggestions, based on conclusions and findings are provided to countries involved on how to avoid the catastrophic consequences of introducing nuclear weapons into the Arab-Israeli confict. In order to avoid catastrophic consequences of introducing nuclear weapons into the Arab-Israeli conflict, it is suggested that there must be a general peace settlement, followed by denuclearization of the Middle East region.« less

  14. KSC-2012-1265

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2012-02-07

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Commercial Crew Program (CCP) Manager Ed Mango, left, and Deputy Program Manager Brent Jett host a Program Strategy Forum at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The forum was held to update industry partners about NASA's next phase of developing commercial space transportation system capabilities. CCP is helping to mature the design and development of a crew transportation system with the overall goal of accelerating a United States-led capability to the International Space Station. The goal of the program is to drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before by balancing industry’s own innovative capabilities with NASA's 50 years of human spaceflight experience. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

  15. Organization and management of heterogeneous, dispersed data bases in nuclear engineering

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

    Eastman, C.M.

    1986-01-01

    Large, complex, multiperson engineering projects in many areas, nuclear, aerospace, electronics, and manufacturing, have inherent needs for coordination, control, and management of the related engineering data. Taken in the abstract, the notion of an integrated engineering data base (IED) for such projects is attractive. The potential capabilities of an (IED) are that all data are managed in a coordinated way, are made accessible to all users who need it, allow relations between all parts of the data to be tracked and managed, provide backup, recovery, audit trails, security and access control, and allow overall project status to be monitored andmore » managed. Common data accessing schemes and user interfaces to applications are also part of an IED. This paper describes a new software product that allows incremental realization of many of the capabilities of an IED, without the massive disruption and risk.« less

  16. Representing Geospatial Environment Observation Capability Information: A Case Study of Managing Flood Monitoring Sensors in the Jinsha River Basin

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Chuli; Guan, Qingfeng; Li, Jie; Wang, Ke; Chen, Nengcheng

    2016-01-01

    Sensor inquirers cannot understand comprehensive or accurate observation capability information because current observation capability modeling does not consider the union of multiple sensors nor the effect of geospatial environmental features on the observation capability of sensors. These limitations result in a failure to discover credible sensors or plan for their collaboration for environmental monitoring. The Geospatial Environmental Observation Capability (GEOC) is proposed in this study and can be used as an information basis for the reliable discovery and collaborative planning of multiple environmental sensors. A field-based GEOC (GEOCF) information representation model is built. Quintuple GEOCF feature components and two GEOCF operations are formulated based on the geospatial field conceptual framework. The proposed GEOCF markup language is used to formalize the proposed GEOCF. A prototype system called GEOCapabilityManager is developed, and a case study is conducted for flood observation in the lower reaches of the Jinsha River Basin. The applicability of the GEOCF is verified through the reliable discovery of flood monitoring sensors and planning for the collaboration of these sensors. PMID:27999247

  17. Representing Geospatial Environment Observation Capability Information: A Case Study of Managing Flood Monitoring Sensors in the Jinsha River Basin.

    PubMed

    Hu, Chuli; Guan, Qingfeng; Li, Jie; Wang, Ke; Chen, Nengcheng

    2016-12-16

    Sensor inquirers cannot understand comprehensive or accurate observation capability information because current observation capability modeling does not consider the union of multiple sensors nor the effect of geospatial environmental features on the observation capability of sensors. These limitations result in a failure to discover credible sensors or plan for their collaboration for environmental monitoring. The Geospatial Environmental Observation Capability (GEOC) is proposed in this study and can be used as an information basis for the reliable discovery and collaborative planning of multiple environmental sensors. A field-based GEOC (GEOCF) information representation model is built. Quintuple GEOCF feature components and two GEOCF operations are formulated based on the geospatial field conceptual framework. The proposed GEOCF markup language is used to formalize the proposed GEOCF. A prototype system called GEOCapabilityManager is developed, and a case study is conducted for flood observation in the lower reaches of the Jinsha River Basin. The applicability of the GEOCF is verified through the reliable discovery of flood monitoring sensors and planning for the collaboration of these sensors.

  18. Management by Textbook: The Role of Textbooks in Developing Critical Thinking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Errington, Alison; Bubna-Litic, David

    2015-01-01

    Critical thinking is widely regarded as a crucial capability for competent management and also for any leadership role in society. In this article, we ask, "How do textbooks play a role in the weakness of many management graduates' critical thinking skills?" Management teachers can find plentiful advice about best teaching practices, yet…

  19. Options for water-level control in developed wetlands

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kelley, J. R.; Laubhan, M. K.; Reid, F. A.; Wortham, J. S.; Fredrickson, L. H.

    1993-01-01

    Wetland habitats in the United States currently are lost at a rate of 260,000 acres/year (105,218 ha/year). Consequently, water birds concentrate in fewer and smaller areas. Such concentrations may deplete food supplies and influence behavior, physiology, and survival. Continued losses increase the importance of sound management of the remaining wetlands because water birds depend on them. Human activities modified the natural hydrology of most remaining wetlands in the conterminous United States, and such hydrologic alterations frequently reduce wetland productivity. The restoration of original wetland functions and productivity often requires the development of water distribution and discharge systems to emulate natural hydrologic regimes. Construction of levees and correct placement of control structures and water-delivery and water-discharge systems are necessary to (1) create soil and water conditions for the germination of desirable plants, (2) control nuisance vegetation, (3) promote the production of invertebrates, and (4) make foods available for wildlife that depends of wetlands (Leaflets 13.2.1 and 13.4.6). This paper provides basic guidelines for the design of wetlands that benefit wildlife. If biological considerations are not incorporated into such designs, the capability of managing wetlands for water birds is reduced and costs often are greater. Although we address the development of palustrine wetlands in migration and wintering areas, many of the discussed principles are applicable to the development of other wetland types and in other locations.

  20. Neuroinformatics challenges to the structural, connectomic, functional and electrophysiological multimodal imaging of human traumatic brain injury

    PubMed Central

    Goh, S. Y. Matthew; Irimia, Andrei; Torgerson, Carinna M.; Horn, John D. Van

    2014-01-01

    Throughout the past few decades, the ability to treat and rehabilitate traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients has become critically reliant upon the use of neuroimaging to acquire adequate knowledge of injury-related effects upon brain function and recovery. As a result, the need for TBI neuroimaging analysis methods has increased in recent years due to the recognition that spatiotemporal computational analyses of TBI evolution are useful for capturing the effects of TBI dynamics. At the same time, however, the advent of such methods has brought about the need to analyze, manage, and integrate TBI neuroimaging data using informatically inspired approaches which can take full advantage of their large dimensionality and informational complexity. Given this perspective, we here discuss the neuroinformatics challenges for TBI neuroimaging analysis in the context of structural, connectivity, and functional paradigms. Within each of these, the availability of a wide range of neuroimaging modalities can be leveraged to fully understand the heterogeneity of TBI pathology; consequently, large-scale computer hardware resources and next-generation processing software are often required for efficient data storage, management, and analysis of TBI neuroimaging data. However, each of these paradigms poses challenges in the context of informatics such that the ability to address them is critical for augmenting current capabilities to perform neuroimaging analysis of TBI and to improve therapeutic efficacy. PMID:24616696

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