Informatics for patient safety: a nursing research perspective.

PubMed

Bakken, Suzanne

2006-01-01

In Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America identified the critical role of information technology in designing a health system that produces care that is "safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable" (Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, 2001, p. 164). A subsequent IOM report contends that improved information systems are essential to a new health care delivery system that "both prevents errors and learns from them when they occur" (Committee on Data Standards for Patient Safety, 2004, p. 1). This review specifically highlights the role of informatics processes and information technology in promoting patient safety and summarizes relevant nursing research. First, the components of an informatics infrastructure for patient safety are described within the context of the national framework for delivering consumer-centric and information-rich health care and using the National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) (Thompson & Brailer, 2004). Second, relevant nursing research is summarized; this includes research studies that contributed to the development of selected infrastructure components as well as studies specifically focused on patient safety. Third, knowledge gaps and opportunities for nursing research are identified for each main topic. The health information technologies deployed as part of the national framework must support nursing practice in a manner that enables prevention of medical errors and promotion of patient safety and contributes to the development of practice-based nursing knowledge as well as best practices for patient safety. The seminal work that has been completed to date is necessary, but not sufficient, to achieve this objective.

The Creation of the European Social Work Research Association

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Brian J.; Sharland, Elaine

2015-01-01

As the social work profession matures, the need for robust knowledge becomes more pressing. Greater coordination is required to develop the research community and an infrastructure to support this nationally and internationally. This article discusses the foundation, in 2014, of the European Social Work Research Association and its roots in the…

National Knowledge Commission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitroda, Sam

2007-04-01

India's National Knowledge Commission (NKC) established by the prime minister is focused on building institutions and infrastructure in Education, Science and Technology, Innovation etc. to meet the challenges of the knowledge economy in the 21st century and increase India's competitive advantage in the global market. India today stands poised to reap the benefits of a rapidly growing economy and a major demographic advantage, with 550 million young people below the age of 25 years, the largest in the world. The NKC is focused on five critical areas of knowledge related to access, concepts, creation, applications and services. This includes a variety of subject areas such as language, translations, libraries, networks, portals, affirmative action, distance learning, intellectual property, Entrepreneurship, application in Agriculture, health, small and medium scale industries, e-governance etc. One of the keys to this effort is to build a national broadband gigabit of networks of 500 nodes to connect universities, Libraries, Laboratories, Hospitals, Agriculture institutions etc. to share resources and collaborate on multidisciplinary activities. This presentation will introduce the NKC, discuss methodology, subject areas, specific recommendation and outline a plan to build knowledge networks and specifics on network architecture, applications, and utilities.

The Importance of Biodiversity E-infrastructures for Megadiverse Countries

PubMed Central

Canhos, Dora A. L.; Sousa-Baena, Mariane S.; de Souza, Sidnei; Maia, Leonor C.; Stehmann, João R.; Canhos, Vanderlei P.; De Giovanni, Renato; Bonacelli, Maria B. M.; Los, Wouter; Peterson, A. Townsend

2015-01-01

Addressing the challenges of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development requires global cooperation, support structures, and new governance models to integrate diverse initiatives and achieve massive, open exchange of data, tools, and technology. The traditional paradigm of sharing scientific knowledge through publications is not sufficient to meet contemporary demands that require not only the results but also data, knowledge, and skills to analyze the data. E-infrastructures are key in facilitating access to data and providing the framework for collaboration. Here we discuss the importance of e-infrastructures of public interest and the lack of long-term funding policies. We present the example of Brazil’s speciesLink network, an e-infrastructure that provides free and open access to biodiversity primary data and associated tools. SpeciesLink currently integrates 382 datasets from 135 national institutions and 13 institutions from abroad, openly sharing ~7.4 million records, 94% of which are associated to voucher specimens. Just as important as the data is the network of data providers and users. In 2014, more than 95% of its users were from Brazil, demonstrating the importance of local e-infrastructures in enabling and promoting local use of biodiversity data and knowledge. From the outset, speciesLink has been sustained through project-based funding, normally public grants for 2–4-year periods. In between projects, there are short-term crises in trying to keep the system operational, a fact that has also been observed in global biodiversity portals, as well as in social and physical sciences platforms and even in computing services portals. In the last decade, the open access movement propelled the development of many web platforms for sharing data. Adequate policies unfortunately did not follow the same tempo, and now many initiatives may perish. PMID:26204382

The Importance of Biodiversity E-infrastructures for Megadiverse Countries.

PubMed

Canhos, Dora A L; Sousa-Baena, Mariane S; de Souza, Sidnei; Maia, Leonor C; Stehmann, João R; Canhos, Vanderlei P; De Giovanni, Renato; Bonacelli, Maria B M; Los, Wouter; Peterson, A Townsend

2015-07-01

Addressing the challenges of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development requires global cooperation, support structures, and new governance models to integrate diverse initiatives and achieve massive, open exchange of data, tools, and technology. The traditional paradigm of sharing scientific knowledge through publications is not sufficient to meet contemporary demands that require not only the results but also data, knowledge, and skills to analyze the data. E-infrastructures are key in facilitating access to data and providing the framework for collaboration. Here we discuss the importance of e-infrastructures of public interest and the lack of long-term funding policies. We present the example of Brazil's speciesLink network, an e-infrastructure that provides free and open access to biodiversity primary data and associated tools. SpeciesLink currently integrates 382 datasets from 135 national institutions and 13 institutions from abroad, openly sharing ~7.4 million records, 94% of which are associated to voucher specimens. Just as important as the data is the network of data providers and users. In 2014, more than 95% of its users were from Brazil, demonstrating the importance of local e-infrastructures in enabling and promoting local use of biodiversity data and knowledge. From the outset, speciesLink has been sustained through project-based funding, normally public grants for 2-4-year periods. In between projects, there are short-term crises in trying to keep the system operational, a fact that has also been observed in global biodiversity portals, as well as in social and physical sciences platforms and even in computing services portals. In the last decade, the open access movement propelled the development of many web platforms for sharing data. Adequate policies unfortunately did not follow the same tempo, and now many initiatives may perish.

75 FR 14454 - National Protection and Programs Directorate; National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-25

..., National Infrastructure Advisory Council. [FR Doc. 2010-6633 Filed 3-24-10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 9110-9P-P ... Directorate; National Infrastructure Advisory Council AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate... Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) will meet on Tuesday, April 13, 2010, at the National Press Club's...

Oak Ridge Graph Analytics for Medical Innovation (ORiGAMI)

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

Roberts, Larry W.; Lee, Sangkeun

2016-01-01

In this era of data-driven decisions and discovery where Big Data is producing Bigger Data, data scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are leveraging unique leadership infrastructure (e.g., Urika XA and Urika GD appliances) to develop scalable algorithms for semantic, logical and statistical reasoning with Big Data (i.e., data stored in databases as well as unstructured data in documents). ORiGAMI is a next-generation knowledge-discovery framework that is: (a) knowledge nurturing (i.e., evolves seamlessly with newer knowledge and data), (b) smart and curious (i.e. using information-foraging and reasoning algorithms to digest content) and (c) synergistic (i.e., interfaces computers with whatmore » they do best to help subject-matter-experts do their best. ORiGAMI has been demonstrated using the National Library of Medicine's SEMANTIC MEDLINE (archive of medical knowledge since 1994).« less

Collaborative Development of e-Infrastructures and Data Management Practices for Global Change Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samors, R. J.; Allison, M. L.

2016-12-01

An e-infrastructure that supports data-intensive, multidisciplinary research is being organized under the auspices of the Belmont Forum consortium of national science funding agencies to accelerate the pace of science to address 21st century global change research challenges. The pace and breadth of change in information management across the data lifecycle means that no one country or institution can unilaterally provide the leadership and resources required to use data and information effectively, or needed to support a coordinated, global e-infrastructure. The five action themes adopted by the Belmont Forum: 1. Adopt and make enforceable Data Principles that establish a global, interoperable e-infrastructure. 2. Foster communication, collaboration and coordination between the wider research community and Belmont Forum and its projects through an e-Infrastructure Coordination, Communication, & Collaboration Office. 3. Promote effective data planning and stewardship in all Belmont Forum agency-funded research with a goal to make it enforceable. 4. Determine international and community best practice to inform Belmont Forum research e-infrastructure policy through identification and analysis of cross-disciplinary research case studies. 5. Support the development of a cross-disciplinary training curriculum to expand human capacity in technology and data-intensive analysis methods. The Belmont Forum is ideally poised to play a vital and transformative leadership role in establishing a sustained human and technical international data e-infrastructure to support global change research. In 2016, members of the 23-nation Belmont Forum began a collaborative implementation phase. Four multi-national teams are undertaking Action Themes based on the recommendations above. Tasks include mapping the landscape, identifying and documenting existing data management plans, and scheduling a series of workshops that analyse trans-disciplinary applications of existing Belmont Forum projects to identify best practices and critical gaps that may be uniquely or best addressed by the Belmont Forum funding model. Concurrent work will define challenges in conducting international and interdisciplinary data management implementation plans and identify sources of relevant expertise and knowledge.

To ontologise or not to ontologise: An information model for a geospatial knowledge infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stock, Kristin; Stojanovic, Tim; Reitsma, Femke; Ou, Yang; Bishr, Mohamed; Ortmann, Jens; Robertson, Anne

2012-08-01

A geospatial knowledge infrastructure consists of a set of interoperable components, including software, information, hardware, procedures and standards, that work together to support advanced discovery and creation of geoscientific resources, including publications, data sets and web services. The focus of the work presented is the development of such an infrastructure for resource discovery. Advanced resource discovery is intended to support scientists in finding resources that meet their needs, and focuses on representing the semantic details of the scientific resources, including the detailed aspects of the science that led to the resource being created. This paper describes an information model for a geospatial knowledge infrastructure that uses ontologies to represent these semantic details, including knowledge about domain concepts, the scientific elements of the resource (analysis methods, theories and scientific processes) and web services. This semantic information can be used to enable more intelligent search over scientific resources, and to support new ways to infer and visualise scientific knowledge. The work describes the requirements for semantic support of a knowledge infrastructure, and analyses the different options for information storage based on the twin goals of semantic richness and syntactic interoperability to allow communication between different infrastructures. Such interoperability is achieved by the use of open standards, and the architecture of the knowledge infrastructure adopts such standards, particularly from the geospatial community. The paper then describes an information model that uses a range of different types of ontologies, explaining those ontologies and their content. The information model was successfully implemented in a working geospatial knowledge infrastructure, but the evaluation identified some issues in creating the ontologies.

75 FR 81284 - National Protection and Programs Directorate; National Infrastructure Advisory Council Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-27

... Homeland Security with advice on the security of the critical infrastructure sectors and their information systems. The NIAC will meet to address issues relevant to the protection of critical infrastructure as... Directorate; National Infrastructure Advisory Council Meeting AGENCY: National Protection and Programs...

A centralized informatics infrastructure for the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network.

PubMed

Pan, Jeng-Jong; Nahm, Meredith; Wakim, Paul; Cushing, Carol; Poole, Lori; Tai, Betty; Pieper, Carl F

2009-02-01

Clinical trial networks (CTNs) were created to provide a sustaining infrastructure for the conduct of multisite clinical trials. As such, they must withstand changes in membership. Centralization of infrastructure including knowledge management, portfolio management, information management, process automation, work policies, and procedures in clinical research networks facilitates consistency and ultimately research. In 2005, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) CTN transitioned from a distributed data management model to a centralized informatics infrastructure to support the network's trial activities and administration. We describe the centralized informatics infrastructure and discuss our challenges to inform others considering such an endeavor. During the migration of a clinical trial network from a decentralized to a centralized data center model, descriptive data were captured and are presented here to assess the impact of centralization. We present the framework for the informatics infrastructure and evaluative metrics. The network has decreased the time from last patient-last visit to database lock from an average of 7.6 months to 2.8 months. The average database error rate decreased from 0.8% to 0.2%, with a corresponding decrease in the interquartile range from 0.04%-1.0% before centralization to 0.01-0.27% after centralization. Centralization has provided the CTN with integrated trial status reporting and the first standards-based public data share. A preliminary cost-benefit analysis showed a 50% reduction in data management cost per study participant over the life of a trial. A single clinical trial network comprising addiction researchers and community treatment programs was assessed. The findings may not be applicable to other research settings. The identified informatics components provide the information and infrastructure needed for our clinical trial network. Post centralization data management operations are more efficient and less costly, with higher data quality.

An operational data access infrastructure for accessing integrated environmental and socio-economic data from the Dutch Wadden Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Bruin, T.

2012-12-01

The Wadden Sea, an UNESCO World Heritage Site along the Northern coasts of The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, is a very valuable, yet also highly vulnerable tidal flats area. Knowledge is key to the sustainable management of the Wadden Sea. This knowledge should be reliable, founded on promptly accessible information and sufficiently broad to integrate both ecological and economic analyses. The knowledge is gained from extensive monotoring of both ecological and socio-economic parameters. Even though many organisations, research institutes, government agencies and NGOs carry out monitoring, there is no central overview of monitoring activities, nor easy access to the resulting data. The 'Wadden Sea Long-Term Ecosystem Research' (WaLTER) project (2011-2015) aims to set-up an integrated monitoring plan for the main environmental and management issues relevant to the Wadden Sea, such as sea-level rise, fisheries management, recreation and industry activities. The WaLTER data access infrastructure will be a distributed system of data providers, with a centralized data access portal. It is based on and makes use of the existing data access infrastructure of the Netherlands National Oceanographic Data Committee (NL-NODC), which has been operational since early 2009. The NL-NODC system is identical to and in fact developed by the European SeaDataNet project, furthering standardisation on a pan-European scale. The presentation will focus on the use of a distributed data access infrastructure to address the needs of different user groups such as policy makers, scientists and the general public.

Building electronic data infrastructure for comparative effectiveness research: accomplishments, lessons learned and future steps.

PubMed

Randhawa, Gurvaneet S

2014-11-01

There are large gaps in our knowledge on the potential impact of diagnostics and therapeutics on outcomes of patients treated in the real world. Comparative effectiveness research aims to fill these gaps to maximize effectiveness of these interventions. Health information technology has the potential to dramatically improve the practice of medicine and of research. This is an overview of about US$100 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment in 12 projects managed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to build an electronic clinical data infrastructure that connects research with healthcare delivery. The achievements and lessons learned from these projects provided a foundation for the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet)and will help to guide future infrastructure development needed to build an efficient, scalable and sustainable learning health system.

Systematic risk assessment methodology for critical infrastructure elements - Oil and Gas subsectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gheorghiu, A.-D.; Ozunu, A.

2012-04-01

The concern for the protection of critical infrastructure has been rapidly growing in the last few years in Europe. The level of knowledge and preparedness in this field is beginning to develop in a lawfully organized manner, for the identification and designation of critical infrastructure elements of national and European interest. Oil and gas production, refining, treatment, storage and transmission by pipelines facilities, are considered European critical infrastructure sectors, as per Annex I of the Council Directive 2008/114/EC of 8 December 2008 on the identification and designation of European critical infrastructures and the assessment of the need to improve their protection. Besides identifying European and national critical infrastructure elements, member states also need to perform a risk analysis for these infrastructure items, as stated in Annex II of the above mentioned Directive. In the field of risk assessment, there are a series of acknowledged and successfully used methods in the world, but not all hazard identification and assessment methods and techniques are suitable for a given site, situation, or type of hazard. As Theoharidou, M. et al. noted (Theoharidou, M., P. Kotzanikolaou, and D. Gritzalis 2009. Risk-Based Criticality Analysis. In Critical Infrastructure Protection III. Proceedings. Third Annual IFIP WG 11.10 International Conference on Critical Infrastructure Protection. Hanover, New Hampshire, USA, March 23-25, 2009: revised selected papers, edited by C. Palmer and S. Shenoi, 35-49. Berlin: Springer.), despite the wealth of knowledge already created, there is a need for simple, feasible, and standardized criticality analyses. The proposed systematic risk assessment methodology includes three basic steps: the first step (preliminary analysis) includes the identification of hazards (including possible natural hazards) for each installation/section within a given site, followed by a criterial analysis and then a detailed analysis step. The criterial evaluation is used as a ranking system in order to establish the priorities for the detailed risk assessment. This criterial analysis stage is necessary because the total number of installations and sections on a site can be quite large. As not all installations and sections on a site contribute significantly to the risk of a major accident occurring, it is not efficient to include all installations and sections in the detailed risk assessment, which can be time and resource consuming. The selected installations are then taken into consideration in the detailed risk assessment, which is the third step of the systematic risk assessment methodology. Following this step, conclusions can be drawn related to the overall risk characteristics of the site. The proposed methodology can as such be successfully applied to the assessment of risk related to critical infrastructure elements falling under the energy sector of Critical Infrastructure, mainly the sub-sectors oil and gas. Key words: Systematic risk assessment, criterial analysis, energy sector critical infrastructure elements

Critical infrastructure protection : significant challenges in developing national capabilities

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-04-01

To address the concerns about protecting the nation's critical computer-dependent infrastructure, this General Accounting Office (GOA) report describes the progress of the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) in (1) developing national ca...

Critical issues in medical education and the implications for telemedicine technology.

PubMed

Mahapatra, Ashok Kumar; Mishra, Saroj Kanta; Kapoor, Lily; Singh, Indra Pratap

2009-01-01

Ensuring quality medical education in all the medical colleges across India based on uniform curriculum prescribed by a regulatory body and maintaining a uniform standard are dependent on availability of an excellent infrastructure. Such infrastructure includes qualified teachers, knowledge resources, learning materials, and advanced education technology, which is a challenge in developing countries due to financial and logistic constraints. Advancement in telecommunication, information science, and technology provides an opportunity to exchange knowledge and skill across geographically dispersed organizations by networking academic medical centers of excellence with medical colleges and institutes to practice distance learning using information and communication technology (ICT)-based tools. These may be as basic as commonly used Web-based tools or may be as advanced as virtual reality, simulation, and telepresence-based collaborative learning environment. The scenario in India is no different from any developing country, but there is considerable progress due to technical advancement in these sectors. Telemedicine and tele-education in health science, is gradually getting adopted into the Indian Health System after decade-long pilot studies across the country. A recent recommendation of the National Knowledge Commission, once implemented, would ensure a gigabyte network across all the educational institutions of the country including medical colleges. Availability of indigenous satellite communication technology and the government policy of free bandwidth provision for societal development sector have added strength to set up infrastructure to pilot several telemedicine educational projects across the country.

Intelligent Learning Infrastructure for Knowledge Intensive Organizations: A Semantic Web Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lytras, Miltiadis, Ed.; Naeve, Ambjorn, Ed.

2005-01-01

In the context of Knowledge Society, the convergence of knowledge and learning management is a critical milestone. "Intelligent Learning Infrastructure for Knowledge Intensive Organizations: A Semantic Web Perspective" provides state-of-the art knowledge through a balanced theoretical and technological discussion. The semantic web perspective…

The role of private developers in local infrastructure provision in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salleh, Dani; Okinono, Otega

2016-08-01

Globally, the challenge of local infrastructure provision has attracted much debate amongst different nations including Malaysia, on how to achieve an effective and efficient infrastructural management. This approach therefore, has intensified the efforts of local authorities in incorporating private developers in their developmental agenda in attaining a sustainable infrastructural development in local areas. Basically, the knowledge of the need for adequate provision of local infrastructure is well understood by both local and private authorities. Likewise, the divergent opinions on the usage of private delivery services. Notwithstanding the common perception, significant loopholes have been identified on the most appropriate and ideal approach and practices to adopt in enhancing local infrastructure development. The study therefore examined the role of private developers in local infrastructure provision and procedure adopted by both local authorities and the privates sector in local infrastructure development. Data was obtained using the questionnaire through purposive sampling, administered to 22 local authorities and 16 developers which was descriptively analysed. Emanating from the study findings, the most frequently approved practices by local authorities are joint venture and complete public delivery systems. Likewise, negotiation was identified as a vital tool for stimulating the acquisition of local infrastructure provision. It was also discovered the one of the greatest challenge in promoting private sector involvement in local infrastructure development is due to unregulated-procedure. The study therefore recommends, there is need for local authorities to adopt a collective and integrated approach, nevertheless, cognisance and priority should be given to developing a well-structured and systematic process of local infrastructure provision and development.

ForM@Ter: a French Solid Earth Research Infrastructure Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandea, M.; Diament, M.; Jamet, O.; Deschamps-Ostanciaux, E.

2017-12-01

Recently, some noteworthy initiatives to develop efficient research e-infrastructures for the study of the Earth's system have been set up. However, some gaps between the data availability and their scientific use still exists, either because technical reasons (big data issues) or because of the lack of a dedicated support in terms of expert knowledge of the data, software availability, or data cost. The need for thematic cooperative platforms has been underlined over the last years, as well as the need to create thematic centres designed to federate the scientific community of Earth's observation. Four thematic data centres have been developed in France, covering the domains of ocean, atmosphere, land, and solid Earth sciences. For the Solid Earth science community, a research infrastructure project named ForM@Ter was launched by the French Space Agency (CNES) and the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), with the active participation of the National institute for geographical and forestry information (IGN). Currently, it relies on the contributions of scientists from more than 20 French Earth science laboratories.Preliminary analysis have showed that a focus on the determination of the shape and movements of the Earth surface (ForM@Ter: Formes et Mouvements de la Terre) can federate a wide variety of scientific areas (earthquake cycle, tectonics, morphogenesis, volcanism, erosion dynamics, mantle rheology, geodesy) and offers many interfaces with other geoscience domains, such as glaciology or snow evolution. This choice motivates the design of an ambitious data distribution scheme, including a wide variety of sources - optical imagery, SAR, GNSS, gravity, satellite altimetry data, in situ observations (inclinometers, seismometers, etc.) - as well as a wide variety of processing techniques. In the evolving context of the current and forthcoming national and international e-infrastructures, the challenge of the project is to design a non-redundant service based on interoperations with existing services, and to cope with highly complex data flows due to the granularity of the data and its associated knowledge. Here, a presentation of the project status and of the first available operational functionalities is foreseen.

A knowledge infrastructure for occupational safety and health.

PubMed

van Dijk, Frank J H; Verbeek, Jos H; Hoving, Jan L; Hulshof, Carel T J

2010-12-01

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) professionals should use scientific evidence to support their decisions in policy and practice. Although examples from practice show that progress has been made in evidence-based decision making, there is a challenge to improve and extend the facilities that support knowledge translation in practice. A knowledge infrastructure that supports OSH practice should include scientific research, systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and other tools for professionals such as well accessible virtual libraries and databases providing knowledge, quality tools, and good learning materials. A good infrastructure connects facilities with each other and with practice. Training and education is needed for OSH professionals in the use of evidence to improve effectiveness and efficiency. New initiatives show that occupational health can profit from intensified international collaboration to establish a good functioning knowledge infrastructure.

Progress in the blood supply of Afghanistan.

PubMed

Riley, William J; McCullough, Terri Konstenius; Rhamani, Ahmad Masoud; McCullough, Jeffrey

2017-07-01

The blood supply system in Afghanistan was badly damaged by years of conflict. In 2009, the Afghanistan National Blood Safety and Transfusion Service (ANBSTS) was established. For 6 years, we collaborated to assist with policy and infrastructure development; blood bank operations; blood collection, testing, and component production; transfusion practices; and training of technicians, nurses, midwives, and physicians. Policies were established, infrastructure was strengthened, and capable staff was acquired and trained. Standard operating procedures were developed, testing was improved, and quality systems were established. Thirty trainings were held for blood center staff. Four additional formal trainings were held for 39 physicians, 36 nurses and/or midwives, and 38 laboratory technicians. During 5 years of this project, blood collection increased by 40%. The ANBSTS has made impressive progress developing infrastructure, personnel, procedures, quality systems, and training programs and increasing blood collection. Knowledge of transfusion medicine was improved through structured training. © 2017 AABB.

Behavioural science at work for Canada: National Research Council laboratories.

PubMed

Veitch, Jennifer A

2007-03-01

The National Research Council is Canada's principal research and development agency. Its 20 institutes are structured to address interdisciplinary problems for industrial sectors, and to provide the necessary scientific infrastructure, such as the national science library. Behavioural scientists are active in five institutes: Biological Sciences, Biodiagnostics, Aerospace, Information Technology, and Construction. Research topics include basic cellular neuroscience, brain function, human factors in the cockpit, human-computer interaction, emergency evacuation, and indoor environment effects on occupants. Working in collaboration with NRC colleagues and with researchers from universities and industry, NRC behavioural scientists develop knowledge, designs, and applications that put technology to work for people, designed with people in mind.

GIIDA and SINAnet Partnership: the Italian System of Systems to connect research and environmental monitoring activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonora, N.; Mazzetti, P.; Munafò, M.; Nativi, S.

2011-12-01

The partnership between ISPRA - SINAnet (National Environmental Information System Network) and CNR - GIIDA (Gestione Integrata ed Interoperativa dei Dati Ambientali) builds upon the results of a re-engineering process applied to existing Italian national and local infrastructures in order to contribute to the realization of a National System of Systems (SoS) and connect environmental monitoring and scientific researches. This partnership aims to contribute to the environmental knowledge providing a single access point for the national environmental information. Some pilot projects are ongoing to demonstrate how Public Administrations can support scientific researches by providing their monitoring information through a catalog of federated resources and related access services. These research results provided by the use of monitoring data will be, in turn, made available through the national SoS, advantaging scientists and researchers by increasing information re-use and benefiting the Public Administration with the research outcomes. The exchange of information provided by a single system offers many research and educational advantages over a fragmented/redundant systems, which places high barriers to find, access and re-use data. On the contrary, a SoS provides access to a broader set of data than the one accessible through local systems, thereby providing a greater baseline of factual information for the research community. The benefits arising from a SoS infrastructure may reinforce open scientific inquiry, encouraging different analysis, promoting new researches, allowing the verification of previous results, making possible the testing of new or alternative hypotheses and methods of analysis. The target infrastructure is also conceived as an effective and sustainable contribution to the national implementation of INSPIRE and GEO/GEOSS.

TCIA Secure Cyber Critical Infrastructure Modernization.

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

Keliiaa, Curtis M.

The Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia Labs) tribal cyber infrastructure assurance initiative was developed in response to growing national cybersecurity concerns in the the sixteen Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defined critical infrastructure sectors1. Technical assistance is provided for the secure modernization of critical infrastructure and key resources from a cyber-ecosystem perspective with an emphasis on enhanced security, resilience, and protection. Our purpose is to address national critical infrastructure challenges as a shared responsibility.

National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) | Information Center

Science.gov Websites

National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Contact Information Website: http://www.nbii.gov/ The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a broad, collaborative program to provide increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. The NBII links diverse, high

[Geotechnical Board activities and funding]. [Annual] activites report, July 1, 1992--June 30, 1993

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

Smeallie, P.H.

1993-07-23

The Geotechnical Board, a part of the US National Research Council, which is the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, serves to advise the federal government and others on issues where geotechnology can have an impact, such as environmental remediation and infrastructure development. The board met three times during the reporting period to review current projects and to initiate activities that move the knowledge base of geotechnology forward. The board operates with two long-standing national committees, the US National Committee for Rock Mechanics and the US National Committee on Tunneling Technology. Itmore » also conducts special studies at the request of the government. A list of attachments is given.« less

Romanian contribution to research infrastructure database for EPOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ionescu, Constantin; Craiu, Andreea; Tataru, Dragos; Balan, Stefan; Muntean, Alexandra; Nastase, Eduard; Oaie, Gheorghe; Asimopolos, Laurentiu; Panaiotu, Cristian

2014-05-01

European Plate Observation System - EPOS is a long-term plan to facilitate integrated use of data, models and facilities from mainly distributed existing, but also new, research infrastructures for solid Earth Science. In EPOS Preparatory Phase were integrated the national Research Infrastructures at pan European level in order to create the EPOS distributed research infrastructures, structure in which, at the present time, Romania participates by means of the earth science research infrastructures of the national interest declared on the National Roadmap. The mission of EPOS is to build an efficient and comprehensive multidisciplinary research platform for solid Earth Sciences in Europe and to allow the scientific community to study the same phenomena from different points of view, in different time periods and spatial scales (laboratory and field experiments). At national scale, research and monitoring infrastructures have gathered a vast amount of geological and geophysical data, which have been used by research networks to underpin our understanding of the Earth. EPOS promotes the creation of comprehensive national and regional consortia, as well as the organization of collective actions. To serve the EPOS goals, in Romania a group of National Research Institutes, together with their infrastructures, gathered in an EPOS National Consortium, as follows: 1. National Institute for Earth Physics - Seismic, strong motion, GPS and Geomagnetic network and Experimental Laboratory; 2. National Institute of Marine Geology and Geoecology - Marine Research infrastructure and Euxinus integrated regional Black Sea observation and early-warning system; 3. Geological Institute of Romania - Surlari National Geomagnetic Observatory and National lithoteque (the latter as part of the National Museum of Geology) 4. University of Bucharest - Paleomagnetic Laboratory After national dissemination of EPOS initiative other Research Institutes and companies from the potential stakeholders group also show their interest to participate in the EPOS National Consortium.

75 FR 57079 - NASA Advisory Council; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-17

...; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration... Information Technology Infrastructure Committee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). DATES: Tuesday, September... Information Technology Infrastructure Committee, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters...

Prevalence of cholera risk factors between migrant Haitians and Dominicans in the Dominican Republic.

PubMed

Lund, Andrea J; Keys, Hunter M; Leventhal, Stephanie; Foster, Jennifer W; Freeman, Matthew C

2015-03-01

To determine whether cholera risk factor prevalence in the Dominican Republic can be explained by nationality, independent of other factors, given the vulnerability of many Haitians in the country and the need for targeted prevention. A cross-sectional, observational household survey (103 Haitian and 260 Dominican) was completed in 18 communities in July 2012. The survey included modules for demographics, knowledge, socioeconomic status, and access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure. Logistic regression assessed differential access to WASH infrastructure and Poisson regression assessed differences in cholera knowledge, controlling for potential confounders. Dominican and Haitian households differed on demographic characteristics. Haitians had lower educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and less knowledge of cholera than Dominicans (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.66; 95% confidence interval [95%CI] = 0.55-0.81). Access to improved drinking water was low for both groups, but particularly low among rural Haitians (aOR = 0.21; 95%CI: 0.04-1.01). No differences were found in access to sanitation after adjusting for sociodemographic confounders (aOR = 1.00; 95%CI: 0.57-1.76). Urban/rural geography and socioeconomic status play a larger role in cholera risk factor prevalence than nationality, indicating that Haitians' perceived vulnerability to cholera is confounded by contextual factors. Understanding the social dynamics that lead to cholera risk can inform control strategies, leading to better targeting and the possibility of eliminating cholera from the island.

Current State and Development Trends of Education Policy Research in China in the Last Decade (2004-2013): A Statistical Analysis of Papers from Eight Core Chinese Journals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ling, Guo

2017-01-01

The author conducted sampling and statistical analysis of papers on education policy research collected by the China National Knowledge Infrastructure in the period from the years 2004--2013. Under the current state of education policy research in China, the number of papers correlates positively with the year; the papers are concentrated in…

The importance of knowledge-based technology.

PubMed

Cipriano, Pamela F

2012-01-01

Nurse executives are responsible for a workforce that can provide safer and more efficient care in a complex sociotechnical environment. National quality priorities rely on technologies to provide data collection, share information, and leverage analytic capabilities to interpret findings and inform approaches to care that will achieve better outcomes. As a key steward for quality, the nurse executive exercises leadership to provide the infrastructure to build and manage nursing knowledge and instill accountability for following evidence-based practices. These actions contribute to a learning health system where new knowledge is captured as a by-product of care delivery enabled by knowledge-based electronic systems. The learning health system also relies on rigorous scientific evidence embedded into practice at the point of care. The nurse executive optimizes use of knowledge-based technologies, integrated throughout the organization, that have the capacity to help transform health care.

Idaho National Laboratory’s Analysis of ARRA-Funded Plug-in Electric Vehicle and Charging Infrastructure Projects: Final Report

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

Francfort, Jim; Bennett, Brion; Carlson, Richard

2015-09-01

Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC, managing and operating contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is the lead laboratory for U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA). INL’s conduct of the AVTA resulted in a significant base of knowledge and experience in the area of testing light-duty vehicles that reduced transportation-related petroleum consumption. Due to this experience, INL was tasked by DOE to develop agreements with companies that were the recipients of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) grants, that would allow INL to collect raw data from light-duty vehicles andmore » charging infrastructure. INL developed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with several companies and their partners that resulted in INL being able to receive raw data via server-to-server connections from the partner companies. This raw data allowed INL to independently conduct data quality checks, perform analysis, and report publicly to DOE, partners, and stakeholders, how drivers used both new vehicle technologies and the deployed charging infrastructure. The ultimate goal was not the deployment of vehicles and charging infrastructure, cut rather to create real-world laboratories of vehicles, charging infrastructure and drivers that would aid in the design of future electric drive transportation systems. The five projects that INL collected data from and their partners are: • ChargePoint America - Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Demonstration • Chrysler Ram PHEV Pickup - Vehicle Demonstration • General Motors Chevrolet Volt - Vehicle Demonstration • The EV Project - Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Demonstration • EPRI / Via Motors PHEVs – Vehicle Demonstration The document serves to benchmark the performance science involved the execution, analysis and reporting for the five above projects that provided lessons learned based on driver’s use of the vehicles and recharging decisions made. Data is reported for the use of more than 25,000 vehicles and charging units.« less

76 FR 81956 - National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-29

... through the Secretary of Homeland Security with advice on the security of the critical infrastructure... critical infrastructure as directed by the President. At this meeting, the committee will receive work from... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2011-0117] National Infrastructure Advisory...

76 FR 36137 - National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-21

... Homeland Security with advice on the security of the critical infrastructure sectors and their information systems. The NIAC will meet to address issues relevant to the protection of critical infrastructure as... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2011-0034] National Infrastructure Advisory...

The Pedagogy of Complex Work Support Systems: Infrastructuring Practices and the Production of Critical Awareness in Risk Auditing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathisen, Arve; Nerland, Monika

2012-01-01

This paper employs a socio-technical perspective to explore the role of complex work support systems in organising knowledge and providing opportunities for learning in professional work. Drawing on concepts from infrastructure studies, such systems are seen as work infrastructures which connect information, knowledge, standards and work…

NISAC | National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center | NISAC

Science.gov Websites

Logo National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center Search Btn search this site... Overview Capabilities Fact Sheets Publications Contacts NISAC content top NISAC The National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC) is a modeling, simulation, and analysis program within the Department of

20/20 Vision: The Development of a National Information Infrastructure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (DOC), Washington, DC.

After the publication of the Clinton Administration's "The National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action," a group of telecommunication specialists were asked to evaluate the proposals in order to broaden the policy discussion concerning the National Information Infrastructure (NII). This collection contains their visions of the…

Care Preferences Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults With Chronic Disease in Europe: Individual Health Care Needs and National Health Care Infrastructure.

PubMed

Mair, Christine A; Quiñones, Ana R; Pasha, Maha A

2016-08-01

The purpose of this study is to expand knowledge of care options for aging populations cross-nationally by examining key individual-level and nation-level predictors of European middle-aged and older adults' preferences for care. Drawing on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, we analyze old age care preferences of a sample of 6,469 adults aged 50 and older with chronic disease in 14 nations. Using multilevel modeling, we analyze associations between individual-level health care needs and nation-level health care infrastructure and preference for family-based (vs. state-based) personal care. We find that middle-aged and older adults with chronic disease whose health limits their ability to perform paid work, who did not receive personal care from informal sources, and who live in nations with generous long-term care funding are less likely to prefer family-based care and more likely to prefer state-based care. We discuss these findings in light of financial risks in later life and the future role of specialized health support programs, such as long-term care. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Public-Private Collaboration in the Department of Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

In his 2010 National Security Strategy, President Obama described partnerships between the public and private sector as critical to United States security at home and abroad. These Public-Private Collaborations (PPCs) offer potential opportunities to increase the Department s mission effectiveness by leveraging the capabilities, knowledge, processes, and infrastructure brought to bear by private sector entities. Additionally, given today s constrained budget environment, PPCs also provide opportunities for efficiency and cost reductions.

75 FR 67989 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Office of Infrastructure Protection; Infrastructure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-04

..., National Protection and Programs Directorate, Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP), will submit the... manner.'' DHS designated IP to lead these efforts. Given that the vast majority of the Nation's critical infrastructure and key resources in most sectors are privately owned or controlled, IP's success in achieving the...

75 FR 61160 - National Protection and Programs Directorate; National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-04

... systems. The NIAC will meet to address issues relevant to the protection of critical infrastructure as.... Deliberation: Optimization of Resources for Mitigating Infrastructure Disruptions VII. Discussion of Potential...

Infrastructure for collaborative science and societal applications in the Columbia River estuary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baptista, António M.; Seaton, Charles; Wilkin, Michael P.; Riseman, Sarah F.; Needoba, Joseph A.; Maier, David; Turner, Paul J.; Kärnä, Tuomas; Lopez, Jesse E.; Herfort, Lydie; Megler, V. M.; McNeil, Craig; Crump, Byron C.; Peterson, Tawnya D.; Spitz, Yvette H.; Simon, Holly M.

2015-12-01

To meet societal needs, modern estuarine science needs to be interdisciplinary and collaborative, combine discovery with hypotheses testing, and be responsive to issues facing both regional and global stakeholders. Such an approach is best conducted with the benefit of data-rich environments, where information from sensors and models is openly accessible within convenient timeframes. Here, we introduce the operational infrastructure of one such data-rich environment, a collaboratory created to support (a) interdisciplinary research in the Columbia River estuary by the multi-institutional team of investigators of the Science and Technology Center for Coastal Margin Observation & Prediction and (b) the integration of scientific knowledge into regional decision making. Core components of the operational infrastructure are an observation network, a modeling system and a cyber-infrastructure, each of which is described. The observation network is anchored on an extensive array of long-term stations, many of them interdisciplinary, and is complemented by on-demand deployment of temporary stations and mobile platforms, often in coordinated field campaigns. The modeling system is based on finiteelement unstructured-grid codes and includes operational and process-oriented simulations of circulation, sediments and ecosystem processes. The flow of information is managed through a dedicated cyber-infrastructure, conversant with regional and national observing systems.

National Infrastructure Protection Plan: Partnering to Enhance Protection and Resiliency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Homeland Security, 2009

2009-01-01

The overarching goal of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) is to build a safer, more secure, and more resilient America by preventing, deterring, neutralizing, or mitigating the effects of deliberate efforts by terrorists to destroy, incapacitate, or exploit elements of our Nation's critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR)…

78 FR 48806 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Tennessee; Infrastructure Requirements for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-12

... Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Tennessee; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2008 Lead National Ambient... infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the 2008 Lead national ambient air quality... ``infrastructure'' SIP. TDEC certified that the Tennessee SIP contains provisions that ensure the 2008 Lead NAAQS...

75 FR 39266 - National Protection and Programs Directorate; National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-08

... infrastructure sectors and their information systems. Pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.150(b), this notice was published... Critical Infrastructure Resilience Goals VI. Working Group Status: Optimization of Resources for Mitigating...

Onsite and Electric Backup Capabilities at Critical Infrastructure Facilities in the United States

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

Phillips, Julia A.; Wallace, Kelly E.; Kudo, Terence Y.

2016-04-01

The following analysis, conducted by Argonne National Laboratory’s (Argonne’s) Risk and Infrastructure Science Center (RISC), details an analysis of electric power backup of national critical infrastructure as captured through the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Enhanced Critical Infrastructure Program (ECIP) Initiative. Between January 1, 2011, and September 2014, 3,174 ECIP facility surveys have been conducted. This study focused first on backup capabilities by infrastructure type and then expanded to infrastructure type by census region.

Global information infrastructure.

PubMed

Lindberg, D A

1994-01-01

The High Performance Computing and Communications Program (HPCC) is a multiagency federal initiative under the leadership of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, established by the High Performance Computing Act of 1991. It has been assigned a critical role in supporting the international collaboration essential to science and to health care. Goals of the HPCC are to extend USA leadership in high performance computing and networking technologies; to improve technology transfer for economic competitiveness, education, and national security; and to provide a key part of the foundation for the National Information Infrastructure. The first component of the National Institutes of Health to participate in the HPCC, the National Library of Medicine (NLM), recently issued a solicitation for proposals to address a range of issues, from privacy to 'testbed' networks, 'virtual reality,' and more. These efforts will build upon the NLM's extensive outreach program and other initiatives, including the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), MEDLARS, and Grateful Med. New Internet search tools are emerging, such as Gopher and 'Knowbots'. Medicine will succeed in developing future intelligent agents to assist in utilizing computer networks. Our ability to serve patients is so often restricted by lack of information and knowledge at the time and place of medical decision-making. The new technologies, properly employed, will also greatly enhance our ability to serve the patient.

Cyber resilience: a review of critical national infrastructure and cyber security protection measures applied in the UK and USA.

PubMed

Harrop, Wayne; Matteson, Ashley

This paper presents cyber resilience as key strand of national security. It establishes the importance of critical national infrastructure protection and the growing vicarious nature of remote, well-planned, and well executed cyber attacks on critical infrastructures. Examples of well-known historical cyber attacks are presented, and the emergence of 'internet of things' as a cyber vulnerability issue yet to be tackled is explored. The paper identifies key steps being undertaken by those responsible for detecting, deterring, and disrupting cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure in the United Kingdom and the USA.

Building Cyberinfrastructures for Earth and Space Sciences so that they will come: lessons learnt from Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyborn, L. A.; Woodcock, R.

2013-12-01

One of the greatest drivers for change in the way scientific research is undertaken in Australia was the development of the Australian eResearch Infrastructure which was coordinated by the then Australian Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. There were two main tranches of funding: the 2007-2013 National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and the 2009 Education and Investment Framework (EIF) Super Science Initiative. Investments were in two areas: the Australian e-Research Infrastructure and domain specific capabilities: combined investment in both is 1,452M with at least 456M being invested in eResearch infrastructure. NCRIS was specifically designed as a community-guided process to provide researchers, both academic and government, with major research facilities, supporting infrastructures and networks necessary for world-class research. Extensive community engagement was sought to inform decisions on where Australia could best make strategic infrastructure investments to further develop its research capacity and improve research outcomes over the next 5 to 10years. The current (2007-2014) Australian e-Research Infrastructure has 2 components: 1. The National eResearch physical infrastructure which includes two petascale HPC facilities (one in Canberra and one in Perth), a 10 Gbps national network (National Research Network), a national data storage infrastructure comprising 8 multi petabyte data stores and shared access methods (Australian Access Federation). 2. A second component is focused on research integration infrastructures and includes the Australian National Data Service, which is concerned with better management, description and access to distributed research data in Australia and the National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources (NeCTAR) project. NeCTAR is centred on developing problem oriented digital laboratories which provide better and coordinated access to research tools, data environments and workflows. The eResearch Infrastructure Stack is designed to support 12 individual domain-specific capabilities. Four are relevant to the Earth and Space Sciences: (1) AuScope (a national Earth Science Infrastructure Program), (2) the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), (3) the Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network (TERN) and (4) the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN). The two main research integration infrastructures, ANDS and NeCTAR, are seen as pivotal to the success of the Australian eResearch Infrastructure. Without them, there was a risk that that the investments in new computers and data storage would provide physical infrastructure, but few would come to use it as the skills barriers to entry were too high. ANDS focused on transforming Australia's research data environment. Its flagship is Research Data Australia, an Internet-based discovery service designed to provide rich connections between data, projects, researchers and institutions, and promote visibility of Australian research data collections in search engines. NeCTAR focused on building eResearch infrastructure in four areas: virtual laboratories, tools, a federated research cloud and a hosting service. Combined, ANDS and NeCTAR are ensuring that people ARE coming and ARE using the physical infrastructures that were built.

Critical Infrastructure: The National Asset Database

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-16

Infrastructure: The National Asset Database 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e...upon which federal resources, including infrastructure protection grants , are allocated. According to DHS, both of those assumptions are wrong. DHS...assets that it has determined are critical to the nation. Also, while the National Asset Database has been used to support federal grant -making

The Federal Role in Bringing Education into the National Information Infrastructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cradler, John

1995-01-01

One of the most important issues facing Congress is to work with business, education, and the states to enable the nation's shools to better prepare students for a technological work force and to ensure that education has a place on the National Information Infrastructure (NII). This document provides background and important information for national leaders concerned about education, the information infrastructure, and related issues for the Federal government.

CI-Miner: A Semantic Methodology to Integrate Scientists, Data and Documents through the Use of Cyber-Infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinheiro da Silva, P.; CyberShARE Center of Excellence

2011-12-01

Scientists today face the challenge of rethinking the manner in which they document and make available their processes and data in an international cyber-infrastructure of shared resources. Some relevant examples of new scientific practices in the realm of computational and data extraction sciences include: large scale data discovery; data integration; data sharing across distinct scientific domains, systematic management of trust and uncertainty; and comprehensive support for explaining processes and results. This talk introduces CI-Miner - an innovative hands-on, open-source, community-driven methodology to integrate these new scientific practices. It has been developed in collaboration with scientists, with the purpose of capturing, storing and retrieving knowledge about scientific processes and their products, thereby further supporting a new generation of science techniques based on data exploration. CI-Miner uses semantic annotations in the form of W3C Ontology Web Language-based ontologies and Proof Markup Language (PML)-based provenance to represent knowledge. This methodology specializes in general-purpose ontologies, projected into workflow-driven ontologies(WDOs) and into semantic abstract workflows (SAWs). Provenance in PML is CI-Miner's integrative component, which allows scientists to retrieve and reason with the knowledge represented in these new semantic documents. It serves additionally as a platform to share such collected knowledge with the scientific community participating in the international cyber-infrastructure. The integrated semantic documents that are tailored for the use of human epistemic agents may also be utilized by machine epistemic agents, since the documents are based on W3C Resource Description Framework (RDF) notation. This talk is grounded upon interdisciplinary lessons learned through the use of CI-Miner in support of government-funded national and international cyber-infrastructure initiatives in the areas of geo-sciences (NSF-GEON and NSF-EarthScope), environmental sciences (CEON, NSF NEON, NSF-LTER and DOE-Ameri-Flux), and solar physics (VSTO and NSF-SPCDIS). The discussion on provenance is based on the use of PML in support of projects in collaboration with government organizations (DARPA, ARDA, NSF, DHS and DOE), research organizations (NCAR and PNNL), and industries (IBM and SRI International).

The architecture of a distributed medical dictionary.

PubMed

Fowler, J; Buffone, G; Moreau, D

1995-01-01

Exploiting high-speed computer networks to provide a national medical information infrastructure is a goal for medical informatics. The Distributed Medical Dictionary under development at Baylor College of Medicine is a model for an architecture that supports collaborative development of a distributed online medical terminology knowledge-base. A prototype is described that illustrates the concept. Issues that must be addressed by such a system include high availability, acceptable response time, support for local idiom, and control of vocabulary.

Women's health nursing in the context of the National Health Information Infrastructure.

PubMed

Jenkins, Melinda L; Hewitt, Caroline; Bakken, Suzanne

2006-01-01

Nurses must be prepared to participate in the evolving National Health Information Infrastructure and the changes that will consequently occur in health care practice and documentation. Informatics technologies will be used to develop electronic health records with integrated decision support features that will likely lead to enhanced health care quality and safety. This paper provides a summary of the National Health Information Infrastructure and highlights electronic health records and decision support systems within the context of evidence-based practice. Activities at the Columbia University School of Nursing designed to prepare nurses with the necessary informatics competencies to practice in a National Health Information Infrastructure-enabled health care system are described. Data are presented from electronic (personal digital assistant) encounter logs used in our Women's Health Nurse Practitioner program to support evidence-based advanced practice nursing care. Implications for nursing practice, education, and research in the evolving National Health Information Infrastructure are discussed.

78 FR 73202 - Review and Revision of the National Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (NCISR...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-05

...This Request for Information (RFI) notice informs the public that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is currently developing a National Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Research and Development Plan (NCISR R&D Plan) to conform to the requirements of Presidential Policy Directive 21, Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience. As part of a comprehensive national review process, DHS solicits public comment on issues or language in the NCISR R&D Plan that need to be included. Critical infrastructure includes both cyber and physical components, systems, and networks for the sixteen established ``critical infrastructures''.

Contextualizing Obesity and Diabetes Policy: Exploring a Nested Statistical and Constructivist Approach at the Cross-National and Subnational Government Level in the United States and Brazil

PubMed Central

Gómez, Eduardo J.

2017-01-01

Background: This article conducts a comparative national and subnational government analysis of the political, economic, and ideational constructivist contextual factors facilitating the adoption of obesity and diabetes policy. Methods: We adopt a nested analytical approach to policy analysis, which combines cross-national statistical analysis with subnational case study comparisons to examine theoretical prepositions and discover alternative contextual factors; this was combined with an ideational constructivist approach to policy-making. Results: Contrary to the existing literature, we found that with the exception of cross-national statistical differences in access to healthcare infrastructural resources, the growing burden of obesity and diabetes, rising healthcare costs and increased citizens’ knowledge had no predictive affect on the adoption of obesity and diabetes policy. We then turned to a subnational comparative analysis of the states of Mississippi in the United States and Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil to further assess the importance of infrastructural resources, at two units of analysis: the state governments versus rural municipal governments. Qualitative evidence suggests that differences in subnational healthcare infrastructural resources were insufficient for explaining policy reform processes, highlighting instead other potentially important factors, such as state-civil societal relationships and policy diffusion in Mississippi, federal policy intervention in Rio Grande do Norte, and politicians’ social construction of obesity and the resulting differences in policy roles assigned to the central government. Conclusion: We conclude by underscoring the complexity of subnational policy responses to obesity and diabetes, the importance of combining resource and constructivist analysis for better understanding the context of policy reform, while underscoring the potential lessons that the United States can learn from Brazil. PMID:29179290

Toward a digital library strategy for a National Information Infrastructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coyne, Robert A.; Hulen, Harry

1993-01-01

Bills currently before the House and Senate would give support to the development of a National Information Infrastructure, in which digital libraries and storage systems would be an important part. A simple model is offered to show the relationship of storage systems, software, and standards to the overall information infrastructure. Some elements of a national strategy for digital libraries are proposed, based on the mission of the nonprofit National Storage System Foundation.

Working paper : national costs of the metropolitan ITS infrastructure : updated with 2004 deployment data

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

The purpose of this report, "Working Paper National Costs of the Metropolitan ITS infrastructure: Updated with 2004 Deployment Data," is to update the estimates of the costs remaining to deploy Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) infrastructure ...

The European Network of Analytical and Experimental Laboratories for Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freda, Carmela; Funiciello, Francesca; Meredith, Phil; Sagnotti, Leonardo; Scarlato, Piergiorgio; Troll, Valentin R.; Willingshofer, Ernst

2013-04-01

Integrating Earth Sciences infrastructures in Europe is the mission of the European Plate Observing System (EPOS).The integration of European analytical, experimental, and analogue laboratories plays a key role in this context and is the task of the EPOS Working Group 6 (WG6). Despite the presence in Europe of high performance infrastructures dedicated to geosciences, there is still limited collaboration in sharing facilities and best practices. The EPOS WG6 aims to overcome this limitation by pushing towards national and trans-national coordination, efficient use of current laboratory infrastructures, and future aggregation of facilities not yet included. This will be attained through the creation of common access and interoperability policies to foster and simplify personnel mobility. The EPOS ambition is to orchestrate European laboratory infrastructures with diverse, complementary tasks and competences into a single, but geographically distributed, infrastructure for rock physics, palaeomagnetism, analytical and experimental petrology and volcanology, and tectonic modeling. The WG6 is presently organizing its thematic core services within the EPOS distributed research infrastructure with the goal of joining the other EPOS communities (geologists, seismologists, volcanologists, etc...) and stakeholders (engineers, risk managers and other geosciences investigators) to: 1) develop tools and services to enhance visitor programs that will mutually benefit visitors and hosts (transnational access); 2) improve support and training activities to make facilities equally accessible to students, young researchers, and experienced users (training and dissemination); 3) collaborate in sharing technological and scientific know-how (transfer of knowledge); 4) optimize interoperability of distributed instrumentation by standardizing data collection, archive, and quality control standards (data preservation and interoperability); 5) implement a unified e-Infrastructure for data analysis, numerical modelling, and joint development and standardization of numerical tools (e-science implementation); 6) collect and store data in a flexible inventory database accessible within and beyond the Earth Sciences community(open access and outreach); 7) connect to environmental and hazard protection agencies, stakeholders, and public to raise consciousness of geo-hazards and geo-resources (innovation for society). We will inform scientists and industrial stakeholders on the most recent WG6 achievements in EPOS and we will show how our community is proceeding to design the thematic core services.

Improving National Capability in Biogeochemical Flux Modelling: the UK Environmental Virtual Observatory (EVOp)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnes, P.; Greene, S.; Freer, J. E.; Bloomfield, J.; Macleod, K.; Reaney, S. M.; Odoni, N. A.

2012-12-01

The best outcomes from watershed management arise where policy and mitigation efforts are underpinned by strong science evidence, but there are major resourcing problems associated with the scale of monitoring needed to effectively characterise the sources rates and impacts of nutrient enrichment nationally. The challenge is to increase national capability in predictive modelling of nutrient flux to waters, securing an effective mechanism for transferring knowledge and management tools from data-rich to data-poor regions. The inadequacy of existing tools and approaches to address these challenges provided the motivation for the Environmental Virtual Observatory programme (EVOp), an innovation from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). EVOp is exploring the use of a cloud-based infrastructure in catchment science, developing an exemplar to explore N and P fluxes to inland and coastal waters in the UK from grid to catchment and national scale. EVOp is bringing together for the first time national data sets, models and uncertainty analysis into cloud computing environments to explore and benchmark current predictive capability for national scale biogeochemical modelling. The objective is to develop national biogeochemical modelling capability, capitalising on extensive national investment in the development of science understanding and modelling tools to support integrated catchment management, and supporting knowledge transfer from data rich to data poor regions, The AERC export coefficient model (Johnes et al., 2007) has been adapted to function within the EVOp cloud environment, and on a geoclimatic basis, using a range of high resolution, geo-referenced digital datasets as an initial demonstration of the enhanced national capacity for N and P flux modelling using cloud computing infrastructure. Geoclimatic regions are landscape units displaying homogenous or quasi-homogenous functional behaviour in terms of process controls on N and P cycling, underpin this approach (Johnes & Butterfield, 2002). Ten regions have been defined across the UK using GIS manipulation of spatial data describing hydrogeology, runoff, topographical slope and soil parent material. The export coefficient model operates within this regional modelling framework, providing mapped, tabulated and statistical outputs at scales from 1km2 grid scale to river catchment, WFD river basin district, major coastal drainage units to the North Sea, North Atlantic and English Channel, to the international reporting units defined under OSPAR, the International Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. Here the geoclimatic modelling framework is presented together with modelled fluxes for N and P for each scale of reporting unit, together with scenario analysis applied at regional scale and mapped at national scale. The ways in which the results can be used to further explore the primary drivers for spatial variation and identify waterbodies at risk, especially in unmonitored and data-poor catchments are discussed, and the technical and computational support of a cloud-based infrastructure is evaluated as a mechanism to explore potential water quality impacts of future mitigation strategies applied at catchment to national scale.

Impacts of Permafrost on Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trochim, E.; Schuur, E.; Schaedel, C.; Kelly, B. P.

2017-12-01

The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program developed knowledge pyramids as a tool for advancing scientific understanding and making this information accessible for decision makers. Knowledge pyramids are being used to synthesize, curate and disseminate knowledge of changing land ice, sea ice, and permafrost in the Arctic. Each pyramid consists of a one-two page summary brief in broadly accessible language and literature organized by levels of detail including synthesizes and scientific building blocks. Three knowledge pyramids have been produced related to permafrost on carbon, infrastructure, and ecosystem services. Each brief answers key questions with high societal relevance framed in policy-relevant terms. The knowledge pyramids concerning infrastructure and ecosystem services were developed in collaboration with researchers specializing in the specific topic areas in order to identify the most pertinent issues and accurately communicate information for integration into policy and planning. For infrastructure, the main issue was the need to build consensus in the engineering and science communities for developing improved methods for incorporating data applicable to building infrastructure on permafrost. In ecosystem services, permafrost provides critical landscape properties which affect basic human needs including fuel and drinking water availability, access to hunting and harvest, and fish and wildlife habitat. Translating these broad and complex topics necessitated a systematic and iterative approach to identifying key issues and relating them succinctly to the best state of the art research. The development of the knowledge pyramids provoked collaboration and synthesis across distinct research and engineering communities. The knowledge pyramids also provide a solid basis for policy development and the format allows the content to be regularly updated as the research community advances.

The future of the US Space Industrial Base

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-11-01

Our space industrial base has given the United States the capability to be the world's leading space-faring nation. We have exploited space to greatly advance our national security by using extraordinarily sophisticated reconnaissance space systems to guard against military surprise, and other spacecraft that support the pinpoint delivery of weapons. We have fulfilled the dreams of those visionary national leaders who enacted the first National Aeronautics and Space Act by advancing our scientific knowledge of the planet we occupy and the universe around us. And the advancements in technology engendered by the U.S. space program have had world-wide impact in fostering entire new industries. The industrial base is broad. It is not merely plant and equipment, but an entire infrastructure of skilled scientific and technical manpower backed up by superb government, private and academic facilities and institutions.

The future role of dams in the United States of America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, Michelle; Lall, Upmanu; Allaire, Maura; Devineni, Naresh; Kwon, Hyun Han; Pal, Indrani; Raff, David; Wegner, David

2017-02-01

xml:id="wrcr22481-sec-1001" numbered="no">Storage and controlled distribution of water have been key elements of a human strategy to overcome the space and time variability of water, which have been marked by catastrophic droughts and floods throughout the course of civilization. In the United States, the peak of dam building occurred in the mid-20th century with knowledge limited to the scientific understanding and hydrologic records of the time. Ecological impacts were considered differently than current legislative and regulatory controls would potentially dictate. Additionally, future costs such as maintenance or removal beyond the economic design life were not fully considered. The converging risks associated with aging water storage infrastructure and uncertainty in climate in addition to the continuing need for water storage, flood protection, and hydropower result in a pressing need to address the state of dam infrastructure across the nation. Decisions regarding the future of dams in the United States may, in turn, influence regional water futures through groundwater outcomes, economic productivity, migration, and urban growth. We advocate for a comprehensive national water assessment and a formal analysis of the role dams play in our water future. We emphasize the urgent need for environmentally and economically sound strategies to integrate surface and groundwater storage infrastructure in local, regional, and national water planning considerations. A research agenda is proposed to assess dam failure impacts and the design, operation, and need for dams considering both paleo and future climate, utilization of groundwater resources, and the changing societal values toward the environment.

Strategies, Protections and Mitigations for Electric Grid from Electromagnetic Pulse Effects

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

Foster, Rita Ann; Frickey, Steven Jay

2016-01-01

The mission of DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is to lead national efforts to modernize the electricity delivery system, enhance the security and reliability of America’s energy infrastructure and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply. One of the threats OE is concerned about is a high-altitude electro-magnetic pulse (HEMP) from a nuclear explosion and eletro-magnetic pulse (EMP) or E1 pulse can be generated by EMP weapons. DOE-OE provides federal leadership and technical guidance in addressing electric grid issues. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was chosen to conduct the EMP study for DOE-OE due tomore » its capabilities and experience in setting up EMP experiments on the electric grid and conducting vulnerability assessments and developing innovative technology to increase infrastructure resiliency. This report identifies known impacts to EMP threats, known mitigations and effectiveness of mitigations, potential cost of mitigation, areas for government and private partnerships in protecting the electric grid to EMP, and identifying gaps in our knowledge and protection strategies.« less

An infrastructure for ontology-based information systems in biomedicine: RICORDO case study.

PubMed

Wimalaratne, Sarala M; Grenon, Pierre; Hoehndorf, Robert; Gkoutos, Georgios V; de Bono, Bernard

2012-02-01

The article presents an infrastructure for supporting the semantic interoperability of biomedical resources based on the management (storing and inference-based querying) of their ontology-based annotations. This infrastructure consists of: (i) a repository to store and query ontology-based annotations; (ii) a knowledge base server with an inference engine to support the storage of and reasoning over ontologies used in the annotation of resources; (iii) a set of applications and services allowing interaction with the integrated repository and knowledge base. The infrastructure is being prototyped and developed and evaluated by the RICORDO project in support of the knowledge management of biomedical resources, including physiology and pharmacology models and associated clinical data. The RICORDO toolkit and its source code are freely available from http://ricordo.eu/relevant-resources. sarala@ebi.ac.uk.

Can the University Escape from the Labyrinth of Technology? Part 1: Rethinking the Intellectual and Professional Division of Labor and Its Knowledge Infrastructure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanderburg, Willem H.

2006-01-01

The role tradition played in preindustrial societies has been supplanted by the decisions of countless specialists organized by means of an intellectual and professional division of labor shaping a knowledge infrastructure that sustains these decisions. Three limitations of this knowledge system are discussed: (a) on the macrolevel, it imposes an…

National Water Infrastructure Adaptation Assessment, Part I: Climate Change Adaptation Readiness Analysis

EPA Science Inventory

The report “National Water Infrastructure Adaptation Assessment” is comprised of four parts (Part I to IV), each in an independent volume. The Part I report presented herein describes a preliminary regulatory and technical analysis of water infrastructure and regulations in the ...

The National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Commerce, Washington, DC. Information Infrastructure Task Force.

The National Information Infrastructure (NII) is planned as a web of communications networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics that will put vast amounts of information at the users' fingertips. Private sector firms are beginning to develop this infrastructure, but essential roles remain for the Federal Government. The National…

Linking International Development Actors to Geophysical Infrastructure: Exploring an IRIS Community Role in Bridging a Communications Gap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lerner-Lam, A.; Aster, R.; Beck, S.; Ekstrom, G.; Fisher, K.; Meltzer, A.; Nyblade, A.; Sandvol, E.; Willemann, R.

2008-12-01

Over the past quarter century, national investments in high-fidelity digital seismograph networks have resulted in a global infrastructure for real-time in situ earthquake monitoring. Many network operators adhere to community-developed standards, with the result that there are few technical impediments to data sharing and real-time information exchange. Two unanswered questions, however, are whether the existing models of international collaboration will ensure the stability and sustainability of global earthquake monitoring, and whether the participating institutions can work with international development agencies and non- governmental organizations in meeting linked development and natural hazard risk reduction goals. Since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, many of these actors are enlarging their commitments to natural hazard risk reduction and building national technical capacities, among broader programs in poverty alleviation and adaptation to environmental stress. Despite this renewed commitment, international development organizations, with notable exceptions, have been relatively passive in discussions of how the existing earthquake monitoring infrastructure could be leveraged to support risk-reduction programs and meet sustainable development goals. At the same time, the international seismological community - comprising universities and government seismological surveys - has built research and education initiatives such as EarthScope, AfricaArray, and similar programs in China, Europe and South America, that use innovative instrumentation technologies and deployment strategies to enable new science and applications, and promote education and training in critical sectors. Can these developments be combined? Recognizing this communication or knowledge gap, the IRIS International Working Group (IWG) explores the link between the activities of IRIS Members using IRIS facilities and the missions of international development agencies, such as US AID, the World Bank, other international development banks, and agencies of the United Nations. Interests of US seismologists are served by encouraging development of modern seismographic systems in countries around the world to collect data that are useful in research as well as hazard mitigation and other national interests. Activities of the IWG to date include communicating the benefits of geophysical infrastructure and training to disaster risk reduction programs within the United Nations and development banks, coordinating an initiative to leverage retired PASSCAL data loggers through long-term loans to network operators in foreign countries, preparing a white paper outlining IRIS capabilities relevant to international development, and conducting a workshop, "Out of Africa", on modernizing geophysical infrastructure in the Americas and Southeast Asia through projects that are closely tied to university education and academic research.

Neoliberalism and indigenous knowledge: Māori health research and the cultural politics of New Zealand's "National Science Challenges".

PubMed

Prussing, Erica; Newbury, Elizabeth

2016-02-01

In 2012-13 the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in New Zealand rapidly implemented a major restructuring of national scientific research funding. The "National Science Challenges" (NSC) initiative aims to promote greater commercial applications of scientific knowledge, reflecting ongoing neoliberal reforms in New Zealand. Using the example of health research, we examine the NSC as a key moment in ongoing indigenous Māori advocacy against neoliberalization. NSC rhetoric and practice through 2013 moved to marginalize participation by Māori researchers, in part through constructing "Māori" and "science" as essentially separate arenas-yet at the same time appeared to recognize and value culturally distinctive forms of Māori knowledge. To contest this "neoliberal multiculturalism," Māori health researchers reasserted the validity of culturally distinctive knowledge, strategically appropriated NSC rhetoric, and marshalled political resources to protect Māori research infrastructure. By foregrounding scientific knowledge production as an arena of contestation over neoliberal values and priorities, and attending closely to how neoliberalizing tactics can include moves to acknowledge cultural diversity, this analysis poses new questions for social scientific study of global trends toward reconfiguring the production of knowledge about health. Study findings are drawn from textual analysis of MBIE documents about the NSC from 2012 to 2014, materials circulated by Māori researchers in the blogosphere in 2014, and ethnographic interviews conducted in 2013 with 17 Māori health researchers working at 7 sites that included university-based research centers, government agencies, and independent consultancies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultured construction: global evidence of the impact of national values on sanitation infrastructure choice.

PubMed

Kaminsky, Jessica A

2015-06-16

Case study research often claims culture-variously defined-impacts infrastructure development. I test this claim using Hofstede's cultural dimensions and newly available data representing change in national coverage of sewer connections, sewerage treatment, and onsite sanitation between 1990 and 2010 for 21 developing nations. The results show that the cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity, and individualism-collectivism have statistically significant relationships to sanitation technology choice. These data prove the global impact of culture on infrastructure choice, and reemphasize that local cultural preferences must be considered when constructing sanitation infrastructure.

Cybersecurity: The Nation’s Greatest Threat to Critical Infrastructure

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

protection has become a matter of national security, public safety, and economic stability . It is imperative the U.S. Government (USG) examine current...recommendations for federal responsibilities and legislation to direct nation critical infrastructure efforts to ensure national security, public safety and economic stability .

Vital Directions for Health and Health Care: Priorities From a National Academy of Medicine Initiative.

PubMed

Dzau, Victor J; McClellan, Mark B; McGinnis, J Michael; Burke, Sheila P; Coye, Molly J; Diaz, Angela; Daschle, Thomas A; Frist, William H; Gaines, Martha; Hamburg, Margaret A; Henney, Jane E; Kumanyika, Shiriki; Leavitt, Michael O; Parker, Ruth M; Sandy, Lewis G; Schaeffer, Leonard D; Steele, Glenn D; Thompson, Pamela; Zerhouni, Elias

2017-04-11

Recent discussion has focused on questions related to the repeal and replacement of portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, issues central to the future of health and health care in the United States transcend the ACA provisions receiving the greatest attention. Initiatives directed to certain strategic and infrastructure priorities are vital to achieve better health at lower cost. To review the most salient health challenges and opportunities facing the United States, to identify practical and achievable priorities essential to health progress, and to present policy initiatives critical to the nation's health and fiscal integrity. Qualitative synthesis of 19 National Academy of Medicine-commissioned white papers, with supplemental review and analysis of publicly available data and published research findings. The US health system faces major challenges. Health care costs remain high at $3.2 trillion spent annually, of which an estimated 30% is related to waste, inefficiencies, and excessive prices; health disparities are persistent and worsening; and the health and financial burdens of chronic illness and disability are straining families and communities. Concurrently, promising opportunities and knowledge to achieve change exist. Across the 19 discussion papers examined, 8 crosscutting policy directions were identified as vital to the nation's health and fiscal future, including 4 action priorities and 4 essential infrastructure needs. The action priorities-pay for value, empower people, activate communities, and connect care-recurred across the articles as direct and strategic opportunities to advance a more efficient, equitable, and patient- and community-focused health system. The essential infrastructure needs-measure what matters most, modernize skills, accelerate real-world evidence, and advance science-were the most commonly cited foundational elements to ensure progress. The action priorities and essential infrastructure needs represent major opportunities to improve health outcomes and increase efficiency and value in the health system. As the new US administration and Congress chart the future of health and health care for the United States, and as health leaders across the country contemplate future directions for their programs and initiatives, their leadership and strategic investment in these priorities will be essential for achieving significant progress.

A national curriculum for ophthalmology residency training

PubMed Central

Grover, Ashok Kumar; Honavar, Santosh G; Azad, Rajvardhan; Verma, Lalit

2018-01-01

We present a residency curriculum for Ophthalmology in India. The document derives from a workshop by the All India Ophthalmological Society (AlOS) which adapted the International Council of Ophthalmology residency curriculum and refined and customized it based on inputs by the residency program directors who participated in the work shop. The curriculum describes the course content, lays down the minimum requirements of infrastructure and mandates diagnostic and therapeutic procedures required for optimal training. It emphasises professionalism, management, research methodology, community ophthalmology as integral to the curriculum. The proposed national ophthalmology residency curriculum for India incorporates the required knowledge and skills for effective and safe practice of ophthalmology and takes into account the specific needs of the country. PMID:29785982

Decision-Making for Systemic Water Risks: Insights From a Participatory Risk Assessment Process in Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyrwoll, Paul R.; Grafton, R. Quentin; Daniell, Katherine A.; Chu, Hoang Long; Ringler, Claudia; Lien, Le Thi Ha; Khoi, Dang Kim; Do, Thang Nam; Tuan, Nguyen Do Anh

2018-03-01

Systemic threats to food-energy-environment-water systems require national policy responses. Yet complete control of these complex systems is impossible and attempts to mitigate systemic risks can generate unexpected feedback effects. Perverse outcomes from national policy can emerge from the diverse responses of decision-makers across different levels and scales of resource governance. Participatory risk assessment processes can help planners to understand subnational dynamics and ensure that policies do not undermine the resilience of social-ecological systems and infrastructure networks. Researchers can play an important role in participatory processes as both technical specialists and brokers of stakeholder knowledge on the feedbacks generated by systemic risks and policy decisions. Here, we evaluate the use of causal modeling and participatory risk assessment to develop national policy on systemic water risks. We present an application of the Risks and Options Assessment for Decision-Making (ROAD) process to a district of Vietnam where national agricultural water reforms are being piloted. The methods and results of this project provide general insights about how to support resilient decision-making, including the transfer of knowledge across administrative levels, identification of feedback effects, and the effective implementation of risk assessment processes.

Development of a public health nursing data infrastructure.

PubMed

Monsen, Karen A; Bekemeier, Betty; P Newhouse, Robin; Scutchfield, F Douglas

2012-01-01

An invited group of national public health nursing (PHN) scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders met in October 2010 identifying a critical need for a national PHN data infrastructure to support PHN research. This article summarizes the strengths, limitations, and gaps specific to PHN data and proposes a research agenda for development of a PHN data infrastructure. Future implications are suggested, such as issues related to the development of the proposed PHN data infrastructure and future research possibilities enabled by the infrastructure. Such a data infrastructure has potential to improve accountability and measurement, to demonstrate the value of PHN services, and to improve population health. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Geographic Hotspots of Critical National Infrastructure.

PubMed

Thacker, Scott; Barr, Stuart; Pant, Raghav; Hall, Jim W; Alderson, David

2017-12-01

Failure of critical national infrastructures can result in major disruptions to society and the economy. Understanding the criticality of individual assets and the geographic areas in which they are located is essential for targeting investments to reduce risks and enhance system resilience. Within this study we provide new insights into the criticality of real-life critical infrastructure networks by integrating high-resolution data on infrastructure location, connectivity, interdependence, and usage. We propose a metric of infrastructure criticality in terms of the number of users who may be directly or indirectly disrupted by the failure of physically interdependent infrastructures. Kernel density estimation is used to integrate spatially discrete criticality values associated with individual infrastructure assets, producing a continuous surface from which statistically significant infrastructure criticality hotspots are identified. We develop a comprehensive and unique national-scale demonstration for England and Wales that utilizes previously unavailable data from the energy, transport, water, waste, and digital communications sectors. The testing of 200,000 failure scenarios identifies that hotspots are typically located around the periphery of urban areas where there are large facilities upon which many users depend or where several critical infrastructures are concentrated in one location. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

The National Information Infrastructure: Requirements for Education and Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Educational IRM Quarterly, 1994

1994-01-01

Includes 19 access, education and training, and technical requirements that must be addressed in the development of the national information infrastructure. The requirements were prepared by national education, training, and trade associations participating in the National Coordinating Committee on Technology in Education and Training (NCC-TET). A…

The National Information Infrastructure: Requirements for Education and Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Coordinating Committee on Technology in Education and Training, Alexandria, VA.

The National Coordinating Committee for Technology in Education and Training (NCC-TET) has developed these requirements to ensure that the National Information Infrastructure (NII) provides expanded opportunities for education and training. A number of national organizations have contributed to these requirements, which are intended to be used in…

InWiM: knowledge management for insurance medicine.

PubMed

Bleuer, Juerg P; Bösch, Kurt; Ludwig, Christian A

2008-01-01

Suva (Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund) is the most important carrier of obligatory accident insurance in Switzerland. Its services not only comprise insurance but also prevention, case management and rehabilitation. Suva's medical division supports doctors in stationary and ambulatory care with comprehensive case management and with conciliar advice. Two Suva clinics provide stationary rehabilitation. Medicine in general, including insurance medicine, faces the problem of a diversity of opinions about the facts of a case. One of the reasons is a diversity of knowledge. This is the reason why Suva initiated a knowledge management project called InWiM. "InWiM" is the acronym for "Integrierte Wissensbasen der Medizin" which can be translated as "Integrated Knowledge Bases in Medicine". The project is part of an ISO 9001 certification program and comprises the definition and documentation of all processes in the field of knowledge management as well as the development of the underlying ITC infrastructure. The knowledge representation model used for the ICT implementation considers knowledge as a multidimensional network of interlinked units of information. In contrast to the hyperlink technology in the World Wide Web, links between items are bidirectional: the target knows the source of the link. Links are therefore called cross-links. The model allows annotation for the narrative description of the nature of the units of information (e.g. documents) and the cross-links as well. Information retrieval is achieved by means of a full implementation of the MeSH Index, the thesaurus of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM). As far as the authors are aware, InWiM is currently the only implementation worldwide - with the exception of the NLM and its national representatives - which supports all MeSH features for in-house retrieval.

ForM@Ter: a solid Earth thematic pole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ostanciaux, Emilie; Jamet, Olivier; Mandea, Mioara; Diament, Michel

2014-05-01

Over the last years, several notable initiatives have been developed to provide Solid Earth sciences with an efficient research e-infrastructure. The EPOS project (European Plate Observing System) was included in the EFSRI roadmap in 2008. The 7th European frame program funded an e-science environment such as the Virtual Earthquake and Seismology Research Community in Europe (VERCE). GEO supports the development of the Geohazard SuperSites and Natural Laboratories portal, while the ESA SSEP project (SuperSites exploitation plateform) is developing as an Helix Nebula usecase. Meanwhile, operational use of space data for emergency management is in constant progress, within the Copernicus services. This rich activity is still leaving some gaps between the data availability and its scientific use, either for technical reasons (big data issues) or due to the need for a better support in term of expert knowledge on the data, of software availability, or of data cost. French infrastructures for data distribution are organized around National Observatory Services (in situ data), scientific services participating to the International association of geodesy data centres and wider research infrastructures such as the Réseau Sismologique et géodésique Français (RESIF) that is contributing to EPOS. The need for thematic cooperative platforms has been underlined over tha last years. In 2009, after a scientific prospective of the French national space agency (CNES) it becomes clear the urgent need to create thematic centres designed to federate the scientific community of Earth observation. Four thematic data centres are currently developing in France in the field of ocean , atmosphere, critical zone and solid Earth sciences. For Solid Earth research, the project - named ForM@Ter - was initiated at the beginning of 2012 to design, with the scientific community, the perimeter, structure and functions of such a thematic centre. It was launched by the CNES and the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), with the active participation of the National institute for geographical and forestry information (IGN). Currently, it relies on the contributions of scientists from more than 20 French Earth science laboratories. Preliminary analysis showed that a focus on the determination of the shape and movements of the Earth surface ForM@Ter : Formes et Mouvements de la Terre can federate a wide variety of scientific areas (earthquake cycle, tectonics, morphogenesis, volcanism, erosion dynamics, mantle rheology, geodesy) and offers many interfaces with other thematics, such as glaciology or snow evolution. This choice motivates the design of an ambitious data distribution scheme, including a wide variety of sources - optical imagery, SAR, GNSS, gravity, satellite altimetry data, in situ observations (inclinometers, seismometers, topometry, etc.) - as well as a wide variety of processing techniques. The challenge of the project, in the evolving context of the current and forthcoming national and international e-infrastructures, is to design a non redundant service based on interoperations with existing services, and to cope with highly complex data flows due to the granularity of the data and its associated knowledge.

Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure. The Report of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lehman, Bruce A.

In February 1993, the Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) was formed to articulate and implement the Clinton Administration's vision for the National Information Infrastructure (NII). The Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights was established within the Information Policy Committee to examine the intellectual property implications…

Education as eHealth Infrastructure: Considerations in Advancing a National Agenda for eHealth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hilberts, Sonya; Gray, Kathleen

2014-01-01

This paper explores the role of education as infrastructure in large-scale ehealth strategies--in theory, in international practice and in one national case study. Education is often invisible in the documentation of ehealth infrastructure. Nevertheless a review of international practice shows that there is significant educational investment made…

Exposure to indoor air pollution from household energy use in rural China: the interactions of technology, behavior, and knowledge in health risk management.

PubMed

Jin, Yinlong; Ma, Xiao; Chen, Xining; Cheng, Yibin; Baris, Enis; Ezzati, Majid

2006-06-01

Indoor air pollution (IAP) from household use of biomass and coal is a leading environmental health risk in many developing nations. Much of the initial research on household energy technology overlooked the complex interactions of technological, behavioral, economic, and infrastructural factors that determine the success of environmental health interventions. Consequently, despite enormous interest in reducing the large and inequitable risks associated with household energy use in international development and global health, there is limited empirical research to form the basis for design and delivery of effective interventions. We used data from four poor provinces in China (Gansu, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi) to examine the linkages among technology, user knowledge and behavior, and access and infrastructure in exposure to IAP from household energy use. We conclude that broad health risk education is insufficient for successful risk mitigation when exposure behaviors are closely linked to day-to-day activities of households such as cooking and heating, or have other welfare implications, and hence cannot be simply stopped. Rather, there should be emphasis on the economic and infrastructure determinants of access to technology, as well as the details of behaviors that affect exposure. Better understanding of technology-behavior interface would also allow designing technological interventions that account for, and are robust to, behavioral factors or to provide individuals and households with alternative behaviors. Based on the analysis, we present technological and behavioral interventions for these four Chinese provinces.

Critical Infrastructure Interdependencies Assessment

DOE PAGES

Petit, Frederic; Verner, Duane

2016-11-01

Throughout the world there is strong recognition that critical infrastructure security and resilience needs to be improved. In the United States, the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) provides the strategic vision to guide the national effort to manage risk to the Nation’s critical infrastructure.”1 The achievement of this vision is challenged by the complexity of critical infrastructure systems and their inherent interdependencies. The update to the NIPP presents an opportunity to advance the nation’s efforts to further understand and analyze interdependencies. Such an important undertaking requires the involvement of public and private sector stakeholders and the reinforcement of existing partnershipsmore » and collaborations within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other Federal agencies, including national laboratories; State, local, tribal, and territorial governments; and nongovernmental organizations.« less

Envisioning a 21st Century, National, Spacecraft Servicing and Protection Infrastructure and Demand Potential: A Logical Development of the Earth Orbit Economy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horsham, Gary A.

2003-01-01

The modern world is extremely dependent on thin strings of several hundred civil, military, and commercial spacecraft/satellites currently stationed in space. They provide a steady stream of commerce, defense, and knowledge data. This dependency will in all likelihood increase significantly during this century. A major disruption of any kind in these essential systems and networks could be socially, economically, and politically catastrophic, on a global scale. The development of a space-based, robotic services economy could be useful in mitigating this growing risk, from an efficiency and security standpoint. This paper attempts to suggest what makes sense to invest in next for the logical, economic development of Earth orbit i.e., after ISS completion. It expands on the results of an advanced market research and analysis study that sampled the opinions of several satellite industry executives and presents these results within a broad policy context. The concept of a spacecraft carrier that serves as the nucleus of a national, space-based or on-orbit, robotic services infrastructure is introduced as the next logical step for United States leadership in space. This is viewed as a reasonable and appropriate followon to the development of ELVs and satellites in the 1950s and 1960s, the Space Shuttle/PRLV in the 1970s and 1980s, and the International Space Station (ISS) in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Large-scale experience in LEO-to-GEO spacecraft/satellite servicing and protection by robotic means is assumed to be an indispensable prerequisite or stepping-stone toward the development and preservation of the large scientific exploration facilities that are envisioned by NASA for operation beyond GEO. A balanced, return on national investment (RONI) strategy for space, focused on the provision of enhanced national/homeland security for increased protection, national economic/industrial expansion for increased revenue, and national scientific exploration for increased knowledge is recommended as the next strong, irrepressible goal toward realizing and achieving the official NASA vision and mission.

Opportunity for change in the future roles for the health library and information professional: meeting the challenges in NHS Scotland.

PubMed

Maclean, Gerry

2006-12-01

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the Special Health Board responsible for supporting best practice in education, training and development for all staff groups within NHS Scotland. As part of its remit, the Knowledge Services Group within NES is responsible for the e-Library, a national electronic resource providing and supporting access to the evidence base. The Knowledge Services Group also supports the national development of library services to NHS Scotland. This article aims to provide a reflective overview of some recent challenges within the health library and information field in Scotland, and the positive role opportunities these have afforded. The information was gathered through extensive professional interaction with staff across the sector over the first year of establishing the new role of Librarian Staff Development Manager. New roles have emerged for health library and information professionals generally; for example, in response to new technology or new user groups. The development of the NHS Scotland e-Library provides examples of role development that emerges symbiotically from core skills applied to a new situation or applied in an innovative way. Role development among health library and information professionals operating at the local service level can be both reactive and proactive. Working together, the partnership between the national Knowledge Services Group and local library and knowledge services for NHS Scotland has resulted in the emergence of additional new roles, extending the role portfolio of the local professional (for example, the Librarian-Tutor role) and supported by other national infrastructures (for example, the competency framework initiative).

The national strategy for the physical protection of critical infrastructures and key assets

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-01

This document defines the road ahead for a core mission area identified in the President's National Strategy for Homeland Security-reducing the Nation's vulnerability to acts of terrorism by protecting our critical infrastructures and key assets from...

Why You Should Consider Green Stormwater Infrastructure for Your Community

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page provides an overview of the nation's infrastructure needs and cost and the benefits of integrating green infrastructure into projects that typically use grey infrastructure, such as roadways, sidewalks and parking lots.

The Semi-opened Infrastructure Model (SopIM): A Frame to Set Up an Organizational Learning Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grundstein, Michel

In this paper, we introduce the "Semi-opened Infrastructure Model (SopIM)" implemented to deploy Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge-based Systems within a large industrial company. This model illustrates what could be two of the operating elements of the Model for General Knowledge Management within the Enterprise (MGKME) that are essential to set up the organizational learning process that leads people to appropriate and use concepts, methods and tools of an innovative technology: the "Ad hoc Infrastructures" element, and the "Organizational Learning Processes" element.

National Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Initiative

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-09-19

This report gives an overview of the National Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Initiative (NITI). NITI refers to the integrated electronics, communications, and hardware and software elements that are available to support Intelligent Transpo...

A National contribution to the GEO Science and Technology roadmap: GIIDA Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nativi, Stefano; Mazzetti, Paolo; Guzzetti, Fausto; Oggioni, Alessandro; Pirrone, Nicola; Santolieri, Rosalia; Viola, Angelo; Tartari, Gianni; Santoro, Mattia

2010-05-01

The GIIDA (Gestione Integrata e Interoperativa dei Dati Ambientali) project is an initiative of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) launched in 2008 as an inter-departmental project, aiming to design and develop a multidisciplinary e-infrastructure (cyber-infrastructure) for the management, processing, and evaluation of Earth and Environmental resources -i.e. data, services, models, sensors, best practices. GIIDA has been contributing to the implementation of the GEO (Group of Earth Observation) Science and Technology (S&T) roadmap by: (a) linking relevant S&T communities to GEOSS (GEO System of Systems); (b) ensuring that GEOSS is built based on state-of-the-art science and technology. GIIDA co-ordinates the CNR's digital infrastructure development for Earth Observation resources sharing and cooperates with other national agencies and existing projects pursuing the same objective. For the CNR, GIIDA provides an interface to European and international interoperability programmes (e.g. INSPIRE, and GMES). It builds a national network for dialogue and resolution of issues at varying scientific and technical levels. To achieve such goals, GIIDA introduced a set of guidance principles: • To shift from a "traditional" data centric approach to a more advanced service-based solution for Earth System Science and Environmental information. • To shift the focus from Data to Information Spatial Infrastructures in order to support decision-making. • To be interoperable with analogous National (e.g. SINAnet, and the INSPIRE National Infrastructure) and international initiatives (e.g. INSPIRE, GMES, SEIS, and GEOSS). • To reinforce the Italian presence in the European and international programmes concerning digital infrastructures, geospatial information, and the Mega-Science approach. • To apply the National and International Information Technology (IT) standards for achieving multi-disciplinary interoperability in the Earth and Space Sciences (e.g. ISO, OGC, CEN, CNIPA) In keeping with GEOSS, GIIDA infrastructure adopts a System of Systems architectural approach in order to federate the existing systems managed by a set of recognized Thematic Areas (i.e. Risks, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Air Quality, Land and Water Quality, Ocean and Marine resources, Joint Research and Public Administration infrastructures). GIIDA system of systems will contribute to develop multidisciplinary teams studying the global Earth systems in order to address the needs coming from the GEO Societal Benefit Areas (SBAs). GIIDA issued a Call For Pilots receiving more than 20 high-level projects which are contributing to the GIIDA system development. A national-wide research environmental infrastructure must be interconnected with analogous digital infrastructures operated by other important stakeholders, such as public users and private companies. In fact, the long-term sustainability of a "System of Systems" requires synergies between all the involved stakeholders' domains: Users, Governance, Capacity provision, and Research. Therefore, in order to increase the effectiveness of the GIIDA contribution process to a national environmental e-infrastructure, collaborations were activated with relevant actors of the other stakeholders' domains at the national level (e.g. ISPRA SINAnet).

Spatial Knowledge Infrastructures - Creating Value for Policy Makers and Benefits the Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, L. M.

2016-12-01

The spatial data infrastructure is arguably one of the most significant advancements in the spatial sector. It's been a game changer for governments, providing for the coordination and sharing of spatial data across organisations and the provision of accessible information to the broader community of users. Today however, end-users such as policy-makers require far more from these spatial data infrastructures. They want more than just data; they want the knowledge that can be extracted from data and they don't want to have to download, manipulate and process data in order to get the knowledge they seek. It's time for the spatial sector to reduce its focus on data in spatial data infrastructures and take a more proactive step in emphasising and delivering the knowledge value. Nowadays, decision-makers want to be able to query at will the data to meet their immediate need for knowledge. This is a new value proposal for the decision-making consumer and will require a shift in thinking. This paper presents a model for a Spatial Knowledge Infrastructure and underpinning methods that will realise a new real-time approach to delivering knowledge. The methods embrace the new capabilities afforded through the sematic web, domain and process ontologies and natural query language processing. Semantic Web technologies today have the potential to transform the spatial industry into more than just a distribution channel for data. The Semantic Web RDF (Resource Description Framework) enables meaning to be drawn from data automatically. While pushing data out to end-users will remain a central role for data producers, the power of the semantic web is that end-users have the ability to marshal a broad range of spatial resources via a query to extract knowledge from available data. This can be done without actually having to configure systems specifically for the end-user. All data producers need do is make data accessible in RDF and the spatial analytics does the rest.

Geographic Information System Technology Leveraged for Crisis Planning, Emergency, Response, and Disaster Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, A.; Little, M. M.

2013-12-01

NASA's Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) is piloting the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology that can be leveraged for crisis planning, emergency response, and disaster management/awareness. Many different organizations currently use GIS tools and geospatial data during a disaster event. ASDC datasets have not been fully utilized by this community in the past due to incompatible data formats that ASDC holdings are archived in. Through the successful implementation of this pilot effort and continued collaboration with the larger Homeland Defense and Department of Defense emergency management community through the Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data Working Group (HIFLD WG), our data will be easily accessible to those using GIS and increase the ability to plan, respond, manage, and provide awareness during disasters. The HIFLD WG Partnership has expanded to include more than 5,900 mission partners representing the 14 executive departments, 98 agencies, 50 states (and 3 territories), and more than 700 private sector organizations to directly enhance the federal, state, and local government's ability to support domestic infrastructure data gathering, sharing and protection, visualization, and spatial knowledge management.The HIFLD WG Executive Membership is lead by representatives from the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs - OASD (HD&ASA); the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Protection and Programs Directorate's Office of Infrastructure Protection (NPPD IP); the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Integrated Working Group - Readiness, Response and Recovery (IWG-R3); the Department of Interior (DOI) United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Geospatial Program (NGP), and DHS Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Open Data Infrastructures And The Future Of Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boulton, G. S.

2016-12-01

Open publication of the evidence (the data) supporting a scientific claim has been the bedrock on which the scientific advances of the modern era of science have been built. It is also of immense importance in confronting three challenges unleashed by the digital revolution. The first is the threat the digital data storm poses to the principle of "scientific self-correction", in which false concepts are weeded out because of a demonstrable failure in logic or in the replication of observations or experiments. Large and complex data volumes are difficult to make openly available in ways that make rigorous scrutiny possible. Secondly, linking and integrating data from different sources about the same phenomena have created profound new opportunities for understanding the Earth. If data are neither accessible nor useable, such opportunities cannot be seized. Thirdly, open access publication, open data and ubiquitous modern communications enhance the prospects for an era of "Open Science" in which science emerges from behind its laboratory doors to engage in co-production of knowledge with other stakeholders in addressing major contemporary challenges to human society, in particular the need for long term thinking about planetary sustainability. If the benefits of an open data regime are to be realised, only a small part of the challenge lies in providing "hard" infrastructure. The major challenges lie in the "soft" infrastructure of relationships between the components of national science systems, of analytic and software tools, of national and international standards and the normative principles adopted by scientists themselves. The principles that underlie these relationships, the responsibilities of key actors and the rules of the game needed to maximise national performance and facilitate international collaboration are set out in an International Accord on Open Data.

BioenergyKDF: Enabling Spatiotemporal Data Synthesis and Research Collaboration

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

Myers, Aaron T; Movva, Sunil; Karthik, Rajasekar

2014-01-01

The Bioenergy Knowledge Discovery Framework (BioenergyKDF) is a scalable, web-based collaborative environment for scientists working on bioenergy related research in which the connections between data, literature, and models can be explored and more clearly understood. The fully-operational and deployed system, built on multiple open source libraries and architectures, stores contributions from the community of practice and makes them easy to find, but that is just its base functionality. The BioenergyKDF provides a national spatiotemporal decision support capability that enables data sharing, analysis, modeling, and visualization as well as fosters the development and management of the U.S. bioenergy infrastructure, which ismore » an essential component of the national energy infrastructure. The BioenergyKDF is built on a flexible, customizable platform that can be extended to support the requirements of any user community especially those that work with spatiotemporal data. While there are several community data-sharing software platforms available, some developed and distributed by national governments, none of them have the full suite of capabilities available in BioenergyKDF. For example, this component-based platform and database independent architecture allows it to be quickly deployed to existing infrastructure and to connect to existing data repositories (spatial or otherwise). As new data, analysis, and features are added; the BioenergyKDF will help lead research and support decisions concerning bioenergy into the future, but will also enable the development and growth of additional communities of practice both inside and outside of the Department of Energy. These communities will be able to leverage the substantial investment the agency has made in the KDF platform to quickly stand up systems that are customized to their data and research needs.« less

Disaster management and mitigation: the telecommunications infrastructure.

PubMed

Patricelli, Frédéric; Beakley, James E; Carnevale, Angelo; Tarabochia, Marcello; von Lubitz, Dag K J E

2009-03-01

Among the most typical consequences of disasters is the near or complete collapse of terrestrial telecommunications infrastructures (especially the distribution network--the 'last mile') and their concomitant unavailability to the rescuers and the higher echelons of mitigation teams. Even when such damage does not take place, the communications overload/congestion resulting from significantly elevated traffic generated by affected residents can be highly disturbing. The paper proposes innovative remedies to the telecommunications difficulties in disaster struck regions. The offered solutions are network-centric operations-cap able, and can be employed in management of disasters of any magnitude (local to national or international). Their implementation provide ground rescue teams (such as law enforcement, firemen, healthcare personnel, civilian authorities) with tactical connectivity among themselves, and, through the Next Generation Network backbone, ensure the essential bidirectional free flow of information and distribution of Actionable Knowledge among ground units, command/control centres, and civilian and military agencies participating in the rescue effort.

75 FR 21011 - Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2010-0032] Critical Infrastructure Partnership... Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) charter renewal. SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security... and Outreach Division, Office of Infrastructure Protection, National Protection and Programs...

75 FR 60771 - Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-01

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2010-0080] Critical Infrastructure Partnership..., Section Chief Partnership Programs, Partnership and Outreach Division, Office of Infrastructure Protection... Outreach Division, Office of Infrastructure Protection, National Protection and Programs Directorate...

Report from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases workshop on drug allergy.

PubMed

Wheatley, Lisa M; Plaut, Marshall; Schwaninger, Julie M; Banerji, Aleena; Castells, Mariana; Finkelman, Fred D; Gleich, Gerald J; Guttman-Yassky, Emma; Mallal, Simon A K; Naisbitt, Dean J; Ostrov, David A; Phillips, Elizabeth J; Pichler, Werner J; Platts-Mills, Thomas A E; Roujeau, Jean-Claude; Schwartz, Lawrence B; Trepanier, Lauren A

2015-08-01

Allergic reactions to drugs are a serious public health concern. In 2013, the Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases sponsored a workshop on drug allergy. International experts in the field of drug allergy with backgrounds in allergy, immunology, infectious diseases, dermatology, clinical pharmacology, and pharmacogenomics discussed the current state of drug allergy research. These experts were joined by representatives from several National Institutes of Health institutes and the US Food and Drug Administration. The participants identified important advances that make new research directions feasible and made suggestions for research priorities and for development of infrastructure to advance our knowledge of the mechanisms, diagnosis, management, and prevention of drug allergy. The workshop summary and recommendations are presented herein. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Infrastructure Task Force National Environmental Policy Act Requirements - February 2011

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document summarizes in a matrix format the federal regulations requirements and guidance for complying with the National Environmental Policy Act for the Infrastructure Task Force federal partner agencies.

Pesticide application practices, pest knowledge, and cost-benefits of plantain production in the Bribri-Cabecar Indigenous Territories, Costa Rica

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

Polidoro, Beth A.; Department of Agroforestry, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center; Dahlquist, Ruth M.

The use of pesticides in the cultivation of cash crops such as banana and plantain is increasing, in Costa Rica and worldwide. Agrochemical use and occupational and environmental exposures in export banana production have been documented in some parts of Central America. However, the extent of agrochemical use, agricultural pest knowledge, and economic components in plantain production are largely unknown in Costa Rica, especially in remote, high-poverty areas such as the Bribri-Cabecar Indigenous Territories. Our objective was to integrate a rapid rural appraisal of indigenous farmer pesticide application practices and pest knowledge with a cost-benefit analysis of plantain production inmore » the Bribri-Cabecar Indigenous Territories, for the development of better agricultural management practices and improved regulatory infrastructure. Interviews conducted with 75 households in 5 indigenous communities showed that over 60% of participants grew plantain with agrochemicals. Of these plantain farmers, over 97% used the insecticide chlorpyrifos, and 84% applied nematicides, 64% herbicides, and 22% fungicides, with only 31% of participants reporting the use of some type of protective clothing during application. The banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus Germar) was ranked as the most important agricultural pest by 85% of participants, yet only 28% could associate the adult and larval form. A cost-benefit analysis conducted with a separate group of 26 plantain farmers identified several national markets and one export market for plantain production in the Indigenous Territories. Yearly income averaged US$6200/ha and yearly expenses averaged US$1872/ha, with an average cost-benefit ratio of 3.67 for plantain farmers. Farmers applied an average of 9.7 kg a.i./ha/yr of pesticide products and 375 kg/ha/yr of fertilizer, but those who sold their fruit to the national markets applied more nematicides, herbicides, and fertilizers than those who sold primarily to export markets, suggesting a lack of appropriate application knowledge. Results indicate that the quantity of agrochemicals applied in plantain cultivation is less than that applied in export banana, but the absence of appropriate agrochemical application practices in plantain cultivation may pose serious risks to human and environmental health. Culturally appropriate farmer education and certification programs are needed as well as the development of safe-handling practices, regulatory infrastructure, and adequate agrochemical storage, transport, and waste disposal facilities. Long-term solutions however, are dependent on the development of policies and infrastructure that support non-chemical pest management, alternatives to pesticides, and the identification of organic plantain markets.« less

Pesticide application practices, pest knowledge, and cost-benefits of plantain production in the Bribri-Cabécar Indigenous Territories, Costa Rica.

PubMed

Polidoro, Beth A; Dahlquist, Ruth M; Castillo, Luisa E; Morra, Matthew J; Somarriba, Eduardo; Bosque-Pérez, Nilsa A

2008-09-01

The use of pesticides in the cultivation of cash crops such as banana and plantain is increasing, in Costa Rica and worldwide. Agrochemical use and occupational and environmental exposures in export banana production have been documented in some parts of Central America. However, the extent of agrochemical use, agricultural pest knowledge, and economic components in plantain production are largely unknown in Costa Rica, especially in remote, high-poverty areas such as the Bribri-Cabécar Indigenous Territories. Our objective was to integrate a rapid rural appraisal of indigenous farmer pesticide application practices and pest knowledge with a cost-benefit analysis of plantain production in the Bribri-Cabécar Indigenous Territories, for the development of better agricultural management practices and improved regulatory infrastructure. Interviews conducted with 75 households in 5 indigenous communities showed that over 60% of participants grew plantain with agrochemicals. Of these plantain farmers, over 97% used the insecticide chlorpyrifos, and 84% applied nematicides, 64% herbicides, and 22% fungicides, with only 31% of participants reporting the use of some type of protective clothing during application. The banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus Germar) was ranked as the most important agricultural pest by 85% of participants, yet only 28% could associate the adult and larval form. A cost-benefit analysis conducted with a separate group of 26 plantain farmers identified several national markets and one export market for plantain production in the Indigenous Territories. Yearly income averaged US$6200/ha and yearly expenses averaged US$1872/ha, with an average cost-benefit ratio of 3.67 for plantain farmers. Farmers applied an average of 9.7 kg a.i./ha/yr of pesticide products and 375 kg/ha/yr of fertilizer, but those who sold their fruit to the national markets applied more nematicides, herbicides, and fertilizers than those who sold primarily to export markets, suggesting a lack of appropriate application knowledge. Results indicate that the quantity of agrochemicals applied in plantain cultivation is less than that applied in export banana, but the absence of appropriate agrochemical application practices in plantain cultivation may pose serious risks to human and environmental health. Culturally appropriate farmer education and certification programs are needed as well as the development of safe-handling practices, regulatory infrastructure, and adequate agrochemical storage, transport, and waste disposal facilities. Long-term solutions however, are dependent on the development of policies and infrastructure that support non-chemical pest management, alternatives to pesticides, and the identification of organic plantain markets.

The European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (erihs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Striova, J.; Pezzati, L.

2017-08-01

The European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS) entered the European strategic roadmap for research infrastructures (ESFRI Roadmap [1]) in 2016, as one of its six new projects. E-RIHS supports research on heritage interpretation, preservation, documentation and management. Both cultural and natural heritage are addressed: collections, artworks, buildings, monuments and archaeological sites. E-RIHS aims to become a distributed research infrastructure with a multi-level star-structure: facilities from single Countries will be organized in national nodes, coordinated by National Hubs. The E-RIHS Central Hub will provide the unique access point to all E-RIHS services through coordination of National Hubs. E-RIHS activities already started in some of its national nodes. In Italy the access to some E-RIHS services started in 2015. A case study concerning the diagnostic of a hypogea cave is presented.

77 FR 6825 - NASA Advisory Council; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting.

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-09

...; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting. AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space... Information Technology Infrastructure Committee of the NASA Advisory Council. DATES: Wednesday, March 7, 2012... CONTACT: Ms. Karen Harper, Executive Secretary for the Information Technology Infrastructure Committee...

76 FR 20995 - Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-14

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2011-0028] Critical Infrastructure Partnership... Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) by notice published in the Federal Register... Infrastructure Protection, National Protection and Programs Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security...

The National Information Infrastructure: Requirements for Education and Training: Executive Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

TechTrends, 1994

1994-01-01

Includes 19 requirements prepared by the National Coordinating Committee for Technology in Education (NCC-TET) to ensure that the national information infrastructure (NII) provides expanded opportunities for education and training. The requirements, which cover access, education and training applications, and technical needs, are intended as…

The Federal Government and Information Technology Standards: Building the National Information Infrastructure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radack, Shirley M.

1994-01-01

Examines the role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Highlights include the standards process; voluntary standards; Open Systems Interconnection problems; Internet Protocol Suite; consortia; government's role; and network security. (16 references) (LRW)

How much e-waste is there in US basements and attics? Results from a national survey.

PubMed

Saphores, Jean-Daniel M; Nixon, Hilary; Ogunseitan, Oladele A; Shapiro, Andrew A

2009-08-01

The fate of used electronic products (e-waste) is of increasing concern because of their toxicity and the growing volume of e-waste. Addressing these concerns requires developing the recycling infrastructure, but good estimates of the volume of e-waste stored by US households are still unavailable. In this context, we make two contributions based on a national random survey of 2136 US households. First, we explain how much e-waste is stored by US households using count models. Significant explanatory variables include age, marital and employment status, ethnicity, household size, previous e-waste recycling behavior, and to some extent education, home ownership, and understanding the consequences of recycling, but neither income nor knowledge of e-waste recycling laws. Second, we estimate that on average, each US household has 4.1 small (

Organisational space for partnership and sustainability: lessons from the implementation of the National Dementia Strategy for England.

PubMed

Clarke, Charlotte Laura; Keyes, Sarah Elizabeth; Wilkinson, Heather; Alexjuk, Joanna; Wilcockson, Jane; Robinson, Louise; Corner, Lynne; Cattan, Mima

2014-11-01

National policy initiatives are faced with challenges in their partnership development and sustainability. The National Dementia Strategy for England recommended Dementia Adviser (DA) and Peer Support Network (PSN) services and 40 demonstration sites were established. In this paper, we report on the national evaluation of these demonstration sites, with specific reference to aspects of organisational development. The research used a mixed-methods design with three main strands: (i) activity and outcome monitoring; (ii) organisational surveys and collaborative discussion; (iii) in-depth case studies in eight of the 40 sites. This paper focuses primarily on three rounds of organisational surveys distributed to all 40 demonstration sites over a period of 21 months and interviews in the case studies. Data identify the significance of infrastructure within immediate services as well as the position of services within the external infrastructure of the wider health and social care landscape. Partnership - both internally and externally - was key to establishing and sustaining services that flourished. When working well, DAs and PSNs acted as a link between services and people with dementia at the same time as filling gaps in existing support, providing information, advice and interpersonal support that was tailored to individual needs and circumstances. In conclusion, to achieve the full potential and sustainability of services requires them to be in an organisational space that allows them to work in partnership and collaboration with other services, and that values their distinct knowledge of their communities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

76 FR 70730 - The Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-15

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2011-0112] The Critical Infrastructure Partnership... Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) by notice published in the Federal Register... Infrastructure Protection, National Protection and Programs Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security...

76 FR 29775 - The Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-23

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2011-0038] The Critical Infrastructure Partnership... Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) by notice published in the Federal Register... Infrastructure Protection, National Protection and Programs Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security...

75 FR 48983 - The Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-12

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2010-0062] The Critical Infrastructure Partnership... Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) by notice published in the Federal Register... Infrastructure Protection, National Protection and Programs Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, 245...

A systems framework for national assessment of climate risks to infrastructure.

PubMed

Dawson, Richard J; Thompson, David; Johns, Daniel; Wood, Ruth; Darch, Geoff; Chapman, Lee; Hughes, Paul N; Watson, Geoff V R; Paulson, Kevin; Bell, Sarah; Gosling, Simon N; Powrie, William; Hall, Jim W

2018-06-13

Extreme weather causes substantial adverse socio-economic impacts by damaging and disrupting the infrastructure services that underpin modern society. Globally, $2.5tn a year is spent on infrastructure which is typically designed to last decades, over which period projected changes in the climate will modify infrastructure performance. A systems approach has been developed to assess risks across all infrastructure sectors to guide national policy making and adaptation investment. The method analyses diverse evidence of climate risks and adaptation actions, to assess the urgency and extent of adaptation required. Application to the UK shows that despite recent adaptation efforts, risks to infrastructure outweigh opportunities. Flooding is the greatest risk to all infrastructure sectors: even if the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2°C is achieved, the number of users reliant on electricity infrastructure at risk of flooding would double, while a 4°C rise could triple UK flood damage. Other risks are significant, for example 5% and 20% of river catchments would be unable to meet water demand with 2°C and 4°C global warming respectively. Increased interdependence between infrastructure systems, especially from energy and information and communication technology (ICT), are amplifying risks, but adaptation action is limited by lack of clear responsibilities. A programme to build national capability is urgently required to improve infrastructure risk assessment.This article is part of the theme issue 'Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy'. © 2018 The Authors.

A systems framework for national assessment of climate risks to infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawson, Richard J.; Thompson, David; Johns, Daniel; Wood, Ruth; Darch, Geoff; Chapman, Lee; Hughes, Paul N.; Watson, Geoff V. R.; Paulson, Kevin; Bell, Sarah; Gosling, Simon N.; Powrie, William; Hall, Jim W.

2018-06-01

Extreme weather causes substantial adverse socio-economic impacts by damaging and disrupting the infrastructure services that underpin modern society. Globally, $2.5tn a year is spent on infrastructure which is typically designed to last decades, over which period projected changes in the climate will modify infrastructure performance. A systems approach has been developed to assess risks across all infrastructure sectors to guide national policy making and adaptation investment. The method analyses diverse evidence of climate risks and adaptation actions, to assess the urgency and extent of adaptation required. Application to the UK shows that despite recent adaptation efforts, risks to infrastructure outweigh opportunities. Flooding is the greatest risk to all infrastructure sectors: even if the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2°C is achieved, the number of users reliant on electricity infrastructure at risk of flooding would double, while a 4°C rise could triple UK flood damage. Other risks are significant, for example 5% and 20% of river catchments would be unable to meet water demand with 2°C and 4°C global warming respectively. Increased interdependence between infrastructure systems, especially from energy and information and communication technology (ICT), are amplifying risks, but adaptation action is limited by lack of clear responsibilities. A programme to build national capability is urgently required to improve infrastructure risk assessment. This article is part of the theme issue `Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy'.

A systems framework for national assessment of climate risks to infrastructure

PubMed Central

Thompson, David; Johns, Daniel; Darch, Geoff; Paulson, Kevin

2018-01-01

Extreme weather causes substantial adverse socio-economic impacts by damaging and disrupting the infrastructure services that underpin modern society. Globally, $2.5tn a year is spent on infrastructure which is typically designed to last decades, over which period projected changes in the climate will modify infrastructure performance. A systems approach has been developed to assess risks across all infrastructure sectors to guide national policy making and adaptation investment. The method analyses diverse evidence of climate risks and adaptation actions, to assess the urgency and extent of adaptation required. Application to the UK shows that despite recent adaptation efforts, risks to infrastructure outweigh opportunities. Flooding is the greatest risk to all infrastructure sectors: even if the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2°C is achieved, the number of users reliant on electricity infrastructure at risk of flooding would double, while a 4°C rise could triple UK flood damage. Other risks are significant, for example 5% and 20% of river catchments would be unable to meet water demand with 2°C and 4°C global warming respectively. Increased interdependence between infrastructure systems, especially from energy and information and communication technology (ICT), are amplifying risks, but adaptation action is limited by lack of clear responsibilities. A programme to build national capability is urgently required to improve infrastructure risk assessment. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy’. PMID:29712793

Critical infrastructure protection.

PubMed

Deitz, Kim M

2012-01-01

Current government policies for protecting the nation's critical infrastructure are described in this article which focuses on hospital disaster planning and incident management and the significant role of Security in infrastructure protection

The National Map product and services directory

USGS Publications Warehouse

Newell, Mark R.

2008-01-01

As one of the cornerstones of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Geospatial Program (NGP), The National Map is a collaborative effort among the USGS and other Federal, state, and local partners to improve and deliver topographic information for the Nation. It has many uses ranging from recreation to scientific analysis to emergency response. The National Map is easily accessible for display on the Web, as products, and as downloadable data. The geographic information available from The National Map includes orthoimagery (aerial photographs), elevation, geographic names, hydrography, boundaries, transportation, structures, and land cover. Other types of geographic information can be added to create specific types of maps. Of major importance, The National Map currently is being transformed to better serve the geospatial community. The USGS National Geospatial Program Office (NGPO) was established to provide leadership for placing geographic knowledge at the fingertips of the Nation. The office supports The National Map, Geospatial One-Stop (GOS), National Atlas of the United States®, and the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). This integrated portfolio of geospatial information and data supports the essential components of delivering the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and capitalizing on the power of place.

EPA Research Highlights: EPA Studies Aging Water Infrastructure

EPA Science Inventory

The nation's extensive water infrastructure has the capacity to treat, store, and transport trillions of gallons of water and wastewater per day through millions of miles of pipelines. However, some infrastructure components are more than 100 years old, and as the infrastructure ...

National Coordinating Committee for Technology in Education and Training (NCC-TET) Requirements for the National Information Infrastructure (NII).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yrchik, John; Cradler, John

1994-01-01

Discusses guidelines that were developed to ensure that the National Information Infrastructure provides expanded opportunities for education and training. Topics include access requirements for homes and work places as well as schools; education and training application requirements, including coordination by federal departments and agencies; and…

78 FR 28707 - National Defense Transportation Day and National Transportation Week, 2013

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-15

... challenges we face. We need to restore our roads, bridges, and ports-- transportation networks that are... security. At a time when our cities face unprecedented threats and hazards, we must do more to ensure our... infrastructure. In recognition of the importance of our Nation's transportation infrastructure, and of the men...

Expert Recommender: Designing for a Network Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichling, Tim; Veith, Michael; Wulf, Volker

Recent knowledge management initiatives focus on expertise sharing within formal organizational units and informal communities of practice. Expert recommender systems seem to be a promising tool in support of these initiatives. This paper presents experiences in designing an expert recommender system for a knowledge- intensive organization, namely the National Industry Association (NIA). Field study results provide a set of specific design requirements. Based on these requirements, we have designed an expert recommender system which is integrated into the specific software infrastructure of the organizational setting. The organizational setting is, as we will show, specific for historical, political, and economic reasons. These particularities influence the employees’ organizational and (inter-)personal needs within this setting. The paper connects empirical findings of a long-term case study with design experiences of an expertise recommender system.

Linking knowledge with action in the pursuit of sustainable water-resources management

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Katharine; Lebel, Louis; Buizer, James; Addams, Lee; Matson, Pamela; McCullough, Ellen; Garden, Po; Saliba, George; Finan, Timothy

2016-01-01

Managing water for sustainable use and economic development is both a technical and a governance challenge in which knowledge production and sharing play a central role. This article evaluates and compares the role of participatory governance and scientific information in decision-making in four basins in Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, and the United States. Water management institutions in each of the basins have evolved during the last 10–20 years from a relatively centralized water-management structure at the state or national level to a decision structure that involves engaging water users within the basins and the development of participatory processes. This change is consistent with global trends in which states increasingly are expected to gain public acceptance for larger water projects and policy changes. In each case, expanded citizen engagement in identifying options and in decision-making processes has resulted in more complexity but also has expanded the culture of integrated learning. International funding for water infrastructure has been linked to requirements for participatory management processes, but, ironically, this study finds that participatory processes appear to work better in the context of decisions that are short-term and easily adjusted, such as water-allocation decisions, and do not work so well for longer-term, high-stakes decisions regarding infrastructure. A second important observation is that the costs of capacity building to allow meaningful stakeholder engagement in water-management decision processes are not widely recognized. Failure to appreciate the associated costs and complexities may contribute to the lack of successful engagement of citizens in decisions regarding infrastructure. PMID:20080611

Ocean Science for Decision-Making: Current Activities of the National Research Council's Ocean Studies Board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roberts, S.; Glickson, D.; Mengelt, C.; Forrest, S.; Waddell, K.

2012-12-01

The National Research Council is a private, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress in 1916 as an expansion of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Its mission is to improve the use of science in government decision making and public policy, increase public understanding, and promote the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge in matters involving science, engineering, technology, and health. Within the National Research Council, the Ocean Studies Board (OSB) mission is to explore the science, policies, and infrastructure needed to understand, manage, and conserve coastal and marine environments and resources. OSB undertakes studies and workshops on emerging scientific and policy issues at the request of federal agencies, Congress, and others; provides program reviews and guidance; and facilitates communication on oceanographic issues among different sectors. OSB also serves as the U.S. National Committee to the international, nongovernmental Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR). OSB has produced reports on a wide range of topics of interest to researchers and educators, the federal government, the non-profit sector, and industry. Recent reports have focused on ecosystem services in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, sea level rise on the U.S. west coast, scientific ocean drilling needs and accomplishments, requirements for sustained ocean color measurements, critical infrastructure for ocean research, tsunami warning and preparedness, ocean acidification, and marine and hydrokinetic power resource assessments. Studies that are currently underway include responding to oil spills in the Arctic, evaluating the effectiveness of fishery stock rebuilding plans, and reviewing the National Ocean Acidification Research Plan. OSB plays an important role in helping create policy decisions and disseminating important information regarding various aspects of ocean science.

A new vision of the post-NIST civil infrastructure program: the challenges of next-generation construction materials and processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, H. Felix; Wan, Yan

2014-03-01

Our nation's infrastructural systems are crumbling. The deteriorating process grows over time. The physical aging of these vital facilities and the remediation of their current critical state pose a key societal challenge to the United States. Current sensing technologies, while well developed in controlled laboratory environments, have not yet yielded tools for producing real-time, in-situ data that are adequately comprehensible for infrastructure decision-makers. The need for advanced sensing technologies is national because every municipality and state in the nation faces infrastructure management challenges. The need is critical because portions of infrastructure are reaching the end of their life-spans and there are few cost-effective means to monitor infrastructure integrity and to prioritize the renovation and replacement of infrastructure elements. New advanced sensing technologies that produce cost-effective inspection and real-time monitoring data, and that can also help or aid in meaningful interpretation of the acquired data, therefore will enhance the safety in regard to the public on structural integrity by issuing timely and accurate alert data for effective maintenance to avoid disasters happening. New advanced sensing technologies also allow more informed management of infrastructural investments by avoiding premature replacement of infrastructure and identifying those structures in need of immediate action to prevent from catastrophic failure. Infrastructure management requires that once a structural defect is detected, an economical and efficient repair be made. Advancing the technologies of repairing infrastructure elements in contact with water, road salt, and subjected to thermal changes requires innovative research to significantly extend the service life of repairs, lower the costs of repairs, and provide repair technologies that are suitable for a wide range of conditions. All these new technologies will provide increased lifetimes, security, and safety of elements of critical infrastructure for the Nation's already deteriorating civil infrastructure. It is envisioned that the Nation should look far beyond: not only should we efficiently and effectively address current problems of the aging infrastructure, but we must also further develop next-generation construction materials and processes for new construction. To accomplish this ambitious goal, we must include process efficiency that will help select the most reliable and cost-effective materials in construction processes; performance and cost will be the prime consideration for selections construction materials based on life-cycle cost and materials performance; energy efficiency will drive reduced energy consumption from current levels by 50 % per unit of output; and environmental responsiveness will achieve net-zero waste from construction materials and its constituents. Should it be successfully implemented, we will transform the current 21st century infrastructure systems to enable the vital functioning of society and improve competitiveness of the economy to ensure that our quality of life remains high.

Services and the National Information Infrastructure. Report of the Information Infrastructure Task Force Committee on Applications and Technology, Technology Policy Working Group. Draft for Public Comment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Science and Technology Policy, Washington, DC.

In this report, the National Information Infrastructure (NII) services issue is addressed, and activities to advance the development of NII services are recommended. The NII is envisioned to grow into a seamless web of communications networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics that will put vast amounts of information at users'…

77 FR 19300 - National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-30

... Homeland Security with advice on the security of the critical infrastructure sectors and their information systems. The NIAC will meet to address issues relevant to the protection of critical infrastructure as... Group regarding the scope of the next phase of the Working Group's critical infrastructure resilience...

The Emerging Phenomenon of Knowledge Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broadbent, Marianne

1997-01-01

Clarifies the meaning of knowledge management and gives examples of organizations that overtly practice it. Outlines four steps in knowledge management: (1) making knowledge visible; (2) building knowledge intensity; (3) building knowledge infrastructure; and (4) developing a knowledge culture. Discusses managing people as assets, librarians as…

International Workshop on Educational Infrastructure: Conclusions (Summary of Proceedings, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, February 24-27, 2002).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France). Programme on Educational Building.

This document summarizes themes developed and conclusions from the International Workshop on Educational Infrastructure. The opening topic was "Delivering Education and Training in the Knowledge Society." It was clear to participants that educational infrastructure must go hand-in-hand with reengineering processes to adjust to the needs…

National Geodata Policy Forum: present and emerging U.S. policies governing the development, evolution, and use of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure: summary report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Federal Geographic Data Committee, U.S. Geological Survey

1993-01-01

The first National Geo-Data Policy Forum was held on May 10-12, 1993, in Tyson's Corner, Virginia. The objective of the National Geo-Data Policy Forum was to examine policies related to the evolution and use of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). A second goal was to identify issues concerning spatial data technology and its use by all citizens. Policy makers from the public and private sectors offered ideas on the myriad issues and questions related to the NSDI and learned of concerns that their organizations must address. The links that connect the NSDI to the Clinton Administration's National Information Infrastructure were identified and discussed. The forum offered participants an opportunity to define the NSDI's role in carrying out technology policy.

3 CFR 8977 - Proclamation 8977 of May 10, 2013. National Defense Transportation Day and National...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... resilient to the challenges we face. We need to restore our roads, bridges, and ports—transportation...—it is about security. At a time when our cities face unprecedented threats and hazards, we must do... infrastructure. In recognition of the importance of our Nation's transportation infrastructure, and of the men...

Back to the future: sweatshop conditions on the Mexico-U.S. border. I. Community health impact of maquiladora industrial activity.

PubMed

Moure-Eraso, R; Wilcox, M; Punnett, L; Copeland, L; Levenstein, C

1994-03-01

Present working conditions in one of the most active areas of the maquiladora system along the Mexico-U.S. border are reminiscent of nineteenth-century U.S. sweatshops. This conclusion was reached after evaluating two separate but interrelated surveys among Mexican nationals living near the Mexico-U.S. border, one of community leaders (Paper I), and one of workers in maquiladora enterprises in the towns of Matamoros and Reynosa, Mexico (Paper II). Paper I evaluates the results of the community leaders' survey. Criteria for selection of the leaders were: level of responsibility in the community; knowledge of the industry in the region, and length of residence in the area (more than 3 years). Representatives from government, maquiladora industry management, labor union leadership, labor union activists, and community improvement activists were interviewed. Structured questionnaires with opportunities for open-ended answers were used by trained Spanish speaking interviewers. The questions covered community demographics, health care structures, governance of the region, knowledge of working conditions, and knowledge of environmental impact on the region and the community. Community leaders were ambivalent on the purported benefits of the development of these types of industries in their communities. A substantial majority (21 of 25) thought that the maquiladoras brought few positive developments, other than creating jobs. Serious concerns about overextending weak social infrastructures and about environmental deterioration were voiced. Immediate (preventive) measures appear necessary to develop community infrastructures and to protect environmental health.

A Drupal-Based Collaborative Framework for Science Workflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinheiro da Silva, P.; Gandara, A.

2010-12-01

Cyber-infrastructure is built from utilizing technical infrastructure to support organizational practices and social norms to provide support for scientific teams working together or dependent on each other to conduct scientific research. Such cyber-infrastructure enables the sharing of information and data so that scientists can leverage knowledge and expertise through automation. Scientific workflow systems have been used to build automated scientific systems used by scientists to conduct scientific research and, as a result, create artifacts in support of scientific discoveries. These complex systems are often developed by teams of scientists who are located in different places, e.g., scientists working in distinct buildings, and sometimes in different time zones, e.g., scientist working in distinct national laboratories. The sharing of these specifications is currently supported by the use of version control systems such as CVS or Subversion. Discussions about the design, improvement, and testing of these specifications, however, often happen elsewhere, e.g., through the exchange of email messages and IM chatting. Carrying on a discussion about these specifications is challenging because comments and specifications are not necessarily connected. For instance, the person reading a comment about a given workflow specification may not be able to see the workflow and even if the person can see the workflow, the person may not specifically know to which part of the workflow a given comments applies to. In this paper, we discuss the design, implementation and use of CI-Server, a Drupal-based infrastructure, to support the collaboration of both local and distributed teams of scientists using scientific workflows. CI-Server has three primary goals: to enable information sharing by providing tools that scientists can use within their scientific research to process data, publish and share artifacts; to build community by providing tools that support discussions between scientists about artifacts used or created through scientific processes; and to leverage the knowledge collected within the artifacts and scientific collaborations to support scientific discoveries.

The National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Microcomputers for Information Management, 1995

1995-01-01

Discusses the National Information Infrastructure and the role of the government. Topics include private sector investment; universal service; technological innovation; user orientation; information security and network reliability; management of the radio frequency spectrum; intellectual property rights; coordination with other levels of…

The Information Superhighway and the National Information Infrastructure (NII).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffith, Jane Bortnick; Smith, Marcia S.

1994-01-01

Discusses issues connected with the information superhighway and the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Topics addressed include principles for government action; economic benefits; regulations; applications; information policy; pending federal legislation; private sector/government relationship; open access and universal service; privacy…

Privacy and the National Information Infrastructure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rotenberg, Marc

1994-01-01

Explains the work of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility regarding privacy issues in the use of electronic networks; recommends principles that should be adopted for a National Information Infrastructure privacy code; discusses the need for public education; and suggests pertinent legislative proposals. (LRW)

Management advisory memorandum on National Airspace System infrastructure management system prototype, Federal Aviation Administration

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-03-01

This is our Management Advisory Memorandum on the National Airspace : System (NAS) Infrastructure Management System (NIMS) prototype : project in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Our review was : initiated in response to a hotline complaint...

Uganda's National Transmission Backbone Infrastructure Project: Technical Challenges and the Way Forward

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulega, T.; Kyeyune, A.; Onek, P.; Sseguya, R.; Mbabazi, D.; Katwiremu, E.

2011-10-01

Several publications have identified technical challenges facing Uganda's National Transmission Backbone Infrastructure project. This research addresses the technical limitations of the National Transmission Backbone Infrastructure project, evaluates the goals of the project, and compares the results against the technical capability of the backbone. The findings of the study indicate a bandwidth deficit, which will be addressed by using dense wave division multiplexing repeaters, leasing bandwidth from private companies. Microwave links for redundancy, a Network Operation Center for operation and maintenance, and deployment of wireless interoperability for microwave access as a last-mile solution are also suggested.

The National Biological Information Infrastructure: Coming of age

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cotter, G.; Frame, M.; Sepic, R.; Zolly, L.

2000-01-01

Coordinated by the US Geological Survey, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a Web-based system that provides increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. The NBII can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. This article - an individual case study and not a broad survey with extensive references to the literature - addresses the structure of the NBII related to thematic sections, infrastructure sections and place-based sections, and other topics such as the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (one of our more innovative tools) and the development of our controlled vocabulary.

Adequate & Equitable U.S. PK-12 Infrastructure: Priority Actions for Systemic Reform. A Report from the Planning for PK-12 School Infrastructure National Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filardo, Mary; Vincent, Jeffrey M.

2017-01-01

To formulate a "systems-based" plan to address the PK-12 infrastructure crisis, in 2016, the 21st Century School Fund (21CSF) and the University of California-Berkeley's Center for Cities + Schools (CC+S), in partnership with the National Council on School Facilities and the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council,…

Development and Implementation of Collaborative e-Infrastructures and Data Management for Global Change Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, M. Lee; Davis, Rowena

2016-04-01

An e-infrastructure that supports data-intensive, multidisciplinary research is needed to accelerate the pace of science to address 21st century global change challenges. Data discovery, access, sharing and interoperability collectively form core elements of an emerging shared vision of e-infrastructure for scientific discovery. The pace and breadth of change in information management across the data lifecycle means that no one country or institution can unilaterally provide the leadership and resources required to use data and information effectively, or needed to support a coordinated, global e-infrastructure. An 18-month long process involving ~120 experts in domain, computer, and social sciences from more than a dozen countries resulted in a formal set of recommendations that were adopted in fall, 2015 by the Belmont Forum collaboration of national science funding agencies and international bodies on what they are best suited to implement for development of an e-infrastructure in support of global change research, including: • adoption of data principles that promote a global, interoperable e-infrastructure, that can be enforced • establishment of information and data officers for coordination of global data management and e-infrastructure efforts • promotion of effective data planning and stewardship • determination of international and community best practices for adoption • development of a cross-disciplinary training curriculum on data management and curation The implementation plan is being executed under four internationally-coordinated Action Themes towards a globally organized, internationally relevant e-infrastructure and data management capability drawn from existing components, protocols, and standards. The Belmont Forum anticipates opportunities to fund additional projects to fill key gaps and to integrate best practices into an e-infrastructure to support their programs but that can also be scaled up and deployed more widely. Background The Belmont Forum is a global consortium established in 2009 to build on the work of the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research toward furthering collaborative efforts to deliver knowledge needed for action to avoid and adapt to detrimental environmental change, including extreme hazardous events.

Soak Up the Rain New England Webinar Series: National ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Presenters will provide an introduction to the most recent EPA green infrastructure tools to R1 stakeholders; and their use in making decisions about implementing green infrastructure. We will discuss structuring your green infrastructure decision, finding appropriate information and tools, evaluating options and selecting the right Best Management Practices mix for your needs.WMOST (Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool)- for screening a wide range of practices for cost-effectiveness in achieving watershed or water utilities management goals.GIWiz (Green Infrastructure Wizard)- a web application connecting communities to EPA Green Infrastructure tools and resources.Opti-Tool-designed to assist in developing technically sound and optimized cost-effective Stormwater management plans. National Stormwater Calculator- a desktop application for estimating the impact of land cover change and green infrastructure controls on stormwater runoff. DASEES-GI (Decision Analysis for a Sustainable Environment, Economy, and Society) – a framework for linking objectives and measures with green infrastructure methods. Presenters will provide an introduction to the most recent EPA green infrastructure tools to R1 stakeholders; and their use in making decisions about implementing green infrastructure. We will discuss structuring your green infrastructure decision, finding appropriate information and tools, evaluating options and selecting the right Best Management Pr

Connectivity and Resilience: A Multidimensional Analysis of Infrastructure Impacts in the Southwestern Amazon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perz, Stephen G.; Shenkin, Alexander; Barnes, Grenville; Cabrera, Liliana; Carvalho, Lucas A.; Castillo, Jorge

2012-01-01

Infrastructure is a worldwide policy priority for national development via regional integration into the global economy. However, economic, ecological and social research draws contrasting conclusions about the consequences of infrastructure. We present a synthetic approach to the study of infrastructure, focusing on a multidimensional treatment…

3 CFR 13636 - Executive Order 13636 of February 12, 2013. Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. Repeated cyber intrusions into critical infrastructure demonstrate the need for improved cybersecurity. The cyber threat to critical infrastructure continues to grow... resilience of the Nation's critical infrastructure and to maintain a cyber environment that encourages...

Cultured Construction: Global Evidence of the Impact of National Values on Piped-to-Premises Water Infrastructure Development.

PubMed

Kaminsky, Jessica A

2016-07-19

In 2016, the global community undertook the Sustainable Development Goals. One of these goals seeks to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all people by the year 2030. In support of this undertaking, this paper seeks to discover the cultural work done by piped water infrastructure across 33 nations with developed and developing economies that have experienced change in the percentage of population served by piped-to-premises water infrastructure at the national level of analysis. To do so, I regressed the 1990-2012 change in piped-to-premises water infrastructure coverage against Hofstede's cultural dimensions, controlling for per capita GDP, the 1990 baseline level of coverage, percent urban population, overall 1990-2012 change in improved sanitation (all technologies), and per capita freshwater resources. Separate analyses were carried out for the urban, rural, and aggregate national contexts. Hofstede's dimensions provide a measure of cross-cultural difference; high or low scores are not in any way intended to represent better or worse but rather serve as a quantitative way to compare aggregate preferences for ways of being and doing. High scores in the cultural dimensions of Power Distance, Individualism-Collectivism, and Uncertainty Avoidance explain increased access to piped-to-premises water infrastructure in the rural context. Higher Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance scores are also statistically significant for increased coverage in the urban and national aggregate contexts. These results indicate that, as presently conceived, piped-to-premises water infrastructure fits best with spatial contexts that prefer hierarchy and centralized control. Furthermore, water infrastructure is understood to reduce uncertainty regarding the provision of individually valued benefits. The results of this analysis identify global trends that enable engineers and policy makers to design and manage more culturally appropriate and socially sustainable water infrastructure by better fitting technologies to user preferences.

A case analysis of INFOMED: the Cuban national health care telecommunications network and portal.

PubMed

Séror, Ann C

2006-01-27

The Internet and telecommunications technologies contribute to national health care system infrastructures and extend global health care services markets. The Cuban national health care system offers a model to show how a national information portal can contribute to system integration, including research, education, and service delivery as well as international trade in products and services. The objectives of this paper are (1) to present the context of the Cuban national health care system since the revolution in 1959, (2) to identify virtual institutional infrastructures of the system associated with the Cuban National Health Care Telecommunications Network and Portal (INFOMED), and (3) to show how they contribute to Cuban trade in international health care service markets. Qualitative case research methods were used to identify the integrated virtual infrastructure of INFOMED and to show how it reflects socialist ideology. Virtual institutional infrastructures include electronic medical and information services and the structure of national networks linking such services. Analysis of INFOMED infrastructures shows integration of health care information, research, and education as well as the interface between Cuban national information networks and the global Internet. System control mechanisms include horizontal integration and coordination through virtual institutions linked through INFOMED, and vertical control through the Ministry of Public Health and the government hierarchy. Telecommunications technology serves as a foundation for a dual market structure differentiating domestic services from international trade. INFOMED is a model of interest for integrating health care information, research, education, and services. The virtual infrastructures linked through INFOMED support the diffusion of Cuban health care products and services in global markets. Transferability of this model is contingent upon ideology and interpretation of values such as individual intellectual property and confidentiality of individual health information. Future research should focus on examination of these issues and their consequences for global markets in health care.

A Case Analysis of INFOMED: The Cuban National Health Care Telecommunications Network and Portal

PubMed Central

2006-01-01

Background The Internet and telecommunications technologies contribute to national health care system infrastructures and extend global health care services markets. The Cuban national health care system offers a model to show how a national information portal can contribute to system integration, including research, education, and service delivery as well as international trade in products and services. Objective The objectives of this paper are (1) to present the context of the Cuban national health care system since the revolution in 1959, (2) to identify virtual institutional infrastructures of the system associated with the Cuban National Health Care Telecommunications Network and Portal (INFOMED), and (3) to show how they contribute to Cuban trade in international health care service markets. Methods Qualitative case research methods were used to identify the integrated virtual infrastructure of INFOMED and to show how it reflects socialist ideology. Virtual institutional infrastructures include electronic medical and information services and the structure of national networks linking such services. Results Analysis of INFOMED infrastructures shows integration of health care information, research, and education as well as the interface between Cuban national information networks and the global Internet. System control mechanisms include horizontal integration and coordination through virtual institutions linked through INFOMED, and vertical control through the Ministry of Public Health and the government hierarchy. Telecommunications technology serves as a foundation for a dual market structure differentiating domestic services from international trade. Conclusions INFOMED is a model of interest for integrating health care information, research, education, and services. The virtual infrastructures linked through INFOMED support the diffusion of Cuban health care products and services in global markets. Transferability of this model is contingent upon ideology and interpretation of values such as individual intellectual property and confidentiality of individual health information. Future research should focus on examination of these issues and their consequences for global markets in health care. PMID:16585025

Alternative Transportation Systems Vehicles and Supporting Infrastructure Guide : Plan Implementation Considerations for National Park Managers.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-01-09

This manual is a guide to the basic concepts involved and issues to be addressed in acquiring and maintaining vehicles, supporting infrastructure, and personnel needed for alternative transportation systems to serve visitors to national parks, recrea...

Working paper : national costs of the metropolitan ITS infrastructure : updated with 2005 deployment data

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-07-01

The purpose of this report, "Working Paper National Costs of the Metropolitan ITS Infrastructure: Updated with 2005 Deployment Data," is to update the estimates of the costs remaining to fully deploy Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) infrastru...

75 FR 55616 - NASA Advisory Council; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-13

... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION [Notice: (10-110)] NASA Advisory Council...-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announce a meeting for the Information Technology Infrastructure Committee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). DATES: Tuesday, September...

75 FR 68370 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Office of Infrastructure Protection; Chemical Security...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-05

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY National Protection and Programs Directorate [Docket No. DHS-2010-0071] Agency Information Collection Activities: Office of Infrastructure Protection; Chemical Security...: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), Office...

Regional and National Use of Semi‐Natural and Natural Depressional Wetlands in Green Infrastructure

EPA Science Inventory

Regional and National Use of Semi‐Natural and Natural Depressional Wetlands in Green Infrastructure Charles Lane, US Environmental Protection Agency, Ellen D’Amico, Pegasus Technical ServicesDepressional wetlands are frequently amongst the first aquatic systems to be ...

Surface transportation : clear federal role and criteria-based selection process could improve three national and regional infrastructure programs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-02-01

To help meet increasing transportation demands, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) created three programs to invest federal funds in national and regional transportation infrastructur...

Report from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Workshop on Drug Allergy

PubMed Central

Wheatley, Lisa M; Plaut, Marshall; Schwaninger, Julie M; Banerji, Aleena; Castells, Mariana; Finkelman, Fred D.; Gleich, Gerald J.; Guttman-Yassky, Emma; Mallal, Simon A.K.; Naisbitt, Dean J.; Ostrov, David A.; Phillips, Elizabeth J.; Pichler, Werner J.; Platts-Mills, Thomas A. E.; Roujeau, Jean-Claude; Schwartz, Lawrence B.; Trepanier, Lauren A.

2015-01-01

Allergic reactions to drugs are a serious public health concern. In 2013, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, sponsored a workshop on drug allergy. International experts in the field of drug allergy with backgrounds in allergy, immunology, infectious diseases, dermatology, clinical pharmacology and pharmacogenomics discussed the current state of drug allergy research. These experts were joined by representatives from several NIH Institutes and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The participants identified important advances that make new research directions feasible and made suggestions for research priorities and for development of infrastructure to advance our knowledge of the mechanisms, diagnosis, management, and prevention of drug allergy. The workshop summary and recommendations are presented herein. PMID:26254053

A Governance Roadmap and Framework for EarthCube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Governance Steering Committee, EarthCube

2013-04-01

EarthCube is a process and an outcome, established to transform the conduct of research through the development of community-guided cyberinfrastructure for the Geosciences as the prototype for potential deployment across all domain sciences. EarthCube aims to create a knowledge management system and infrastructure that integrates all Earth system and human dimensions data in an open transparent, and inclusive manner. EarthCube requires broad community participation in concept, framework, and implementation and must not be hindered by rigid preconceptions. We discovered widely varying interpretations, expectations, and assumptions about governance among EarthCube participants. Our definition of governance refers to the processes, structure and organizational elements that determine, within an organization or system of organizations, how power is exercised, how stakeholders have their say, how decisions are made, and how decision makers are held accountable. We have learned, from historic infrastructure case studies, background research on governance and from community feedback during this roadmap process, that other types of large-scale, complex infrastructures, including the Internet, have no central control, administration, or management. No national infrastructure that we examined is governed by a single entity, let alone a single governance archetype. Thus we feel the roadmap process must accommodate a governance system or system of systems that may have a single governing entity, particularly at the start, but can evolve into a collective of governing bodies as warranted, in order to be successful. A fast-track process during Spring, 2012 culminated in a Governance Roadmap delivered to an NSF-sponsored charrette in June with an aggressive timetable to define and implement a governance structure to enable the elements of EarthCube to become operational expeditiously. Our goal is to help ensure the realization of this infrastructure sooner, more efficiently, and more effectively, by providing a community endorsed Governance Framework, released in September of 2012. The Framework, and corresponding community outreach, maximizes engagement of the broader EarthCube community, which in turn minimizes the risks that the community will not adopt EarthCube in its development and final states. The target stakeholder community includes academia, government, and the private-sector, both nationally and internationally. http://earthcube.ning.com/group/governance

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

Adams, C.; Arsenlis, T.; Bailey, A.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Campus Capability Plan for 2018-2028. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is one of three national laboratories that are part of the National Nuclear Security Administration. LLNL provides critical expertise to strengthen U.S. security through development and application of world-class science and technology that: Ensures the safety, reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile; Promotes international nuclear safety and nonproliferation; Reduces global danger from weapons of mass destruction; Supports U.S. leadership in science and technology. Essential to the execution and continued advancement of these mission areas are responsive infrastructure capabilities. This report showcases each LLNLmore » capability area and describes the mission, science, and technology efforts enabled by LLNL infrastructure, as well as future infrastructure plans.« less

78 FR 49409 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Infrastructure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-14

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY: Environmental Protection... national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) are promulgated, the CAA requires states to submit a plan...

Toolkit of Available EPA Green Infrastructure Modeling ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This webinar will present a toolkit consisting of five EPA green infrastructure models and tools, along with communication material. This toolkit can be used as a teaching and quick reference resource for use by planners and developers when making green infrastructure implementation decisions. It can also be used for low impact development design competitions. Models and tools included: Green Infrastructure Wizard (GIWiz), Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool (WMOST), Visualizing Ecosystem Land Management Assessments (VELMA) Model, Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), and the National Stormwater Calculator (SWC). This webinar will present a toolkit consisting of five EPA green infrastructure models and tools, along with communication material. This toolkit can be used as a teaching and quick reference resource for use by planners and developers when making green infrastructure implementation decisions. It can also be used for low impact development design competitions. Models and tools included: Green Infrastructure Wizard (GIWiz), Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool (WMOST), Visualizing Ecosystem Land Management Assessments (VELMA) Model, Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), and the National Stormwater Calculator (SWC).

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

Klise, Katherine A.; Hart, David; Moriarty, Dylan Michael

Drinking water systems face multiple challenges, including aging infrastructure, water quality concerns, uncertainty in supply and demand, natural disasters, environmental emergencies, and cyber and terrorist attacks. All of these have the potential to disrupt a large portion of a water system causing damage to infrastructure and outages to customers. Increasing resilience to these types of hazards is essential to improving water security. As one of the United States (US) sixteen critical infrastructure sectors, drinking water is a national priority. The National Infrastructure Advisory Council defined infrastructure resilience as “the ability to reduce the magnitude and/or duration of disruptive events. Themore » effectiveness of a resilient infrastructure or enterprise depends upon its ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and/or rapidly recover from a potentially disruptive event”. Being able to predict how drinking water systems will perform during disruptive incidents and understanding how to best absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to such incidents can help enhance resilience.« less

Facilities and Infrastructure FY 2017 Budget At-A-Glance

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

None

2016-03-01

The Facilities and Infrastructure Program includes EERE’s capital investments, operations and maintenance, and site-wide support of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It is the nation’s only national laboratory with a primary mission dedicated to the research, development and demonstration (RD&D) of energy efficiency, renewable energy and related technologies. EERE is NREL’s steward, primary client and sponsor of NREL’s designation as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. The Facilities and Infrastructure (F&I) budget maintains NREL’s research and support infrastructure, ensures availability for EERE’s use, and provides a safe and secure workplace for employees.

Unreliable Sustainable Infrastructure: Three Transformations to Guide Cities towards Becoming Healthy 'Smart Cities'

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

Sperling, Joshua; Fisher, Stephen; Reiner, Mark B.

The term 'leapfrogging' has been applied to cities and nations that have adopted a new form of infrastructure by bypassing the traditional progression of development, e.g., from no phones to cell phones - bypassing landlines all together. However, leapfrogging from unreliable infrastructure systems to 'smart' cities is too large a jump resulting in unsustainable and unhealthy infrastructure systems. In the Global South, a baseline of unreliable infrastructure is a prevalent problem. The push for sustainable and 'smart' [re]development tends to ignore many of those already living with failing, unreliable infrastructure. Without awareness of baseline conditions, uninformed projects run the riskmore » of returning conditions to the status quo, keeping many urban populations below targets of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. A key part of understanding the baseline is to identify how citizens have long learned to adjust their expectations of basic services. To compensate for poor infrastructure, most residents in the Global South invest in remedial secondary infrastructure (RSI) at the household and business levels. The authors explore three key 'smart' city transformations that address RSI within a hierarchical planning pyramid known as the comprehensive resilient and reliable infrastructure systems (CRISP) planning framework.« less

Board on Research Data and Information

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

Sztein, A. Ester; Boright, John

2015-08-14

The Board on Research Data and Information (BRDI) has planned and undertaken numerous activities regarding data citation, attribution, management, policy, publishing, centers, access, curation, sharing, and infrastructure; and international collaboration and cooperation. Some of these activities resulted in National Research Council reports (For Attribution: Developing Data Attribution and Citation Practices and Standards (2012), The Case for International Scientific Data Sharing: A Focus on Developing Countries (2012), and The Future of Scientific Knowledge Discovery in Open Networked Environments (2012); and a peer-reviewed paper (Out of Cite, Out of Mind: The Current State of Practice, Policy, and Technology for the Citation ofmore » Data, 2013). BRDI held symposia, workshops and sessions in the U.S. and abroad on diverse topics such as global scientific data infrastructures, discovery of data online, privacy in a big data world, and data citation principles, among other timely data-related subjects. In addition, BRDI effects the representation of the United States before the International Council for Science’s International Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA).« less

U.S. National Cyberstrategy and Critical Infrastructure: The Protection Mandate and Its Execution

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

revising this thesis, and balancing the coordination needed for: (1) Piano; (2) Soccer /Baseball; (3) Cubmaster Cub Scout Pack-135; (4) Hospitality...disease and pest response; and provides nutritional assistance. Provides the financial infrastructure of the nation. This sector consists of commercial

75 FR 54915 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Sensory System...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-09

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Antitrust Division Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993--Sensory System for Critical Infrastructure Defect Recognition, Visualization and... Critical Infrastructure Defect Recognition, Visualization and Failure Prediction ('Sensory System'') has...

78 FR 65593 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; West Virginia; Infrastructure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-01

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; West Virginia; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY: Environmental Protection... revised national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) are promulgated, the CAA requires states to submit...

Building the National Information Infrastructure in K-12 Education: A Comprehensive Survey of Attitudes towards Linking Both Sides of the Desk. A Report of the Global Telecommunications Infrastructure Research Project. Research Report Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pereira, Francis; And Others

This survey was designed to elicit the perceptions of the members of the educational community on four issues concerning the NII (National Information Infrastructure), and to test whether these visions of the NII were shared by educators. The issues were: (1) the benefits of the NII to the education sector and specifically whether the NII will be…

Social responsibility and the academic medical center: building community-based systems for the nation's health.

PubMed

Foreman, S

1994-02-01

Academic medical centers have fulfilled several of their missions with immense success but have failed to fulfill others. They have responded only modestly to the needs of the nation's underserved rural and urban communities. The author calls on academic medical centers to take an aggressively active role in building the medical infrastructure now missing in these communities and outlines a multi-part agenda for institutional commitment. It includes developing community-based systems of primary care, outreach programs, and social supports; training professionals committed to serving isolated and poor communities; and performing research that will extend the knowledge base to include the health and social issues of the disadvantaged. (Examples are given of institutions that have pioneered these kinds of community-based activities.) To build the new infrastructure, financing must be secured (various sources are discussed), a community-based faculty must be developed, and each institution's leadership--the medical school dean, the hospital executive, and the department chairmen--must come together around a new agenda and support it materially and psychologically, making whatever changes are needed in the corporate culture. The author warns that if centers do not undertake this responsibility for the health of the underserved, a critical job will go undone, a huge opportunity will have been missed, and American society will be the poorer.

76 FR 4928 - National Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-27

... individuals with disabilities and other special needs, infrastructure protection, cyber security..., Emergency Response, Health Scientist, Standard Settings, Infrastructure Protection, Communications...

Knowledge-based decision support for Space Station assembly sequence planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1991-04-01

A complete Personal Analysis Assistant (PAA) for Space Station Freedom (SSF) assembly sequence planning consists of three software components: the system infrastructure, intra-flight value added, and inter-flight value added. The system infrastructure is the substrate on which software elements providing inter-flight and intra-flight value-added functionality are built. It provides the capability for building representations of assembly sequence plans and specification of constraints and analysis options. Intra-flight value-added provides functionality that will, given the manifest for each flight, define cargo elements, place them in the National Space Transportation System (NSTS) cargo bay, compute performance measure values, and identify violated constraints. Inter-flight value-added provides functionality that will, given major milestone dates and capability requirements, determine the number and dates of required flights and develop a manifest for each flight. The current project is Phase 1 of a projected two phase program and delivers the system infrastructure. Intra- and inter-flight value-added were to be developed in Phase 2, which has not been funded. Based on experience derived from hundreds of projects conducted over the past seven years, ISX developed an Intelligent Systems Engineering (ISE) methodology that combines the methods of systems engineering and knowledge engineering to meet the special systems development requirements posed by intelligent systems, systems that blend artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies with more conventional computing technologies. The ISE methodology defines a phased program process that begins with an application assessment designed to provide a preliminary determination of the relative technical risks and payoffs associated with a potential application, and then moves through requirements analysis, system design, and development.

Knowledge-based decision support for Space Station assembly sequence planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

A complete Personal Analysis Assistant (PAA) for Space Station Freedom (SSF) assembly sequence planning consists of three software components: the system infrastructure, intra-flight value added, and inter-flight value added. The system infrastructure is the substrate on which software elements providing inter-flight and intra-flight value-added functionality are built. It provides the capability for building representations of assembly sequence plans and specification of constraints and analysis options. Intra-flight value-added provides functionality that will, given the manifest for each flight, define cargo elements, place them in the National Space Transportation System (NSTS) cargo bay, compute performance measure values, and identify violated constraints. Inter-flight value-added provides functionality that will, given major milestone dates and capability requirements, determine the number and dates of required flights and develop a manifest for each flight. The current project is Phase 1 of a projected two phase program and delivers the system infrastructure. Intra- and inter-flight value-added were to be developed in Phase 2, which has not been funded. Based on experience derived from hundreds of projects conducted over the past seven years, ISX developed an Intelligent Systems Engineering (ISE) methodology that combines the methods of systems engineering and knowledge engineering to meet the special systems development requirements posed by intelligent systems, systems that blend artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies with more conventional computing technologies. The ISE methodology defines a phased program process that begins with an application assessment designed to provide a preliminary determination of the relative technical risks and payoffs associated with a potential application, and then moves through requirements analysis, system design, and development.

Natural Assurance Scheme: A level playing field framework for Green-Grey infrastructure development.

PubMed

Denjean, Benjamin; Altamirano, Mónica A; Graveline, Nina; Giordano, Raffaele; van der Keur, Peter; Moncoulon, David; Weinberg, Josh; Máñez Costa, María; Kozinc, Zdravko; Mulligan, Mark; Pengal, Polona; Matthews, John; van Cauwenbergh, Nora; López Gunn, Elena; Bresch, David N

2017-11-01

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to systematize the use of Nature-based solutions (NBS) by integrating their resilience potential into Natural Assurance Scheme (NAS), focusing on insurance value as corner stone for both awareness-raising and valuation. As such one of its core goal is to align research and pilot projects with infrastructure development constraints and priorities. Under NAS, the integrated contribution of natural infrastructure to Disaster Risk Reduction is valued in the context of an identified growing need for climate robust infrastructure. The potential of NAS benefits and trade-off are explored by through the alternative lens of Disaster Resilience Enhancement (DRE). Such a system requires a joint effort of specific knowledge transfer from research groups and stakeholders to potential future NAS developers and investors. We therefore match the knowledge gaps with operational stages of the development of NAS from a project designer perspective. We start by highlighting the key role of the insurance industry in incentivizing and assessing disaster and slow onset resilience enhancement strategies. In parallel we place the public sector as potential kick-starters in DRE initiatives through the existing initiatives and constraints of infrastructure procurement. Under this perspective the paper explores the required alignment of Integrated Water resources planning and Public investment systems. Ultimately this will provide the possibility for both planners and investors to design no regret NBS and mixed Grey-Green infrastructures systems. As resources and constraints are widely different between infrastructure development contexts, the framework does not provide explicit methodological choices but presents current limits of knowledge and know-how. In conclusion the paper underlines the potential of NAS to ease the infrastructure gap in water globally by stressing the advantages of investment in the protection, enhancement and restoration of natural capital as an effective climate change adaptation investment. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Fast Risk Assessment Software For Natural Hazard Phenomena Using Georeference Population And Infrastructure Data Bases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marrero, J. M.; Pastor Paz, J. E.; Erazo, C.; Marrero, M.; Aguilar, J.; Yepes, H. A.; Estrella, C. M.; Mothes, P. A.

2015-12-01

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) requires an integrated multi-hazard assessment approach towards natural hazard mitigation. In the case of volcanic risk, long term hazard maps are generally developed on a basis of the most probable scenarios (likelihood of occurrence) or worst cases. However, in the short-term, expected scenarios may vary substantially depending on the monitoring data or new knowledge. In this context, the time required to obtain and process data is critical for optimum decision making. Availability of up-to-date volcanic scenarios is as crucial as it is to have this data accompanied by efficient estimations of their impact among populations and infrastructure. To address this impact estimation during volcanic crises, or other natural hazards, a web interface has been developed to execute an ANSI C application. This application allows one to compute - in a matter of seconds - the demographic and infrastructure impact that any natural hazard may cause employing an overlay-layer approach. The web interface is tailored to users involved in the volcanic crises management of Cotopaxi volcano (Ecuador). The population data base and the cartographic basis used are of public domain, published by the National Office of Statistics of Ecuador (INEC, by its Spanish acronym). To run the application and obtain results the user is expected to upload a raster file containing information related to the volcanic hazard or any other natural hazard, and determine categories to group population or infrastructure potentially affected. The results are displayed in a user-friendly report.

Examining Willingness to Attack Critical Infrastructure Online and Offline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holt, Thomas J.; Kilger, Max

2012-01-01

The continuing adoption of technologies by the general public coupled with the expanding reliance of critical infrastructures connected through the Internet has created unique opportunities for attacks by civilians and nation-states alike. Although governments are increasingly focusing on policies to deter nation-state level attacks, it is unclear…

78 FR 40487 - National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-05

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2013-0033] National Infrastructure Advisory... (NIAC) will meet Monday, July 29, 2013, at the United States Access Board, 1331 F Street NW., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004. The meeting will be open to the public. DATES: The NIAC will meet Monday, July 29, 2013...

78 FR 73565 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Vehicle...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-06

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Antitrust Division Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993--Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium Notice is hereby given that, on October..., 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (``the Act''), Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium (``VIIC'') has...

75 FR 80536 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993 Vehicle...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-22

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Antitrust Division Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993 Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium Notice is hereby given that, on November..., 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (``the Act''), the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium (``VIIC...

78 FR 22297 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Vehicle...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-15

... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Antitrust Division Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993--Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium Notice is hereby given that, on March..., 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (``the Act''), Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium (``VIIC'') has...

Map of Water Infrastructure and Homes Without Access to Safe Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation on the Navajo Nation - October 2010

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document presents the results of completed work using existing geographic information system (GIS) data to map existing water and sewer infrastructure and homes without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation on the Navajo Nation.

Integrating biodiversity distribution knowledge: toward a global map of life.

PubMed

Jetz, Walter; McPherson, Jana M; Guralnick, Robert P

2012-03-01

Global knowledge about the spatial distribution of species is orders of magnitude coarser in resolution than other geographically-structured environmental datasets such as topography or land cover. Yet such knowledge is crucial in deciphering ecological and evolutionary processes and in managing global change. In this review, we propose a conceptual and cyber-infrastructure framework for refining species distributional knowledge that is novel in its ability to mobilize and integrate diverse types of data such that their collective strengths overcome individual weaknesses. The ultimate aim is a public, online, quality-vetted 'Map of Life' that for every species integrates and visualizes available distributional knowledge, while also facilitating user feedback and dynamic biodiversity analyses. First milestones toward such an infrastructure have now been implemented. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential Market for Satellite Technology in Meeting Telecommunication Needs of Developing Nations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

A recent study examined the potential for satellite technology to meet the telecommunication needs of developing nations. The growth of these nations depends on their attracting and holding the industrial investments of developed nations. This will not be likely with the antiquated telecommunications infrastructure typical of developing nations. On the contrary, it will require an infrastructure that is compatible with international standards. Most of the developing nations perceive this necessity and are pursuing the necessary upgrades. The rate of replacement, types of technology, services affected, and the terrestrial/satellite mix differ by each nation's priorities and gross national product (GNP).

National innovation policy and public science in Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Lyn

2017-12-01

In this paper, I have positioned myself with Kean Birch and explored some of the political-economic actors/actants of policy suites implicated in the biotechnologies and bioeconomy. In particular, I have considered Australia's recent National Innovation and Science Agenda and allied documents and entities (that is, Innovation and Science Australia, the National Science Statement and the 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap) as one of the National Innovation Strategies in place now in OECD countries and beyond. In overview, these policy suites utilise the same high knowledge creation/low translation and commericalisation arguments as elsewhere to press for particular ideologically based `improvements' to public science. Mapping the terrain of these entities has revealed the innovation, biotechnology and bioeconomy policy space to be inordinately complex and challenging to navigate. Reviewing Australia's position enables the type of comparative work that contributes to a closer understanding of the largely neoliberal global economic imperatives shaping contemporaneity. Moreover, while these policy suites attempt to constitute and circulate particular visions of science education, their complex nature mitigates against science teachers/educators grappling with their implications.

Soak Up the Rain New England Webinar Series: National Stormwater Calculator

EPA Science Inventory

Presenters will provide an introduction to the most recent EPA green infrastructure tools to R1 stakeholders; and their use in making decisions about implementing green infrastructure. We will discuss structuring your green infrastructure decision, finding appropriate information...

75 FR 31458 - Infrastructure Protection Data Call Survey

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-03

...-0022] Infrastructure Protection Data Call Survey AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate... New Information Collection Request, Infrastructure Protection Data Call Survey. DHS previously... territories are able to achieve this mission, IP requests opinions and information in a survey from IP Data...

78 FR 42553 - NASA Advisory Council; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-16

...; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration... Information Technology Infrastructure Committee (ITIC) of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). This Committee..., DC 20546. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Deborah Diaz, ITIC Executive Secretariat, NASA...

78 FR 72718 - NASA Advisory Council; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-03

...; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration... Information Technology Infrastructure Committee (ITIC) of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC). DATES: Tuesday... Chief Information Officer Space Launch System Kennedy Space Center Operations and Technology Issues...

Utilizing Semantic Big Data for realizing a National-scale Infrastructure Vulnerability Analysis System

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

Chinthavali, Supriya; Shankar, Mallikarjun

Critical Infrastructure systems(CIs) such as energy, water, transportation and communication are highly interconnected and mutually dependent in complex ways. Robust modeling of CIs interconnections is crucial to identify vulnerabilities in the CIs. We present here a national-scale Infrastructure Vulnerability Analysis System (IVAS) vision leveraging Se- mantic Big Data (SBD) tools, Big Data, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) tools. We survey existing ap- proaches on vulnerability analysis of critical infrastructures and discuss relevant systems and tools aligned with our vi- sion. Next, we present a generic system architecture and discuss challenges including: (1) Constructing and manag- ing a CI network-of-networks graph,more » (2) Performing analytic operations at scale, and (3) Interactive visualization of ana- lytic output to generate meaningful insights. We argue that this architecture acts as a baseline to realize a national-scale network based vulnerability analysis system.« less

How a Training Program Is Transforming the Role of Traditional Birth Attendants from Cultural Practitioners to Unique Health-care Providers: A Community Case Study in Rural Guatemala.

PubMed

Hernandez, Sasha; Oliveira, Jessica Bastos; Shirazian, Taraneh

2017-01-01

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the rates of maternal mortality continue to be inappropriately high, there has been recognition of the importance of training traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to help improve outcomes during pregnancy and childbirth. In Guatemala, there is no national comprehensive training program in place despite the fact that the majority of women rely on TBAs during pregnancy and childbirth. This community case study presents a unique education program led by TBAs for TBAs in rural Guatemala. Discussion of this training program focuses on programming implementation, curriculum development, sustainable methodology, and how an educational partnership with the current national health-care system can increase access to health care for women in LMICs. Recent modifications to this training model are also discussed including how a change in the clinical curriculum is further integrating TBAs into the national health infrastructure. The training program has demonstrated that Guatemalan TBAs are able to improve their basic obstetrical knowledge, are capable of identifying and referring early complications of pregnancy and labor, and can deliver basic prenatal care that would otherwise not be provided. This training model is helping transform the role of the TBA from a sole cultural practitioner to a validated health-care provider within the health-care infrastructure of Guatemala and has the potential to do the same in other LMICs.

Biobanks in Oral Health: Promises and Implications of Post-Neoliberal Science and Innovation

PubMed Central

Dove, Edward S.; Chiappetta, Margaret; Gürsoy, Ulvi K.

2016-01-01

Abstract While biobanks are established explicitly as scientific infrastructures, they are de facto political-economic ones too. Many biobanks, particularly population-based biobanks, are framed under the rubric of the bio-economy as national political-economic assets that benefit domestic business, while national populations are framed as a natural resource whose genomics, proteomics, and related biological material and national health data can be exploited. We outline how many biobanks epitomize this ‘neoliberal’ form of science and innovation in which research is driven by market priorities (e.g., profit, shareholder value) underpinned by state or government policies. As both scientific and political-economic infrastructures, biobanks end up entangled in an array of problems associated with market-driven science and innovation. These include: profit trumping other considerations; rentiership trumping entrepreneurship; and applied research trumping basic research. As a result, there has been a push behind new forms of ‘post-neoliberal’ science and innovation strategies based on principles of openness and collaboration, especially in relation to biobanks. The proliferation of biobanks and the putative transition in both scientific practice and political economy from neoliberalism to post-neoliberalism demands fresh social scientific analyses, particularly as biobanks become further established in fields such as oral health and personalized dentistry. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analysis of biobanks with a view to what we can anticipate from biobanks and distributed post-genomics global science in the current era of oral health biomarkers. PMID:26584410

Biobanks in Oral Health: Promises and Implications of Post-Neoliberal Science and Innovation.

PubMed

Birch, Kean; Dove, Edward S; Chiappetta, Margaret; Gürsoy, Ulvi K

2016-01-01

While biobanks are established explicitly as scientific infrastructures, they are de facto political-economic ones too. Many biobanks, particularly population-based biobanks, are framed under the rubric of the bio-economy as national political-economic assets that benefit domestic business, while national populations are framed as a natural resource whose genomics, proteomics, and related biological material and national health data can be exploited. We outline how many biobanks epitomize this 'neoliberal' form of science and innovation in which research is driven by market priorities (e.g., profit, shareholder value) underpinned by state or government policies. As both scientific and political-economic infrastructures, biobanks end up entangled in an array of problems associated with market-driven science and innovation. These include: profit trumping other considerations; rentiership trumping entrepreneurship; and applied research trumping basic research. As a result, there has been a push behind new forms of 'post-neoliberal' science and innovation strategies based on principles of openness and collaboration, especially in relation to biobanks. The proliferation of biobanks and the putative transition in both scientific practice and political economy from neoliberalism to post-neoliberalism demands fresh social scientific analyses, particularly as biobanks become further established in fields such as oral health and personalized dentistry. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analysis of biobanks with a view to what we can anticipate from biobanks and distributed post-genomics global science in the current era of oral health biomarkers.

The EGI-Engage EPOS Competence Center - Interoperating heterogeneous AAI mechanisms and Orchestrating distributed computational resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailo, Daniele; Scardaci, Diego; Spinuso, Alessandro; Sterzel, Mariusz; Schwichtenberg, Horst; Gemuend, Andre

2016-04-01

The mission of EGI-Engage project [1] is to accelerate the implementation of the Open Science Commons vision, where researchers from all disciplines have easy and open access to the innovative digital services, data, knowledge and expertise they need for collaborative and excellent research. The Open Science Commons is grounded on three pillars: the e-Infrastructure Commons, an ecosystem of services that constitute the foundation layer of distributed infrastructures; the Open Data Commons, where observations, results and applications are increasingly available for scientific research and for anyone to use and reuse; and the Knowledge Commons, in which communities have shared ownership of knowledge, participate in the co-development of software and are technically supported to exploit state-of-the-art digital services. To develop the Knowledge Commons, EGI-Engage is supporting the work of a set of community-specific Competence Centres, with participants from user communities (scientific institutes), National Grid Initiatives (NGIs), technology and service providers. Competence Centres collect and analyse requirements, integrate community-specific applications into state-of-the-art services, foster interoperability across e-Infrastructures, and evolve services through a user-centric development model. One of these Competence Centres is focussed on the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) [2] as representative of the solid earth science communities. EPOS is a pan-European long-term plan to integrate data, software and services from the distributed (and already existing) Research Infrastructures all over Europe, in the domain of the solid earth science. EPOS will enable innovative multidisciplinary research for a better understanding of the Earth's physical and chemical processes that control earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, ground instability and tsunami as well as the processes driving tectonics and Earth's surface dynamics. EPOS will improve our ability to better manage the use of the subsurface of the Earth. EPOS started its Implementation Phase in October 2015 and is now actively working in order to integrate multidisciplinary data into a single e-infrastructure. Multidisciplinary data are organized and governed by the Thematic Core Services (TCS) - European wide organizations and e-Infrastructure providing community specific data and data products - and are driven by various scientific communities encompassing a wide spectrum of Earth science disciplines. TCS data, data products and services will be integrated into the Integrated Core Services (ICS) system, that will ensure their interoperability and access to these services by the scientific community as well as other users within the society. The EPOS competence center (EPOS CC) goal is to tackle two of the main challenges that the ICS are going to face in the near future, by taking advantage of the technical solutions provided by EGI. In order to do this, we will present the two pilot use cases the EGI-EPOS CC is developing: 1) The AAI pilot, dealing with the provision of transparent and homogeneous access to the ICS infrastructure to users owning different kind of credentials (e.g. eduGain, OpenID Connect, X509 certificates etc.). Here the focus is on the mechanisms which allow the credential delegation. 2) The computational pilot, Improve the back-end services of an existing application in the field of Computational Seismology, developed in the context of the EC funded project VERCE. The application allows the processing and the comparison of data resulting from the simulation of seismic wave propagation following a real earthquake and real measurements recorded by seismographs. While the simulation data is produced directly by the users and stored in a Data Management System, the observations need to be pre-staged from institutional data-services, which are maintained by the community itself. This use case aims at exploiting the EGI FedCloud e-infrastructure for Data Intensive analysis and also explores possible interaction with other Common Data Infrastructure initiatives as EUDAT. In the presentation, the state of the art of the two use cases, together with the open challenges and the future application will be discussed. Also, possible integration of EGI solutions with EPOS and other e-infrastructure providers will be considered. [1] EGI-ENGAGE https://www.egi.eu/about/egi-engage/ [2] EPOS http://www.epos-eu.org/

Geoinformatics: Transforming data to knowledge for geosciences

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sinha, A.K.; Malik, Z.; Rezgui, A.; Barnes, C.G.; Lin, K.; Heiken, G.; Thomas, W.A.; Gundersen, L.C.; Raskin, R.; Jackson, I.; Fox, P.; McGuinness, D.; Seber, D.; Zimmerman, H.

2010-01-01

An integrative view of Earth as a system, based on multidisciplinary data, has become one of the most compelling reasons for research and education in the geosciences. It is now necessary to establish a modern infrastructure that can support the transformation of data to knowledge. Such an information infrastructure for geosciences is contained within the emerging science of geoinformatics, which seeks to promote the utilizetion and integration of complex, multidisciplinary data in seeking solutions to geosciencebased societal challenges.

Role playing games: a methodology to acquire knowledge for integrated wastewater infrastructures management in a river basin scale.

PubMed

Prat, P; Aulinas, M; Turon, C; Comas, J; Poch, M

2009-01-01

Current management of sanitation infrastructures (sewer systems, wastewater treatment plant, receiving water, bypasses, deposits, etc) is not fulfilling the objectives of up to date legislation, to achieve a good ecological and chemical status of water bodies through integrated management. These made it necessary to develop new methodologies that help decision makers to improve the management in order to achieve that status. Decision Support Systems (DSS) based on Multi-Agent System (MAS) paradigm are promising tools to improve the integrated management. When all the different agents involved interact, new important knowledge emerges. This knowledge can be used to build better DSS and improve wastewater infrastructures management achieving the objectives planned by legislation. The paper describes a methodology to acquire this knowledge through a Role Playing Game (RPG). First of all there is an introduction about the wastewater problems, a definition of RPG, and the relation between RPG and MAS. Then it is explained how the RPG was built with two examples of game sessions and results. The paper finishes with a discussion about the uses of this methodology and future work.

3rd Annual Earth System Grid Federation and 3rd Annual Earth System Grid Federation and Ultrascale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools Face-to-Face Meeting Report December 2013

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

Williams, Dean N.

The climate and weather data science community gathered December 3–5, 2013, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in Livermore, California, for the third annual Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) and Ultra-scale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools (UV-CDAT) Face-to-Face (F2F) Meeting, which was hosted by the Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European Infrastructure for the European Network of Earth System Modelling, and the Australian Department of Education. Both ESGF and UV-CDAT are global collaborations designed to develop a new generation of open-source software infrastructure that provides distributed access and analysis to observed andmore » simulated data from the climate and weather communities. The tools and infrastructure developed under these international multi-agency collaborations are critical to understanding extreme weather conditions and long-term climate change, while the F2F meetings help to build a stronger climate and weather data science community and stronger federated software infrastructure. The 2013 F2F meeting determined requirements for existing and impending national and international community projects; enhancements needed for data distribution, analysis, and visualization infrastructure; and standards and resources needed for better collaborations.« less

The ELIXIR channel in F1000Research.

PubMed

Blomberg, Niklas; Oliveira, Arlindo; Mons, Barend; Persson, Bengt; Jonassen, Inge

2015-01-01

ELIXIR, the European life science infrastructure for biological information, is a unique initiative to consolidate Europe's national centres, services, and core bioinformatics resources into a single, coordinated infrastructure. ELIXIR brings together Europe's major life-science data archives and connects these with national bioinformatics infrastructures  - the ELIXIR Nodes. This editorial introduces the ELIXIR channel in F1000Research; the aim of the channel is to collect and present ELIXIR's scientific and operational output, engage with the broad life science community and encourage discussion on proposed infrastructure solutions. Submissions will be assessed by the ELIXIR channel Advisory Board to ensure they are relevant to ELIXIR community, and subjected to F1000Research open peer review process.

The ELIXIR channel in F1000Research

PubMed Central

Blomberg, Niklas; Oliveira, Arlindo; Mons, Barend; Persson, Bengt; Jonassen, Inge

2016-01-01

ELIXIR, the European life science infrastructure for biological information, is a unique initiative to consolidate Europe’s national centres, services, and core bioinformatics resources into a single, coordinated infrastructure. ELIXIR brings together Europe’s major life-science data archives and connects these with national bioinformatics infrastructures  - the ELIXIR Nodes. This editorial introduces the ELIXIR channel in F1000Research; the aim of the channel is to collect and present ELIXIR’s scientific and operational output, engage with the broad life science community and encourage discussion on proposed infrastructure solutions. Submissions will be assessed by the ELIXIR channel Advisory Board to ensure they are relevant to ELIXIR community, and subjected to F1000Research open peer review process. PMID:26913192

Scientific Grid activities and PKI deployment in the Cybermedia Center, Osaka University.

PubMed

Akiyama, Toyokazu; Teranishi, Yuuichi; Nozaki, Kazunori; Kato, Seiichi; Shimojo, Shinji; Peltier, Steven T; Lin, Abel; Molina, Tomas; Yang, George; Lee, David; Ellisman, Mark; Naito, Sei; Koike, Atsushi; Matsumoto, Shuichi; Yoshida, Kiyokazu; Mori, Hirotaro

2005-10-01

The Cybermedia Center (CMC), Osaka University, is a research institution that offers knowledge and technology resources obtained from advanced researches in the areas of large-scale computation, information and communication, multimedia content and education. Currently, CMC is involved in Japanese national Grid projects such as JGN II (Japan Gigabit Network), NAREGI and BioGrid. Not limited to Japan, CMC also actively takes part in international activities such as PRAGMA. In these projects and international collaborations, CMC has developed a Grid system that allows scientists to perform their analysis by remote-controlling the world's largest ultra-high voltage electron microscope located in Osaka University. In another undertaking, CMC has assumed a leadership role in BioGrid by sharing its experiences and knowledge on the system development for the area of biology. In this paper, we will give an overview of the BioGrid project and introduce the progress of the Telescience unit, which collaborates with the Telescience Project led by the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR). Furthermore, CMC collaborates with seven Computing Centers in Japan, NAREGI and National Institute of Informatics to deploy PKI base authentication infrastructure. The current status of this project and future collaboration with Grid Projects will be delineated in this paper.

76 FR 64386 - NASA Advisory Council; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-18

..., Executive Secretary for the Information Technology Infrastructure Committee, National Aeronautics and Space... they are attending the NASA Advisory Council, Information Technology Infrastructure Committee meeting in Building 34, Room W305. All U.S. citizens desiring to attend the Information Technology...

Establishing a Nation Wide Infrastructure for Systematic Use of Patient Reported Information.

PubMed

Jensen, Sanne; Lyng, Karen Marie

2018-01-01

In Denmark, we have set up a program to establish a nationwide infrastructure for Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) questionnaires. The effort is divided into an IT infrastructure part and a questionnaire development part. This paper describes how development and evaluation are closely knit together in the two tracks, as complexity is high in the PRO field and IT infrastructure, legal issues, various clinical workflows and the numerous stakeholders have to be taken into account concurrently. In the design process, we have thus used a participatory design approach to ensure a high level of active stakeholder involvement and capability of addressing all the relevant issues. In the next phases, we will apply the IT infrastructure in the planned full-scale evaluation of the questionnaires developed in the first phase, while we continue to develop new national questionnaires.

Overview of NASA communications infrastructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnold, Ray J.; Fuechsel, Charles

1991-01-01

The infrastructure of NASA communications systems for effecting coordination across NASA offices and with the national and international research and technological communities is discussed. The offices and networks of the communication system include the Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA), which manages all NASA missions, and the Office of Space Operations, which furnishes communication support through the NASCOM, the mission critical communications support network, and the Program Support Communications network. The NASA Science Internet was established by OSSA to centrally manage, develop, and operate an integrated computer network service dedicated to NASA's space science and application research. Planned for the future is the National Research and Education Network, which will provide communications infrastructure to enhance science resources at a national level.

Unlocking the Power of Big Data at the National Institutes of Health.

PubMed

Coakley, Meghan F; Leerkes, Maarten R; Barnett, Jason; Gabrielian, Andrei E; Noble, Karlynn; Weber, M Nick; Huyen, Yentram

2013-09-01

The era of "big data" presents immense opportunities for scientific discovery and technological progress, with the potential to have enormous impact on research and development in the public sector. In order to capitalize on these benefits, there are significant challenges to overcome in data analytics. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases held a symposium entitled "Data Science: Unlocking the Power of Big Data" to create a forum for big data experts to present and share some of the creative and innovative methods to gleaning valuable knowledge from an overwhelming flood of biological data. A significant investment in infrastructure and tool development, along with more and better-trained data scientists, may facilitate methods for assimilation of data and machine learning, to overcome obstacles such as data security, data cleaning, and data integration.

Unlocking the Power of Big Data at the National Institutes of Health

PubMed Central

Coakley, Meghan F.; Leerkes, Maarten R.; Barnett, Jason; Gabrielian, Andrei E.; Noble, Karlynn; Weber, M. Nick

2013-01-01

Abstract The era of “big data” presents immense opportunities for scientific discovery and technological progress, with the potential to have enormous impact on research and development in the public sector. In order to capitalize on these benefits, there are significant challenges to overcome in data analytics. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases held a symposium entitled “Data Science: Unlocking the Power of Big Data” to create a forum for big data experts to present and share some of the creative and innovative methods to gleaning valuable knowledge from an overwhelming flood of biological data. A significant investment in infrastructure and tool development, along with more and better-trained data scientists, may facilitate methods for assimilation of data and machine learning, to overcome obstacles such as data security, data cleaning, and data integration. PMID:27442200

A structured management approach to implementation of health promotion interventions in Head Start.

PubMed

Herman, Ariella; Nelson, Bergen B; Teutsch, Carol; Chung, Paul J

2013-09-12

Improving the health and health literacy of low-income families is a national public health priority in the United States. The federal Head Start program provides a national infrastructure for implementation of health promotion interventions for young children and their families. The Health Care Institute (HCI) at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, developed a structured approach to health promotion training for Head Start grantees using business management principles. This article describes the HCI approach and provides examples of implemented programs and selected outcomes, including knowledge and behavior changes among Head Start staff and families. This prevention-focused training platform has reached 60,000 Head Start families in the United States since its inception in 2001. HCI has demonstrated consistent outcomes in diverse settings and cultures, suggesting both scalability and sustainability.

Centre for Research Infrastructure of Polish GNSS Data - response and possible contribution to EPOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araszkiewicz, Andrzej; Rohm, Witold; Bosy, Jaroslaw; Szolucha, Marcin; Kaplon, Jan; Kroszczynski, Krzysztof

2017-04-01

In the frame of the first call under Action 4.2: Development of modern research infrastructure of the science sector in the Smart Growth Operational Programme 2014-2020 in the late of 2016 the "EPOS-PL" project has launched. Following institutes are responsible for the implementation of this project: Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences - Project Leader, Academic Computer Centre Cyfronet AGH University of Science and Technology, Central Mining Institute, the Institute of Geodesy and Cartography, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Military University of Technology. In addition, resources constituting entrepreneur's own contribution will come from the Polish Mining Group. Research Infrastructure EPOS-PL will integrate both existing and newly built National Research Infrastructures (Theme Centre for Research Infrastructures), which, under the premise of the program EPOS, are financed exclusively by the national founds. In addition, the e-science platform will be developed. The Centre for Research Infrastructure of GNSS Data (CIBDG - Task 5) will be built based on the experience and facilities of two institutions: Military University of Technology and Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences. The project includes the construction of the National GNNS Repository with data QC procedures and adaptation of two Regional GNNS Analysis Centres for rapid and long-term geodynamical monitoring.

78 FR 21320 - Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) Devices in the 5 GHz Band

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-10

... provide a wide array of high data rate mobile and fixed communications for individuals, businesses, and... FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 47 CFR Part 15 [ET Docket No. 13-49; FCC 13-22] Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) Devices in the 5 GHz Band AGENCY: Federal Communications...

78 FR 38723 - National Infrastructure Advisory Council; Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-27

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2013-0034] National Infrastructure Advisory... (NIAC) will meet July 17, August 14, and September 17, 2013. The meetings will be open to the public. DATES: The NIAC will meet at the following dates and times: July 17, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m...

Investing in the Improvement of Education: Lessons to be Learned from the National Writing Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. John, Mark; Stokes, Laura

2008-01-01

This paper defines the concept of "improvement infrastructure" and "educational capital" for education, and it uses the case of the National Writing Project to develop an extended, data-based illustration of the design and generativeness of an improvement infrastructure. Since 1983 there have been multiple "waves" of…

Weighing the Options for Improving the National Postsecondary Data Infrastructure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rorison, Jamey; Voight, Mamie

2015-01-01

Students, policymakers and institutions all need to have high quality data about how today's students access and pay for higher education--and what contributes to their success. But the data that are available now are woefully inadequate. We need to improve the national postsecondary data infrastructure The report thoroughly explores seven options…

Determining critical infrastructure for ocean research and societal needs in 2030

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glickson, Deborah; Barron, Eric; Fine, Rana

2011-06-01

The United States has jurisdiction over 3.4 million square miles of ocean—an expanse greater than the land area of all 50 states combined. This vast marine area offers researchers opportunities to investigate the ocean's role in an integrated Earth system but also presents challenges to society, including damaging tsunamis and hurricanes, industrial accidents, and outbreaks of waterborne diseases. The 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill and 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami are vivid reminders that a broad range of infrastructure is needed to advance scientists' still incomplete understanding of the ocean. The National Research Council's (NRC) Ocean Studies Board was asked by the National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology, comprising 25 U.S. government agencies, to examine infrastructure needs for ocean research in the year 2030. This request reflects concern, among a myriad of marine issues, over the present state of aging and obsolete infrastructure, insufficient capacity, growing technological gaps, and declining national leadership in marine technological development; these issues were brought to the nation's attention in 2004 by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

Toolkit of Available EPA Green Infrastructure Modeling Software. National Stormwater Calculator

EPA Science Inventory

This webinar will present a toolkit consisting of five EPA green infrastructure models and tools, along with communication material. This toolkit can be used as a teaching and quick reference resource for use by planners and developers when making green infrastructure implementat...

Envri Cluster - a Community-Driven Platform of European Environmental Researcher Infrastructures for Providing Common E-Solutions for Earth Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asmi, A.; Sorvari, S.; Kutsch, W. L.; Laj, P.

2017-12-01

European long-term environmental research infrastructures (often referred as ESFRI RIs) are the core facilities for providing services for scientists in their quest for understanding and predicting the complex Earth system and its functioning that requires long-term efforts to identify environmental changes (trends, thresholds and resilience, interactions and feedbacks). Many of the research infrastructures originally have been developed to respond to the needs of their specific research communities, however, it is clear that strong collaboration among research infrastructures is needed to serve the trans-boundary research requires exploring scientific questions at the intersection of different scientific fields, conducting joint research projects and developing concepts, devices, and methods that can be used to integrate knowledge. European Environmental research infrastructures have already been successfully worked together for many years and have established a cluster - ENVRI cluster - for their collaborative work. ENVRI cluster act as a collaborative platform where the RIs can jointly agree on the common solutions for their operations, draft strategies and policies and share best practices and knowledge. Supporting project for the ENVRI cluster, ENVRIplus project, brings together 21 European research infrastructures and infrastructure networks to work on joint technical solutions, data interoperability, access management, training, strategies and dissemination efforts. ENVRI cluster act as one stop shop for multidisciplinary RI users, other collaborative initiatives, projects and programmes and coordinates and implement jointly agreed RI strategies.

Toward a patient-centric medical information model: issues and challenges for US adoption.

PubMed

Lorence, Daniel; Monatesti, Sabatini; Margenthaler, Robert; Hoadley, Ellen

2005-01-01

As the USA moves, incrementally, toward evidence-based medicine, there is growing awareness of the importance of innovation in information management. Mandates for change include improved use of resources, accelerated diffusion of knowledge and an advanced consumer role. Key among these requirements is the need for a fundamentally different patient information recording system. Within the challenges identified in the most recent national health information technology initiative, we propose a model for an electronic, patient-centric medical information infrastructure, highlighting a transportable, scalable and integrated resource. We identify resources available for technology transfer, promoting consumers as integral parts of the collaborative medical decision-making process.

ICT and Information Strategies for a Knowledge Economy: The Indian Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghosh, Maitrayee; Ghosh, Ipsheet

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the progress India has made in its move towards a knowledge-based economy with details of how the Indian Government has demonstrated its commitment to the development of fundamental pillars of knowledge sharing infrastructure, knowledge workers and a knowledge innovation system. Libraries are…

How Cities Think: Knowledge Co-Production for Urban Sustainability and Resilience

Treesearch

Tischa Muñoz-Erickson; Clark Miller; Thaddeus Miller

2017-01-01

Understanding and transforming how cities think is a crucial part of developing effective knowledge infrastructures for the Anthropocene. In this article, we review knowledge co-production as a popular approach in environmental and sustainability science communities to the generationof useable knowledge for sustainability and resilience. We present knowledge systems...

Amendments to the Drinking Water Infrastructure Grants Program as Required by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The WIIN Act has expanded the activities that qualify for Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant Tribal Set-Aside (DWIG-TSA) funding to include training and operator certification for operators of PWSs serving American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in the USA : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-05-01

This report describes the results of a major data gathering effort aimed at tracking deployment of nine infrastructure components of the metropolitan ITS infrastructure in 78 of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation. The nine components are: F...

A national assessment of green infrastructure and change for the conterminous United States using morphological image processing

Treesearch

J.D Wickham; Kurt H. Riitters; T.G. Wade; P. Vogt

2010-01-01

Green infrastructure is a popular framework for conservation planning. The main elements of green infrastructure are hubs and links. Hubs tend to be large areas of ‘natural’ vegetation and links tend to be linear features (e.g., streams) that connect hubs. Within the United States, green infrastructure projects can be characterized as: (...

The Information Infrastructure: Reaching Society's Goals. A Report of the Information Infrastructure Task Force Committee on Applications and Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Inst. of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.

Intended for public comment and discussion, this document is the second volume of papers in which the Information Infrastructure Task Force has attempted to articulate in clear terms, with sufficient detail, how improvements in the National Information Infrastructure (NII) can help meet other social goals. These are not plans to be enacted, but…

China national space remote sensing infrastructure and its application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ming

2016-07-01

Space Infrastructure is a space system that provides communication, navigation and remote sensing service for broad users. China National Space Remote Sensing Infrastructure includes remote sensing satellites, ground system and related systems. According to the principle of multiple-function on one satellite, multiple satellites in one constellation and collaboration between constellations, series of land observation, ocean observation and atmosphere observation satellites have been suggested to have high, middle and low resolution and fly on different orbits and with different means of payloads to achieve a high ability for global synthetically observation. With such an infrastructure, we can carry out the research on climate change, geophysics global surveying and mapping, water resources management, safety and emergency management, and so on. I This paper gives a detailed introduction about the planning of this infrastructure and its application in different area, especially the international cooperation potential in the so called One Belt and One Road space information corridor.

Green infrastructure.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

The transportation industry has increasingly recognized the vital role sustainability serves in promoting and : protecting the transportation infrastructure of the nation. Many state Departments of Transportation have : correspondingly increased effo...

Re-Articulating Social Justice as Equity in Schooling Policy: The Effects of Testing and Data Infrastructures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lingard, Bob; Sellar, Sam; Savage, Glenn C.

2014-01-01

This paper examines the re-articulation of social justice as equity in schooling policy through national and global testing and data infrastructures. It focuses on the Australian National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). We analyse the discursive reconstitution…

77 FR 16785 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Alaska: Infrastructure Requirements for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-22

... Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Alaska: Infrastructure Requirements for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National... the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) promulgated for ozone on July 18, 1997. EPA is...-hour ozone NAAQS: (A), (B), (C), (D)(ii), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J), (K), (L), and (M). EPA is proposing...

Technography and Design-Actuality Gap-Analysis of Internet Computer Technologies-Assisted Education: Western Expectations and Global Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenhalgh-Spencer, Heather; Jerbi, Moja

2017-01-01

In this paper, we provide a design-actuality gap-analysis of the internet infrastructure that exists in developing nations and nations in the global South with the deployed internet computer technologies (ICT)-assisted programs that are designed to use internet infrastructure to provide educational opportunities. Programs that specifically…

The Resource-Infrastructure-Environment Index for Measuring Progress: An Application to Australia, Mexico and the US

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Natoli, Riccardo; Zuhair, Segu

2013-01-01

The resource-infrastructure-environment (RIE) index was proposed as an alternative measure of progress which was then employed to: (1) compare the aggregate (single summary) index findings between Australia (mid-industrialised nation), Mexico (emerging economy), and the US (highly industrialised nation); and (2) compare the RIE index against the…

Rehabilitation, Replacement and Redesign of the Nation's Water and Wastewater Infrastructure as a Valuable Adaptation Opportunity

EPA Science Inventory

In support of the Agency's Sustainable Water Infrastructure Initiative, EPA's Office of Research and Develpment initiated the Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program in 2007. The program, with its core focus on the support of strategic asset management, is designed to facili...

Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program Update: Innovation & Research for the 21st Century

EPA Science Inventory

This slide presentation summarizes key elements of the EOA, Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) Aging Water Infrastructure (AWI)) Research program. An overview of the national problems posed by aging water infrastructure is followed by a brief description of EPA’s overall...

A National Assessment of Change in Green Infrastructure Using Mathematical Morphology

EPA Science Inventory

Green infrastructure is a popular framework for conservation planning. The main elements of green infrastructure are hubs and links. Hubs tend to be large areas of natural vegetation and links tend to be linear features (e.g., streams) that connect hubs. Within the United States...

Control System Applicable Use Assessment of the Secure Computing Corporation - Secure Firewall (Sidewinder)

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

Hadley, Mark D.; Clements, Samuel L.

2009-01-01

Battelle’s National Security & Defense objective is, “applying unmatched expertise and unique facilities to deliver homeland security solutions. From detection and protection against weapons of mass destruction to emergency preparedness/response and protection of critical infrastructure, we are working with industry and government to integrate policy, operational, technological, and logistical parameters that will secure a safe future”. In an ongoing effort to meet this mission, engagements with industry that are intended to improve operational and technical attributes of commercial solutions that are related to national security initiatives are necessary. This necessity will ensure that capabilities for protecting critical infrastructure assets aremore » considered by commercial entities in their development, design, and deployment lifecycles thus addressing the alignment of identified deficiencies and improvements needed to support national cyber security initiatives. The Secure Firewall (Sidewinder) appliance by Secure Computing was assessed for applicable use in critical infrastructure control system environments, such as electric power, nuclear and other facilities containing critical systems that require augmented protection from cyber threat. The testing was performed in the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) Electric Infrastructure Operations Center (EIOC). The Secure Firewall was tested in a network configuration that emulates a typical control center network and then evaluated. A number of observations and recommendations are included in this report relating to features currently included in the Secure Firewall that support critical infrastructure security needs.« less

The National Plan for Research and Development In Support of Critical Infrastructure Protection

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

vulnerabilities and highlight areas for improvement. As part of this effort, CIP &CP has cre- ated a research and development agenda aimed at improving...Infrastructure Protection Research and Development Plan 13 LONG-TERM DIRECTION PROVIDED BY THE CIP R&D PLAN The creation of a national critical...Research and Development Plan 20 Mapping to Other National R&D Plans The many R&D plans outside the direct context of CIP underway within DHS, other

Crowdsourced Contributions to the Nation's Geodetic Elevation Infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, W. A.

2014-12-01

NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS), a United States Department of Commerce agency, is engaged in providing the nation's fundamental positioning infrastructure - the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) - which includes the framework for latitude, longitude, and elevation determination as well as various geodetic models, tools, and data. Capitalizing on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology for improved access to the nation's precise geodetic elevation infrastructure requires use of a geoid model, which relates GNSS-derived heights (ellipsoid heights) with traditional elevations (orthometric heights). NGS is facilitating the use of crowdsourced GNSS observations collected at published elevation control stations by the professional surveying, geospatial, and scientific communities to help improve NGS' geoid modeling capability. This collocation of published elevation data and newly collected GNSS data integrates together the two height systems. This effort in turn supports enhanced access to accurate elevation information across the nation, thereby benefiting all users of geospatial data. By partnering with the public in this collaborative effort, NGS is not only helping facilitate improvements to the elevation infrastructure for all users but also empowering users of NSRS with the capability to do their own high-accuracy positioning. The educational outreach facet of this effort helps inform the public, including the scientific community, about the utility of various NGS tools, including the widely used Online Positioning User Service (OPUS). OPUS plays a key role in providing user-friendly and high accuracy access to NSRS, with optional sharing of results with NGS and the public. All who are interested in helping evolve and improve the nationwide elevation determination capability are invited to participate in this nationwide partnership and to learn more about the geodetic infrastructure which is a vital component of viable spatial data for many disciplines, including the geosciences.

Resilience and Robustness in Long-Term Planning of the National Energy and Transportation System

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

Ibanez, Eduardo; Lavrenz, Steven; Gkritza, Konstantina

2016-01-01

The most significant energy consuming infrastructures and the greatest contributors to greenhouse gases for any developed nation today are electric and freight/passenger transportation systems. Technological alternatives for producing, transporting and converting energy for electric and transportation systems are numerous. Addressing costs, sustainability and resilience of electric and transportation needs requires long-term assessment since these capital-intensive infrastructures take years to build with lifetimes approaching a century. Yet, the advent of electrically driven transportation, including cars, trucks and trains, creates potential interdependencies between the two infrastructures that may be both problematic and beneficial. We are developing modelling capability to perform long-term electricmore » and transportation infrastructure design at a national level, accounting for their interdependencies. The approach combines network flow modelling with a multi-objective solution method. We describe and compare it to the state of the art in energy planning models. An example is presented to illustrate important features of this new approach.« less

The Importance of Earth Observations and Data Collaboration within Environmental Intelligence Supporting Arctic Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casas, Joseph

2017-01-01

Within the IARPC Collaboration Team activities of 2016, Arctic in-situ and remote earth observations advanced topics such as :1) exploring the role for new and innovative autonomous observing technologies in the Arctic; 2) advancing catalytic national and international community based observing efforts in support of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region; and 3) enhancing the use of discovery tools for observing system collaboration such as the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Arctic Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Arctic Collaborative Environment (ACE) project geo reference visualization decision support and exploitation internet based tools. Critical to the success of these earth observations for both in-situ and remote systems is the emerging of new and innovative data collection technologies and comprehensive modeling as well as enhanced communications and cyber infrastructure capabilities which effectively assimilate and dissemination many environmental intelligence products in a timely manner. The Arctic Collaborative Environment (ACE) project is well positioned to greatly enhance user capabilities for accessing, organizing, visualizing, sharing and producing collaborative knowledge for the Arctic.

Surety of the nation`s critical infrastructures: The challenge restructuring poses to the telecommunications sector

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

Cox, R.; Drennen, T.E.; Gilliom, L.

1998-04-01

The telecommunications sector plays a pivotal role in the system of increasingly connected and interdependent networks that make up national infrastructure. An assessment of the probable structure and function of the bit-moving industry in the twenty-first century must include issues associated with the surety of telecommunications. The term surety, as used here, means confidence in the acceptable behavior of a system in both intended and unintended circumstances. This paper outlines various engineering approaches to surety in systems, generally, and in the telecommunications infrastructure, specifically. It uses the experience and expectations of the telecommunications system of the US as an examplemore » of the global challenges. The paper examines the principal factors underlying the change to more distributed systems in this sector, assesses surety issues associated with these changes, and suggests several possible strategies for mitigation. It also studies the ramifications of what could happen if this sector became a target for those seeking to compromise a nation`s security and economic well being. Experts in this area generally agree that the U. S. telecommunications sector will eventually respond in a way that meets market demands for surety. Questions remain open, however, about confidence in the telecommunications sector and the nation`s infrastructure during unintended circumstances--such as those posed by information warfare or by cascading software failures. Resolution of these questions is complicated by the lack of clear accountability of the private and the public sectors for the surety of telecommunications.« less

US cities can manage national hydrology and biodiversity using local infrastructure policy.

PubMed

McManamay, Ryan A; Surendran Nair, Sujithkumar; DeRolph, Christopher R; Ruddell, Benjamin L; Morton, April M; Stewart, Robert N; Troia, Matthew J; Tran, Liem; Kim, Hyun; Bhaduri, Budhendra L

2017-09-05

Cities are concentrations of sociopolitical power and prime architects of land transformation, while also serving as consumption hubs of "hard" water and energy infrastructures. These infrastructures extend well outside metropolitan boundaries and impact distal river ecosystems. We used a comprehensive model to quantify the roles of anthropogenic stressors on hydrologic alteration and biodiversity in US streams and isolate the impacts stemming from hard infrastructure developments in cities. Across the contiguous United States, cities' hard infrastructures have significantly altered at least 7% of streams, which influence habitats for over 60% of North America's fish, mussel, and crayfish species. Additionally, city infrastructures have contributed to local extinctions in 260 species and currently influence 970 indigenous species, 27% of which are in jeopardy. We find that ecosystem impacts do not scale with city size but are instead proportionate to infrastructure decisions. For example, Atlanta's impacts by hard infrastructures extend across four major river basins, 12,500 stream km, and contribute to 100 local extinctions of aquatic species. In contrast, Las Vegas, a similar size city, impacts <1,000 stream km, leading to only seven local extinctions. So, cities have local policy choices that can reduce future impacts to regional aquatic ecosystems as they grow. By coordinating policy and communication between hard infrastructure sectors, local city governments and utilities can directly improve environmental quality in a significant fraction of the nation's streams reaching far beyond their city boundaries.

Information technology developments within the national biological information infrastructure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cotter, G.; Frame, M.T.

2000-01-01

Looking out an office window or exploring a community park, one can easily see the tremendous challenges that biological information presents the computer science community. Biological information varies in format and content depending whether or not it is information pertaining to a particular species (i.e. Brown Tree Snake), or a specific ecosystem, which often includes multiple species, land use characteristics, and geospatially referenced information. The complexity and uniqueness of each individual species or ecosystem do not easily lend themselves to today's computer science tools and applications. To address the challenges that the biological enterprise presents the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) (http://www.nbii.gov) was established in 1993. The NBII is designed to address these issues on a National scale within the United States, and through international partnerships abroad. This paper discusses current computer science efforts within the National Biological Information Infrastructure Program and future computer science research endeavors that are needed to address the ever-growing issues related to our Nation's biological concerns.

The Impact of a Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Outbreak on Facilitating Development of a National Infrastructure for Infection Control in Israel.

PubMed

Schwaber, Mitchell J; Carmeli, Yehuda

2017-11-29

In 2006 the Israeli healthcare system faced an unprecedented outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, primarily involving KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clonal complex CC258. This public health crisis exposed major gaps in infection control. In response, Israel established a national infection control infrastructure. The steps taken to build this infrastructure and benefits realized from its creation are described here. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

ASIS '99 Knowledge: Creation, Organization and Use, Part III: Plenary Sessions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Meeting, 1999

1999-01-01

Describes the following sessions: "Knowledge Management: A Celebration of Humans Connected with Quality Information Objects (Plenary Session 1); "Intellectual Property Rights and the Emerging Information Infrastructure (Plenary Session 2); and "Knowledge: Creation, Organization and Use (Conference Wrap-up Session). (AEF)

Toward an integrated understanding of perceived biodiversity values and environmental conditions in a national park

USGS Publications Warehouse

van Riper, Carena J.; Kyle, Gerard T.; Sherrouse, Ben C.; Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Sutton, Stephen G.

2016-01-01

In spatial planning and management of protected areas, increased priority is being given to research that integrates social and ecological data. However, public viewpoints of the benefits provided by ecosystems are not easily quantified and often implicitly folded into natural resource management decisions. Drawing on a spatially explicit participatory mapping exercise and a Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) analysis tool, the present study empirically examined and integrated social values for ecosystem services and environmental conditions within Channel Islands National Park, California. Specifically, a social value indicator of perceived biodiversity was examined using on-site survey data collected from a sample of people who visited the park. This information was modeled alongside eight environmental conditions including faunal species richness for six taxa, vegetation density, categories of marine and terrestrial land cover, and distance to features relevant for decision-makers. Results showed that biodiversity value points assigned to places by the pooled sample of respondents were widely and unevenly mapped, which reflected the belief that biodiversity was embodied to varying degrees by multiple locations in the park. Models generated for two survey subgroups defined by their self-reported knowledge of the Channels Islands revealed distinct spatial patterns of these perceived values. Specifically, respondents with high knowledge valued large spaces that were publicly inaccessible and unlikely to contain on-ground biodiversity, whereas respondents with low knowledge valued places that were experienced first-hand. Accessibility and infrastructure were also important considerations for anticipating how and where people valued the protected land and seascapes of Channel Islands National Park.

Technology: quality at what cost

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fitzmaurice, J. M.

1994-12-01

Although medical technology appears to be the driving force behind the rate of increase of real national health expenditures, market imperfections are of greater concern. The market falls short of efficiently allocating health services because of perverse financial incentives and a lack of consumer and physician understanding of the value of many medical services. Making the best use of new and old technology requires better-informed health care decisions, which can help to counter the market imperfections. Cost-effectiveness analysis is presented as one way to assist decisions that must consider the effect of limited resources. Another approach-- medical effectiveness--derives from the lack of knowledge about the impact on patient outcomes of many treatments delivered for specific conditions under the average conditions of care in the community. This lack of knowledge led to the development of the medical treatment effectiveness and technology research activities of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. The treatment of medical technologies proposed by health reform legislation and by the National Information Infrastructure initiative is briefly discussed. The paper concludes that wise evaluation of new and old technologies--including information systems--is required to improve our patient outcomes, productivity, and enjoyment of life.

Evaluation of the AHRQ Patient Safety Initiative: Synthesis of Findings

PubMed Central

Farley, Donna O; Damberg, Cheryl L

2009-01-01

Objective To present overall findings from the 4-year evaluation of the national patient safety initiative operated by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Data Sources Interviews with AHRQ staff, grantees, and other patient safety stakeholders; published materials; and internal AHRQ documents. Study Design The evaluation was structured to address a system framework of five components involved in improving safety. The initiative's contributions to improving each system component were assessed qualitatively, comparing results from three separate analyses—AHRQ's achievement of its patient safety goals, our own assessment of the initiative's activities, and independent stakeholder ratings of AHRQ's contributions. Findings and Conclusions AHRQ has faced a daunting challenge for improving patient safety, given the complex problems of the U.S. health care system and the limited resources AHRQ has had to address them. The patient safety initiative achieved strongest progress for its contributions to knowledge of patient safety epidemiology and effective practices, where AHRQ has considerable experience, and to strengthening infrastructure to support adoption of safe practices. Progress was slower in establishing a national monitoring capability and dissemination of safe practices for adoption. AHRQ needs to expand efforts to apply new knowledge for stimulating use of safe practices in the field. PMID:21456115

A Governance Roadmap and Framework for EarthCube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, M. L.

2012-12-01

EarthCube is a process and an outcome, established to transform the conduct of research through the development of community-guided cyberinfrastructure for the Geosciences as the prototype for potential deployment across all domain sciences. EarthCube aims to create a knowledge management system and infrastructure that integrates all Earth system and human dimensions data in an open transparent, and inclusive manner. EarthCube requires broad community participation in concept, framework, and implementation and must not be hindered by rigid preconceptions. We discovered widely varying interpretations, expectations, and assumptions about governance among EarthCube participants. Our definition of governance refers to the processes, structure and organizational elements that determine, within an organization or system of organizations, how power is exercised, how stakeholders have their say, how decisions are made, and how decision makers are held accountable. We have learned, from historic infrastructure case studies, background research on governance and from community feedback during this roadmap process, that other types of large-scale, complex infrastructures, including the Internet, have no central control, administration, or management. No national infrastructure that we examined is governed by a single entity, let alone a single governance archetype. Thus we feel the roadmap process must accommodate a governance system or system of systems that may have a single governing entity, particularly at the start, but can evolve into a collective of governing bodies as warranted, in order to be successful. A fast-track process during Spring, 2012 culminated in a Governance Roadmap delivered to an NSF-sponsored charrette in June with an aggressive timetable to define and implement a governance structure to enable the elements of EarthCube to become operational expeditiously. Our goal is to help ensure the realization of this infrastructure sooner, more efficiently, and more effectively, by providing a community endorsed Governance Framework. The Framework, and corresponding community outreach, will maximize engagement of the broader EarthCube community, which in turn will minimize the risks that the community will not adopt EarthCube in its development and final states. The target community includes academia, government, and the private-sector, both nationally and internationally. Based on community feedback to-date, we compiled and synthesized system-wide governance requirements to draft an initial set of EarthCube Governance functions. These functions will permit us to produce a Governance Framework based on an aggressive community outreach and engagement plan.

Security Engineering and Educational Initiatives for Critical Information Infrastructures

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

standard for cryptographic protection of SCADA communications. The United Kingdom’s National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC...has released a good practice guide on firewall deployment for SCADA systems and process control networks [17]. Meanwhile, National Institute for ...report. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED 18 The SCADA gateway collects the data gathered by sensors, translates them from

Examining the front lines of local environmental public health practice: a Maryland case study.

PubMed

Resnick, Beth; Zablotsky, Joanna; Nachman, Keeve; Burke, Thomas

2008-01-01

Local environmental public health (EPH) is the foundation of a nation's environmental protection infrastructure. With increasing pressure to demonstrate the ability of EPH activities to effectively protect health, the Johns Hopkins Center for Excellence in EPH Practice, as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) EPH capacity-building effort, developed the Profile of Maryland Environmental Public Health Practice. This profile offers an examination of front-line local EPH strengths, needs, challenges, and provides recommendations to strengthen the EPH infrastructure. A multistep process was conducted, including site visits to all of Maryland's 24 local EPH agencies and a questionnaire addressing administrative structure, communication, funding, workforce, crisis management, technology, and legal authority, completed by local EPH directors. The Maryland Profile revealed a dedicated and responsive workforce limited by a neglected, fragmented, and underfunded EPH infrastructure. Recommendations regarding leadership, workforce, training, technology, communication, and legal authority are offered. This research has implications for the national EPH infrastructure. Recommendations offered are consistent with the CDC's findings in A National Strategy to Revitalize Environmental Public Health Services. These findings and recommendations offer opportunities to facilitate the advancement of an EPH system to better protect the nation's health.

The Small Aircraft Transportation System for America: A Case in Public Infrastructure Change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowen, Brent D.

2000-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, industry stakeholders, and academia, have joined forces to pursue the NASA National General Aviation Roadmap leading to a Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS). This strategic undertaking has a 25-year goal to bring next-generation technologies and improve travel between remote communities and transportation centers in urban areas by utilizing the nation's 5,400 public-use general aviation airports. To facilitate this initiative, a comprehensive upgrade of public infrastructure must be planned, coordinated, and implemented within the framework of the national air transportation system. The Nebraska NASA EPSCoR Program has proposed to deliver research support in key public infrastructure areas in coordination with the General Aviation Program Office at the NASA Langley Research Center. Ultimately, SATS may permit tripling aviation system throughput capacity by tapping the underutilized general aviation facilities to achieve the national goal of doorstep-to-destination travel at four times the speed of highways for the nation's suburban, rural, and remote communities.

Assessing a decade of public health preparedness: progress on the precipice?

PubMed

Gursky, Elin A; Bice, Gregory

2012-03-01

September 11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks marked the beginning of significant investment by the federal government to develop a national public health emergency response capability. Recognizing the importance of the public health sector's contribution to the burgeoning homeland security enterprise, this investment was intended to convey a "dual benefit" by strengthening the overall public health infrastructure while building preparedness capabilities. In many instances, federal funds were used successfully for preparedness activities. For example, electronic health information networks, a Strategic National Stockpile, and increased interagency cooperation have all contributed to creating a more robust and prepared enterprise. Additionally, the knowledge of rarely seen or forgotten pathogens has been regenerated through newly established public health learning consortia, which, too, have strengthened relationships between the practice and academic communities. Balancing traditional public health roles with new preparedness responsibilities heightened public health's visibility, but it also presented significant complexities, including expanded lines of reporting and unremitting inflows of new guidance documents. Currently, a rapidly diminishing public health infrastructure at the state and local levels as a result of federal budget cuts and a poor economy serve as significant barriers to sustaining these nascent federal public health preparedness efforts. Sustaining these improvements will require enhanced coordination, collaboration, and planning across the homeland security enterprise; an infusion of innovation and leadership; and sustained transformative investment for governmental public health.

Social determinants of health: poverty, national infrastructure and investment.

PubMed

Douthit, Nathan T; Alemu, Haimanot Kasahun

2016-06-22

This case presentation of a 19-year-old Ethiopian woman diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma reveals the barriers the patient has to medical treatment, including poverty and a lack of national infrastructure. The patient lives a life of poverty, and the outcome of her illness is a result of her being unable to overcome barriers to accessing health care due to inability to afford transport, lodging and treatment. In this case, the patient's vulnerability to disease due to her poverty is not overcome because of lack of infrastructure. The infrastructure fails to develop because of inadequate investment and other delays in building. The end result is that the patient is vulnerable to disease. Her disease process impacts her family and their contribution to Ethiopia's development. 2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

A National Assessment of Green Infrastructure and Change for the Conterminous United States Using Morphological Image Processing

EPA Science Inventory

Green infrastructure is a popular framework for conservation planning. The main elements of green infrastructure are hubs and links. Hubs tend to be large areas of ‘natural’ vegetation and links tend to be linear features (e.g., streams) that connect hubs. Within the United State...

Making Network Markets in Education: The Development of Data Infrastructure in Australian Schooling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sellar, Sam

2017-01-01

This paper examines the development of data infrastructure in Australian schooling with a specific focus on interoperability standards that help to make new markets for education data. The conceptual framework combines insights from studies of infrastructure, economic markets and digital data. The case of the Australian National Schools…

Overview of U.S. EPA Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program - Interfacing with the Water Industry on Technology Assessment

EPA Science Inventory

This slide presentation summarizes key elements of the EPA Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) Aging Water Infrastructure (AWI) Research program. An overview of the national problems posed by aging water infrastructure is followed by a brief description of EPA’s overall r...

75 FR 24973 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Advanced Coatings...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-06

... Production Act of 1993--Advanced Coatings for Infrastructure Joint Venture Agreement Notice is hereby given... Act of 1993, 15 U.S.C. 4301 et seq. (``the Act''), Advanced Coatings for Infrastructure Joint Venture... and wear resistant coatings to infrastructure. Patricia A. Brink, Deputy Director of Operations...

Tertiary Educational Infrastructural Development in Ghana: Financing, Challenges and Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badu, Edward; Kissi, Ernest; Boateng, Emmanuel B.; Antwi-Afari, Maxwell F.

2018-01-01

Education is the mainstay of the development of any nation; and in developing countries it has become the backbone of human resource development, ensuring effective growth of the economy; however, its corresponding infrastructure development is lacking. Governments around the globe are finding it difficult to provide the needed infrastructure.…

The Impact of Process Capability on Service Reliability for Critical Infrastructure Providers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houston, Clemith J., Jr.

2013-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between organizational processes that have been identified as promoting resiliency and their impact on service reliability within the scope of critical infrastructure providers. The importance of critical infrastructure to the nation is evident from the body of research and is supported by instances where…

A Structured Management Approach to Implementation of Health Promotion Interventions in Head Start

PubMed Central

Herman, Ariella; Teutsch, Carol; Chung, Paul J.

2013-01-01

Improving the health and health literacy of low-income families is a national public health priority in the United States. The federal Head Start program provides a national infrastructure for implementation of health promotion interventions for young children and their families. The Health Care Institute (HCI) at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, developed a structured approach to health promotion training for Head Start grantees using business management principles. This article describes the HCI approach and provides examples of implemented programs and selected outcomes, including knowledge and behavior changes among Head Start staff and families. This prevention-focused training platform has reached 60,000 Head Start families in the United States since its inception in 2001. HCI has demonstrated consistent outcomes in diverse settings and cultures, suggesting both scalability and sustainability. PMID:24028835

The Evolving Landscape of Healthcare-Associated Infections: Recent Advances in Prevention and a Road Map for Research

PubMed Central

Safdar, Nasia; Anderson, Deverick J.; Braun, Barbara I.; Carling, Philip; Cohen, Stuart; Donskey, Curtis; Drees, Marci; Harris, Anthony; Henderson, David K.; Huang, Susan S.; Juthani-Mehta, Manisha; Lautenbach, Ebbing; Linkin, Darren R.; Meddings, Jennifer; Miller, Loren G.; Milstone, Aaron; Morgan, Daniel; Sengupta, Sharmila; Varman, Meera; Yokoe, Deborah; Zerr, Danielle M.

2014-01-01

This white paper identifies knowledge gaps and new challenges in healthcare epidemiology research, assesses the progress made toward addressing research priorities, provides the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Research Committee’s recommendations for high-priority research topics, and proposes a road map for making progress toward these goals. It updates the 2010 SHEA Research Committee document, “Charting the Course for the Future of Science in Healthcare Epidemiology: Results of a Survey of the Membership of SHEA,” which called for a national approach to healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and a prioritized research agenda. This paper highlights recent studies that have advanced our understanding of HAIs, the establishment of the SHEA Research Network as a collaborative infrastructure to address research questions, prevention initiatives at state and national levels, changes in reporting and payment requirements, and new patterns in antimicrobial resistance. PMID:24709716

Wildfire policy and management in England: an evolving response from Fire and Rescue Services, forestry and cross-sector groups

PubMed Central

McMorrow, Julia; Aylen, Jonathan

2016-01-01

Severe wildfires are an intermittent problem in England. The paper presents the first analysis of wildfire policy, showing its halting evolution over two decades. First efforts to coordinate wildfire management came from local fire operation groups, where stakeholders such as fire services, land owners and amenity groups shared knowledge and equipment to tackle the problem. A variety of structures and informal management solutions emerged in response to local needs. Knowledge of wildfire accumulated within regional and national wildfire forums and academic networks. Only later did the need for central emergency planning and the response to climate change produce a national policy response. Fire statistics have allowed wildfires to be spatially evidenced on a national scale only since 2009. National awareness of wildfire was spurred by the 2011 fire season, and the high-impact Swinley Forest fire, which threatened critical infrastructure and communities within 50 miles of London. Severe wildfire was included in the National Risk Register for the first time in 2013. Cross-sector approaches to wildfire proved difficult as government responsibility is fragmented along the hazard chain. Stakeholders such as the Forestry Commission pioneered good practice in adaptive land management to build fire resilience into UK forests. The grass-roots evolution of participatory solutions has also been a key enabling process. A coordinated policy is now needed to identify best practice and to promote understanding of the role of fire in the ecosystem. This article is part of a themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’. PMID:27216511

Wildfire policy and management in England: an evolving response from Fire and Rescue Services, forestry and cross-sector groups.

PubMed

Gazzard, Rob; McMorrow, Julia; Aylen, Jonathan

2016-06-05

Severe wildfires are an intermittent problem in England. The paper presents the first analysis of wildfire policy, showing its halting evolution over two decades. First efforts to coordinate wildfire management came from local fire operation groups, where stakeholders such as fire services, land owners and amenity groups shared knowledge and equipment to tackle the problem. A variety of structures and informal management solutions emerged in response to local needs. Knowledge of wildfire accumulated within regional and national wildfire forums and academic networks. Only later did the need for central emergency planning and the response to climate change produce a national policy response. Fire statistics have allowed wildfires to be spatially evidenced on a national scale only since 2009. National awareness of wildfire was spurred by the 2011 fire season, and the high-impact Swinley Forest fire, which threatened critical infrastructure and communities within 50 miles of London. Severe wildfire was included in the National Risk Register for the first time in 2013. Cross-sector approaches to wildfire proved difficult as government responsibility is fragmented along the hazard chain. Stakeholders such as the Forestry Commission pioneered good practice in adaptive land management to build fire resilience into UK forests. The grass-roots evolution of participatory solutions has also been a key enabling process. A coordinated policy is now needed to identify best practice and to promote understanding of the role of fire in the ecosystem.This article is part of a themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Author(s).

Spatial aspects of the research on tourist infrastructure with the use of the cartographic method on the basis of Roztoczański National Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kałamucki, Krzysztof; Kamińska, Anna; Buk, Dorota

2012-01-01

The aim of the research was to demonstrate changes in tourist trails and in the distribution of tourist infrastructure spots in the area of Roztoczański National Park in its vicinity. Another, equally important aim, was to check the usefulness of tourist infrastructure in both cartographic method of infrastructure research and in cartography of presentation methods. The research covered the region of Roztoczański National Park. The following elements of tourist infrastructure were selected for the analysis: linear elements (walking trails, education paths) and spot elements (accommodation, eating places and the accompanied basis). In order to recreate the state of infrastructure during the last 50 years, it was necessary to analyse the following source material: tourist maps issued as independent publications, maps issued as supplements to tour guides and aerial photography. The information from text sources was used, e.g. from tourist guides, leaflets and monographs. The temporal framework was defined as 50 years from the 1960's until 2009. This time range was divided into five 10-year periods. In order to present the state of tourist infrastructure, its spatial and qualitative changes, 6 maps were produces (maps of states and types of changes). The conducted spatial analyses and the interpretations of maps of states and changes in tourist infrastructure allowed to capture both qualitative and quantitative changes. It was stated that the changes in the trails were not regular. There were parts of trails that did not change for 40 years. There were also some that were constructed during the last decade. Presently, the area is densely covered with tourist trails and education paths. The measurements of lengths of tourist trails and their parts with regard to land cover and category of roads allowed to determine the character of trails and the scope of changes. The conducted analyses proved the usefulness of cartographic methods in researching tourist infrastructure in spatial and quantitative aspects.

Engineering Infrastructures: Problems of Safety and Security in the Russian Federation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makhutov, Nikolay A.; Reznikov, Dmitry O.; Petrov, Vitaly P.

Modern society cannot exist without stable and reliable engineering infrastructures (EI), whose operation is vital for any national economy. These infrastructures include energy, transportation, water and gas supply systems, telecommunication and cyber systems, etc. Their performance is commensurate with storing and processing huge amounts of information, energy and hazardous substances. Ageing infrastructures are deteriorating — with operating conditions declining from normal to emergency and catastrophic. The complexity of engineering infrastructures and their interdependence with other technical systems makes them vulnerable to emergency situations triggered by natural and manmade catastrophes or terrorist attacks.

Decontamination of chemical agents from drinking water infrastructure: a literature review and summary.

PubMed

Szabo, Jeff; Minamyer, Scott

2014-11-01

This report summarizes the current state of knowledge on the persistence of chemical contamination on drinking water infrastructure (such as pipes) along with information on decontamination should persistence occur. Decontamination options for drinking water infrastructure have been explored for some chemical contaminants, but important data gaps remain. In general, data on chemical persistence on drinking water infrastructure is available for inorganics such as arsenic and mercury, as well as select organics such as petroleum products, pesticides and rodenticides. Data specific to chemical warfare agents and pharmaceuticals was not found and data on toxins is scant. Future research suggestions focus on expanding the available chemical persistence data to other common drinking water infrastructure materials. Decontaminating agents that successfully removed persistent contamination from one infrastructure material should be used in further studies. Methods for sampling or extracting chemical agents from water infrastructure surfaces are needed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Research Practices, Evaluation and Infrastructure in the Digital Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houghton, John W.

2004-01-01

This paper examines changing research practices in the digital environment and draws out implications for research evaluation and the development of research infrastructure. Reviews of the literature, quantitative indicators of research activities and our own field research in Australia suggest that a new mode of knowledge production is emerging,…

Changing Research Practices and Research Infrastructure Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houghton, John W.

2005-01-01

This paper examines changing research practices in the digital environment and draws out implications for the development of research infrastructure. Reviews of the literature, quantitative indicators of research activities and our own field research in Australia suggest that there is a new mode of knowledge production emerging, changing research…

The Present of Environmental Psychology Researches in China: Base on the Bibliometric Analysis and Knowledge Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Junhua; Wang, Qi; Zhu, Leiye; Qing, Wu; Jin, Meidong; Zhang, Rui; Wang, Haibin

2018-03-01

Environmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the interplay between individuals and their surroundings. Chinese researchers conducted extensive research on the field and produced a wealth of academic achievements, especially on the application of environmental psychology, such as the protection of minority towns and villages and the prevention and solution of air pollution. To reveal the current situation of the researches in China, 388 related papers from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were analyzed by bibliometric and Knowledge Mapping. The results show that: (1) these studies stared since 1982 and demonstrated a year-on-year growth trend since 2001, which reaches a historical peak in 2016. Peiwen Zhan, Hu Zhao and Xiaofeng Lu top the list with a total of eighteen articles and Heilongjiang University is the best performer among the contributing organizations. (2)“Environmental Psychology” is the most frequently cited keywords and “Environmental perception”, “Physical environment” and “living environment” have the longest span of the bursts. the top seven largest clusters, which were environment, surroundings, application, privacy, environmental perception environmental art and physical environment.

Beyond bouncing back : a roundtable on critical transportation resilience

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-06-01

Global transportation infrastructure today is confronted with significant vulnerabilities an aging : infrastructure; a growing concentration of populations at high-density coastal urban areas; increasing : interdependencies among the nation's phy...

Government capacities and stakeholders: what facilitates ehealth legislation?

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Newly established high-technology areas such as eHealth require regulations regarding the interoperability of health information infrastructures and data protection. It is argued that government capacities as well as the extent to which public and private organizations participate in policy-making determine the level of eHealth legislation. Both explanatory factors are influenced by international organizations that provide knowledge transfer and encourage private actor participation. Methods Data analysis is based on the Global Observatory for eHealth - ATLAS eHealth country profiles which summarizes eHealth policies in 114 countries. Data analysis was carried out using two-component hurdle models with a truncated Poisson model for positive counts and a hurdle component model with a binomial distribution for zero or greater counts. Results The analysis reveals that the participation of private organizations such as donors has negative effects on the level of eHealth legislation. The impact of public-private partnerships (PPPs) depends on the degree of government capacities already available and on democratic regimes. Democracies are more responsive to these new regulatory demands than autocracies. Democracies find it easier to transfer knowledge out of PPPs than autocracies. Government capacities increase the knowledge transfer effect of PPPs, thus leading to more eHealth legislation. Conclusions All international regimes – the WHO, the EU, and the OECD – promote PPPs in order to ensure the construction of a national eHealth infrastructure. This paper shows that the development of government capacities in the eHealth domain has to be given a higher priority than the establishment of PPPs, since the existence of some (initial) capacities is the sine qua non of further capacity building. PMID:24410989

Enabling the Capture and Sharing of NASA Technical Expertise Through Communities of Practice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Topousis, Daria E.; Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Lebsock, Kenneth L.

2011-01-01

Historically, engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had few opportunities or incentives to share their technical expertise across the Agency. Its center- and project- focused culture often meant that knowledge never left organizational and geographic boundaries. With increasingly complex missions, the closeout of the Shuttle Program, and a new generation entering the workforce, developing a knowledge sharing culture became critical. To address this need, the Office of the Chief Engineer established communities of practice on the NASA Engineering Network. These communities were strategically aligned with NASA's core competencies in such disciplines as avionics, flight mechanics, life support, propulsion, structures, loads and dynamics, human factors, and guidance, navigation, and control. This paper describes the process used to identify and develop communities, from establishing simple websites that compiled discipline-specific resources to fostering a knowledge-sharing environment through collaborative and interactive technologies. It includes qualitative evidence of improved availability and transfer of knowledge. It focuses on pivotal capabilities that increased knowledge exchange such as a custom-made Ask An Expert system, community contact lists, publication of key resources, and submission forms that allowed any user to propose content for the sites. It discusses the peer relationships that developed through the communities and the leadership and infrastructure that made them possible.

Towards global environmental information and data management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurney, Robert; Allison, Lee; Cesar, Roberto; Cossu, Roberto; Dietz, Volkmar; Gemeinholzer, Birgit; Koike, Toshio; Mokrane, Mustapha; Peters, Dale; Thaller-Honold, Svetlana; Treloar, Andrew; Vilotte, Jean-Pierre; Waldmann, Christoph

2014-05-01

The Belmont Forum, a coalition of national science agencies from 13 countries, is supporting an 18-month effort to implement a 'Knowledge Hub' community-building and strategy development program as a first step to coordinate and streamline international efforts on community governance, interoperability and system architectures so that environmental data and information can be exchanged internationally and across subject domains easily and efficiently. This initiative represents a first step to build collaboratively an international capacity and e-infrastructure framework to address societally relevant global environmental change challenges. The project will deliver a community-owned strategy and implementation plan, which will prioritize international funding opportunities for Belmont Forum members to build pilots and exemplars in order to accelerate delivery of end-to end global change decision support systems. In 2012, the Belmont Forum held a series of public town hall meetings, and a two-day scoping meeting of scientists and program officers, which concluded that transformative approaches and innovative technologies are needed for heterogeneous data/information to be integrated and made interoperable for researchers in disparate fields and for myriad uses across international, institutional, disciplinary, spatial and temporal boundaries. Pooling Belmont Forum members' resources to bring communities together for further integration, cooperation, and leveraging of existing initiatives and resources has the potential to develop the e-infrastructure framework necessary to solve pressing environmental problems, and to support the aims of many international data sharing initiatives. The plan is expected to serve as the foundation of future Belmont Forum calls for proposals for e-Infrastructures and Data Management. The Belmont Forum is uniquely able to align resources of major national funders to support global environmental change research on specific technical and governance challenges, and the development of focused pilot systems that could be complementary to other initiatives such as GEOSS, ICSU World Data System, and Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS). The development of this Belmont Forum Knowledge Hub represents an extraordinary effort to bring together international leaders in interoperability, governance and other fields pertinent to decision-support systems in global environmental change research. It is also addressing related issues such as ensuring a cohort of environmental scientists who can use up-to-date computing techniques for data and information management, and investigating which legal issues need common international attention.

Quasi-experimental evaluation of a national primary school HIV intervention in Kenya.

PubMed

Maticka-Tyndale, Eleanor; Wildish, Janet; Gichuru, Mary

2007-05-01

This study examined the impact of a primary-school HIV education initiative on the knowledge, self-efficacy and sexual and condom use activities of upper primary-school pupils in Kenya. A quasi-experimental mixed qualitative-quantitative pre- and 18-month post-design using 40 intervention and 40 matched control schools demonstrated significant program impact on targeted objectives of (1) adequate program delivery and, for standard 6 and 7 pupils (ages 11-16 years), (2) increased HIV-related knowledge; (3) increased communication with parents and teachers about HIV and sexuality; (4) increased assistance to fellow pupils to avoid sexual activity; (5) increased self-efficacy related to abstinence and condom use; (6) decreased exposure to HIV through delayed first intercourse, decreased sexual activity and increased condom. Results support the conclusions that the existing infrastructure is adequate for national roll-out of the program; that the program has its most beneficial effect on sexually inexperienced youth and should therefore be implemented with the youngest age groups possible; and that gains are gender specific, with boys reporting increased condom use while girls are more likely to decrease or delay sexual activity. Based on these results, the program began national roll-out to all primary schools in 2005. By June 2006, the program was operating in 11,000 of the country's nearly 19,000 schools.

Linking the NIH strategic plan to the research agenda for social workers in health and aging.

PubMed

Raveis, Victoria H; Gardner, Daniel S; Berkman, Barbara; Harootyan, Linda

2010-01-01

Although social work has a long and distinctive tradition of practice-relevant research aimed at enhancing the health and well-being of older adults, the profession has been underrepresented among the ranks of academic researchers and the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) scientific endeavors. In this article, the inherent capacities of social workers to generate and disseminate empirical health-related knowledge are discussed and recent developments in social work's geriatric research infrastructure are described. Emerging domains for advancing the profession's contribution to practice-relevant geriatric research on the federal level are identified and the next steps toward advancing the field's research agenda are posed.

Successful aquatic animal disease emergency programmes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hastein, T.; Hill, B.J.; Winton, J.R.

1999-01-01

The third part provides a historical review of the build-up of infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) in Norway and the attempts to control the disease using legal measures in the absence of detailed knowledge of the aetiology, epizootiology, pathogenesis, etc. of the disease. The measures taken show that the spread of ISA can be controlled using restrictions on the movement of fish, disinfection procedures, etc. However, acceptance and understanding of the chosen strategy by the fish farmers is a pre-requisite to reach that goal. Finally, the paper summarises future needs for national and international legislation, including the development of standard approaches for control, the creation of appropriate infrastructures and a better understanding of the epidemiology of aquatic animal diseases.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis for sustainable cultivation of Chinese medicinal plants: a promising research direction.

PubMed

Zeng, Yan; Guo, Lan-Ping; Chen, Bao-Dong; Hao, Zhi-Peng; Wang, Ji-Yong; Huang, Lu-Qi; Yang, Guang; Cui, Xiu-Ming; Yang, Li; Wu, Zhao-Xiang; Chen, Mei-Lan; Zhang, Yan

2013-01-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) are symbiotic systems in nature and have great significance in promoting the growth and stress resistance of medicinal plants. During our literature search from the Chinese Scientific Information Database (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, CNKI) we obtained 65 articles with "AM fungi" and "medicinal plant" as the key words, which indicates that in China, research efforts on these topics have been increasing. The main purposes of this review are to discuss the effects of mycorrhiza on the active ingredients of Chinese medicinal plants in comparison with results obtained in other plants in studies conducted by the international research community, and to introduce works published in Chinese journals to international colleagues.

National Computational Infrastructure for Lattice Gauge Theory SciDAC-2 Closeout Report Indiana University Component

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

Gottlieb, Steven Arthur; DeTar, Carleton; Tousaint, Doug

This is the closeout report for the Indiana University portion of the National Computational Infrastructure for Lattice Gauge Theory project supported by the United States Department of Energy under the SciDAC program. It includes information about activities at Indian University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Utah, as those three universities coordinated their activities.

Impact of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure

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

Levinson, Rebecca S.; West, Todd H.

Our work uses market analysis and simulation to explore the potential of public charging infrastructure to spur US battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales, increase national electrified mileage, and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By employing both scenario and parametric analysis for policy driven injection of public charging stations we find the following: (1) For large deployments of public chargers, DC fast chargers are more effective than level 2 chargers at increasing BEV sales, increasing electrified mileage, and lowering GHG emissions, even if only one DC fast charging station can be built for every ten level 2 charging stations. (2) Amore » national initiative to build DC fast charging infrastructure will see diminishing returns on investment at approximately 30,000 stations. (3) Some infrastructure deployment costs can be defrayed by passing them back to electric vehicle consumers, but once those costs to the consumer reach the equivalent of approximately 12¢/kWh for all miles driven, almost all gains to BEV sales and GHG emissions reductions from infrastructure construction are lost.« less

Impact of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure

DOE PAGES

Levinson, Rebecca S.; West, Todd H.

2017-10-16

Our work uses market analysis and simulation to explore the potential of public charging infrastructure to spur US battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales, increase national electrified mileage, and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By employing both scenario and parametric analysis for policy driven injection of public charging stations we find the following: (1) For large deployments of public chargers, DC fast chargers are more effective than level 2 chargers at increasing BEV sales, increasing electrified mileage, and lowering GHG emissions, even if only one DC fast charging station can be built for every ten level 2 charging stations. (2) Amore » national initiative to build DC fast charging infrastructure will see diminishing returns on investment at approximately 30,000 stations. (3) Some infrastructure deployment costs can be defrayed by passing them back to electric vehicle consumers, but once those costs to the consumer reach the equivalent of approximately 12¢/kWh for all miles driven, almost all gains to BEV sales and GHG emissions reductions from infrastructure construction are lost.« less

Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics pillar (ELI-NP) : new horizons in physics with high power lasers and brilliant gamma beams.

PubMed

Gales, Sydney; Tanaka, Kazuo A; Balabanski, D L; Negoita, Florin; Stutman, D; Ur, Calin Alexander; Tesileanu, Ovidiu; Ursescu, Daniel; Ghita, Dan Gabriel; Andrei, I; Ataman, Stefan; Cernaianu, M O; D'Alessi, L; Dancus, I; Diaconescu, B; Djourelov, N; Filipescu, D; Ghenuche, P; Matei, C; Seto Kei, K; Zeng, M; Zamfir, Victor Nicolae

2018-06-28

The European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) has selected in 2006 a proposal based on ultra-intense laser elds with intensities reaching up to 10221023 W/cm2 called \\ELI" for Extreme Light Infrastructure. The construction of a large-scale laser-centred, distributed pan-European research infrastructure, involving beyond the state-of-the-art ultra-short and ultra-intense laser technologies, received the approval for funding in 2011 2012. The three pillars of the ELI facility are being built in Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. The Romanian pillar is ELI-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP). The new facility is intended to serve a broad national, European and International science community. Its mission covers scientic research at the frontier of knowledge involving two domains. The rst one is laser-driven experiments related to nuclear physics, strong-eld quantum electrodynamics and associated vacuum eects. The second is based on a Comptonbackscattering high-brilliance and intense low-energy gamma beam (< 20 MeV), a marriage of laser and accelerator technology which will allow us to investigate nuclear structure and reactions as well as nuclear astrophysics with unprecedented resolution and accuracy. In addition to fundamental themes, a large number of applications with signicant societal impact are being developed. The ELI-NP research centre will be located in Magurele near Bucharest, Romania. The project is implemented by \\Horia Hulubei" National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH). The project started in January 2013 and the new facility will be fully operational by the end of 2019. After a short introduction to multi-PW lasers and Multi-MeV brilliant gamma beam scientic and technical description of the future ELI-NP facility as well as the present status of its implementation of ELI-NP, will be presented. The science and examples of societal applications at reach with these new probes will be discussed with a special focus on day-one experiments and associated novel instrumentation. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Implementation: The Missing Link between Research and Practice. Implementation Brief. Number 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fixsen, Dean L.; Blase, Karen A.

2009-01-01

There is a great deal of discussion about the need to revitalize the nation's infrastructure. New roads, bridges, schools, and public buildings need to be built using the latest in green technology. Current infrastructure needs to be repaired and retrofitted. This brief makes the case that the human services infrastructure for effective…

FY16 Analysis report: Financial systems dependency on communications

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

Beyeler, Walter E.

Within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis (OCIA)'s National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC) develops capabilities to support the DHS mission and the resilience of the Nation’s critical infrastructure. At Sandia National Laboratories, under DHS/OCIA direction, NISAC is developing models of financial sector dependence on communications. This capability is designed to improve DHS's ability to assess potential impacts of communication disruptions to major financial services and the effectiveness of possible mitigations. This report summarizes findings and recommendations from the application of that capability as part of the FY2016 NISAC program plan.

Railroad infrastructure trespass detection performance guidelines

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

The U.S. Department of Transportations John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, under the direction of the Federal Railroad Administration, conducted a 3-year demonstration of an automated prototype railroad infrastructure security sy...

National connected vehicle field infrastructure footprint analysis.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

The fundamental premise of the connected vehicle initiative is that enabling wireless connectivity among vehicles, the infrastructure, and mobile devices will bring about transformative changes in safety, mobility, and the environmental impacts in th...

Green Infrastructure for Arid Communities

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

how green infrastructure practices and the many associated benefits can be effective not only in wetter climates, but also for those communities in arid and semi-arid regions around the nation that have different precipitation patterns

Space-based communications infrastructure for developing countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barker, Keith; Barnes, Carl; Price, K. M.

1995-08-01

This study examines the potential use of satellites to augment the telecommunications infrastructure of developing countries with advanced satellites. The study investigated the potential market for using satellites in developing countries, the role of satellites in national information infrastructures (NII), the technical feasibility of augmenting NIIs with satellites, and a nation's financial conditions necessary for procuring satellite systems. In addition, the study examined several technical areas including onboard processing, intersatellite links, frequency of operation, multibeam and active antennas, and advanced satellite technologies. The marketing portion of this study focused on three case studies: China, Brazil, and Mexico. These cases represent countries in various stages of telecommunication infrastructure development. The study concludes by defining the needs of developing countries for satellites, and recommends steps that both industry and NASA can take to improve the competitiveness of U.S. satellite manufacturing.

Readiness of Primary Care Practices for Medical Home Certification

PubMed Central

Clark, Sarah J.; Sakshaug, Joseph W.; Chen, Lena M.; Hollingsworth, John M.

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of medical home infrastructure among primary care practices for children and identify practice characteristics associated with medical home infrastructure. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of restricted data files from 2007 and 2008 of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. We mapped survey items to the 2011 National Committee on Quality Assurance’s Patient-Centered Medical home standards. Points were awarded for each “passed” element based on National Committee for Quality Assurance scoring, and we then calculated the percentage of the total possible points met for each practice. We used multivariate linear regression to assess associations between practice characteristics and the percentage of medical home infrastructure points attained. RESULTS: On average, pediatric practices attained 38% (95% confidence interval 34%–41%) of medical home infrastructure points, and family/general practices attained 36% (95% confidence interval 33%–38%). Practices scored higher on medical home elements related to direct patient care (eg, providing comprehensive health assessments) and lower in areas highly dependent on health information technology (eg, computerized prescriptions, test ordering, laboratory result viewing, or quality of care measurement and reporting). In multivariate analyses, smaller practice size was significantly associated with lower infrastructure scores. Practice ownership, urban versus rural location, and proportion of visits covered by public insurers were not consistently associated with a practice’s infrastructure score. CONCLUSIONS: Medical home programs need effective approaches to support practice transformation in the small practices that provide the vast majority of the primary care for children in the United States. PMID:23382438

The national response for preventing healthcare-associated infections: infrastructure development.

PubMed

Mendel, Peter; Siegel, Sari; Leuschner, Kristin J; Gall, Elizabeth M; Weinberg, Daniel A; Kahn, Katherine L

2014-02-01

In 2009, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs). The Action Plan adopted national targets for reduction of specific infections, making HHS accountable for change across the healthcare system over which federal agencies have limited control. This article examines the unique infrastructure developed through the Action Plan to support adoption of HAI prevention practices. Interviews of federal (n=32) and other stakeholders (n=38), reviews of agency documents and journal articles (n=260), and observations of interagency meetings (n=17) and multistakeholder conferences (n=17) over a 3-year evaluation period. We extract key progress and challenges in the development of national HAI prevention infrastructure--1 of the 4 system functions in our evaluation framework encompassing regulation, payment systems, safety culture, and dissemination and technical assistance. We then identify system properties--for example, coordination and alignment, accountability and incentives, etc.--that enabled or hindered progress within each key development. The Action Plan has developed a model of interagency coordination (including a dedicated "home" and culture of cooperation) at the federal level and infrastructure for stimulating change through the wider healthcare system (including transparency and financial incentives, support of state and regional HAI prevention capacity, changes in safety culture, and mechanisms for stakeholder engagement). Significant challenges to infrastructure development included many related to the same areas of progress. The Action Plan has built a foundation of infrastructure to expand prevention of HAIs and presents useful lessons for other large-scale improvement initiatives.

The Czech National Grid Infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chudoba, J.; Křenková, I.; Mulač, M.; Ruda, M.; Sitera, J.

2017-10-01

The Czech National Grid Infrastructure is operated by MetaCentrum, a CESNET department responsible for coordinating and managing activities related to distributed computing. CESNET as the Czech National Research and Education Network (NREN) provides many e-infrastructure services, which are used by 94% of the scientific and research community in the Czech Republic. Computing and storage resources owned by different organizations are connected by fast enough network to provide transparent access to all resources. We describe in more detail the computing infrastructure, which is based on several different technologies and covers grid, cloud and map-reduce environment. While the largest part of CPUs is still accessible via distributed torque servers, providing environment for long batch jobs, part of infrastructure is available via standard EGI tools in EGI, subset of NGI resources is provided into EGI FedCloud environment with cloud interface and there is also Hadoop cluster provided by the same e-infrastructure.A broad spectrum of computing servers is offered; users can choose from standard 2 CPU servers to large SMP machines with up to 6 TB of RAM or servers with GPU cards. Different groups have different priorities on various resources, resource owners can even have an exclusive access. The software is distributed via AFS. Storage servers offering up to tens of terabytes of disk space to individual users are connected via NFS4 on top of GPFS and access to long term HSM storage with peta-byte capacity is also provided. Overview of available resources and recent statistics of usage will be given.

Information science and technology developments within the National Biological Information Infrastructure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frame, M.T.; Cotter, G.; Zolly, L.; Little, J.

2002-01-01

Whether your vantage point is that of an office window or a national park, your view undoubtedly encompasses a rich diversity of life forms, all carefully studied or managed by some scientist, resource manager, or planner. A few simple calculations - the number of species, their interrelationships, and the many researchers studying them - and you can easily see the tremendous challenges that the resulting biological data presents to the information and computer science communities. Biological information varies in format and content: it may pertain to a particular species or an entire ecosystem; it can contain land use characteristics, and geospatially referenced information. The complexity and uniqueness of each individual species or ecosystem do not easily lend themselves to today's computer science tools and applications. To address the challenges that the biological enterprise presents, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) (http://www.nbii.gov) was established in 1993 on the recommendation of the National Research Council (National Research Council 1993). The NBII is designed to address these issues on a national scale, and through international partnerships. This paper discusses current information and computer science efforts within the National Biological Information Infrastructure Program, and future computer science research endeavors that are needed to address the ever-growing issues related to our nation's biological concerns. ?? 2003 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

Universities--Drivers for Regional Innovation Culture and Competitiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muresan, Mihaela; Gogu, Emilia

2010-01-01

The actual infrastructure of the information society sustains the globalization trend and increases the importance of the information and knowledge. The development of the knowledge society is the direct consequence of the mix of economic, social and cultural processes, which involve the knowledge creation and its equitable distribution, access…

Knowledge Infrastructures for Solar Cities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanderburg, Willem H.

2006-01-01

The evolution of contemporary cities into solar cities will be affected by the decisions of countless specialists according to an established intellectual and professional division of labor. These specialists belong to groups responsible for advancing and applying a body of knowledge, and jointly, these bodies of knowledge make up a knowledge…

Towards the Reconciliation of Knowledge Management and e-Collaboration Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Le Dinh, Thang; Rinfret, Louis; Raymond, Louis; Dong Thi, Bich-Thuy

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose an intelligent infrastructure for the reconciliation of knowledge management and e-collaboration systems. Design/Methodology/Approach:Literature on e-collaboration, information management, knowledge management, learning process, and intellectual capital is mobilised in order to build the conceptual…

Helix Nebula: Enabling federation of existing data infrastructures and data services to an overarching cross-domain e-infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lengert, Wolfgang; Farres, Jordi; Lanari, Riccardo; Casu, Francesco; Manunta, Michele; Lassalle-Balier, Gerard

2014-05-01

Helix Nebula has established a growing public private partnership of more than 30 commercial cloud providers, SMEs, and publicly funded research organisations and e-infrastructures. The Helix Nebula strategy is to establish a federated cloud service across Europe. Three high-profile flagships, sponsored by CERN (high energy physics), EMBL (life sciences) and ESA/DLR/CNES/CNR (earth science), have been deployed and extensively tested within this federated environment. The commitments behind these initial flagships have created a critical mass that attracts suppliers and users to the initiative, to work together towards an "Information as a Service" market place. Significant progress in implementing the following 4 programmatic goals (as outlined in the strategic Plan Ref.1) has been achieved: × Goal #1 Establish a Cloud Computing Infrastructure for the European Research Area (ERA) serving as a platform for innovation and evolution of the overall infrastructure. × Goal #2 Identify and adopt suitable policies for trust, security and privacy on a European-level can be provided by the European Cloud Computing framework and infrastructure. × Goal #3 Create a light-weight governance structure for the future European Cloud Computing Infrastructure that involves all the stakeholders and can evolve over time as the infrastructure, services and user-base grows. × Goal #4 Define a funding scheme involving the three stake-holder groups (service suppliers, users, EC and national funding agencies) into a Public-Private-Partnership model to implement a Cloud Computing Infrastructure that delivers a sustainable business environment adhering to European level policies. Now in 2014 a first version of this generic cross-domain e-infrastructure is ready to go into operations building on federation of European industry and contributors (data, tools, knowledge, ...). This presentation describes how Helix Nebula is being used in the domain of earth science focusing on geohazards. The so called "Supersite Exploitation Platform" (SSEP) provides scientists an overarching federated e-infrastructure with a very fast access to (i) large volume of data (EO/non-space data), (ii) computing resources (e.g. hybrid cloud/grid), (iii) processing software (e.g. toolboxes, RTMs, retrieval baselines, visualization routines), and (iv) general platform capabilities (e.g. user management and access control, accounting, information portal, collaborative tools, social networks etc.). In this federation each data provider remains in full control of the implementation of its data policy. This presentation outlines the Architecture (technical and services) supporting very heterogeneous science domains as well as the procedures for new-comers to join the Helix Nebula Market Place. Ref.1 http://cds.cern.ch/record/1374172/files/CERN-OPEN-2011-036.pdf

Towards Networked Knowledge: The Learning Registry, an Infrastructure for Sharing Online Learning Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Ashley; Hobson, Joe; Bienkowski, Marie; Midgley, Steve; Currier, Sarah; Campbell, Lorna M.; Novoselova, Tatiana

2012-01-01

In this article, the authors describe an open-source, open-data digital infrastructure for sharing information about open educational resources (OERs) across disparate systems and platforms. The Learning Registry, which began as a project funded by the U.S. Departments of Education and Defense, currently has an active international community…

National Infrastructure Advisory Council: Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Events and the Critical Infrastructure Workforce. Final Report and Recommendations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-08

inbound and outbound products and materials, and products for distribution and product stewardship activities. The CSCC was the first Sector...for Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism” published in April 2006 addressed many of the 73 tactical logistical elements surrounding first response...including blisters, burns, vomiting, reddened skin, etc. o Residents faced nation-wide discrimination, including inability to travel, secure hotel rooms

Acoustic emission safety monitoring of intermodal transportation infrastructure.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

Safety and integrity of the national transportation infrastructure are of paramount importance and highway bridges are critical components of the highway system network. This network provides an immense contribution to the industry productivity and e...

75 FR 18850 - National Protection and Programs Directorate; Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-13

... Programs Directorate (NPPD), Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP), Infrastructure Security Compliance... submitted by mail to the DHS/NPPD/ IP/ISCD CFATS Program Manager at the Department of Homeland Security, 245...

Railroad infrastructure trespassing detection systems research in Pittsford, New York

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-08-01

The U.S. Department of Transportations Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, under the direction of the Federal Railroad Administration, conducted a 3-year demonstration of an automated prototype railroad infrastructure security system on ...

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Ethanol Fueling Infrastructure Development

Science.gov Websites

Studies California Ramps Up Biofuels Infrastructure Alternative Fuels Help Ensure America's National Parks Stay Green for Another Century More Ethanol Case Studies | All Case Studies Publications Handbook for

Modeling And Detecting Anomalies In Scada Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Svendsen, Nils; Wolthusen, Stephen

The detection of attacks and intrusions based on anomalies is hampered by the limits of specificity underlying the detection techniques. However, in the case of many critical infrastructure systems, domain-specific knowledge and models can impose constraints that potentially reduce error rates. At the same time, attackers can use their knowledge of system behavior to mask their manipulations, causing adverse effects to observed only after a significant period of time. This paper describes elementary statistical techniques that can be applied to detect anomalies in critical infrastructure networks. A SCADA system employed in liquefied natural gas (LNG) production is used as a case study.

The Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mora, P.; Muhlhaus, H.; Lister, G.; Dyskin, A.; Place, D.; Appelbe, B.; Nimmervoll, N.; Abramson, D.

2001-12-01

Numerical simulation of the physics and dynamics of the entire earth system offers an outstanding opportunity for advancing earth system science and technology but represents a major challenge due to the range of scales and physical processes involved, as well as the magnitude of the software engineering effort required. However, new simulation and computer technologies are bringing this objective within reach. Under a special competitive national funding scheme to establish new Major National Research Facilities (MNRF), the Australian government together with a consortium of Universities and research institutions have funded construction of the Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator (ACcESS). The Simulator or computational virtual earth will provide the research infrastructure to the Australian earth systems science community required for simulations of dynamical earth processes at scales ranging from microscopic to global. It will consist of thematic supercomputer infrastructure and an earth systems simulation software system. The Simulator models and software will be constructed over a five year period by a multi-disciplinary team of computational scientists, mathematicians, earth scientists, civil engineers and software engineers. The construction team will integrate numerical simulation models (3D discrete elements/lattice solid model, particle-in-cell large deformation finite-element method, stress reconstruction models, multi-scale continuum models etc) with geophysical, geological and tectonic models, through advanced software engineering and visualization technologies. When fully constructed, the Simulator aims to provide the software and hardware infrastructure needed to model solid earth phenomena including global scale dynamics and mineralisation processes, crustal scale processes including plate tectonics, mountain building, interacting fault system dynamics, and micro-scale processes that control the geological, physical and dynamic behaviour of earth systems. ACcESS represents a part of Australia's contribution to the APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation (ACES) international initiative. Together with other national earth systems science initiatives including the Japanese Earth Simulator and US General Earthquake Model projects, ACcESS aims to provide a driver for scientific advancement and technological breakthroughs including: quantum leaps in understanding of earth evolution at global, crustal, regional and microscopic scales; new knowledge of the physics of crustal fault systems required to underpin the grand challenge of earthquake prediction; new understanding and predictive capabilities of geological processes such as tectonics and mineralisation.

Geriatric infrastructure, BRAC, and ecosystem service markets? End-of-life decisions for dams, roads, and offshore platforms (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doyle, M. W.

2010-12-01

US infrastructure expanded dramatically in the mid-20th century, and now includes more than 79,000 dams, 15,000 miles of levees, 3.7 million miles of roads, 600,000 miles of sewer pipe, 500,000 onshore oil wells, and over 4,000 offshore oil platforms. Many structures have been in place for 50 years or more, and an increasing portion of national infrastructure is approaching or exceeding its originally intended design life. Bringing national infrastructure to acceptable levels would cost nearly 10% of the US annual GDP. Decommissioning infrastructure can decrease public spending and increase public safety while facilitating economic expansion and ecological restoration. While most infrastructure remains critical to the national economy, a substantial amount is obsolete or declining in importance. Over 11,000 dams are abandoned, and of nearly 400,000 miles of road on its lands, the U.S. Forest Service considers one-fourth non-essential and often non-functional. Removing obsolete infrastructure allows greater focus and funding on maintaining or improving infrastructure most critical to society. Moreover, a concerted program of infrastructure decommissioning promises significant long-term cost savings, and is a necessary step before more substantial, systematic changes are possible, like those needed to address the new energy sources and shifting climate. One key challenge for infrastructure reform is how to prioritize and implement such a widespread and politically-charged series of decisions. Two approaches are proposed for different scales. For small, private infrastructure, emerging state and federal ecosystem service markets can provide an economic impetus to push infrastructure removal. Ecosystem market mechanisms may also be most effective at identifying those projects with the greatest ecological bang for the buck. Examples where this approach has proved successful include dam removal for stream mitigation under the Clean Water Act, and levee decommissioning on the Missouri and Iowa Rivers for wildlife conservation areas. Programs that link offshore oil platform decommissioning to marine conservation areas are also notable examples of creative linkages between infrastructure and conservation efforts. For federal infrastructure, the forthcoming Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) should include a BRAC-like program. Faced with a number of aging military bases, the Department of Defense (DOD) began identifying installations it would rather close than maintain or modernize. Overcoming political hurdles was accomplished via the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), a bi-partisan commission that buffered politicians by creating a slate of closures for Congress and the President to approve or scuttle in toto. From 1988-2005, BRACs closed > 125 military installations, saving > $50 billion. DOD advocated BRAC because it increased efficiency by focusing funding on those bases central to DODs mission, and removed base funding decisions from political influence. Regardless of the approach, society must develop approaches from which to base difficult end-of-life decisions for infrastructure. In most cases, removing obsolete infrastructure can allow focus on infrastructure that remains critical to society.

NCI's national environmental research data collection: metadata management built on standards and preparing for the semantic web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jingbo; Bastrakova, Irina; Evans, Ben; Gohar, Kashif; Santana, Fabiana; Wyborn, Lesley

2015-04-01

National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) manages national environmental research data collections (10+ PB) as part of its specialized high performance data node of the Research Data Storage Infrastructure (RDSI) program. We manage 40+ data collections using NCI's Data Management Plan (DMP), which is compatible with the ISO 19100 metadata standards. We utilize ISO standards to make sure our metadata is transferable and interoperable for sharing and harvesting. The DMP is used along with metadata from the data itself, to create a hierarchy of data collection, dataset and time series catalogues that is then exposed through GeoNetwork for standard discoverability. This hierarchy catalogues are linked using a parent-child relationship. The hierarchical infrastructure of our GeoNetwork catalogues system aims to address both discoverability and in-house administrative use-cases. At NCI, we are currently improving the metadata interoperability in our catalogue by linking with standardized community vocabulary services. These emerging vocabulary services are being established to help harmonise data from different national and international scientific communities. One such vocabulary service is currently being established by the Australian National Data Services (ANDS). Data citation is another important aspect of the NCI data infrastructure, which allows tracking of data usage and infrastructure investment, encourage data sharing, and increasing trust in research that is reliant on these data collections. We incorporate the standard vocabularies into the data citation metadata so that the data citation become machine readable and semantically friendly for web-search purpose as well. By standardizing our metadata structure across our entire data corpus, we are laying the foundation to enable the application of appropriate semantic mechanisms to enhance discovery and analysis of NCI's national environmental research data information. We expect that this will further increase the data discoverability and encourage the data sharing and reuse within the community, increasing the value of the data much further than its current use.

Big Data Analytics for Disaster Preparedness and Response of Mobile Communication Infrastructure during Natural Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, L.; Takano, K.; Ji, Y.; Yamada, S.

2015-12-01

The disruption of telecommunications is one of the most critical disasters during natural hazards. As the rapid expanding of mobile communications, the mobile communication infrastructure plays a very fundamental role in the disaster response and recovery activities. For this reason, its disruption will lead to loss of life and property, due to information delays and errors. Therefore, disaster preparedness and response of mobile communication infrastructure itself is quite important. In many cases of experienced disasters, the disruption of mobile communication networks is usually caused by the network congestion and afterward long-term power outage. In order to reduce this disruption, the knowledge of communication demands during disasters is necessary. And big data analytics will provide a very promising way to predict the communication demands by analyzing the big amount of operational data of mobile users in a large-scale mobile network. Under the US-Japan collaborative project on 'Big Data and Disaster Research (BDD)' supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and National Science Foundation (NSF), we are going to investigate the application of big data techniques in the disaster preparedness and response of mobile communication infrastructure. Specifically, in this research, we have considered to exploit the big amount of operational information of mobile users for predicting the communications needs in different time and locations. By incorporating with other data such as shake distribution of an estimated major earthquake and the power outage map, we are able to provide the prediction information of stranded people who are difficult to confirm safety or ask for help due to network disruption. In addition, this result could further facilitate the network operators to assess the vulnerability of their infrastructure and make suitable decision for the disaster preparedness and response. In this presentation, we are going to introduce the results we obtained based on the big data analytics of mobile user statistical information and discuss the implications of these results.

Women in EPOS: the role of women in a large pan-European Research Infrastructure for Solid Earth sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calignano, Elisa; Freda, Carmela; Baracchi, Laura

2017-04-01

Women are outnumbered by men in geosciences senior research positions, but what is the situation if we consider large pan-European Research Infrastructures? With this contribution we want to show an analysis of the role of women in the implementation of the European Plate Observing System (EPOS): a planned research infrastructure for European Solid Earth sciences, integrating national and transnational research infrastructures to enable innovative multidisciplinary research. EPOS involves 256 national research infrastructures, 47 partners (universities and research institutes) from 25 European countries and 4 international organizations. The EPOS integrated platform demands significant coordination between diverse solid Earth disciplinary communities, national research infrastructures and the policies and initiatives they drive, geoscientists and information technologists. The EPOS architecture takes into account governance, legal, financial and technical issues and is designed so that the enterprise works as a single, but distributed, sustainable research infrastructure. A solid management structure is vital for the successful implementation and sustainability of EPOS. The internal organization relies on community-specific Working Packages (WPs), Transversal WPs in charge of the overall EPOS integration and implementation, several governing, executive and advisory bodies, a Project Management Office (PMO) and the Project Coordinator. Driven by the timely debate on gender balance and commitment of the European Commission to promote gender equality in research and innovation, we decided to conduct a mapping exercise on a project that crosses European national borders and that brings together diverse geoscience disciplines under one management structure. We present an analysis of women representation in decision-making positions in each EPOS Working Package (WP Leader, proxy, legal, financial and IT contact persons), in the Boards and Councils and in the PMO, together with statistics on women participation based on the project intranet, which counts more than 500 users. The analysis allows us not only to assess the gender balance in decision-making positions in a pan-European research infrastructure, but also to investigate how women's participation varies with different aspects of the project implementation (management, coordination, legal, financial or technical). Most of the women in EPOS are active geoscientists (academic or in national research institutes), or have a scientific background. By interviewing some of them we report also on how being involved in the project affects their careers. We believe this kind of analysis is an important starting point to promote awareness and achieve gender equality in research and innovation.

Knowledge Management Capabilities and Organizational Performance: An Investigation into the Effects of Knowledge Infrastructure and Processes on Organizational Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Taejun

2011-01-01

Knowledge is one of the most important assets for surviving in the modern business environment. The effective management of that asset mandates continuous adaptation by organizations, and requires employees to strive to improve the company's work processes. Organizations attempt to coordinate their unique knowledge with traditional means as well…

NAS infrastructure management system build 1.5 computer-human interface

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-01-01

Human factors engineers from the National Airspace System (NAS) Human Factors Branch (ACT-530) of the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center conducted an evaluation of the NAS Infrastructure Management System (NIMS) Build ...

Assessment of the Energy Impacts of Improving Highway-Infrastructure Materials

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-04-01

Argonne National Laboratory has conducted a study to ascertain the relative importance of improved highway materials compared to vehicle energy consumption on U.S. energy consumption. Energy savings through an improved highway infrastructure can occu...

Second annual Transportation Infrastructure Engineering Conference.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-10-01

The conference will highlight a few of the current projects that have been sponsored by the Center for Transportation : Infrastructure and Safety (CTIS), a national University Transportation Center at S&T. In operation since 1998, the CTIS supports :...

Infrastructure SIP Requirements and Guidance

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Clean Air Act requires states to submit SIPs that implement, maintain, and enforce a new or revised national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) within 3 years of EPA issuing the standard. The Infrastructure SIP is required for all states.

A modeling framework for investment planning in interdependent infrastructures in multi-hazard environments.

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

Brown, Nathanael J. K.; Gearhart, Jared Lee; Jones, Dean A.

Currently, much of protection planning is conducted separately for each infrastructure and hazard. Limited funding requires a balance of expenditures between terrorism and natural hazards based on potential impacts. This report documents the results of a Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) project that created a modeling framework for investment planning in interdependent infrastructures focused on multiple hazards, including terrorism. To develop this framework, three modeling elements were integrated: natural hazards, terrorism, and interdependent infrastructures. For natural hazards, a methodology was created for specifying events consistent with regional hazards. For terrorism, we modeled the terrorists actions based on assumptions regardingmore » their knowledge, goals, and target identification strategy. For infrastructures, we focused on predicting post-event performance due to specific terrorist attacks and natural hazard events, tempered by appropriate infrastructure investments. We demonstrate the utility of this framework with various examples, including protection of electric power, roadway, and hospital networks.« less

Dynamic Collaboration Infrastructure for Hydrologic Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarboton, D. G.; Idaszak, R.; Castillo, C.; Yi, H.; Jiang, F.; Jones, N.; Goodall, J. L.

2016-12-01

Data and modeling infrastructure is becoming increasingly accessible to water scientists. HydroShare is a collaborative environment that currently offers water scientists the ability to access modeling and data infrastructure in support of data intensive modeling and analysis. It supports the sharing of and collaboration around "resources" which are social objects defined to include both data and models in a structured standardized format. Users collaborate around these objects via comments, ratings, and groups. HydroShare also supports web services and cloud based computation for the execution of hydrologic models and analysis and visualization of hydrologic data. However, the quantity and variety of data and modeling infrastructure available that can be accessed from environments like HydroShare is increasing. Storage infrastructure can range from one's local PC to campus or organizational storage to storage in the cloud. Modeling or computing infrastructure can range from one's desktop to departmental clusters to national HPC resources to grid and cloud computing resources. How does one orchestrate this vast number of data and computing infrastructure without needing to correspondingly learn each new system? A common limitation across these systems is the lack of efficient integration between data transport mechanisms and the corresponding high-level services to support large distributed data and compute operations. A scientist running a hydrology model from their desktop may require processing a large collection of files across the aforementioned storage and compute resources and various national databases. To address these community challenges a proof-of-concept prototype was created integrating HydroShare with RADII (Resource Aware Data-centric collaboration Infrastructure) to provide software infrastructure to enable the comprehensive and rapid dynamic deployment of what we refer to as "collaborative infrastructure." In this presentation we discuss the results of this proof-of-concept prototype which enabled HydroShare users to readily instantiate virtual infrastructure marshaling arbitrary combinations, varieties, and quantities of distributed data and computing infrastructure in addressing big problems in hydrology.

Airborne biological hazards and urban transport infrastructure: current challenges and future directions.

PubMed

Nasir, Zaheer Ahmad; Campos, Luiza Cintra; Christie, Nicola; Colbeck, Ian

2016-08-01

Exposure to airborne biological hazards in an ever expanding urban transport infrastructure and highly diverse mobile population is of growing concern, in terms of both public health and biosecurity. The existing policies and practices on design, construction and operation of these infrastructures may have severe implications for airborne disease transmission, particularly, in the event of a pandemic or intentional release of biological of agents. This paper reviews existing knowledge on airborne disease transmission in different modes of transport, highlights the factors enhancing the vulnerability of transport infrastructures to airborne disease transmission, discusses the potential protection measures and identifies the research gaps in order to build a bioresilient transport infrastructure. The unification of security and public health research, inclusion of public health security concepts at the design and planning phase, and a holistic system approach involving all the stakeholders over the life cycle of transport infrastructure hold the key to mitigate the challenges posed by biological hazards in the twenty-first century transport infrastructure.

The Instructional Effects of Knowledge-Based Community of Practice Learning Environment on Student Achievement and Knowledge Convergence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Draper, Darryl C.

2013-01-01

The increased accessibility of technology and Internet connections has enabled organizations to provide their workforces with the opportunity to engage in distributed education. "Harnessing this innovation calls for organizational and technological infrastructures that support the interplay of knowledge and knowing" (Cook & Brown, 1999, p. 381).…

QSIA--A Web-Based Environment for Learning, Assessing and Knowledge Sharing in Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rafaeli, Sheizaf; Barak, Miri; Dan-Gur, Yuval; Toch, Eran

2004-01-01

This paper describes a Web-based and distributed system named QSIA that serves as an environment for learning, assessing and knowledge sharing. QSIA--Questions Sharing and Interactive Assignments--offers a unified infrastructure for developing, collecting, managing and sharing of knowledge items. QSIA enhances collaboration in authoring via online…

Knowledge Cultures and the Shaping of Work-Based Learning: The Case of Computer Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nerland, Monika

2008-01-01

This paper examines how the knowledge culture of computer engineering--that is, the ways in which knowledge is produced, distributed, accumulated and collectively approached within this profession--serve to construct work-based learning in specific ways. Typically, the epistemic infrastructures take the form of information structures with a global…

Critical Infrastructure: The National Asset Database

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-09-14

NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION...that, in its current form, it is being used inappropriately as the basis upon which federal resources, including infrastructure protection grants , are...National Asset Database has been used to support federal grant -making decisions, according to a DHS official, it does not drive those decisions. In July

S. 2195. The National Public Telecommunications Infrastructure Act of 1994. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Communications of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, Second Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Subcommittee on Communications.

This hearing focused on S. 2195, the National Public Telecommunications Infrastructure Act of 1994, which would guarantee that noncommercial and public interest groups would have a place reserved on the information superhighway for the provision of free educational, informational, cultural, civic, or charitable services to the public. It was noted…

Water: Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources Sector-Specific Plan as Input to the National Infrastructure Protection Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-01

National Association of Clean Water Agencies Shelly Foston Meridian Institute Michael Gritzuk Pima County (AZ) Wastewater Management Department Genevieve...agencies to assist small and medium systems, and it has helped fund and develop a variety of Web casts and security trainings. Although drinking water...trainings, conference calls, Web casts , and other communica- tions; (2) provide administrative support; (3) provide technical support; and (4

National Aeronautics Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Infrastructure Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

addressed in the National Aeronautics R&D Plan, identi- fying unnecessary redundancy solely on the basis of infrastructure required to support H H13 ...near, mid, and far terms, and impact not only scramjet propulsion systems, but potential turbine-based combined cycle systems as well. Turbine Engine...Icing Test Facilities A greater understanding of the impact that icing conditions have on turbine engine opera- tions is needed to develop enhanced

Achievable steps toward building a National Health Information infrastructure in the United States.

PubMed

Stead, William W; Kelly, Brian J; Kolodner, Robert M

2005-01-01

Consensus is growing that a health care information and communication infrastructure is one key to fixing the crisis in the United States in health care quality, cost, and access. The National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) is an initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services receiving bipartisan support. There are many possible courses toward its objective. Decision makers need to reflect carefully on which approaches are likely to work on a large enough scale to have the intended beneficial national impacts and which are better left to smaller projects within the boundaries of health care organizations. This report provides a primer for use by informatics professionals as they explain aspects of that dividing line to policy makers and to health care leaders and front-line providers. It then identifies short-term, intermediate, and long-term steps that might be taken by the NHII initiative.

Complex Failure Forewarning System - DHS Conference Proceedings

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

Abercrombie, Robert K; Hively, Lee M; Prowell, Stacy J

2011-01-01

As the critical infrastructures of the United States have become more and more dependent on public and private networks, the potential for widespread national impact resulting from disruption or failure of these networks has also increased. Securing the nation s critical infrastructures requires protecting not only their physical systems but, just as important, the cyber portions of the systems on which they rely. A failure is inclusive of random events, design flaws, and instabilities caused by cyber (and/or physical) attack. One such domain, aging bridges, is used to explain the Complex Structure Failure Forewarning System. We discuss the workings ofmore » such a system in the context of the necessary sensors, command and control and data collection as well as the cyber security efforts that would support this system. Their application and the implications of this computing architecture are also discussed, with respect to our nation s aging infrastructure.« less

Forewarning of Failure in Complex Systems

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

Abercrombie, Robert K; Hively, Lee M; Prowell, Stacy J

2011-01-01

As the critical infrastructures of the United States have become more and more dependent on public and private networks, the potential for widespread national impact resulting from disruption or failure of these networks has also increased. Securing the nation s critical infrastructures requires protecting not only their physical systems but, just as important, the cyber portions of the systems on which they rely. A failure is inclusive of random events, design flaws, and instabilities caused by cyber (and/or physical) attack. One such domain is failure in critical equipment. A second is aging bridges. We discuss the workings of such amore » system in the context of the necessary sensors, command and control and data collection as well as the cyber security efforts that would support this system. Their application and the implications of this computing architecture are also discussed, with respect to our nation s aging infrastructure.« less

Achievable Steps Toward Building a National Health Information Infrastructure in the United States

PubMed Central

Stead, William W.; Kelly, Brian J.; Kolodner, Robert M.

2005-01-01

Consensus is growing that a health care information and communication infrastructure is one key to fixing the crisis in the United States in health care quality, cost, and access. The National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) is an initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services receiving bipartisan support. There are many possible courses toward its objective. Decision makers need to reflect carefully on which approaches are likely to work on a large enough scale to have the intended beneficial national impacts and which are better left to smaller projects within the boundaries of health care organizations. This report provides a primer for use by informatics professionals as they explain aspects of that dividing line to policy makers and to health care leaders and front-line providers. It then identifies short-term, intermediate, and long-term steps that might be taken by the NHII initiative. PMID:15561783

Knowledge base for v-Embryo: Information Infrastructure for in silico modeling

EPA Science Inventory

Computers, imaging technologies, and the worldwide web have assumed an important role in augmenting traditional learning. Resources to disseminate multimedia information across platforms, and the emergence of communal knowledge environments, facilitate the visualization of diffi...

Improving water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care facilities, Liberia.

PubMed

Abrampah, Nana Mensah; Montgomery, Maggie; Baller, April; Ndivo, Francis; Gasasira, Alex; Cooper, Catherine; Frescas, Ruben; Gordon, Bruce; Syed, Shamsuzzoha Babar

2017-07-01

The lack of proper water and sanitation infrastructures and poor hygiene practices in health-care facilities reduces facilities' preparedness and response to disease outbreaks and decreases the communities' trust in the health services provided. To improve water and sanitation infrastructures and hygiene practices, the Liberian health ministry held multistakeholder meetings to develop a national water, sanitation and hygiene and environmental health package. A national train-the-trainer course was held for county environmental health technicians, which included infection prevention and control focal persons; the focal persons acted as change agents. In Liberia, only 45% of 701 surveyed health-care facilities had an improved water source in 2015, and only 27% of these health-care facilities had proper disposal for infectious waste. Local ownership, through engagement of local health workers, was introduced to ensure development and refinement of the package. In-county collaborations between health-care facilities, along with multisectoral collaboration, informed national level direction, which led to increased focus on water and sanitation infrastructures and uptake of hygiene practices to improve the overall quality of service delivery. National level leadership was important to identify a vision and create an enabling environment for changing the perception of water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care provision. The involvement of health workers was central to address basic infrastructure and hygiene practices in health-care facilities and they also worked as stimulators for sustainable change. Further, developing a long-term implementation plan for national level initiatives is important to ensure sustainability.

Cybersecurity Information Sharing Between Public Private Sector Agencies

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

Recognizing the lack of scholarly literature on PPPs and protecting CI from all hazards , including cyber-related threats, Nathan Busch and Austen...referred to as SLTT), and the owners and operators in charge of critical infrastructure, to manage risks and increase resiliency against all hazards .74 PPD...and hazards to critical infrastructure security and resilience, and called for an updated National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP).76 Despite

Putting the Information Infrastructure to Work. Report of the Information Infrastructure Task Force Committee on Applications and Technology. NIST Special Publication 857.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Inst. of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.

An interconnection of computer networks, telecommunications services, and applications, the National Information Infrastructure (NII) can open up new vistas and profoundly change much of American life. This report explores some of the opportunities and obstacles to the use of the NII by people and organizations. The goal is to express how…

Informatics Infrastructure for the Materials Genome Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dima, Alden; Bhaskarla, Sunil; Becker, Chandler; Brady, Mary; Campbell, Carelyn; Dessauw, Philippe; Hanisch, Robert; Kattner, Ursula; Kroenlein, Kenneth; Newrock, Marcus; Peskin, Adele; Plante, Raymond; Li, Sheng-Yen; Rigodiat, Pierre-François; Amaral, Guillaume Sousa; Trautt, Zachary; Schmitt, Xavier; Warren, James; Youssef, Sharief

2016-08-01

A materials data infrastructure that enables the sharing and transformation of a wide range of materials data is an essential part of achieving the goals of the Materials Genome Initiative. We describe two high-level requirements of such an infrastructure as well as an emerging open-source implementation consisting of the Materials Data Curation System and the National Institute of Standards and Technology Materials Resource Registry.

2014 Earth System Grid Federation and Ultrascale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools Conference Report

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

Williams, Dean N.

2015-01-27

The climate and weather data science community met December 9–11, 2014, in Livermore, California, for the fourth annual Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) and Ultrascale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools (UV-CDAT) Face-to-Face (F2F) Conference, hosted by the Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European Infrastructure for the European Network of Earth System Modelling, and the Australian Department of Education. Both ESGF and UVCDATremain global collaborations committed to developing a new generation of open-source software infrastructure that provides distributed access and analysis to simulated and observed data from the climate and weather communities.more » The tools and infrastructure created under these international multi-agency collaborations are critical to understanding extreme weather conditions and long-term climate change. In addition, the F2F conference fosters a stronger climate and weather data science community and facilitates a stronger federated software infrastructure. The 2014 F2F conference detailed the progress of ESGF, UV-CDAT, and other community efforts over the year and sets new priorities and requirements for existing and impending national and international community projects, such as the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase Six. Specifically discussed at the conference were project capabilities and enhancements needs for data distribution, analysis, visualization, hardware and network infrastructure, standards, and resources.« less

BioPortal: enhanced functionality via new Web services from the National Center for Biomedical Ontology to access and use ontologies in software applications.

PubMed

Whetzel, Patricia L; Noy, Natalya F; Shah, Nigam H; Alexander, Paul R; Nyulas, Csongor; Tudorache, Tania; Musen, Mark A

2011-07-01

The National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO) is one of the National Centers for Biomedical Computing funded under the NIH Roadmap Initiative. Contributing to the national computing infrastructure, NCBO has developed BioPortal, a web portal that provides access to a library of biomedical ontologies and terminologies (http://bioportal.bioontology.org) via the NCBO Web services. BioPortal enables community participation in the evaluation and evolution of ontology content by providing features to add mappings between terms, to add comments linked to specific ontology terms and to provide ontology reviews. The NCBO Web services (http://www.bioontology.org/wiki/index.php/NCBO_REST_services) enable this functionality and provide a uniform mechanism to access ontologies from a variety of knowledge representation formats, such as Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) format. The Web services provide multi-layered access to the ontology content, from getting all terms in an ontology to retrieving metadata about a term. Users can easily incorporate the NCBO Web services into software applications to generate semantically aware applications and to facilitate structured data collection.

Reusable launch vehicle: Technology development and test program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) requested that the National Research Council (NRC) assess the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) technology development and test programs in the most critical component technologies. At a time when discretionary government spending is under close scrutiny, the RLV program is designed to reduce the cost of access to space through a combination of robust vehicles and a streamlined infrastructure. Routine access to space has obvious benefits for space science, national security, commercial technologies, and the further exploration of space. Because of technological challenges, knowledgeable people disagree about the feasibility of a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle. The purpose of the RLV program proposed by NASA and industry contractors is to investigate the status of existing technology and to identify and advance key technology areas required for development and validation of an SSTO vehicle. This report does not address the feasibility of an SSTO vehicle, nor does it revisit the roles and responsibilities assigned to NASA by the National Transportation Policy. Instead, the report sets forth the NRC committee's findings and recommendations regarding the RLV technology development and test program in the critical areas of propulsion, a reusable cryogenic tank system (RCTS), primary vehicle structure, and a thermal protection system (TPS).

Toward Information Infrastructure Studies: Ways of Knowing in a Networked Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowker, Geoffrey C.; Baker, Karen; Millerand, Florence; Ribes, David

This article presents Information Infrastructure Studies, a research area that takes up some core issues in digital information and organization research. Infrastructure Studies simultaneously addresses the technical, social, and organizational aspects of the development, usage, and maintenance of infrastructures in local communities as well as global arenas. While infrastructure is understood as a broad category referring to a variety of pervasive, enabling network resources such as railroad lines, plumbing and pipes, electrical power plants and wires, this article focuses on information infrastructure, such as computational services and help desks, or federating activities such as scientific data repositories and archives spanning the multiple disciplines needed to address such issues as climate warming and the biodiversity crisis. These are elements associated with the internet and, frequently today, associated with cyberinfrastructure or e-science endeavors. We argue that a theoretical understanding of infrastructure provides the context for needed dialogue between design, use, and sustainability of internet-based infrastructure services. This article outlines a research area and outlines overarching themes of Infrastructure Studies. Part one of the paper presents definitions for infrastructure and cyberinfrastructure, reviewing salient previous work. Part two portrays key ideas from infrastructure studies (knowledge work, social and political values, new forms of sociality, etc.). In closing, the character of the field today is considered.

Lowering the barriers to computational modeling of Earth's surface: coupling Jupyter Notebooks with Landlab, HydroShare, and CyberGIS for research and education.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandaragoda, C.; Castronova, A. M.; Phuong, J.; Istanbulluoglu, E.; Strauch, R. L.; Nudurupati, S. S.; Tarboton, D. G.; Wang, S. W.; Yin, D.; Barnhart, K. R.; Tucker, G. E.; Hutton, E.; Hobley, D. E. J.; Gasparini, N. M.; Adams, J. M.

2017-12-01

The ability to test hypotheses about hydrology, geomorphology and atmospheric processes is invaluable to research in the era of big data. Although community resources are available, there remain significant educational, logistical and time investment barriers to their use. Knowledge infrastructure is an emerging intellectual framework to understand how people are creating, sharing and distributing knowledge - which has been dramatically transformed by Internet technologies. In addition to the technical and social components in a cyberinfrastructure system, knowledge infrastructure considers educational, institutional, and open source governance components required to advance knowledge. We are designing an infrastructure environment that lowers common barriers to reproducing modeling experiments for earth surface investigation. Landlab is an open-source modeling toolkit for building, coupling, and exploring two-dimensional numerical models. HydroShare is an online collaborative environment for sharing hydrologic data and models. CyberGIS-Jupyter is an innovative cyberGIS framework for achieving data-intensive, reproducible, and scalable geospatial analytics using the Jupyter Notebook based on ROGER - the first cyberGIS supercomputer, so that models that can be elastically reproduced through cloud computing approaches. Our team of geomorphologists, hydrologists, and computer geoscientists has created a new infrastructure environment that combines these three pieces of software to enable knowledge discovery. Through this novel integration, any user can interactively execute and explore their shared data and model resources. Landlab on HydroShare with CyberGIS-Jupyter supports the modeling continuum from fully developed modelling applications, prototyping new science tools, hands on research demonstrations for training workshops, and classroom applications. Computational geospatial models based on big data and high performance computing can now be more efficiently developed, improved, scaled, and seamlessly reproduced among multidisciplinary users, thereby expanding the active learning curriculum and research opportunities for students in earth surface modeling and informatics.

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

Ehlen, Mark Andrew; Vugrin, Eric D.; Warren, Drake E.

In recent years, the nation has recognized that critical infrastructure protection should consider not only the prevention of disruptive events, but also the processes that infrastructure systems undergo to maintain functionality following disruptions. This more comprehensive approach has been termed critical infrastructure resilience (CIR). Given the occurrence of a particular disruptive event, the resilience of a system to that event is the system's ability to efficiently reduce both the magnitude and duration of the deviation from targeted system performance levels. Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) has developed a comprehensive resilience assessment framework for evaluating the resilience of infrastructure and economic systems.more » The framework includes a quantitative methodology that measures resilience costs that result from a disruption to infrastructure function. The framework also includes a qualitative analysis methodology that assesses system characteristics that affect resilience in order to provide insight and direction for potential improvements to resilience. This paper describes the resilience assessment framework. This paper further demonstrates the utility of the assessment framework through application to a hypothetical scenario involving the disruption of a petrochemical supply chain by a hurricane.« less

Intercity passenger rail : Congress faces critical decisions in developing a national policy

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-04-11

This document is the statement of JayEtta Z. Hecker, Director, Physical Infrastructure. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Railroads, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives on the future of intercity passenger rail...

Walking the Tightrope.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weingarten, Fred W.

1994-01-01

Discusses issues relating to the public interest regarding the National Information Infrastructure. Topics addressed include access, including access to the physical infrastructure and resources and access as a service provider; information rights, including privacy, intellectual property, freedom of speech, and government information; public…

Deploying the integrated metropolitan intelligent transportation systems (ITS) infrastructure : FY 2003 report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

In January 1996, the Secretary of Transportation set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas by 2005. Using data from surveys administered...

Overview of Infrastructure Science and Analysis for Homeland Security

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

Backhaus, Scott N.

This presentation offers an analysis of infrastructure science with goals to provide third-party independent science based input into complex problems of national concern and to use scientific analysis to "turn down the noise" around complex problems.

Deploying the integrated metropolitan intelligent transportation systems (ITS) infrastructure : FY 2004 report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-07-01

In January 1996, the Secretary of Transportation set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas by 2005. Using data from surveys administered...

Transportation security research : coordination needed in selecting and implementing infrastructure vulnerability assessments

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-05-01

The Department of Transportation's (DOT) Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) began research in to assess the vulnerabilities of the nation's transportation infrastructure and develop needed improvements in security in June 2001. The g...

International Convergence on Geoscience Cyberinfrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, M. L.; Atkinson, R.; Arctur, D. K.; Cox, S.; Jackson, I.; Nativi, S.; Wyborn, L. A.

2012-04-01

There is growing international consensus on addressing the challenges to cyber(e)-infrastructure for the geosciences. These challenges include: Creating common standards and protocols; Engaging the vast number of distributed data resources; Establishing practices for recognition of and respect for intellectual property; Developing simple data and resource discovery and access systems; Building mechanisms to encourage development of web service tools and workflows for data analysis; Brokering the diverse disciplinary service buses; Creating sustainable business models for maintenance and evolution of information resources; Integrating the data management life-cycle into the practice of science. Efforts around the world are converging towards de facto creation of an integrated global digital data network for the geosciences based on common standards and protocols for data discovery and access, and a shared vision of distributed, web-based, open source interoperable data access and integration. Commonalities include use of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and ISO specifications and standardized data interchange mechanisms. For multidisciplinarity, mediation, adaptation, and profiling services have been successfully introduced to leverage the geosciences standards which are commonly used by the different geoscience communities -introducing a brokering approach which extends the basic SOA archetype. Principal challenges are less technical than cultural, social, and organizational. Before we can make data interoperable, we must make people interoperable. These challenges are being met by increased coordination of development activities (technical, organizational, social) among leaders and practitioners in national and international efforts across the geosciences to foster commonalities across disparate networks. In doing so, we will 1) leverage and share resources, and developments, 2) facilitate and enhance emerging technical and structural advances, 3) promote interoperability across scientific domains, 4) support the promulgation and institutionalization of agreed-upon standards, protocols, and practice, and 5) enhance knowledge transfer not only across the community, but into the domain sciences, 6) lower existing entry barriers for users and data producers, 7) build on the existing disciplinary infrastructures leveraging their service buses. . All of these objectives are required for establishing a permanent and sustainable cyber(e)-infrastructure for the geosciences. The rationale for this approach is well articulated in the AuScope mission statement: "Many of these problems can only be solved on a national, if not global scale. No single researcher, research institution, discipline or jurisdiction can provide the solutions. We increasingly need to embrace e-Research techniques and use the internet not only to access nationally distributed datasets, instruments and compute infrastructure, but also to build online, 'virtual' communities of globally dispersed researchers." Multidisciplinary interoperability can be successfully pursued by adopting a "system of systems" or a "Network of Networks" philosophy. This approach aims to: (a) supplement but not supplant systems mandates and governance arrangements; (b) keep the existing capacities as autonomous as possible; (c) lower entry barriers; (d) Build incrementally on existing infrastructures (information systems); (e) incorporate heterogeneous resources by introducing distribution and mediation functionalities. This approach has been adopted by the European INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) initiative and by the international GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) programme.

Building Exposure Maps Of Urban Infrastructure And Crop Fields In The Mekong River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haas, E.; Weichselbaum, J.; Gangkofner, U.; Miltzer, J.; Wali, A.

2013-12-01

In the frame of the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) initiative for the Mekong river basin World Bank is collaborating with the Mekong River Commission and governmental organizations in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam to build national and regional capacities for managing the risks associated with natural disasters, such as floods, flash floods and droughts. Within ‘eoworld', a joint initiative set up by ESA and World Bank to foster the use of Earth Observation (EO) for sustainable development work, a comprehensive database of elements at risk in the Lower Mekong river basin has been established by GeoVille, including urban infrastructure and crops (primarily rice paddies). In the long term, this exposure information shall be fed into an open-source multi- hazard modeling tool for risk assessment along the Mekong River, which then shall be used by national stakeholders as well as insurance and financial institutions for planning, disaster preparedness and emergency management. Earth Observation techniques can provide objective, synoptic and repetitive observations of elements at risk including buildings, infrastructure and crops. Through the fusion of satellite-based with in-situ data from field surveys and local knowledge (e.g. on building materials) features at risk can be characterised and mapped with high accuracy. Earth Observation data utilised comprise bi-weekly Envisat ASAR imagery programmed for a period of 9 months in 2011 to map the development of the rice cultivation area, identify predominant cropping systems (wet-season vs. dry season cultivation), crop cycles (single /double / triple crop per year), date of emergence/harvest and the distinction between rice planted under intensive (SRI) vs. regular rice cultivation techniques. Very High Resolution (VHR) optical data from SPOT, KOMPSAT and QuickBird were used for mapping of buildings and infrastructure, such as building footprints, residential / commercial areas, industrial buildings, main infrastructure, and other public assets. A key input to this work was data collected by the project team in the field with the purpose of scoping information about buildings including material, height (number of stories), construction technique, and floor area. A high resolution satellite-based Digital Elevation Model was additionally generated to provide surface elevations of vegetation and man-made objects with a vertical accuracy of 10 m. By using this methodology thousands of buildings and infrastructure features were mapped, clearly indicating the location and characteristics of the assets. Exposure maps were complemented with the analysis of historical flood and drought events using ERS and Envisat ASAR radar data for historical flood mapping alongside with vegetation index data from SPOT-VEGETATION and NOAA-AVHRR, concerning drought events.

Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Database Description and User’s Manual

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

Heidrich, Brenden

In 2014, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology Innovation initiated the Nuclear Energy (NE)–Infrastructure Management Project by tasking the Nuclear Science User Facilities, formerly the Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility, to create a searchable and interactive database of all pertinent NE-supported and -related infrastructure. This database, known as the Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Database (NEID), is used for analyses to establish needs, redundancies, efficiencies, distributions, etc., to best understand the utility of NE’s infrastructure and inform the content of infrastructure calls. The Nuclear Science User Facilities developed the database by utilizing data and policy direction from amore » variety of reports from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Research Council, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and various other federal and civilian resources. The NEID currently contains data on 802 research and development instruments housed in 377 facilities at 84 institutions in the United States and abroad. The effort to maintain and expand the database is ongoing. Detailed information on many facilities must be gathered from associated institutions and added to complete the database. The data must be validated and kept current to capture facility and instrumentation status as well as to cover new acquisitions and retirements. This document provides a short tutorial on the navigation of the NEID web portal at NSUF-Infrastructure.INL.gov.« less

State of emergency preparedness for US health insurance plans.

PubMed

Merchant, Raina M; Finne, Kristen; Lardy, Barbara; Veselovskiy, German; Korba, Caey; Margolis, Gregg S; Lurie, Nicole

2015-01-01

Health insurance plans serve a critical role in public health emergencies, yet little has been published about their collective emergency preparedness practices and policies. We evaluated, on a national scale, the state of health insurance plans' emergency preparedness and policies. A survey of health insurance plans. We queried members of America's Health Insurance Plans, the national trade association representing the health insurance industry, about issues related to emergency preparedness issues: infrastructure, adaptability, connectedness, and best practices. Of 137 health insurance plans queried, 63% responded, representing 190.6 million members and 81% of US plan enrollment. All respondents had emergency plans for business continuity, and most (85%) had infrastructure for emergency teams. Some health plans also have established benchmarks for preparedness (eg, response time). Regarding adaptability, 85% had protocols to extend claim filing time and 71% could temporarily suspend prior medical authorization rules. Regarding connectedness, many plans shared their contingency plans with health officials, but often cited challenges in identifying regulatory agency contacts. Some health insurance plans had specific policies for assisting individuals dependent on durable medical equipment or home healthcare. Many plans (60%) expressed interest in sharing best practices. Health insurance plans are prioritizing emergency preparedness. We identified 6 policy modifications that health insurance plans could undertake to potentially improve healthcare system preparedness: establishing metrics and benchmarks for emergency preparedness; identifying disaster-specific policy modifications, enhancing stakeholder connectedness, considering digital strategies to enhance communication, improving support and access for special-needs individuals, and developing regular forums for knowledge exchange about emergency preparedness.

Increasing the impact of medical image computing using community-based open-access hackathons: The NA-MIC and 3D Slicer experience.

PubMed

Kapur, Tina; Pieper, Steve; Fedorov, Andriy; Fillion-Robin, J-C; Halle, Michael; O'Donnell, Lauren; Lasso, Andras; Ungi, Tamas; Pinter, Csaba; Finet, Julien; Pujol, Sonia; Jagadeesan, Jayender; Tokuda, Junichi; Norton, Isaiah; Estepar, Raul San Jose; Gering, David; Aerts, Hugo J W L; Jakab, Marianna; Hata, Nobuhiko; Ibanez, Luiz; Blezek, Daniel; Miller, Jim; Aylward, Stephen; Grimson, W Eric L; Fichtinger, Gabor; Wells, William M; Lorensen, William E; Schroeder, Will; Kikinis, Ron

2016-10-01

The National Alliance for Medical Image Computing (NA-MIC) was launched in 2004 with the goal of investigating and developing an open source software infrastructure for the extraction of information and knowledge from medical images using computational methods. Several leading research and engineering groups participated in this effort that was funded by the US National Institutes of Health through a variety of infrastructure grants. This effort transformed 3D Slicer from an internal, Boston-based, academic research software application into a professionally maintained, robust, open source platform with an international leadership and developer and user communities. Critical improvements to the widely used underlying open source libraries and tools-VTK, ITK, CMake, CDash, DCMTK-were an additional consequence of this effort. This project has contributed to close to a thousand peer-reviewed publications and a growing portfolio of US and international funded efforts expanding the use of these tools in new medical computing applications every year. In this editorial, we discuss what we believe are gaps in the way medical image computing is pursued today; how a well-executed research platform can enable discovery, innovation and reproducible science ("Open Science"); and how our quest to build such a software platform has evolved into a productive and rewarding social engineering exercise in building an open-access community with a shared vision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrating clinical performance improvement across physician organizations: the PhyCor experience.

PubMed

Loeppke, R; Howell, J W

1999-02-01

There is a paucity of literature describing the implementation of clinical performance improvement (CPI) efforts across geographically dispersed multispecialty group practices and independent practice associations. PhyCor, a physician management company based in Nashville, Tennessee, has integrated CPI initiatives into its operating infrastructure. PhyCor CPI INITIATIVES: The strategic framework guiding PhyCor's CPI initiatives is built around a physician-driven, patient-centered model. Physician/administrator leadership teams develop and implement a clinical and financial strategic plan for performance improvement; adopt local clinical and operational performance indicators; and agree on and gain consensus with local physician champions to engage in CPI initiatives. The area/regional leadership councils integrate and coordinate regional medical management and CPI initiatives among local groups and independent practice associations. In addition to these councils and a national leadership council, condition-specific care management councils have also been established. These councils develop condition-specific protocols and outcome measures and lead the implementation of CPI initiatives at their own clinics. Key resources supporting CPI initiatives include information/knowledge management, education and training, and patient education and consumer decision support. Localized efforts in both the asthma care and diabetes management initiatives have led to some preliminary improvements in quality of care indicators. Physician leadership and strategic vision, CPI-oriented organizational infrastructure, broad-based physician involvement in CPI, providing access to performance data, parallel incentives, and creating a sense of urgency for accelerated change are all critical success factors to the implementation of CPI strategies at the local, regional, and national levels.

Nevada Infrastructure for Climate Change Science, Education, and Outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dana, G. L.; Piechota, T. C.; Lancaster, N.; Mensing, S. A.

2009-12-01

The Nevada system of Higher Education, including the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Nevada, Reno, the Desert Research Institute, and Nevada State College have begun a five year research and infrastructure building program, funded by the National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR) with the vision “to create a statewide interdisciplinary program and virtual climate change center that will stimulate transformative research, education, and outreach on the effects of regional climate change on ecosystem resources (especially water) and support use of this knowledge by policy makers and stakeholders.” Six major strategies are proposed: 1) Develop a capability to model climate change and its effects at a regional and sub-regional scales to evaluate different future scenarios and strategies (Climate Modeling Component) 2) Develop data collection, modeling, and visualization infrastructure to determine and analyze effects on ecosystems and disturbance regimes (Ecological Change Component) 3) Develop data collection, modeling, and visualization infrastructure to better quantify and model changes in water balance and resources under climate change (Water Resources Component) 4) Develop data collection and modeling infrastructure to assess effects on human systems, responses to institutional and societal aspects, and enhance policy making and outreach to communities and stakeholders (Policy, Decision-Making, and Outreach Component) 5) Develop a data portal and software to support interdisciplinary research via integration of data from observational networks and modeling (Cyberinfrastructure Component) and 6) Develop educational infrastructure to train students at all levels and provide public outreach in climate change issues (Education Component). As part of the new infrastructure, two observational transects will be established across Great Basin Ranges, one in southern Nevada in the Spring Mountains, and the second to be located in the Snake Range of eastern Nevada which will reach bristlecone pine stands. Climatic, hydrologic and ecological data from these transects will be downloaded into high capacity data storage units and made available to researchers through creation of the Nevada climate change portal. Our research will aim to answer two interdisciplinary science questions: 1) How will climate change affect water resources and linked ecosystem resources and human systems? And 2) How will climate change affect disturbance regimes (e.g., wildland fires, invasive species, insect outbreaks, droughts) and linked systems?

Advanced European Network of E-Infrastructures for Astronomy with the SKA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massardi, Marcella

2017-11-01

Here, I present the AENEAS (Advanced European Network of E-infrastructures for Astronomy with the SKA) project has been funded in the Horizon 2020 Work Programme call "Research and Innovation Actions for International Co-operation on high-end e-infrastructure requirements" supporting the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). INAF is contributing to all the AENEAS working packages and leading the WP5 - Access and Knowledge Creation (WP leader M. Massardi IRA-ARC), participants from IRA (Brand, Nanni, Venturi) ,OACT(Becciani, Costa, Umana), OATS (Smareglia, Knapic, Taffoni)

Cancer Treatment–Related Cardiotoxicity: Current State of Knowledge and Future Research Priorities

PubMed Central

Adhikari, Bishow; Brell, Joanna; Davis, Myrtle; Desvigne-Nickens, Patrice; Freedman, Andrew; Minasian, Lori; Force, Thomas; Remick, Scot C.

2014-01-01

Cardiotoxicity resulting from direct myocyte damage has been a known complication of cancer treatment for decades. More recently, the emergence of hypertension as a clinically significant side effect of several new agents has been recognized as adversely affecting cancer treatment outcomes. With cancer patients living longer, in part because of treatment advances, these adverse events have become increasingly important to address. However, little is known about the cardiovascular pathogenic mechanisms associated with cancer treatment and even less about how to optimally prevent and manage short- and long-term cardiovascular complications, leading to improved patient safety and clinical outcomes. To identify research priorities, allocate resources, and establish infrastructure required to address cardiotoxicity associated with cancer treatment, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) sponsored a two-day workshop, “Cancer treatment–related cardiotoxicity: Understanding the current state of knowledge and future research priorities,” in March 2013 in Bethesda, MD. Participants included leading oncology and cardiology researchers and health professionals, patient advocates and industry representatives, with expertise ranging from basic to clinical science. Attendees were charged with identifying research opportunities to advance the understanding of cancer treatment–related cardiotoxicity across basic and clinical science. This commentary highlights the key discussion points and overarching recommendations from that workshop. PMID:25210198

[Startup mechanism of moxibustion warming and dredging function].

PubMed

Huang, Kaiyu; Liang, Shuang; Sun, Zheng; Zhang, Jianbin

2017-09-12

With "moxibustion" and "warm stimulation" as the keywords, the literature on moxibustion mechanism of warming and dredging from June 1st, 1995 to June 1st, 2016 was collected from PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang database. The startup mechanism of moxibustion warming and dredging function was analyzed in terms of moxibustion warming stimulation. The results were found that moxibustion was based on local rising temperature of acupoint. It activated local specific receptors, heat sensitive immune cells, heat shock proteins and so on to start the warming and dredging function and produce various local effects. The warming stimulation signals as well as subsequent effects through nerve and body fluid pathways induced the effects of further specific target organs and body systems.

The National Geospatial Technical Operations Center

USGS Publications Warehouse

Craun, Kari J.; Constance, Eric W.; Donnelly, Jay; Newell, Mark R.

2009-01-01

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) provides geospatial technical expertise in support of the National Geospatial Program in its development of The National Map, National Atlas of the United States, and implementation of key components of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).

From Dyadic Ties to Information Infrastructures: Care-Coordination between Patients, Providers, Students and Researchers

PubMed Central

Purkayastha, S.; Biswas, R.; Jai Ganesh, A.U.; Otero, P.

2015-01-01

Summary Objective To share how an effectual merging of local and online networks in low resource regions can supplement and strengthen the local practice of patient centered care through the use of an online digital infrastructure powered by all stakeholders in healthcare. User Driven Health Care offers the dynamic integration of patient values and evidence based solutions for improved medical communication in medical care. Introduction This paper conceptualizes patient care-coordination through the lens of engaged stakeholders using digital infrastructures tools to integrate information technology. We distinguish this lens from the prevalent conceptualization of dyadic ties between clinician-patient, patient-nurse, clinician-nurse, and offer the holistic integration of all stakeholder inputs, in the clinic and augmented by online communication in a multi-national setting. Methods We analyze an instance of the user-driven health care (UDHC), a network of providers, patients, students and researchers working together to help manage patient care. The network currently focuses on patients from LMICs, but the provider network is global in reach. We describe UDHC and its opportunities and challenges in care-coordination to reduce costs, bring equity, and improve care quality and share evidence. Conclusion UDHC has resulted in coordinated global based local care, affecting multiple facets of medical practice. Shared information resources between providers with disparate knowledge, results in better understanding by patients, unique and challenging cases for students, innovative community based research and discovery learning for all. PMID:26123908

Teleoperation support for early human planetary missions.

PubMed

Genta, Giancarlo; Perino, Maria Antonietta

2005-12-01

A renewed interest in human exploration is flourishing among all the major spacefaring nations. In fact, in the complex scene of planned future space activities, the development of a Moon base and the human exploration of Mars might have the potential to renew the enthusiasm in expanding the human presence beyond the boundaries of Earth. Various initiatives have been undertaken to define scenarios and identify the required infrastructures and related technology innovations. The typical proposed approach follows a multistep strategy, starting with a series of precursor robotic missions to acquire further knowledge of the planet and to select the best potential landing sites, and evolving toward more demanding missions for the development of a surface infrastructure necessary to sustain human presence. The technologies involved in such a demanding enterprise range from typical space technologies, like transportation and propulsion, automation and robotics, rendezvous and docking, entry/reentry, aero-braking, navigation, and deep space communications, to human-specific issues like physiology, psychology, behavioral aspects, and nutritional science for long-duration exposure, that go beyond the traditional boundaries of space activities. Among the required elements to support planetary exploration, both for the precursor robotic missions and to sustain human exploration, rovers and trucks play a key role. A robust level of autonomy will need to be secured to perform preplanned operations, particularly for the surface infrastructure development, and a teleoperated support, either from Earth or from a local base, will enhance the in situ field exploration capability.

From Dyadic Ties to Information Infrastructures: Care-Coordination between Patients, Providers, Students and Researchers. Contribution of the Health Informatics Education Working Group.

PubMed

Purkayastha, S; Price, A; Biswas, R; Jai Ganesh, A U; Otero, P

2015-08-13

To share how an effectual merging of local and online networks in low resource regions can supplement and strengthen the local practice of patient centered care through the use of an online digital infrastructure powered by all stakeholders in healthcare. User Driven Health Care offers the dynamic integration of patient values and evidence based solutions for improved medical communication in medical care. This paper conceptualizes patient care-coordination through the lens of engaged stakeholders using digital infrastructures tools to integrate information technology. We distinguish this lens from the prevalent conceptualization of dyadic ties between clinician-patient, patient-nurse, clinician-nurse, and offer the holistic integration of all stakeholder inputs, in the clinic and augmented by online communication in a multi-national setting. We analyze an instance of the user-driven health care (UDHC), a network of providers, patients, students and researchers working together to help manage patient care. The network currently focuses on patients from LMICs, but the provider network is global in reach. We describe UDHC and its opportunities and challenges in care-coordination to reduce costs, bring equity, and improve care quality and share evidence. UDHC has resulted in coordinated global based local care, affecting multiple facets of medical practice. Shared information resources between providers with disparate knowledge, results in better understanding by patients, unique and challenging cases for students, innovative community based research and discovery learning for all.

2006 Particulate Matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Infrastructure Actions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Read about the EPA's infrastructure actions for the 2006 PM NAAQS. These actions are regarding states' failure to submit SIPs addressing various parts of the standards. Here you can read the federal register notices,and fact sheets

Examination of State-of-the-Art Rehabilitation Technologies for the Nation's Water Infrastructure - slides

EPA Science Inventory

The research overview of the US EPA Aging Water Infrastructure Research Program includes: Research areas: condition assessment; rehabilitation; advanced design/treatment concepts and Research project focused on innovative rehabilitation technologies to reduce costs and increase...

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE RESEARCH PROGRAM: Rain Gardens

EPA Science Inventory

the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) rain garden evaluation is part of a larger collection of long-term research that evaluates a variety of stormwater management practices. The U.S. EPA recognizes the potential of rain gardens as a green infrastructure manag...

78 FR 16699 - National Maritime Security Advisory Committee; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-18

... Executive Order \\1\\ to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure by increasing information sharing and by jointly developing and implementing a framework of cybersecurity practices with our...-press-office/2013/02/12/executive-order-improving-critical-infrastructure-cybersecurity . (2...

White Paper on Condition Assessment of Wastewater Collection Systems

EPA Science Inventory

The Office of Research and Development’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory has published this report in support of the Aging Water Infrastructure (AWI) Research Program, which directly supports the Office of Water’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Initiative. Scienti...

Infrastructure State Implementation Plan (SIP) Requirements and Guidance

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Clean Air Act requires states to submit SIPs that implement, maintain, and enforce a new or revised national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) within 3 years of EPA issuing the standard. The Infrastructure SIP is required for all states.

Public Key Infrastructure Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-04-01

commerce. This Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) study focuses on the United States Federal Government operations, but also addresses national and global ... issues in order to facilitate the interoperation of protected electronic commerce among the various levels of government in the U.S., private citizens

The future of infrastructure security :

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

Garcia, Pablo; Turnley, Jessica Glicken; Parrott, Lori K.

2013-05-01

Sandia National Laboratories hosted a workshop on the future of infrastructure security on February 27-28, 2013, in Albuquerque, NM. The 17 participants came from backgrounds as diverse as federal policy, the insurance industry, infrastructure management, and technology development. The purpose of the workshop was to surface key issues, identify directions forward, and lay groundwork for cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary collaborations. The workshop addressed issues such as the problem space (what is included in infrastructure problems?), the general types of threats to infrastructure (such as acute or chronic, system-inherent or exogenously imposed) and definitions of secure and resilient infrastructures. The workshop concludedmore » with a consideration of stakeholders and players in the infrastructure world, and identification of specific activities that could be undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other players.« less

Integrated Facilities and Infrastructure Plan.

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

Reisz Westlund, Jennifer Jill

Our facilities and infrastructure are a key element of our capability-based science and engineering foundation. The focus of the Integrated Facilities and Infrastructure Plan is the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan to sustain the capabilities necessary to meet national research, design, and fabrication needs for Sandia National Laboratories’ (Sandia’s) comprehensive national security missions both now and into the future. A number of Sandia’s facilities have reached the end of their useful lives and many others are not suitable for today’s mission needs. Due to the continued aging and surge in utilization of Sandia’s facilities, deferred maintenance has continuedmore » to increase. As part of our planning focus, Sandia is committed to halting the growth of deferred maintenance across its sites through demolition, replacement, and dedicated funding to reduce the backlog of maintenance needs. Sandia will become more agile in adapting existing space and changing how space is utilized in response to the changing requirements. This Integrated Facilities & Infrastructure (F&I) Plan supports the Sandia Strategic Plan’s strategic objectives, specifically Strategic Objective 2: Strengthen our Laboratories’ foundation to maximize mission impact, and Strategic Objective 3: Advance an exceptional work environment that enables and inspires our people in service to our nation. The Integrated F&I Plan is developed through a planning process model to understand the F&I needs, analyze solution options, plan the actions and funding, and then execute projects.« less

Internet infrastructures and health care systems: a qualitative comparative analysis on networks and markets in the British National Health Service and Kaiser Permanente.

PubMed

Séror, Ann C

2002-12-01

The Internet and emergent telecommunications infrastructures are transforming the future of health care management. The costs of health care delivery systems, products, and services continue to rise everywhere, but performance of health care delivery is associated with institutional and ideological considerations as well as availability of financial and technological resources. to identify the effects of ideological differences on health care market infrastructures including the Internet and telecommunications technologies by a comparative case analysis of two large health care organizations: the British National Health Service and the California-based Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization. A qualitative comparative analysis focusing on the British National Health Service and the Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization to show how system infrastructures vary according to market dynamics dominated by health care institutions ("push") or by consumer demand ("pull"). System control mechanisms may be technologically embedded, institutional, or behavioral. The analysis suggests that telecommunications technologies and the Internet may contribute significantly to health care system performance in a context of ideological diversity. The study offers evidence to validate alternative models of health care governance: the national constitution model, and the enterprise business contract model. This evidence also suggests important questions for health care policy makers as well as researchers in telecommunications, organizational theory, and health care management.

Internet Infrastructures and Health Care Systems: a Qualitative Comparative Analysis on Networks and Markets in the British National Health Service and Kaiser Permanente

PubMed Central

2002-01-01

Background The Internet and emergent telecommunications infrastructures are transforming the future of health care management. The costs of health care delivery systems, products, and services continue to rise everywhere, but performance of health care delivery is associated with institutional and ideological considerations as well as availability of financial and technological resources. Objective To identify the effects of ideological differences on health care market infrastructures including the Internet and telecommunications technologies by a comparative case analysis of two large health care organizations: the British National Health Service and the California-based Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization. Methods A qualitative comparative analysis focusing on the British National Health Service and the Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization to show how system infrastructures vary according to market dynamics dominated by health care institutions ("push") or by consumer demand ("pull"). System control mechanisms may be technologically embedded, institutional, or behavioral. Results The analysis suggests that telecommunications technologies and the Internet may contribute significantly to health care system performance in a context of ideological diversity. Conclusions The study offers evidence to validate alternative models of health care governance: the national constitution model, and the enterprise business contract model. This evidence also suggests important questions for health care policy makers as well as researchers in telecommunications, organizational theory, and health care management. PMID:12554552

The Human Physiome: how standards, software and innovative service infrastructures are providing the building blocks to make it achievable

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Reconstructing and understanding the Human Physiome virtually is a complex mathematical problem, and a highly demanding computational challenge. Mathematical models spanning from the molecular level through to whole populations of individuals must be integrated, then personalized. This requires interoperability with multiple disparate and geographically separated data sources, and myriad computational software tools. Extracting and producing knowledge from such sources, even when the databases and software are readily available, is a challenging task. Despite the difficulties, researchers must frequently perform these tasks so that available knowledge can be continually integrated into the common framework required to realize the Human Physiome. Software and infrastructures that support the communities that generate these, together with their underlying standards to format, describe and interlink the corresponding data and computer models, are pivotal to the Human Physiome being realized. They provide the foundations for integrating, exchanging and re-using data and models efficiently, and correctly, while also supporting the dissemination of growing knowledge in these forms. In this paper, we explore the standards, software tooling, repositories and infrastructures that support this work, and detail what makes them vital to realizing the Human Physiome. PMID:27051515

The Human Physiome: how standards, software and innovative service infrastructures are providing the building blocks to make it achievable.

PubMed

Nickerson, David; Atalag, Koray; de Bono, Bernard; Geiger, Jörg; Goble, Carole; Hollmann, Susanne; Lonien, Joachim; Müller, Wolfgang; Regierer, Babette; Stanford, Natalie J; Golebiewski, Martin; Hunter, Peter

2016-04-06

Reconstructing and understanding the Human Physiome virtually is a complex mathematical problem, and a highly demanding computational challenge. Mathematical models spanning from the molecular level through to whole populations of individuals must be integrated, then personalized. This requires interoperability with multiple disparate and geographically separated data sources, and myriad computational software tools. Extracting and producing knowledge from such sources, even when the databases and software are readily available, is a challenging task. Despite the difficulties, researchers must frequently perform these tasks so that available knowledge can be continually integrated into the common framework required to realize the Human Physiome. Software and infrastructures that support the communities that generate these, together with their underlying standards to format, describe and interlink the corresponding data and computer models, are pivotal to the Human Physiome being realized. They provide the foundations for integrating, exchanging and re-using data and models efficiently, and correctly, while also supporting the dissemination of growing knowledge in these forms. In this paper, we explore the standards, software tooling, repositories and infrastructures that support this work, and detail what makes them vital to realizing the Human Physiome.

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources and its activities

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

NONE

1995-06-01

The Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR) coordinates, the National Research Council`s advice to the federal government on solid-earth science issues. The board identifies opportunities for advancing basic research and understanding, reports on applications of earth sciences in such areas as disaster mitigation and resource utilization, and analyzes the scientific underpinnings and credibility of earth science information for resource, environmental and other applications and policy decision. Committees operating under the guidance of the Board conducts studies addressing specific issues within the earth sciences. The current committees are as follows: Committee on Geophysical and Environmental Data; Mapping Sciences Committee; Committeemore » on Seismology; Committee on Geodesy; Rediscovering Geography Committee; Committee on Research Programs of the US Bureau of Mines. The following recent reports are briefly described: research programs of the US Bureau of Mines, first assessment 1994; Mount Rainier, active cascade volcano; the national geomagnetic initiative; reservoir class field demonstration program; solid-earth sciences and society; data foundation for the national spatial infrastructure; promoting the national spatial data infrastructure through partnerships; toward a coordinated spatial data infrastructure for the nation; and charting a course into the digital era; guidance to the NOAA`s nautical charting mission.« less

Nasa's Experiences Enabling the Capture and Sharing of Technical Expertise Through Communities of Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Topousis, Daria E.; Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Lebsock, Kenneth L.

2012-12-01

Historically, engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had few opportunities or incentives to share their technical expertise across the Agency. Its center- and project-focused culture often meant that knowledge never left organizational and geographic boundaries. The need to develop a knowledge sharing culture became critical as a result of increasingly complex missions, closeout of the Shuttle Program, and a new generation of engineers entering the workforce. To address this need, the Office of the Chief Engineer established communities of practice on the NASA Engineering Network. These communities were strategically aligned with NASA's core competencies in such disciplines as avionics, flight mechanics, life support, propulsion, structures, loads and dynamics, human factors, and guidance, navigation, and control. This paper is a case study of NASA's implementation of a system that would identify and develop communities, from establishing simple websites that compiled discipline-specific resources to fostering a knowledge-sharing environment through collaborative and interactive technologies. It includes qualitative evidence of improved availability and transfer of knowledge. It focuses on capabilities that increased knowledge exchange such as a custom-made Ask An Expert system, community contact lists, publication of key resources, and submission forms that allowed any user to propose content for the sites. It discusses the peer relationships that developed through the communities and the leadership and infrastructure that made them possible.

Building Nationally-Focussed, Globally Federated, High Performance Earth Science Platforms to Solve Next Generation Social and Economic Issues.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyborn, Lesley; Evans, Ben; Foster, Clinton; Pugh, Timothy; Uhlherr, Alfred

2015-04-01

Digital geoscience data and information are integral to informing decisions on the social, economic and environmental management of natural resources. Traditionally, such decisions were focused on regional or national viewpoints only, but it is increasingly being recognised that global perspectives are required to meet new challenges such as predicting impacts of climate change; sustainably exploiting scarce water, mineral and energy resources; and protecting our communities through better prediction of the behaviour of natural hazards. In recent years, technical advances in scientific instruments have resulted in a surge in data volumes, with data now being collected at unprecedented rates and at ever increasing resolutions. The size of many earth science data sets now exceed the computational capacity of many government and academic organisations to locally store and dynamically access the data sets; to internally process and analyse them to high resolutions; and then to deliver them online to clients, partners and stakeholders. Fortunately, at the same time, computational capacities have commensurately increased (both cloud and HPC): these can now provide the capability to effectively access the ever-growing data assets within realistic time frames. However, to achieve this, data and computing need to be co-located: bandwidth limits the capacity to move the large data sets; the data transfers are too slow; and latencies to access them are too high. These scenarios are driving the move towards more centralised High Performance (HP) Infrastructures. The rapidly increasing scale of data, the growing complexity of software and hardware environments, combined with the energy costs of running such infrastructures is creating a compelling economic argument for just having one or two major national (or continental) HP facilities that can be federated internationally to enable earth and environmental issues to be tackled at global scales. But at the same time, if properly constructed, these infrastructures can also service very small-scale research projects. The National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) at the Australian National University (ANU) has built such an HP infrastructure as part of the Australian Government's National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. NCI operates as a formal partnership between the ANU and the three major Australian National Government Scientific Agencies: the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia. The government partners agreed to explore the new opportunities offered within the partnership with NCI, rather than each running their own separate agenda independently. The data from these national agencies, as well as from collaborating overseas organisations (e.g., NASA, NOAA, USGS, CMIP, etc.) are either replicated to, or produced at, NCI. By co-locating and harmonising these vast data collections within the integrated HP computing environments at NCI, new opportunities have arisen for Data-intensive Interdisciplinary Science at scales and resolutions not hitherto possible. The new NCI infrastructure has also enabled the blending of research by the university sector with the more operational business of government science agencies, with the fundamental shift being that researchers from both sectors work and collaborate within a federated data and computational environment that contains both national and international data collections.

Cyberspace Policy Review: Assuring a Trusted and Resilient Information and Communications Infrastructure

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-01

information technology revolution. The architecture of the Nation’s digital infrastructure, based largely upon the Internet, is not secure or resilient...thriving digital infrastructure. In addi­ tion, differing national and regional laws and practices —such as laws concerning the investigation and... technology has transformed the global economy and connected people and markets in ways never imagined. To realize the full benefits of the digital

Current Standardization and Cooperative Efforts Related to Industrial Information Infrastructures.

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-05-01

Data Management Systems: Components used to store, manage, and retrieve data. Data management includes knowledge bases, database management...Application Development Tools and Methods X/Open and POSIX APIs Integrated Design Support System (IDS) Knowledge -Based Systems (KBS) Application...IDEFlx) Yourdon Jackson System Design (JSD) Knowledge -Based Systems (KBSs) Structured Systems Development (SSD) Semantic Unification Meta-Model

Knowledge Co-production at the Research-Practice Interface: Embedded Case Studies from Urban Forestry

Treesearch

Lindsay K. Campbell; Erika S. Svendsen; Lara A. Roman

2016-01-01

Cities are increasingly engaging in sustainability efforts and investment in green infrastructure, including large-scale urban tree planting campaigns. In this context, researchers and practitioners are working jointly to develop applicable knowledge for planning and managing the urban forest. This paper presents three case studies of knowledge co-production in the...

RH-TRU Waste Characterization by Acceptable Knowledge at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

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

Schulz, C.; Givens, C.; Bhatt, R.

2003-02-24

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is conducting an effort to characterize approximately 620 drums of remote-handled (RH-) transuranic (TRU) waste currently in its inventory that were generated at the Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E) Alpha Gamma Hot Cell Facility (AGHCF) between 1971 and 1995. The waste was generated at the AGHCF during the destructive examination of irradiated and unirradiated fuel pins, targets, and other materials from reactor programs at ANL-West (ANL-W) and other Department of Energy (DOE) reactors. In support of this effort, Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure (formerly IT Corporation) developed an acceptable knowledge (AK) collection and management programmore » based on existing contact-handled (CH)-TRU waste program requirements and proposed RH-TRU waste program requirements in effect in July 2001. Consistent with Attachments B-B6 of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (HWFP) and th e proposed Class 3 permit modification (Attachment R [RH-WAP] of this permit), the draft AK Summary Report prepared under the AK procedure describes the waste generating process and includes determinations in the following areas based on AK: physical form (currently identified at the Waste Matrix Code level); waste stream delineation; applicability of hazardous waste numbers for hazardous waste constituents; and prohibited items. In addition, the procedure requires and the draft summary report contains information supporting determinations in the areas of defense relationship and radiological characterization.« less

The process of moving from a regionally based cervical cytology biobank to a national infrastructure.

PubMed

Perskvist, Nasrin; Norlin, Loreana; Dillner, Joakim

2015-04-01

This article addresses the important issue of the standardization of the biobank process. It reports on i) the implementation of standard operating procedures for the processing of liquid-based cervical cells, ii) the standardization of storage conditions, and iii) the ultimate establishment of nationwide standardized biorepositories for cervical specimens. Given the differences in the infrastructure and healthcare systems of various county councils in Sweden, these efforts were designed to develop standardized methods of biobanking across the nation. The standardization of cervical sample processing and biobanking is an important and widely acknowledged issue. Efforts to address these concerns will facilitate better patient care and improve research based on retrospective and prospective collections of patient samples and cohorts. The successful nationalization of the Cervical Cytology Biobank in Sweden is based on three vital issues: i) the flexibility of the system to adapt to other regional systems, ii) the development of the system based on national collaboration between the university and the county councils, and iii) stable governmental financing by the provider, the Biobanking and Molecular Resource Infrastructure of Sweden (BBMRI.se). We will share our experiences with biorepository communities to promote understanding of and advances in opportunities to establish a nationalized biobank which covers the healthcare of the entire nation.

Radioactive Waste Management in Non-Nuclear Countries - 13070

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

Kubelka, Dragan; Trifunovic, Dejan

2013-07-01

This paper challenges internationally accepted concepts of dissemination of responsibilities between all stakeholders involved in national radioactive waste management infrastructure in the countries without nuclear power program. Mainly it concerns countries classified as class A and potentially B countries according to International Atomic Energy Agency. It will be shown that in such countries long term sustainability of national radioactive waste management infrastructure is very sensitive issue that can be addressed by involving regulatory body in more active way in the infrastructure. In that way countries can mitigate possible consequences on the very sensitive open market of radioactive waste management services,more » comprised mainly of radioactive waste generators, operators of end-life management facilities and regulatory body. (authors)« less

FIN-EPOS - Finnish national initiative of the European Plate Observing System: Bringing Finnish solid Earth infrastructures into EPOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vuorinen, Tommi; Korja, Annakaisa

2017-04-01

FIN-EPOS consortium is a joint community of Finnish national research institutes tasked with operating and maintaining solid-earth geophysical and geological observatories and laboratories in Finland. These national research infrastructures (NRIs) seek to join EPOS research infrastructure (EPOS RI) and further pursue Finland's participation as a founding member in EPOS ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium). Current partners of FIN-EPOS are the University of Helsinki (UH), the University of and Oulu (UO), Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI) of the National Land Survey (NLS), Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), CSC - IT Center for Science and MIKES Metrology at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. The consortium is hosted by the Institute of Seismology, UH (ISUH). The primary purpose of the consortium is to act as a coordinating body between various NRIs and the EPOS RI. FIN-EPOS engages in planning and development of the national EPOS RI and will provide support in EPOS implementation phase (IP) for the partner NRIs. FIN-EPOS also promotes the awareness of EPOS in Finland and is open to new partner NRIs that would benefit from participating in EPOS. The consortium additionally seeks to advance solid Earth science education, technologies and innovations in Finland and is actively engaging in Nordic co-operation and collaboration of solid Earth RIs. The main short term objective of FIN-EPOS is to make Finnish geoscientific data provided by NRIs interoperable with the Thematic Core Services (TCS) in the EPOS IP. Consortium partners commit into applying and following metadata and data format standards provided by EPOS. FIN-EPOS will also provide a national Finnish language web portal where users are identified and their user rights for EPOS resources are defined.

A National Climate Change Adaptation Network for Protecting Water Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, A.; Sauchyn, D.; Byrne, J. M.

2009-12-01

Water security and resource-dependent community-survival are being increasingly challenged as a consequence of climate change, and it is urgent that we plan now for the security of our water supplies which support our lives and livelihoods. However, the range of impacts of climate change on water availability, and the consequent environmental and human adaptations that are required, is so complex and serious that it will take the combined work of natural, health and social scientists working with industries and communities to solve them. Networks are needed that will identify crucial water issues under climate change at a range of scales in order to provide regionally-sensitive, solutions-oriented research and adaptation. We suggest national and supra-national water availability and community sustainability issues must be addressed by multidisciplinary research and adaptation networks. The work must be driven by a bottom-up research paradigm — science in the service of community and governance. We suggest that interdisciplinary teams of researchers, in partnership with community decision makers and local industries, are the best means to develop solutions as communities attempt to address future water demands, protect their homes from infrastructure damage, and meet their food, drinking water, and other essential resource requirements. The intention is to cover: the impact of climate change on Canadian natural resources, both marine and terrestrial; issues of long-term sustainability and resilience in human communities and the environments in which they are embedded; the making and moving of knowledge, be that between members of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, researchers of different disciplines, communities, industry, policymakers and the academy and the crucial involvement of the various orders of government in the response to water problems, under conditions of heightened uncertainty. Such an adaptation network must include a national communications strategy that will ensure widespread visibility of the network’s activities and findings and general public awareness-raising regarding water challenges and opportunities, including accessible web infrastructure and printed materials and communication with key organizations.

Expanding research to provide an evidence base for nutritional interventions for the management of inborn errors of metabolism.

PubMed

Camp, Kathryn M; Lloyd-Puryear, Michele A; Yao, Lynne; Groft, Stephen C; Parisi, Melissa A; Mulberg, Andrew; Gopal-Srivastava, Rashmi; Cederbaum, Stephen; Enns, Gregory M; Ershow, Abby G; Frazier, Dianne M; Gohagan, John; Harding, Cary; Howell, R Rodney; Regan, Karen; Stacpoole, Peter W; Venditti, Charles; Vockley, Jerry; Watson, Michael; Coates, Paul M

2013-08-01

A trans-National Institutes of Health initiative, Nutrition and Dietary Supplement Interventions for Inborn Errors of Metabolism (NDSI-IEM), was launched in 2010 to identify gaps in knowledge regarding the safety and utility of nutritional interventions for the management of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) that need to be filled with evidence-based research. IEM include inherited biochemical disorders in which specific enzyme defects interfere with the normal metabolism of exogenous (dietary) or endogenous protein, carbohydrate, or fat. For some of these IEM, effective management depends primarily on nutritional interventions. Further research is needed to demonstrate the impact of nutritional interventions on individual health outcomes and on the psychosocial issues identified by patients and their families. A series of meetings and discussions were convened to explore the current United States' funding and regulatory infrastructure and the challenges to the conduct of research for nutritional interventions for the management of IEM. Although the research and regulatory infrastructure are well-established, a collaborative pathway that includes the professional and advocacy rare disease community and federal regulatory and research agencies will be needed to overcome current barriers. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New technology innovations with potential for space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishen, Kumar

2008-07-01

Human exploration and development of space is being pursued by spacefaring nations to explore, use, and enable the development of space and expand the human experience there. The goals include: increasing human knowledge of nature's processes using the space environment; exploring and settling the solar system; achieving routine space travel; and enriching life on Earth through living and working in space. A crucial aspect of future space missions is the development of infrastructure to optimize safety, productivity, and costs. A major component of mission execution is operations management. NASA's International Space Station is providing extensive experience in both infrastructure and operations. In view of this, a vigorously organized approach is needed to implement successful space-, planet-, and ground-based research and operations that entails wise and efficient use of technical and human resources. Many revolutionary technologies being pursued by researchers and technologists may be vital in making space missions safe, reliable, cost-effective, and productive. These include: ionic polymer-metal composite technology; solid-state lasers; time-domain sensors and communication systems; high-temperature superconductivity; nanotechnology; variable specific impulse magneto plasma rocket; fuzzy logic; wavelet technology; and neural networks. An overview of some of these will be presented, along with their application to space missions.

The Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences: Enabling data-intensive life science research in the Netherlands

PubMed Central

Eijssen, Lars; Evelo, Chris; Kok, Ruben; Mons, Barend; Hooft, Rob

2016-01-01

We describe the Data programme of the Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences (DTL, www.dtls.nl). DTL is a new national organisation in scientific research that facilitates life scientists with technologies and technological expertise in an era where new projects often are data-intensive, multi-disciplinary, and multi-site. It is run as a lean not-for-profit organisation with research organisations (both academic and industrial) as paying members. The small staff of the organisation undertakes a variety of tasks that are necessary to perform or support modern academic research, but that are not easily undertaken in a purely academic setting. DTL Data takes care of such tasks related to data stewardship, facilitating exchange of knowledge and expertise, and brokering access to e-infrastructure. DTL also represents the Netherlands in ELIXIR, the European infrastructure for life science data. The organisation is still being fine-tuned and this will continue over time, as it is crucial for this kind of organisation to adapt to a constantly changing environment. However, already being underway for several years, our experiences can benefit researchers in other fields or other countries setting up similar initiatives. PMID:26913186

ARM Mentor Selection Process

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

Sisterson, D. L.

2015-10-01

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program was created in 1989 with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop several highly instrumented ground stations to study cloud formation processes and their influence on radiative transfer. In 2003, the ARM Program became a national scientific user facility, known as the ARM Climate Research Facility. This scientific infrastructure provides for fixed sites, mobile facilities, an aerial facility, and a data archive available for use by scientists worldwide through the ARM Climate Research Facility—a scientific user facility. The ARM Climate Research Facility currently operates more than 300 instrument systems that providemore » ground-based observations of the atmospheric column. To keep ARM at the forefront of climate observations, the ARM infrastructure depends heavily on instrument scientists and engineers, also known as lead mentors. Lead mentors must have an excellent understanding of in situ and remote-sensing instrumentation theory and operation and have comprehensive knowledge of critical scale-dependent atmospheric processes. They must also possess the technical and analytical skills to develop new data retrievals that provide innovative approaches for creating research-quality data sets. The ARM Climate Research Facility is seeking the best overall qualified candidate who can fulfill lead mentor requirements in a timely manner.« less

Leveraging Epidemiology and Clinical Studies of Cancer Outcomes: Recommendations and Opportunities for Translational Research

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

As the number of cancer survivors continues to grow, research investigating the factors that affect cancer outcomes, such as disease recurrence, risk of second malignant neoplasms, and the late effects of cancer treatments, becomes ever more important. Numerous epidemiologic studies have investigated factors that affect cancer risk, but far fewer have addressed the extent to which demographic, lifestyle, genomic, clinical, and psychosocial factors influence cancer outcomes. To identify research priorities as well as resources and infrastructure needed to advance the field of cancer outcomes and survivorship research, the National Cancer Institute sponsored a workshop titled “Utilizing Data from Cancer Survivor Cohorts: Understanding the Current State of Knowledge and Developing Future Research Priorities” on November 3, 2011, in Washington, DC. This commentary highlights recent findings presented at the workshop, opportunities to leverage existing data, and recommendations for future research, data, and infrastructure needed to address high priority clinical and research questions. Multidisciplinary teams that include epidemiologists, clinicians, biostatisticians, and bioinformaticists will be essential to facilitate future cancer outcome studies focused on improving clinical care of cancer patients, identifying those at high risk of poor outcomes, and implementing effective interventions to ultimately improve the quality and duration of survival. PMID:23197494

1997 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Infrastructure Actions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Read about the EPA's infrastructure actions for the 1997 Ozone NAAQS. These actions are regarding states' failure to submit SIPs addressing various parts of the standards. Here you can read the federal register notices, fact sheets, and the docket folder.

2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) Infrastructure Actions

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Read about the EPA's infrastructure actions for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS. These actions are regarding states' failure to submit SIPs addressing various parts of the standards. Here you can read the federal register notices, fact sheets, and the docket folder.

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Columbus : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Fresno : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Sacramento : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Bakersfield : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Albuquerque : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Springfield : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

76 FR 50487 - Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) Stakeholder Survey

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-15

... Information (PCII) Stakeholder Survey AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS. ACTION: 30... Collection Request, Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) Stakeholder Survey. DHS previously... homeland security duties. This survey is designed to gather information from PCII Officers that can be used...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Knoxville : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Wichita : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Phoenix : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Baltimore : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Orlando : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Austin : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Highway Funding: It's Time to Think Seriously About Operations. A Policy Framework

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-09-01

This report describes the results of a major data gathering effort aimed at tracking deployment of nine infrastructure components of the metropolitan ITS infrastructure in 78 of the largest metropolitan areas in the nation. The nine components are: F...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Toledo : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Charleston : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Louisville : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Nashville : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Rochester : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Honolulu : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Birmingham : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

77 FR 71568 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Tennessee; Interstate Transport Infrastructure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-03

... Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Tennessee; Interstate Transport Infrastructure Requirements (Prevention of Significant Deterioration) for the 2008 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements pertaining to prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) (concerning...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Memphis : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Jacksonville : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Indianapolis : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Tulsa : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Atlanta : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Syracuse : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Washington : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Dallas : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

78 FR 19277 - National Maritime Security Advisory Committee; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-29

... Obama signed an Executive Order to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure by increasing information sharing and by jointly developing and implementing a framework of cybersecurity practices with our...-press-office/2013/02/12/executive-order-improving-critical-infrastructure-cybersecurity . (2...

15 CFR 292.4 - Information infrastructure projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Information infrastructure projects. 292.4 Section 292.4 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NIST EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS...

15 CFR 292.4 - Information infrastructure projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Information infrastructure projects. 292.4 Section 292.4 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NIST EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS...

15 CFR 292.4 - Information infrastructure projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Information infrastructure projects. 292.4 Section 292.4 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NIST EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Omaha : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

International Development of e-Infrastructures and Data Management Priorities for Global Change Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, M. L.; Gurney, R. J.

2015-12-01

An e-infrastructure that supports data-intensive, multidisciplinary research is needed to accelerate the pace of science to address 21st century global change challenges. Data discovery, access, sharing and interoperability collectively form core elements of an emerging shared vision of e-infrastructure for scientific discovery. The pace and breadth of change in information management across the data lifecycle means that no one country or institution can unilaterally provide the leadership and resources required to use data and information effectively, or needed to support a coordinated, global e-infrastructure. An 18-month long process involving ~120 experts in domain, computer, and social sciences from more than a dozen countries resulted in a formal set of recommendations to the Belmont Forum collaboration of national science funding agencies and others on what they are best suited to implement for development of an e-infrastructure in support of global change research, including: adoption of data principles that promote a global, interoperable e-infrastructure establishment of information and data officers for coordination of global data management and e-infrastructure efforts promotion of effective data planning determination of best practices development of a cross-disciplinary training curriculum on data management and curation The Belmont Forum is ideally poised to play a vital and transformative leadership role in establishing a sustained human and technical international data e-infrastructure to support global change research. The international collaborative process that went into forming these recommendations is contributing to national governments and funding agencies and international bodies working together to execute them.

50 CFR 86.123 - Comprehensive National Assessment schedule.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Comprehensive National Assessment schedule... INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT (BIG) PROGRAM Completing the Comprehensive National Assessment § 86.123 Comprehensive... results and produce the Comprehensive National Assessment by September 30, 2003. ...

Water Conservation and Hydrological Transitions in Cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hornberger, G. M.; Gilligan, J. M.; Hess, D. J.

2014-12-01

A 2012 report by the National Research Council, Challenges and Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences, called for the development of "translational hydrologic science." Translational research in this context requires knowledge about the communication of science to decision makers and to the public but also improved understanding of the public by the scientists. This kind of knowledge is inherently interdisciplinary because it requires understanding of the complex sociotechnical dimensions of water, policy, and user relations. It is axiomatic that good governance of water resources and water infrastructure requires information about water resources themselves and about the institutions that govern water use. This "socio-hydrologic" or "hydrosociological" knowledge is often characterized by complex dynamics between and among human and natural systems. Water Resources Research has provided a forum for presentation of interdisciplinary research in coupled natural-human systems since its inception 50 years ago. The evolution of ideas presented in the journal provides a basis for framing new work, an example of which is water conservation in cities. In particular, we explore the complex interactions of political, sociodemographic, economic, and hydroclimatological factors in affecting decisions that either advance or retard the development of water conservation policies.

Incorporation of Personal Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) Data into a National Level Electronic Health Record for Disease Risk Assessment, Part 3: An Evaluation of SNP Incorporated National Health Information System of Turkey for Prostate Cancer

PubMed Central

Beyan, Timur

2014-01-01

Background A personalized medicine approach provides opportunities for predictive and preventive medicine. Using genomic, clinical, environmental, and behavioral data, the tracking and management of individual wellness is possible. A prolific way to carry this personalized approach into routine practices can be accomplished by integrating clinical interpretations of genomic variations into electronic medical records (EMRs)/electronic health records (EHRs). Today, various central EHR infrastructures have been constituted in many countries of the world, including Turkey. Objective As an initial attempt to develop a sophisticated infrastructure, we have concentrated on incorporating the personal single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data into the National Health Information System of Turkey (NHIS-T) for disease risk assessment, and evaluated the performance of various predictive models for prostate cancer cases. We present our work as a three part miniseries: (1) an overview of requirements, (2) the incorporation of SNP data into the NHIS-T, and (3) an evaluation of SNP data incorporated into the NHIS-T for prostate cancer. Methods In the third article of this miniseries, we have evaluated the proposed complementary capabilities (ie, knowledge base and end-user application) with real data. Before the evaluation phase, clinicogenomic associations about increased prostate cancer risk were extracted from knowledge sources, and published predictive genomic models assessing individual prostate cancer risk were collected. To evaluate complementary capabilities, we also gathered personal SNP data of four prostate cancer cases and fifteen controls. Using these data files, we compared various independent and model-based, prostate cancer risk assessment approaches. Results Through the extraction and selection processes of SNP-prostate cancer risk associations, we collected 209 independent associations for increased risk of prostate cancer from the studied knowledge sources. Also, we gathered six cumulative models and two probabilistic models. Cumulative models and assessment of independent associations did not have impressive results. There was one of the probabilistic, model-based interpretation that was successful compared to the others. In envirobehavioral and clinical evaluations, we found that some of the comorbidities, especially, would be useful to evaluate disease risk. Even though we had a very limited dataset, a comparison of performances of different disease models and their implementation with real data as use case scenarios helped us to gain deeper insight into the proposed architecture. Conclusions In order to benefit from genomic variation data, existing EHR/EMR systems must be constructed with the capability of tracking and monitoring all aspects of personal health status (genomic, clinical, environmental, etc) in 24/7 situations, and also with the capability of suggesting evidence-based recommendations. A national-level, accredited knowledge base is a top requirement for improved end-user systems interpreting these parameters. Finally, categorization using similar, individual characteristics (SNP patterns, exposure history, etc) may be an effective way to predict disease risks, but this approach needs to be concretized and supported with new studies. PMID:25600087

The open black box: The role of the end-user in GIS integration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poore, B.S.

2003-01-01

Formalist theories of knowledge that underpin GIS scholarship on integration neglect the importance and creativity of end-users in knowledge construction. This has practical consequences for the success of large distributed databases that contribute to spatial-data infrastructures. Spatial-data infrastructures depend on participation at local levels, such as counties and watersheds, and they must be developed to support feedback from local users. Looking carefully at the work of scientists in a watershed in Puget Sound, Washington, USA during the salmon crisis reveals that the work of these end-users articulates different worlds of knowledge. This view of the user is consonant with recent work in science and technology studies and research into computer-supported cooperative work. GIS theory will be enhanced when it makes room for these users and supports their practical work. ?? / Canadian Association of Geographers.

A Survey of Knowledge Management Research & Development at NASA Ames Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This chapter catalogs knowledge management research and development activities at NASA Ames Research Center as of April 2002. A general categorization scheme for knowledge management systems is first introduced. This categorization scheme divides knowledge management capabilities into five broad categories: knowledge capture, knowledge preservation, knowledge augmentation, knowledge dissemination, and knowledge infrastructure. Each of nearly 30 knowledge management systems developed at Ames is then classified according to this system. Finally, a capsule description of each system is presented along with information on deployment status, funding sources, contact information, and both published and internet-based references.

Building Stronger State Partnerships with the US Department of Energy (Energy Assurance)

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

Mike Keogh

2011-09-30

From 2007 until 2011, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) engaged in a partnership with the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) to improve State-Federal coordination on electricity policy and energy assurance issues. This project allowed State Public Utility Commissioners and their staffs to engage on the most cutting-edge level in the arenas of energy assurance and electricity policy. Four tasks were outlined in the Statement of Performance Objectives: Task 1 - Training for Commissions on Critical Infrastructure Topics; Task 2 - Analyze and Implement Recommendations on Energy Assurance Issues; Task 3 - Ongoing liaison activities & outreach tomore » build stronger networks between federal agencies and state regulators; and Task 4 - Additional Activities. Although four tasks were prescribed, in practice these tasks were carried out under two major activity areas: the critical infrastructure and energy assurance partnership with the US Department of Energy's Infrastructure Security and Emergency Response office, and the National Council on Electricity Policy, a collaborative which since 1994 has brought together State and Federal policymakers to address the most pressing issues facing the grid from restructuring to smart grid implementation. On Critical Infrastructure protection, this cooperative agreement helped State officials yield several important advances. The lead role on NARUC's side was played by our Committee on Critical Infrastructure Protection. Key lessons learned in this arena include the following: (1) Tabletops and exercises work - They improve the capacity of policymakers and their industry counterparts to face the most challenging energy emergencies, and thereby equip these actors with the capacity to face everything up to that point as well. (2) Information sharing is critical - Connecting people who need information with people who have information is a key success factor. However, exposure of critical infrastructure information to bad actors also creates new vulnerabilities. (3) Tensions exist between the transparency-driven basis of regulatory activity and the information-protection requirements of asset protection. (4) Coordination between states is a key success factor - Because comparatively little federal authority exists over electricity and other energy infrastructure, the interstate nature of these energy grids defy centralized command and control governance. Patchwork responses are a risk when addressed at a state-by-state level. Coordination is the key to ensuring consistent response to shared threats. In Electricity Policy, the National Council on Electricity Policy continued to make important strides forward. Coordinated electricity policy among States remains the best surrogate for an absent national electricity policy. In every area from energy efficiency to clean coal, State policies are driving the country's electricity policy, and regional responses to climate change, infrastructure planning, market operation, and new technology deployment depend on a forum for bringing the States together.« less

Ketamine and international regulations.

PubMed

Liao, Yanhui; Tang, Yi-Lang; Hao, Wei

2017-09-01

Ketamine is an anesthetic commonly used in low-income countries and has recently been shown to be effective for treatment-resistant depression. However, the illicit manufacturing, trafficking, and nonmedical use of ketamine are increasing globally, and its illicit use poses major public health challenges in many countries. To review the nonmedical use of ketamine in selected countries and its regulatory control. We conducted a review of literature identified from searches of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (1979-2016) and PubMed databases, supplemented by additional references identified by the authors. Special attention was given to the regulation of ketamine. Illicit manufacturing, trafficking, and use of ketamine appear to have begun on a large scale in several Asian nations, and it has subsequently spread to other regions. Regulations governing availability of ketamine vary across countries, but there is a clear trend toward tighter regulations. As nonmedical use of ketamine and its harmful consequences have worsened globally, stricter controls are necessary. Appropriate regulation of ketamine is important for international efforts to control ketamine's cross-border trafficking and its nonmedical use.

Acupuncture for treating sciatica: a systematic review protocol

PubMed Central

Qin, Zongshi; Liu, Xiaoxu; Yao, Qin; Zhai, Yanbing; Liu, Zhishun

2015-01-01

Introduction This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for treating sciatica. Methods The following nine databases will be searched from their inception to 30 October 2014: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), the Chinese Medical Current Content (CMCC), the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), the Wan-Fang Database, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Citation Information by National Institute of Informatics (CiNii). Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for sciatica in English, Chinese or Japanese without restriction of publication status will be included. Two researchers will independently undertake study selection, extraction of data and assessment of study quality. Meta-analysis will be conducted after screening of studies. Data will be analysed using risk ratio for dichotomous data, and standardised mean difference or weighted mean difference for continuous data. Dissemination This systematic review will be disseminated electronically through a peer-reviewed publication or conference presentations. Trial registration number PROSPERO CRD42014015001. PMID:25922105

An ET-CURE Pilot Project Supporting Undergraduate Training in Cancer Research, Emerging Technology, and Health Disparities

PubMed Central

Wilson, Danyell S.; Fang, Bin; Dalton, William S.; Meade, Cathy; Koomen, John M.

2012-01-01

The National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities has created pilot training opportunities under the “Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences” (CURE) program that focus on emerging technologies (ET). In this pilot project, an eighteen month cancer biology research internship was reinforced with: instruction in an emerging technology (proteomics), a transition from the undergraduate laboratory to a research setting, education in cancer health disparities, and community outreach activities. A major goal was to provide underrepresented undergraduates with hands-on research experiences that are rarely encountered at the undergraduate level, including mentoring, research presentations, and participation in local and national meetings. These opportunities provided education and career development for the undergraduates, and they have given each student the opportunity to transition from learning to sharing their knowledge and from being mentored to mentoring others. Here, we present the concepts, curriculum, infrastructure, and challenges for this training program along with evaluations by both the students and their mentors. PMID:22528637

Specific Pathogen Free Macaque Colonies: A Review of Principles and Recent Advances for Viral Testing and Colony Management

PubMed Central

Yee, JoAnn L.; Vandeford, Thomas H.; Didier, Elizabeth S.; Gray, Stanton; Lewis, Anne; Roberts, Jeffrey; Taylor, Kerry; Bohm, Rudolf P.

2016-01-01

Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) macaques provide valuable animal models for biomedical research. In 1989 the National Center for Research Resources (now Office of Research Infrastructure Programs ORIP) of the National Institutes of Health initiated experimental research contracts to establish and maintain SPF colonies. The derivation and maintenance of SPF macaque colonies is a complex undertaking requiring knowledge of the biology of the agents for exclusion and normal physiology and behavior of macaques, application of the latest diagnostic technology, facilities management, and animal husbandry. This review provides information on the biology of the four viral agents targeted for exclusion in ORIP SPF macaque colonies, describes current state-of-the-art viral diagnostic algorithms, presents data from proficiency testing of diagnostic assays between laboratories at institutions participating in the ORIP SPF program, and outlines management strategies for maintaining the integrity of SPF colonies using results of diagnostic testing as a guide to decision making. PMID:26932456

An ET-CURE pilot project supporting undergraduate training in cancer research, emerging technology, and health disparities.

PubMed

Wilson, Danyell S; Fang, Bin; Dalton, William S; Meade, Cathy D; Koomen, John M

2012-06-01

The National Cancer Institute's Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities has created pilot training opportunities under the "Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences" program that focus on emerging technologies. In this pilot project, an 18-month cancer biology research internship was reinforced with: instruction in an emerging technology (proteomics), a transition from the undergraduate laboratory to a research setting, education in cancer health disparities, and community outreach activities. A major goal was to provide underrepresented undergraduates with hands-on research experiences that are rarely encountered at the undergraduate level, including mentoring, research presentations, and participation in local and national meetings. These opportunities provided education and career development for the undergraduates, and they have given each student the opportunity to transition from learning to sharing their knowledge and from being mentored to mentoring others. Here, we present the concepts, curriculum, infrastructure, and challenges for this training program along with evaluations by both the students and their mentors.

Hydrogeology of the Old Faithful area, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and its relevance to natural resources and infrastructure

USGS Publications Warehouse

,; Foley, Duncan; Fournier, Robert O.; Heasler, Henry P.; Hinckley, Bern; Ingebritsen, Steven E.; Lowenstern, Jacob B.; Susong, David D.

2014-01-01

There are many documented examples at YNP and elsewhere where human infrastructure and natural thermal features have negatively affected each other. Unless action is taken, human conflicts with the Old Faithful hydrothermal system are likely to increase over the coming years. This is partly because of the increase in park visitation over the past decades, but also because the interval between eruptions of Old Faithful has increased, lengthening the time spent (and services needed) for each visitor at Old Faithful. To avoid an increase in visitor impacts, the National Park Service should consider 2 alternate strategies to accommodate people, vehicles, and services in the Upper Geyser Basin, such as shuttle services from staging (parking and dining) areas with little or no recent hydrothermal activity. We further suggest that YNP consider a zone system to guide maintenance and development of infrastructure in the immediate Old Faithful area. A “red” zone includes hydrothermally active land where new development is discouraged and existing infrastructure is modified with great care. An outer “green” zone represents areas where cooler temperatures and less hydrothermal flow are thought to exist, and where development and maintenance could proceed as occurs elsewhere in the park. An intermediate “yellow” zone would require preliminary assessment of subsurface temperatures and gas concentrations to assess suitability for infrastructure development. The panel recommends that YNP management follow the lead of the National Park System Advisory Board Science Committee (2012) by applying the “precautionary principle” when making decisions regarding the interaction of hydrothermal phenomena and park infrastructure in the Old Faithful area and other thermal areas within YNP.

Risk Assessment Methodology for Water utilities (RAM-W) : the foundation for emergency response planning.

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

Danneels, Jeffrey John

2005-03-01

Concerns about acts of terrorism against critical infrastructures have been on the rise for several years. Critical infrastructures are those physical structures and information systems (including cyber) essential to the minimum operations of the economy and government. The President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP) probed the security of the nation's critical infrastructures. The PCCIP determined the water infrastructure is highly vulnerable to a range of potential attacks. In October 1997, the PCCIP proposed a public/private partnership between the federal government and private industry to improve the protection of the nation's critical infrastructures. In early 2000, the EPA partnered withmore » the Awwa Research Foundation (AwwaRF) and Sandia National Laboratories to create the Risk Assessment Methodology for Water Utilities (RAM-W{trademark}). Soon thereafter, they initiated an effort to create a template and minimum requirements for water utility Emergency Response Plans (ERP). All public water utilities in the US serving populations greater than 3,300 are required to undertaken both a vulnerability assessment and the development of an emergency response plan. This paper explains the initial steps of RAM-W{trademark} and then demonstrates how the security risk assessment is fundamental to the ERP. During the development of RAM-W{trademark}, Sandia performed several security risk assessments at large metropolitan water utilities. As part of the scope of that effort, ERPs at each utility were reviewed to determine how well they addressed significant vulnerabilities uncovered during the risk assessment. The ERP will contain responses to other events as well (e.g. natural disasters) but should address all major findings in the security risk assessment.« less

Improving water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care facilities, Liberia

PubMed Central

Montgomery, Maggie; Baller, April; Ndivo, Francis; Gasasira, Alex; Cooper, Catherine; Frescas, Ruben; Gordon, Bruce; Syed, Shamsuzzoha Babar

2017-01-01

Abstract Problem The lack of proper water and sanitation infrastructures and poor hygiene practices in health-care facilities reduces facilities’ preparedness and response to disease outbreaks and decreases the communities’ trust in the health services provided. Approach To improve water and sanitation infrastructures and hygiene practices, the Liberian health ministry held multistakeholder meetings to develop a national water, sanitation and hygiene and environmental health package. A national train-the-trainer course was held for county environmental health technicians, which included infection prevention and control focal persons; the focal persons acted as change agents. Local setting In Liberia, only 45% of 701 surveyed health-care facilities had an improved water source in 2015, and only 27% of these health-care facilities had proper disposal for infectious waste. Relevant changes Local ownership, through engagement of local health workers, was introduced to ensure development and refinement of the package. In-county collaborations between health-care facilities, along with multisectoral collaboration, informed national level direction, which led to increased focus on water and sanitation infrastructures and uptake of hygiene practices to improve the overall quality of service delivery. Lessons learnt National level leadership was important to identify a vision and create an enabling environment for changing the perception of water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care provision. The involvement of health workers was central to address basic infrastructure and hygiene practices in health-care facilities and they also worked as stimulators for sustainable change. Further, developing a long-term implementation plan for national level initiatives is important to ensure sustainability. PMID:28670017

50 CFR 86.120 - What is the Comprehensive National Assessment?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Assessment? 86.120 Section 86.120 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT (BIG) PROGRAM Completing the Comprehensive National Assessment § 86.120 What is the Comprehensive National Assessment? The Comprehensive National Assessment is a national report integrating the...

50 CFR 86.120 - What is the Comprehensive National Assessment?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Assessment? 86.120 Section 86.120 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT (BIG) PROGRAM Completing the Comprehensive National Assessment § 86.120 What is the Comprehensive National Assessment? The Comprehensive National Assessment is a national report integrating the...

50 CFR 86.120 - What is the Comprehensive National Assessment?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Assessment? 86.120 Section 86.120 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT (BIG) PROGRAM Completing the Comprehensive National Assessment § 86.120 What is the Comprehensive National Assessment? The Comprehensive National Assessment is a national report integrating the...

50 CFR 86.121 - What does the Comprehensive National Assessment do?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What does the Comprehensive National... INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT (BIG) PROGRAM Completing the Comprehensive National Assessment § 86.121 What does the Comprehensive National Assessment do? The Comprehensive National Assessment determines nationwide the adequacy...

Technology Policy: Information Infrastructure [Information Superhighways and High Performance Computing]. Hearings before the Subcommittee on Technology, Environment and Aviation of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session (March 23 and 25, 1993).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

This document contains transcriptions of testimony and prepared statements on national technology policy with a focus on President Clinton and Vice President Gore's initiatives to support the development of a national information infrastructure. On the first day of the hearing testimony was received from Edward H. Salmon, Chairman, New Jersey…

Government Information Locator Service (GILS). Draft report to the Information Infrastructure Task Force

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

This is a draft report on the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) to the National Information Infrastructure (NII) task force. GILS is designed to take advantage of internetworking technology known as client-server architecture which allows information to be distributed among multiple independent information servers. Two appendices are provided -- (1) A glossary of related terminology and (2) extracts from a draft GILS profile for the use of the American National Standard Information Retrieval Application Service Definition and Protocol Specification for Library Applications.

Distributed telemedicine for the National Information Infrastructure

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

Forslund, D.W.; Lee, Seong H.; Reverbel, F.C.

1997-08-01

TeleMed is an advanced system that provides a distributed multimedia electronic medical record available over a wide area network. It uses object-based computing, distributed data repositories, advanced graphical user interfaces, and visualization tools along with innovative concept extraction of image information for storing and accessing medical records developed in a separate project from 1994-5. In 1996, we began the transition to Java, extended the infrastructure, and worked to begin deploying TeleMed-like technologies throughout the nation. Other applications are mentioned.

Fire Island National Seashore waterborne transportation system plan

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-02-01

This report assesses the prospects for enhanced alternative transportation services and infrastructure at the National Park Service unit of the Fire Island National Seashore. The park staff believes that enhancement of alternative transportation serv...

Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility

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

None

2017-04-10

Learn about the Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility (HITRF), where NREL researchers are working on vehicle and hydrogen infrastructure projects that aim to enable more rapid inclusion of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in the market to meet consumer and national goals for emissions reduction, performance, and energy security. As part of NREL’s Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF), the HITRF is designed for collaboration with a wide range of hydrogen, fuel cell, and transportation stakeholders.

Integration into Big Data: First Steps to Support Reuse of Comprehensive Toxicity Model Modules (SOT)

EPA Science Inventory

Data surrounding the needs of human disease and toxicity modeling are largely siloed limiting the ability to extend and reuse modules across knowledge domains. Using an infrastructure that supports integration across knowledge domains (animal toxicology, high-throughput screening...

Information technology and public health management of disasters--a model for South Asian countries.

PubMed

Mathew, Dolly

2005-01-01

This paper highlights the use of information technology (IT) in disaster management and public health management of disasters. Effective health response to disasters will depend on three important lines of action: (1) disaster preparedness; (2) emergency relief; and (3) management of disasters. This is facilitated by the presence of modern communication and space technology, especially the Internet and remote sensing satellites. This has made the use of databases, knowledge bases, geographic information systems (GIS), management information systems (MIS), information transfer, and online connectivity possible in the area of disaster management and medicine. This paper suggests a conceptual model called, "The Model for Public Health Management of Disasters for South Asia". This Model visualizes the use of IT in the public health management of disasters by setting up the Health and Disaster Information Network and Internet Community Centers, which will facilitate cooperation among all those in the areas of disaster management and emergency medicine. The suggested infrastructure would benefit the governments, non-government organizations, and institutions working in the areas of disaster and emergency medicine, professionals, the community, and all others associated with disaster management and emergency medicine. The creation of such an infrastructure will enable the rapid transfer of information, data, knowledge, and online connectivity from top officials to the grassroots organizations, and also among these countries regionally. This Model may be debated, modified, and tested further in the field to suit the national and local conditions. It is hoped that this exercise will result in a viable and practical model for use in public health management of disasters by South Asian countries.

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Oklahoma City : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Working paper : estimating the federal proportion of funds expended on ITS infrastructure for fiscal year 2000

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pena set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation initia...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Houston, Galveston, Brazoria : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Dayton, Springfield : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Operational implications and proposed infrastructure changes for NAS integration of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-12-01

The intent of this report is to provide (1) an initial assessment of National Airspace System (NAS) infrastructure affected by continuing development and deployment of unmanned aircraft systems into the NAS, and (2) a description of process challenge...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Transportation Community Institutional Infrastructure Study : Volume 1. National Transportation Needs Mail Survey.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1976-04-01

The results of the Transportation Community Infrastructure Study are presented as a three volume series. This series presents a surveyed priority of topics for information exhange, a case study of a porposed training proram, and an analysis of the tr...

77 FR 62521 - National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-15

... oral comments after the presentation of the report from the Regional Resilience Working Group. We... a presentation from the NIAC Regional Resilience Working Group documenting their work to date on the Regional Resilience Study, which includes the role and impact of critical infrastructure on regional...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in New Orleans : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Raleigh-Durham : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Boston, Lawrence, Salem : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Pittsburgh, Beaver Valley : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Richmond, Petersburg : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Lessons Learned about Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure from The EV Project and ChargePoint America

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

Smart, John Galloway; Salisbury, Shawn Douglas

2015-07-01

This report summarizes key findings in two national plug-in electric vehicle charging infrastructure demonstrations: The EV Project and ChargePoint America. It will be published to the INL/AVTA website for the general public.

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in San Juan : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Working paper : national costs of the metropolitan ITS infrastructure : update to the FHWA 1995 report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-07-01

This working paper has been prepared to provide new estimates of the costs to deploy Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure elements in the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. It builds upon estimates that were distribute...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Las Vegas : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Working Paper : national costs of the metropolitan ITS infrastructure : update to the FHWA 1995 report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-08-01

This working paper has been prepared to provide new estimates of the costs to deploy Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure elements in the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. It builds upon estimates that were distribute...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Greenville, Spartanburg : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

77 FR 38092 - NASA Advisory Council; Information Technology Infrastructure Committee; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-26

.... The meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting from the information technology community and... NAC Information Technology Infrastructure Committee meeting in Building 28. All U.S. citizens and... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION [Notice 12-048] NASA Advisory Council; Information...

National Hydroclimatic Change and Infrastructure Adaptation Assessment: Region-Specific Adaptation Factors

EPA Science Inventory

Climate change, land use and socioeconomic developments are principal variables that define the need and scope of adaptive engineering and management to sustain water resource and infrastructure development. As described in IPCC (2007), hydroclimatic changes in the next 30-50 ye...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in St. Louis : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Harrisburg, Lebanon, Carlisle : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in San Antonio : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Grand Rapids : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Youngstown, Warren : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Sarasota-Bradenton : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in El Paso : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Seattle, Tacoma : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

78 FR 63877 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Infrastructure...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Delaware; Infrastructure Requirements for the 2010 Nitrogen Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY: Environmental Protection... ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). EPA is approving this SIP revision in accordance with the...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Cleveland, Akron, Lorain : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Kansas City : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Cincinnati, Hamilton : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Minneapolis, St. Paul : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Denver, Boulder : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Hampton Roads : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan ITS infrastructure in Detroit, Ann Arbor : FY99 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

In January 1996, Secretary Pea set a goal of deploying the integrated metropolitan Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure in 75 of the nations largest metropolitan areas by 2006. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Transportation ini...