Defining the Role and Responsibility of the Fire Service Within Homeland Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

Occupational Safety and Health NPS Naval Postgraduate School NRF National Response Framework OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration ...Kingdom USAR Urban Search and Rescue USFA United States Fire Administration USMA United States Military Academy xiii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want...Association (NFPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the United States Fire Administration (USFA), and the National Institute for

Army Global Basing Posture: An Analytic Framework for Maximizing Responsiveness and Effectiveness

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

potential changes in the national security environment and to evaluate U.S. Army stationing, prepositioning, security cooperation activities, and...report should be of interest to those concerned with U.S. global posture and national security strategy, especially as it pertains to U.S. land power...40   A.1. United Nations Support Index for Plenary Votes, by State ................................................ 64   A.2. United Nations

75 FR 17989 - Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental Scientific Affairs; Climate Action Report

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-08

... opportunity to submit comments to the draft fifth National Communication on U.S. climate change actions for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In June 1992, the United States... addressing climate change. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for instructions on accessing the electronic version...

National protocol framework for the inventory and monitoring of bees

USGS Publications Warehouse

Droege, Sam; Engler, Joseph D.; Sellers, Elizabeth A.; Lee O'Brien,

2016-01-01

This national protocol framework is a standardized tool for the inventory and monitoring of the approximately 4,200 species of native and non-native bee species that may be found within the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). However, this protocol framework may also be used by other organizations and individuals to monitor bees in any given habitat or location. Our goal is to provide USFWS stations within the NWRS (NWRS stations are land units managed by the USFWS such as national wildlife refuges, national fish hatcheries, wetland management districts, conservation areas, leased lands, etc.) with techniques for developing an initial baseline inventory of what bee species are present on their lands and to provide an inexpensive, simple technique for monitoring bees continuously and for monitoring and evaluating long-term population trends and management impacts. The latter long-term monitoring technique requires a minimal time burden for the individual station, yet can provide a good statistical sample of changing populations that can be investigated at the station, regional, and national levels within the USFWS’ jurisdiction, and compared to other sites within the United States and Canada. This protocol framework was developed in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the USFWS, and a worldwide network of bee researchers who have investigated the techniques and methods for capturing bees and tracking population changes. The protocol framework evolved from field and lab-based investigations at the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Laboratory at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland starting in 2002 and was refined by a large number of USFWS, academic, and state groups. It includes a Protocol Introduction and a set of 8 Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs and adheres to national standards of protocol content and organization. The Protocol Narrative describes the history and need for the protocol framework and summarizes the basic elements of objectives, sampling design, field methods, training, data management, analysis, and reporting. The SOPs provide more detail and specific instructions for implementing the protocol framework. A central database, for managing all the resulting data is under development. We welcome use of this protocol framework by our partners, as appropriate for their bee inventory and monitoring objectives.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Permian and Palo Duro Basins and Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin: Chapter K in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merrill, Matthew D.; Slucher, Ernie R.; Roberts-Ashby, Tina L.; Warwick, Peter D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey has completed an assessment of the potential geologic carbon dioxide storage resource in the onshore areas of the United States. To provide geological context and input data sources for the resources numbers, framework documents are being prepared for all areas that were investigated as part of the national assessment. This report is the geologic framework document for the Permian and Palo Duro Basins, the combined Bend arch-Fort Worth Basin area, and subbasins therein of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In addition to a summarization of the geology and petroleum resources of studied basins, the individual storage assessment units (SAUs) within the basins are described and explanations for their selection are presented. Though appendixes in the national assessment publications include the input values used to calculate the available storage resource, this framework document provides only the context and source of inputs selected by the assessment geologists. Spatial files of boundaries for the SAUs herein, as well as maps of the density of known well bores that penetrate the SAU seal, are available for download with the release of this report.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Southern Rocky Mountain Basins: Chapter M in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merrill, Matthew D.; Drake, Ronald M.; Buursink, Marc L.; Craddock, William H.; East, Joseph A.; Slucher, Ernie R.; Warwick, Peter D.; Brennan, Sean T.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, Philip A.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2016-06-02

The U.S. Geological Survey has completed an assessment of the potential geologic carbon dioxide storage resources in the onshore areas of the United States. To provide geological context and input data sources for the resources numbers, framework documents are being prepared for all areas that were investigated as part of the national assessment. This report, chapter M, is the geologic framework document for the Uinta and Piceance, San Juan, Paradox, Raton, Eastern Great, and Black Mesa Basins, and subbasins therein of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. In addition to a summary of the geology and petroleum resources of studied basins, the individual storage assessment units (SAUs) within the basins are described and explanations for their selection are presented. Although appendixes in the national assessment publications include the input values used to calculate the available storage resource, this framework document provides only the context and source of the input values selected by the assessment geologists. Spatial-data files of the boundaries for the SAUs, and the well-penetration density of known well bores that penetrate the SAU seal, are available for download with the release of this report.

The great carbon push-pull: where science is pushing and policy is pulling the official forest carbon inventory of the US

Treesearch

C.W. Woodall; G.M. Domke; J. Coulston; M.B. Russell; J.A. Smith; C.H. Perry; S. Healey; A. Gray

2015-01-01

A national system of field inventory plots (FIA) is the primary data source for the annual assessment of US forest carbon (C) stocks and stock-change to meet reporting requirements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The inventory data and their role in national carbon reporting continue to evolve. The framework of the previous C...

U.S. states and territories national tsunami hazard assessment, historic record and sources for waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunbar, P. K.; Weaver, C.

2007-12-01

In 2005, the U.S. National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) released a joint report by the sub-committee on Disaster Reduction and the U.S. Group on Earth Observations titled Tsunami Risk Reduction for the United States: A Framework for Action (Framework). The Framework outlines the President's&pstrategy for reducing the United States tsunami risk. The first specific action called for in the Framework is to "Develop standardized and coordinated tsunami hazard and risk assessments for all coastal regions of the United States and its territories." Since NOAA is the lead agency for providing tsunami forecasts and warnings and NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) catalogs information on global historic tsunamis, NOAA/NGDC was asked to take the lead in conducting the first national tsunami hazard assessment. Earthquakes or earthquake-generated landslides caused more than 85% of the tsunamis in the NGDC tsunami database. Since the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducts research on earthquake hazards facing all of the United States and its territories, NGDC and USGS partnered together to conduct the first tsunami hazard assessment for the United States and its territories. A complete tsunami hazard and risk assessment consists of a hazard assessment, exposure and vulnerability assessment of buildings and people, and loss assessment. This report is an interim step towards a tsunami risk assessment. The goal of this report is provide a qualitative assessment of the United States tsunami hazard at the national level. Two different methods are used to assess the U.S. tsunami hazard. The first method involves a careful examination of the NGDC historical tsunami database. This resulted in a qualitative national tsunami hazard assessment based on the distribution of runup heights and the frequency of runups. Although tsunami deaths are a measure of risk rather than hazard, the known tsunami deaths found in the NGDC database search were compared with the qualitative assessments based on frequency and amplitude. The second method to assess tsunami hazard involved using the USGS earthquake databases to search for possible earthquake sources near American coastlines to extend the NOAA/NGDC tsunami databases backward in time. The qualitative tsunami hazard assessment based on the results of the NGDC and USGS database searches will be presented.

Nutritional Awareness of Mothers in Relation to Nutritional Status of the Preschool Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halder, Santoshi; Kejriwal, Sunita

2016-01-01

Background: In the developing world, nearly one-third (35%) of under-five children are stunted and rural children are twice likely to be underweight as those in urban areas (United Nations, Children education Fund, UNICEF Global Database (2006-2010). United Nations Development Assistance Framework of Uganda. Retrieved from…

National Vocational Qualifications in the United Kingdom: Their Origins and Legacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Michael

2011-01-01

National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) were launched in the United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) in 1987 as a framework for rationalising what was described at the time as the "jungle" of existing vocational qualifications. They were never intended to be the basis for a comprehensive NQF for all qualifications; however, successive…

Education for Sustainable Development at the University for Peace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borel, Rolain; Cawagas, Virginia; Jimenez, Alicia; Salvetti, Nika

2011-01-01

This article features the University for Peace (UPEACE), an international academic institution that was created as a Treaty Organization within the framework of the United Nations (Resolution 35/55-1980) to support the central peace and security objectives of the United Nations. UPEACE has carried out postgraduate programs since its inception in…

"COMPARE" Forum: The Post-2015 Education and Development Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sayed, Yusuf; Sprague, Terra; Turner, David; Smith, Alan; Paulson, Julia; Shields, Robin; Shrestha, Purna Kumar; Unterhalter, Elaine; Vaughan, Rosie Peppin; Smail, Amy; Tungaraza, Frida; Sutherland, Margaret; Stack, Niamah; Barrett, Angeline M.; Bunwaree, Vasant K.; Alhawsawi, Sajjad; Hanna, Helen; Soudien, Crain; Motivans, Albert

2013-01-01

As the 2015 target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, there are a growing number of processes, preparations and debates on what a post-2015 agenda and framework will look like. The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) (as chaired by the United Nations Development Programme) is leading the planning of efforts…

Strategies to compensate for the effects of nonresponse on forest carbon baseline estimates from the national forest inventory of the United States

Treesearch

Grant M. Domke; Christopher W. Woodall; Brian F. Walters; Ronald E. McRoberts; Mark A. Hatfield

2014-01-01

Forest ecosystem carbon (C) stocks and stock change in the United States (US) have been documented using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) procedures and guidance with 1990 as a baseline reference for all United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reports. In the US, estimates of forest C stocks and stock change are obtained from data...

Urban Partnership Agreement and Congestion Reduction Demonstration : National Evaluation Framework

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-11-21

This report provides an analytical framework for evaluating six deployments under the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) and Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) Programs. The six UPA/CRD sites...

Values and motivations of private forest owners in the United States: a framework based on open-ended responses in the national woodland owner survey

Treesearch

David N. Bengston; Brett J. Butler; Stanley T. Asah

2009-01-01

The National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS) is a recurring and comprehensive national survey of private forest landowners in the United States, and is a social complement to the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis program's biologic resource inventory. An open-ended question in the NWOS explores private forest owners' motivations and values...

IPCC Methodologies for the Waste Sector: Past, Present, and Future

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The reporting of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions began more than a decade ago by the signatory countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). National GHG inventories rely on the evolving Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) national GHG inventor...

Ecological units of the Northern Region: Subsections

Treesearch

John A. Nesser; Gary L. Ford; C. Lee Maynard; Debbie Dumroese

1997-01-01

Ecological units are described at the subsection level of the Forest Service National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units. A total of 91 subsections are delineated on the 1996 map "Ecological Units of the Northern Region: Subsections," based on physical and biological criteria. This document consists of descriptions of the climate, geomorphology,...

The Case of Educational Peacebuilding inside the United Nations Universities: A Review and Critique

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kester, Kevin

2017-01-01

This article examines higher education for peace inside the United Nations (UN). It offers an overview and synthesis of core concepts, organizing frameworks and theoretical premises in the field of peace and conflict studies (PACS) higher education and in the UN universities in particular, as the field aspires toward transformative learning and…

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

Silverman, L.

This paper outlines the following: United Nations` framework convention on climatic change; the United States` climate change action plan; current issues to be resolved (targets/timetables, policies, advancing commitments of all parties, and compliance); and implications for clean coal technologies.

Integrating field plots, lidar, and landsat time series to provide temporally consistent annual estimates of biomass from 1990 to present

Treesearch

Warren B. Cohen; Hans-Erik Andersen; Sean P. Healey; Gretchen G. Moisen; Todd A. Schroeder; Christopher W. Woodall; Grant M. Domke; Zhiqiang Yang; Robert E. Kennedy; Stephen V. Stehman; Curtis Woodcock; Jim Vogelmann; Zhe Zhu; Chengquan Huang

2015-01-01

We are developing a system that provides temporally consistent biomass estimates for national greenhouse gas inventory reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Our model-assisted estimation framework relies on remote sensing to scale from plot measurements to lidar strip samples, to Landsat time series-based maps. As a demonstration, new...

Integrated corridor management initiative : demonstration phase evaluation - final national evaluation framework.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-05-01

This report provides an analytical framework for evaluating the two field deployments under the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Initiative Demonstration Phase. The San Diego Interstate 15 cor...

50 CFR 648.294 - Framework specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 648.294 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES Management Measures for the Tilefish Fishery § 648.294 Framework specifications. (a) Within-season management action. The Council may...

National long range transportation plan

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-07-01

The NPS National Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) establishes a strategic framework for transportation investment service-wide over the next 20 years. It provides guidance to regional and park unit staff who make transportation investment and ma...

Harmonizing national forest inventories

Treesearch

Ronald E. McRoberts; Erkki O. Tomppo; Klemens Schadauer; Göran Ståhl

2012-01-01

International agreements increasingly require that countries report estimates of national forest resources. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requires that countries submit annual reports of greenhouse gas emissions and removals by sources and sinks. The Convention on Biological Diversity requires that countries identify and monitor components...

Exemplar Units of Work for English. Key Stage 3: National Strategy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department for Education and Skills, London (England).

These exemplar units of work for National Strategy Key Stage 3 English show how medium and short-term planning can be based on the Key Stage 3 Framework objectives and support the implementation of Curriculum 2000. The Key Stage 3 English strand introduces pupils to more specialist study of language and literature and supports the study of…

Managed forest carbon estimates for the US greenhouse gas inventory, 1990-2008

Treesearch

Linda S. Heath; James E. Smith; Kenneth E. Skog; David J. Nowak; Christopher W. Woodall

2011-01-01

Land-use change and forestry is the major category featuring carbon sequestration in the annual US Greenhouse Gas Inventory, required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We describe the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory and present the sources of our data and methods and the most recent results. Forests and forest products in the United States...

The New Localism in the UK: Local Governance amid National Goals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Storey, Valerie A.; Farrar, Maggie

2009-01-01

Both in the United States and the United Kingdom there has been a recent resurgence of interest and support for "new localism" in response to the need to provide local solutions to national complex problems. In this paper, the authors begin by exploring the contextual framework in the U.S. and the UK, explaining recent policy reform and…

50 CFR 648.294 - Framework specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Framework specifications. 648.294 Section 648.294 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES Management Measures for the...

Accounting for density reduction and structural loss in standing dead trees: Implications for forest biomass and carbon stock estimates in the United States

Treesearch

Grant M. Domke; Christopher W. Woodall; James E. Smith

2011-01-01

Standing dead trees are one component of forest ecosystem dead wood carbon (C) pools, whose national stock is estimated by the U.S. as required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Historically, standing dead tree C has been estimated as a function of live tree growing stock volume in the U.S.'s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Initiated...

A hierarchical spatial framework and database for the national river fish habitat condition assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wang, L.; Infante, D.; Esselman, P.; Cooper, A.; Wu, D.; Taylor, W.; Beard, D.; Whelan, G.; Ostroff, A.

2011-01-01

Fisheries management programs, such as the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP), urgently need a nationwide spatial framework and database for health assessment and policy development to protect and improve riverine systems. To meet this need, we developed a spatial framework and database using National Hydrography Dataset Plus (I-.100,000-scale); http://www.horizon-systems.com/nhdplus). This framework uses interconfluence river reaches and their local and network catchments as fundamental spatial river units and a series of ecological and political spatial descriptors as hierarchy structures to allow users to extract or analyze information at spatial scales that they define. This database consists of variables describing channel characteristics, network position/connectivity, climate, elevation, gradient, and size. It contains a series of catchment-natural and human-induced factors that are known to influence river characteristics. Our framework and database assembles all river reaches and their descriptors in one place for the first time for the conterminous United States. This framework and database provides users with the capability of adding data, conducting analyses, developing management scenarios and regulation, and tracking management progresses at a variety of spatial scales. This database provides the essential data needs for achieving the objectives of NFHAP and other management programs. The downloadable beta version database is available at http://ec2-184-73-40-15.compute-1.amazonaws.com/nfhap/main/.

76 FR 28954 - International Conservation and Management Measures Recognized by the United States

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-19

... concluded under the framework of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals... International Conservation and Management Measures Recognized by the United States AGENCY: National Marine... international conservation and management measures recognized by the United States. To fulfill this requirement...

The United Nations Framework Classification for World Petroleum Resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, T.S.; Blystad, P.; Young, E.D.; Slavov, S.; Heiberg, S.

2003-01-01

The United Nations has developed an international framework classification for solid fuels and minerals (UNFC). This is now being extended to petroleum by building on the joint classification of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the World Petroleum Congresses (WPC) and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). The UNFC is a 3-dimansional classification. This: Is necessary in order to migrate accounts of resource quantities that are developed on one or two of the axes to the common basis; Provides for more precise reporting and analysis. This is particularly useful in analyses of contingent resources. The characteristics of the SPE/WPC/AAPG classification has been preserved and enhanced to facilitate improved international and national petroleum resource management, corporate business process management and financial reporting. A UN intergovernmental committee responsible for extending the UNFC to extractive energy resources (coal, petroleum and uranium) will meet in Geneva on October 30th and 31st to review experiences gained and comments received during 2003. A recommended classification will then be delivered for consideration to the United Nations through the Committee on Sustainable Energy of the Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE).

50 CFR 648.127 - Framework adjustments to management measures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 10 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Framework adjustments to management measures. 648.127 Section 648.127 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES...

Toward inventory-based estimates of soil organic carbon in forests of the United States

Treesearch

G.M. Domke; C.H. Perry; B.F. Walters; L.E. Nave; C.W. Woodall; C.W. Swanston

2017-01-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon (C) sink on Earth; this pool plays a critical role in ecosystem processes and climate change. Given the cost and time required to measure SOC, and particularly changes in SOC, many signatory nations to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change report estimates of SOC stocks and stock changes...

Delineation, peer review, and refinement of subregions of the conterminous United States

Treesearch

J.E. Keys; D.T. Cleland; W.H. McNab

2007-01-01

This paper briefly describes the background of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units and the methods used for delineating map units at the subregion planning and analysis scale. The process for scientific review and continuous refinement of ecological units and associated data of subregions is also...

ACCOUNTING FOR BIOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC FACTORS IN NATIONAL LAND-BASED CARBON BUDGETS

EPA Science Inventory

Efforts to quantify net greenhouse gas emissions at the national scale, as required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, must include both industrial emissions and the net flux associated with the land base. In this study, data on current land use, rates ...

The Fire Next Time? a Critical Discussion of the National Curriculum Framework for RE and the Policy Recommendations in the "Review of Religious Education in England"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chater, Mark

2014-01-01

The Religious Education Council's (REC) 2013 "Review of Religious Education in England" consists of a National Curriculum Framework for RE (NCFRE) designed to unite the RE community around a shared programme of study for pupils aged 4-14, and a set of six policy recommendations for the consideration of the RE community and government in…

A Shared Focus: Comparing the Australian, Canadian, United Kingdom and United States Pharmacy Learning Outcome Frameworks and the Global Competency Framework.

PubMed

Stupans, Ieva; Atkinson, Jeffrey; Meštrović, Arijana; Nash, Rose; Rouse, Michael J

2016-09-10

This paper presents an analysis of the end of degree expectations, expressed as learning outcomes, for pharmacy graduates from Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States. The authors compare the end of degree expectations, through mapping these requirements to the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Global Competency Framework (GbCF). The anticipated end of degree expectations are similar but also reveal some individual characteristics. Irrespective of degree title, achievement of learning outcomes specified in any one of the four jurisdictions should enable students to become pharmacists who are patient-orientated medicines experts. The mapping provides impetus for cross-border institutional networking to generate a dependable set of assessment tools across national borders developing a common metric for outcome assessment irrespective of different program delivery.

Innovative United Kingdom Approaches To Measuring Service Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winkworth, Ian

2001-01-01

Reports on approaches to measuring the service quality of academic libraries in the United Kingdom. Discusses the role of government and the national background of quality measurement; measurement frameworks; better use of statistics; benchmarking; measuring user satisfaction; and possible future development. (Author/LRW)

Assessing Literacy: The Framework for the National Adult Literacy Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Anne; And Others

To satisfy federal requirements, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Division of Adult Education and Literacy planned a nationally representative household sample survey to assess the literacy skills of the adult population of the United States, to be conducted by the Educational Testing Service with the assistance of Westat, Inc.…

Effective energy data management for low-carbon growth planning: An analytical framework for assessment

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

Liu, Bo; Evans, Meredydd; Yu, Sha

Readily available and reliable energy data is fundamental to effective analysis and policymaking for the energy sector. Energy statistics of high quality, systematically compiled and effectively disseminated, not only support governments to ensure national security and evaluate energy policies, but they also guide investment decisions in both the private and public sectors. Because of energy’s close link to greenhouse gas emissions, energy data has a particularly important role in assessing emissions and strategies to reduce emissions. In this study, energy data management in four countries – Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States – are examined from bothmore » organizational and operational perspectives. With insights from these best practices, we present a framework for the evaluation of national energy data management systems. It can be used by national statistics compilers to assess their chosen model and to identify areas for improvement. We then use India as a test case for this framework. Its government is working to enhance India’s energy data management to improve sustainable growth planning.« less

Imputing forest carbon stock estimates from inventory plots to a nationally continuous coverage

Treesearch

Barry Tyler Wilson; Christopher W. Woodall; Douglas M. Griffith

2013-01-01

The U.S. has been providing national-scale estimates of forest carbon (C) stocks and stock change to meet United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting requirements for years. Although these currently are provided as national estimates by pool and year to meet greenhouse gas monitoring requirements, there is growing need to disaggregate these...

A National Level Engagement Strategy: A Framework for Action

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-15

engagement framework that integrates all instruments of natio nal po wer to focus iocrea~ ing l y limitetl resources LO meet the most s ignificant national...ami rc!o.pOn:-.ibilitie:-, to imph::mcnl and execute the nu!ional engagement

Utilizing the National Research Council's (NRC) Conceptual Framework for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): A Self-Study in My Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corvo, Arthur Francis

Given the reality that active and competitive participation in the 21 st century requires American students to deepen their scientific and mathematical knowledge base, the National Research Council (NRC) proposed a new conceptual framework for K--12 science education. The framework consists of an integration of what the NRC report refers to as the three dimensions: scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas in four disciplinary areas (physical, life and earth/spaces sciences, and engineering/technology). The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS ), which are derived from this new framework, were released in April 2013 and have implications on teacher learning and development in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Given the NGSS's recent introduction, there is little research on how teachers can prepare for its release. To meet this research need, I implemented a self-study aimed at examining my teaching practices and classroom outcomes through the lens of the NRC's conceptual framework and the NGSS. The self-study employed design-based research (DBR) methods to investigate what happened in my secondary classroom when I designed, enacted, and reflected on units of study for my science, engineering, and mathematics classes. I utilized various best practices including Learning for Use (LfU) and Understanding by Design (UbD) models for instructional design, talk moves as a tool for promoting discourse, and modeling instruction for these designed units of study. The DBR strategy was chosen to promote reflective cycles, which are consistent with and in support of the self-study framework. A multiple case, mixed-methods approach was used for data collection and analysis. The findings in the study are reported by study phase in terms of unit planning, unit enactment, and unit reflection. The findings have implications for science teaching, teacher professional development, and teacher education.

Dementia skills for all: a core competency framework for the workforce in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Tsaroucha, Anna; Benbow, Susan Mary; Kingston, Paul; Le Mesurier, Nick

2013-01-01

One of the biggest challenges facing health and social care in the United Kingdom is the projected increase in the number of older people who require dementia care. The National Dementia Strategy (Department of Health, 2009) emphasizes the critical need for a skilled workforce in all aspects of dementia care. In the West Midlands, the Strategic Health Authority commissioned a project to develop a set of generic core competencies that would guide a competency based curriculum to meet the demands for improved dementia training and education. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify relevant frameworks to assist with this work. The core competency framework produced and the methods used for the development of the framework are presented and discussed.

Revised Methods for Characterizing Stream Habitat in the National Water-Quality Assessment Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Waite, Ian R.; D'Arconte, Patricia J.; Meador, Michael R.; Maupin, Molly A.; Gurtz, Martin E.

1998-01-01

Stream habitat is characterized in the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program as part of an integrated physical, chemical, and biological assessment of the Nation's water quality. The goal of stream habitat characterization is to relate habitat to other physical, chemical, and biological factors that describe water-quality conditions. To accomplish this goal, environmental settings are described at sites selected for water-quality assessment. In addition, spatial and temporal patterns in habitat are examined at local, regional, and national scales. This habitat protocol contains updated methods for evaluating habitat in NAWQA Study Units. Revisions are based on lessons learned after 6 years of applying the original NAWQA habitat protocol to NAWQA Study Unit ecological surveys. Similar to the original protocol, these revised methods for evaluating stream habitat are based on a spatially hierarchical framework that incorporates habitat data at basin, segment, reach, and microhabitat scales. This framework provides a basis for national consistency in collection techniques while allowing flexibility in habitat assessment within individual Study Units. Procedures are described for collecting habitat data at basin and segment scales; these procedures include use of geographic information system data bases, topographic maps, and aerial photographs. Data collected at the reach scale include channel, bank, and riparian characteristics.

National health accounts: Lessons from the U.S. experience

PubMed Central

Lazenby, Helen C.; Levit, Katharine R.; Waldo, Daniel R.; Adler, Gerald S.; Letsch, Suzanne W.; Cowan, Cathy A.

1992-01-01

The national health accounts (NHA) are the framework within which type of services and sources of funding for health care expenditures are measured. NHA, devised to portray the structure of health care delivery and financing in the United States, provide essential information necessary for the formulation of public health policy and for international comparison. In this article, the authors describe the importance of the NHA nationally and internationally, and provide a blueprint of the definitions, sources, and methods used to create this system of NHA in the United States. PMID:10122006

Promoting Financial Success in the United States: National Strategy for Financial Literacy, 2011

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Financial Literacy and Education Commission, 2011

2011-01-01

This paper describes a framework developed by the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) to provide the foundation for an overarching financial literacy strategy. This framework establishes concrete goals that the non-profit, government, and private sectors can and should work together to increase financial literacy and improve…

7 CFR 657.4 - NRCS responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... inventories. (2) Identify the soil mapping units within the State that qualify as prime. In doing this, State Conservationists, in consultation with the cooperators of the National Cooperative Soil Survey, have the... the framework of this memorandum. (3) Prepare a statewide list of: (i) Soil mapping units that meet...

7 CFR 657.4 - NRCS responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... inventories. (2) Identify the soil mapping units within the State that qualify as prime. In doing this, State Conservationists, in consultation with the cooperators of the National Cooperative Soil Survey, have the... the framework of this memorandum. (3) Prepare a statewide list of: (i) Soil mapping units that meet...

7 CFR 657.4 - NRCS responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... inventories. (2) Identify the soil mapping units within the State that qualify as prime. In doing this, State Conservationists, in consultation with the cooperators of the National Cooperative Soil Survey, have the... the framework of this memorandum. (3) Prepare a statewide list of: (i) Soil mapping units that meet...

7 CFR 657.4 - NRCS responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... inventories. (2) Identify the soil mapping units within the State that qualify as prime. In doing this, State Conservationists, in consultation with the cooperators of the National Cooperative Soil Survey, have the... the framework of this memorandum. (3) Prepare a statewide list of: (i) Soil mapping units that meet...

7 CFR 657.4 - NRCS responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... inventories. (2) Identify the soil mapping units within the State that qualify as prime. In doing this, State Conservationists, in consultation with the cooperators of the National Cooperative Soil Survey, have the... the framework of this memorandum. (3) Prepare a statewide list of: (i) Soil mapping units that meet...

Recommendations on chemicals management policy and legislation in the framework of the Egyptian-German twinning project on hazardous substances and waste management.

PubMed

Wagner, Burkhard O; Aziz, Elham Refaat Abdel; Schwetje, Anja; Shouk, Fatma Abou; Koch-Jugl, Juliane; Braedt, Michael; Choudhury, Keya; Weber, Roland

2013-04-01

The sustainable management of chemicals and their associated wastes-especially legacy stockpiles-is always challenging. Developing countries face particular difficulties as they often have insufficient treatment and disposal capacity, have limited resources and many lack an appropriate and effective regulatory framework. This paper describes the objectives and the approach of the Egyptian-German Twinning Project under the European Neighbourhood Policy to improve the strategy of managing hazardous substances in the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) between November 2008 and May 2011. It also provides an introduction to the Republic of Egypt's legal and administrative system regarding chemical controls. Subsequently, options for a new chemical management strategy consistent with the recommendations of the United Nations Chemicals Conventions are proposed. The Egyptian legal and administrative system is discussed in relation to the United Nations' recommendations and current European Union legislation for the sound management of chemicals. We also discuss a strategy for the EEAA to use the existing Egyptian legal system to implement the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, the Stockholm Convention and other proposed regulatory frameworks. The analysis, the results, and the recommendations presented may be useful for other developing countries in a comparable position to Egypt aspiring to update their legislation and administration to the international standards of sound management of chemicals.

Ecological Subregions: Sections and Subsections for the conterminous United States

Treesearch

D.T. Cleland; J.A. Freeouf; J.E. Keys; G.J. Nowacki; C.A. Carpenter; W.H. McNab

2007-01-01

This map and accompanying descriptions were developed through participation with numerous individuals from federal and state agencies and non-governmental organizations using criteria defined in the National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units. Delineation generally involved the “top-down approach” of subdividing section level units. A “bottom-up approach” was...

Industrial Sectors Integrated Solutions (ISIS) - An Engineering–Economic and Multi-Pollutant Modeling Framework for Comprehensive Regulatory Analyses

EPA Science Inventory

Based on the National Academy of Science’s 2004 report, “Air Quality Management in the United States”, the National Research Council (NRC) recommended to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that standard setting, planning, and control strategy development should be based...

Literacy Initiative For Empowerment (LIFE), 2005-2015. Vision and Strategy Paper. Second Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

UNESCO International Bureau of Education, 2006

2006-01-01

This document describes the rationale and the strategy of the new United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Initiative for literacy: LIFE. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) is designed as a global strategic framework through which national governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil…

Master Plan of Operation for Preparing a Programme of Inter-Related Services for Children in Afghanistan, 1977-1978. Part I: The Framework; Part II: The Programme.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Children's Fund, Kabul (Afghanistan).

This Master Plan of Operation has two parts: The Framework and the Program. Part I (the Framework) sets out the articles of agreement between the Government of Afghanistan and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) concerning a 1-year program for the improvement of social services for children and mothers regarded as the most disadvantaged…

From dominance to detente in the face of climate change: Agreements beyond boundaries with indigenous nations

Treesearch

Linda Moon Stumpff

2011-01-01

This paper explores frameworks for expanding agreements between indigenous peoples, governments, and partner organizations to conserve and restore wild and protected areas impacted by climate change. From the Indigenous Peoples Treaty Project to the expansion of Federal nation to nation consultation with Tribes in the United States, new initiatives create models for...

A Cultural Historical Activity Theoretical (CHAT) Framework for Understanding the Construction of Inclusive Education from Turkish Teachers' and Parents' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilinc, Sultan

2016-01-01

Inclusive education has become a global movement through the policies of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (e.g., Salamanca Statement). These policies led many developing nations to adopt these policies in their national policy agendas. Turkey has developed inclusive education policies that deal with the…

Development of a Curriculum Framework for Water Education for Educators, Scientists, and Resource Managers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brody, Michael

1995-01-01

This study sampled 268 people involved in natural resource research and management education from every state in the United States to determine what concepts, skills and affects should be included in the National Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) water and water resource curriculum framework. The analysis contains an 80-item curriculum…

Drama in the Key Stage 3 English Framework. Key Stage 3: National Strategy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department for Education and Skills, London (England).

Effective drama teaching improves the following student skills: speaking and listening, reading and writing through developing thinking, communication skills, and critical analysis. Drama is part of young people's core curriculum entitlement in the United Kingdom. It is included in the English Curriculum Orders and in the Key Stage 3 Framework for…

Phenological classification of the United States: A geographic framework for extending multi-sensor time-series data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gu, Yingxin; Brown, Jesslyn F.; Miura, Tomoaki; van Leeuwen, Willem J.D.; Reed, Bradley C.

2010-01-01

This study introduces a new geographic framework, phenological classification, for the conterminous United States based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time-series data and a digital elevation model. The resulting pheno-class map is comprised of 40 pheno-classes, each having unique phenological and topographic characteristics. Cross-comparison of the pheno-classes with the 2001 National Land Cover Database indicates that the new map contains additional phenological and climate information. The pheno-class framework may be a suitable basis for the development of an Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)-MODIS NDVI translation algorithm and for various biogeographic studies.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Williston Basin, Central Montana Basins, and Montana Thrust Belt study areas: Chapter J in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buursink, Marc L.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Craddock, William H.; Roberts-Ashby, Tina L.; Brennan, Sean T.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2014-01-01

Figures in this report show the study area boundaries along with the SAU extent and cell maps of well penetrations through sealing units into the top of the storage formations. The USGS does not necessarily know the location of all wells and cannot guarantee the full extent of drilling through specific formations in any given cell shown on the cell maps.

On Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference and Climate Change Risk (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, M. E.

2009-12-01

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) commits signatory nations (which includes all major nations including the United States) to stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations at levels short of Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference (“ DAI”) with the climate. To properly define DAI, one must take into account issues that are not only scientific, but, economic, political, and ethical in nature. Defining DAI is furthermore complicated by the inter-generational and regionally-disaggregated nature of the risks associated with climate change. In this talk, I will explore the nature of anthropogenic climate change risks and the notion of DAI.

Changing Arctic: A Strategic Analysis of United States Arctic Policy and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

States must ratify UNCLOS and use it as the foundation for its greater Arctic national strategy. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT For the completion of... Using this document as a framework for future operations, the Coast Guard and Navy are conducting assessments of their own capabilities to operate...is impossible to exclude politics from the argument. Politicians in America use climate change either as a rallying cry for radical change or try

There’s carbon in them thar hills: But how much? Could Pacific Northwest forests store more?

Treesearch

Andrea Watts; Andrew Gray; Thomas Whittier

2017-01-01

As a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United States annually compiles a report on the nation’s carbon flux—the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere compared to the amount stored by terrestrial landscapes. Forests store vast amounts of carbon, but it’s not fully understood how a forest’s storage capacity fluctuates as...

An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework for Australia

PubMed Central

Jackson, Shane; Martin, Grant; Bergin, Jennifer; Clark, Bronwyn; Stupans, Ieva; Yeates, Gilbert; Nissen, Lisa; Marty, Stephen; Gysslink, Paul; Matthews, Andrew; Kirsa, Sue; Deans, Kerry; Sorimachi, Kay

2015-01-01

The need to develop An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework for Australia (the “APPF”) was identified during the 2010 review of the competency standards for Australian pharmacists. The Advanced Pharmacy Practice Framework Steering Committee, a collaborative profession-wide committee comprised of representatives of ten pharmacy organisations, examined and adapted existing advanced practice frameworks, all of which were found to have been based on the Competency Development and Evaluation Group (CoDEG) Advanced and Consultant Level Framework (the “CoDEG Framework”) from the United Kingdom. Its competency standards were also found to align well with the Domains of the National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists in Australia (the “National Framework”). Adaptation of the CoDEG Framework created an APPF that is complementary to the National Framework, sufficiently flexible to customise for recognising advanced practice in any area of professional practice and has been approved by the boards/councils of all participating organisations. The primary purpose of the APPF is to assist the development of the profession to meet the changing health care needs of the community. However, it is also a valuable tool for assuring members of the public of the competence of an advanced practice pharmacist and the quality and safety of the services they deliver. PMID:28975900

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...

Teaching Games for Understanding: The Difficulties and Challenges Experienced by Participation Cricket Coaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Simon John

2011-01-01

Background: Recent changes in the structure and delivery of formalised coach education courses such as the United Kingdom Coaching Framework (UKCF) and the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate (UKCC) has manifested in an increased importance on sports coaches adopting holistic and player-centred coaching pedagogy. For one National Governing Body of…

Delineation of climate regions in the Northeastern United States

Treesearch

Arthur T. DeGaetano

1996-01-01

Climate is a primary criterion for the development, description and validation of subregional levels of the National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units. However, climate information is not currently available in the form or level of detail required for integration with other biophysical factors at the section or subsection levels. In this study, historical...

Sequestration of carbon in harvested wood products for the United States

Treesearch

Kenneth E. Skog

2008-01-01

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides guidelines for countries to report greenhouse gas removals by sinks and emissions from sources. These guidelines allow use of several accounting approaches when reporting the contribution of harvested wood products (HWP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Using extensions of...

Can Better National Policy End Family Homelessness?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roman, Nan

2010-01-01

An understanding of the close link between federal policy and family homelessness is critical for ensuring that one day no child in the United States is homeless. This article discusses the nature of family homelessness, the national policy framework that exists to help vulnerable families, the homeless assistance system that federal policy has…

Predicting cannabis cultivation on national forests using a rational choice framework

Treesearch

Frank H. Koch; Jeff Prestemon; Geoffrey H. Donovan; Everett A. Hinkley; John M. Chase

2016-01-01

Government agencies in the United States eradicated 10.3 million cannabis plants in 2010. Most (94%) of these plants were outdoor-grown, and 46% of those were discovered on federal lands, primarily on national forests in California, Oregon, and Washington. We developed models that reveal how drug markets, policies, and environmental...

Proposing a Universal Framework for Resilience: Optimizing Risk and Combating Human Vulnerabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Arunima

2017-04-01

In the recent years we have seen a massive impact of loss created to urban settlements and critical infrastructure as a result of disasters. The disaster risk associates itself vulnerabilities and many complexities which can disrupt the functioning of human society. The uncertain loss created by disasters can present unforeseeable risk which remain unaccounted to human understanding. It is imperative to note that human urbanization and development is correlated with human vulnerabilities and challenges posed by disasters. Disaster risks are aggravated by improper planning of cities, weak framework for urban governance and regulatory regimes and lack of equalities amongst the citizens. The international agenda on disaster risk reduction talks about increasing losses due to disasters associated with development and urbanization. The United Nations announced that the year 1990 was the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. In relation to this, the "Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action" was adopted at the first United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission coordinated the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2005 where the Hyogo Framework for Action was adopted. The Hyogo Framework for Action: Building the resilience of communities to disaster was adopted by 168 nations after the massive loss caused by Indian ocean tsunami in 2005. The Hyogo Framework proposes to focus on implementation of risk and reliability system to shield disasters, proposes global scientific and community platform for disaster prevention and mitigation etc. The early warning system and its importance as an effective tool for reduction of human vulnerabilities for disaster management was majorly emphasized. It is imperative to highlight that resilience framework is important in order to minimize cost of disruption caused to critical infrastructure and to strengthen and optimize the decision making skill and platform for a better sustainable society. The resilience framework provides a cross-sector and multi-level analysis to tackle the vulnerabilities which can be caused to essential utilities like power, water, transport and various machineries that are essential for human sustainability. The direction of resilience framework focuses on prevention of damage and disruption of disaster, mitigate the loss caused to human society and provide the best response for disaster resilience. Thus, the basic pillars which are important for the implementation of resilience is proper governance framework and transparency which takes into account various cost and risk analysis. Thus a common and universal framework for resilience is the main requirement for mass accessibility. The aim of resilience framework focuses on universal adaptability, coherence and validation. A mixed method analysis has been undertaken in this research paper which focuses on the following issues: • Legal, Institutional and community framework for integrating resilience framework of global north and global south. • Spatial as well as statistical analysis to structuralize disaster risk and resilient framework for disaster management. • Early warning system and emergency response in a comparative scale to analyse the various models of risk and resilience framework implemented in USA, China, Nepal and India for proposing an integrated resilience strategy.

PPACA and public health: creating a framework to focus on prevention and wellness and improve the public's health.

PubMed

Majette, Gwendolyn Roberts

2011-01-01

PPACA epitomizes comprehensive health care reform legislation. Public health, disease prevention, and wellness were integral considerations in its development. This article reveals the author's personal experiences while working on the framework for health care reform in the United States Senate and reviews activity in the United States House of Representatives. This insider's perspective delineates PPACA's positive effect on public health by examining the infrastructure Congress designed to focus on prevention, wellness, and public health, with a particular focus on the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council; the National Prevention, Health Promotion, Public Health, and Integrative Health Care Strategy; and the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Council, strategy, and fund are especially important because they reflect compliance with some of the Institute of Medicine's recommendations to improve public health in the United States, as well as international health and human rights norms that protect the right to health. © 2011 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

A management-oriented classification of pinyon-juniper woodlands of the Great Basin

Treesearch

Neil E. West; Robin J. Tausch; Paul T. Tueller

1998-01-01

A hierarchical framework for the classification of Great Basin pinyon-juniper woodlands was based on a systematic sample of 426 stands from a random selection of 66 of the 110 mountain ranges in the region. That is, mountain ranges were randomly selected, but stands were systematically located on mountain ranges. The National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units...

The U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program: Successes in Tsunami Preparedness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitmore, P.; Wilson, R. I.

2012-12-01

Formed in 1995 by Congressional Action, the National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation Program (NTHMP) provides the framework for tsunami preparedness activities in the United States. The Program consists of the 28 U.S. coastal states, territories, and commonwealths (STCs), as well as three Federal agencies: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Since its inception, the NTHMP has advanced tsunami preparedness in the United States through accomplishments in many areas of tsunami preparedness: - Coordination and funding of tsunami hazard analysis and preparedness activities in STCs; - Development and execution of a coordinated plan to address education and outreach activities (materials, signage, and guides) within its membership; - Lead the effort to assist communities in meeting National Weather Service (NWS) TsunamiReady guidelines through development of evacuation maps and other planning activities; - Determination of tsunami hazard zones in most highly threatened coastal communities throughout the country by detailed tsunami inundation studies; - Development of a benchmarking procedure for numerical tsunami models to ensure models used in the inundation studies meet consistent, NOAA standards; - Creation of a national tsunami exercise framework to test tsunami warning system response; - Funding community tsunami warning dissemination and reception systems such as sirens and NOAA Weather Radios; and, - Providing guidance to NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers regarding warning dissemination and content. NTHMP activities have advanced the state of preparedness of United States coastal communities, and have helped save lives and property during recent tsunamis. Program successes as well as future plans, including maritime preparedness, are discussed.

A Framework for Understanding Cross-National and Cross-Ethnic Gaps in Math and Science Achievement: The Case of the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guglielmi, R. Sergio; Brekke, Nancy

2017-01-01

Comparative international assessments of academic achievement consistently indicate that US students trail behind many peers, particularly those from east Asia, in math and science. Traditional efforts to explain this finding have focused on identifying characteristics that might differentiate the United States from top-performing countries.…

Where did the US forest biomass/carbon go?

Treesearch

Christopher William Woodall

2012-01-01

In Apr. 2012, with the submission of the 1990-2010 US Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the official estimates of aboveground live tree carbon stocks within managed forests of the United States will drop by approximately 14%, compared with last year's inventory. It does not stop there, dead wood...

ERIC First Analysis: The United States Justice System; 1983-84 National High School Debate Resolutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, David L.

Designed to serve as a framework from which high school debate students, coaches, and judges can evaluate the issues, arguments, and evidence present in sustaining and reforming the U.S. justice system, this booklet provides debaters with guidelines for research on the 1983-84 debate resolutions selected by the National University Continuing…

ERIC First Analysis: Agricultural Policy. 1986-87 National High School Debate Resolutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, David L.; Fraleigh, Douglas

Designed to serve as a framework in which high school debate students, coaches, and judges can evaluate the issues, arguments, and evidence concerning which agricultural policies best serve the United States, this booklet provides guidelines for research on the 1986-87 debate resolutions selected by the National Federation of State High School…

ERIC First Analysis: Water Resources; 1985-86 National High School Debate Resolutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, David L.; Fraleigh, Douglas

Designed to serve as a framework from which high school debate students, coaches, and judges can evaluate the issues, arguments and evidence present in the availability and quality of water resources in the United States, this booklet provides guidelines for research on the 1985-86 debate resolutions selected by the National Federation of State…

Building a Stronger Network: Developing the Role of National Training Organisations. The Agency Responds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Learning and Skills Development Agency, London (England).

The Learning and Skills Development Agency agrees that national training organizations (NTOs) have a vital role to play in delivering the United Kingdom's skills agenda and that doing so will require strengthening their role. The agency particularly welcomes the fact that the NTO framework will do the following things: include clear statements of…

An approach for verifying biogenic greenhouse gas emissions inventories with atmospheric CO2 concentration data

Treesearch

Stephen M Ogle; Kenneth Davis; Thomas Lauvaux; Andrew Schuh; Dan Cooley; Tristram O West; Linda S Heath; Natasha L Miles; Scott Richardson; F Jay Breidt; James E Smith; Jessica L McCarty; Kevin R Gurney; Pieter Tans; A Scott Denning

2015-01-01

Verifying national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories is a critical step to ensure that reported emissions data to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are accurate and representative of a country's contribution to GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. Furthermore, verifying biogenic fluxes provides a check on estimated...

Algorithmic decision rules for estimating growth, removals, and mortality within a national-scale forest inventory (USA)

Treesearch

William H. McWilliams; Carol L. Alerich; William A. Bechtold; Mark Hansen; Christopher M. Oswalt; Mike Thompson; Jeff Turner

2012-01-01

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program maintains the National Information Management System (NIMS) that provides the computational framework for the annual forest inventory of the United States. Questions regarding the impact of key elements of programming logic, processing criteria, and estimation procedures...

Testing the suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic properties across regional scales

DOE PAGES

Mirus, Benjamin B.; Halford, Keith J.; Sweetkind, Donald; ...

2016-02-18

The suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic conductivity (K) to length scales commensurate with hydraulic data is difficult to assess. A novel method is presented for evaluating assumed relations between K and geologic interpretations for regional-scale groundwater modeling. The approach relies on simultaneous interpretation of multiple aquifer tests using alternative geologic frameworks of variable complexity, where each framework is incorporated as prior information that assumes homogeneous K within each model unit. This approach is tested at Pahute Mesa within the Nevada National Security Site (USA), where observed drawdowns from eight aquifer tests in complex, highly faulted volcanic rocks providemore » the necessary hydraulic constraints. The investigated volume encompasses 40 mi3 (167 km3) where drawdowns traversed major fault structures and were detected more than 2 mi (3.2 km) from pumping wells. Complexity of the five frameworks assessed ranges from an undifferentiated mass of rock with a single unit to 14 distinct geologic units. Results show that only four geologic units can be justified as hydraulically unique for this location. The approach qualitatively evaluates the consistency of hydraulic property estimates within extents of investigation and effects of geologic frameworks on extrapolation. Distributions of transmissivity are similar within the investigated extents irrespective of the geologic framework. In contrast, the extrapolation of hydraulic properties beyond the volume investigated with interfering aquifer tests is strongly affected by the complexity of a given framework. As a result, testing at Pahute Mesa illustrates how this method can be employed to determine the appropriate level of geologic complexity for large-scale groundwater modeling.« less

Testing the suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic properties across regional scales

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mirus, Benjamin B.; Halford, Keith J.; Sweetkind, Donald; Fenelon, Joseph M.

2016-01-01

The suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic conductivity (K) to length scales commensurate with hydraulic data is difficult to assess. A novel method is presented for evaluating assumed relations between K and geologic interpretations for regional-scale groundwater modeling. The approach relies on simultaneous interpretation of multiple aquifer tests using alternative geologic frameworks of variable complexity, where each framework is incorporated as prior information that assumes homogeneous K within each model unit. This approach is tested at Pahute Mesa within the Nevada National Security Site (USA), where observed drawdowns from eight aquifer tests in complex, highly faulted volcanic rocks provide the necessary hydraulic constraints. The investigated volume encompasses 40 mi3 (167 km3) where drawdowns traversed major fault structures and were detected more than 2 mi (3.2 km) from pumping wells. Complexity of the five frameworks assessed ranges from an undifferentiated mass of rock with a single unit to 14 distinct geologic units. Results show that only four geologic units can be justified as hydraulically unique for this location. The approach qualitatively evaluates the consistency of hydraulic property estimates within extents of investigation and effects of geologic frameworks on extrapolation. Distributions of transmissivity are similar within the investigated extents irrespective of the geologic framework. In contrast, the extrapolation of hydraulic properties beyond the volume investigated with interfering aquifer tests is strongly affected by the complexity of a given framework. Testing at Pahute Mesa illustrates how this method can be employed to determine the appropriate level of geologic complexity for large-scale groundwater modeling.

Testing the suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic properties across regional scales

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

Mirus, Benjamin B.; Halford, Keith J.; Sweetkind, Donald

The suitability of geologic frameworks for extrapolating hydraulic conductivity (K) to length scales commensurate with hydraulic data is difficult to assess. A novel method is presented for evaluating assumed relations between K and geologic interpretations for regional-scale groundwater modeling. The approach relies on simultaneous interpretation of multiple aquifer tests using alternative geologic frameworks of variable complexity, where each framework is incorporated as prior information that assumes homogeneous K within each model unit. This approach is tested at Pahute Mesa within the Nevada National Security Site (USA), where observed drawdowns from eight aquifer tests in complex, highly faulted volcanic rocks providemore » the necessary hydraulic constraints. The investigated volume encompasses 40 mi3 (167 km3) where drawdowns traversed major fault structures and were detected more than 2 mi (3.2 km) from pumping wells. Complexity of the five frameworks assessed ranges from an undifferentiated mass of rock with a single unit to 14 distinct geologic units. Results show that only four geologic units can be justified as hydraulically unique for this location. The approach qualitatively evaluates the consistency of hydraulic property estimates within extents of investigation and effects of geologic frameworks on extrapolation. Distributions of transmissivity are similar within the investigated extents irrespective of the geologic framework. In contrast, the extrapolation of hydraulic properties beyond the volume investigated with interfering aquifer tests is strongly affected by the complexity of a given framework. As a result, testing at Pahute Mesa illustrates how this method can be employed to determine the appropriate level of geologic complexity for large-scale groundwater modeling.« less

Atlanta congestion reduction demonstration national evaluation plan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-04-01

This report provides an analytic framework for evaluating the Atlanta Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) under the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) and CRD Programs. The Atlanta CRD project...

The development of a conceptually based nursing curriculum: an international experiment.

PubMed

Meleis, A I

1979-11-01

Nursing programmes in the United States of America are based on a conceptual framework. Not only do faculty and students ascribe to the necessity of such programmes but the national accreditation agency also provides its accreditation approval for the institution only after all criteria are met, including the requirement of a well-defined, operationalized and implemented framework. Can a nursing programme be developed in other nations utilizing the esoteric, American-based idea of the necessity for a conceptually based curriculum? The author answers this question. The manuscript presents both the process utilized in selecting a conceptual framwork for a new junior college programme in Kuwait and discusses the selected framework. The idea of a conceptual framework to guide the curriculum was as foreign in Kuwait as it was to nursing curricula in the United States 15 years ago. Though initially rejected by the faculty in Kuwait, the idea of a conceptual framework was reintroduced after much faculty discussion and questions related to nursing knowledge vis-a-vis medical knowledge, and what should be included in and excluded from the programme. By the end of the second year, a definite framework had been operationalized into courses and content. The selection of the framework evolved from faculty participation in the operationalization of the framework. This point is quite significant particularly in an international assignment, as it is the faculty who are left with the monumental task of supporting and continuing the work which has been done. Strategies used to develop and implement a conceptual framework included confrontation of faculty of the existing situation, lectures, seminars, workshops, and the identification of a critical review board.

Health system frameworks and performance indicators in eight countries: A comparative international analysis

PubMed Central

Braithwaite, Jeffrey; Hibbert, Peter; Blakely, Brette; Plumb, Jennifer; Hannaford, Natalie; Long, Janet Cameron; Marks, Danielle

2017-01-01

Objectives: Performance indicators are a popular mechanism for measuring the quality of healthcare to facilitate both quality improvement and systems management. Few studies make comparative assessments of different countries’ performance indicator frameworks. This study identifies and compares frameworks and performance indicators used in selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development health systems to measure and report on the performance of healthcare organisations and local health systems. Countries involved are Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States. Methods: Identification of comparable international indicators and analyses of their characteristics and of their broader national frameworks and contexts were undertaken. Two dimensions of indicators – that they are nationally consistent (used across the country rather than just regionally) and locally relevant (measured and reported publicly at a local level, for example, a health service) – were deemed important. Results: The most commonly used domains in performance frameworks were safety, effectiveness and access. The search found 401 indicators that fulfilled the ‘nationally consistent and locally relevant’ criteria. Of these, 45 indicators are reported in more than one country. Cardiovascular, surgery and mental health were the most frequently reported disease groups. Conclusion: These comparative data inform researchers and policymakers internationally when designing health performance frameworks and indicator sets. PMID:28228948

A carbon inventory for Mexico

Treesearch

Wood; L.; Hughell; D. A.; Lund; H. G.; Torres; V. E.; Pérez-Chavéz; Mario

2006-01-01

Treaties such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognize the link between changes in vegetation cover and impacts on the global climate. The UNFCCC specifies guidelines for monitoring land use changes and for including such changes in the “equation” for evaluating a nation’s compliance with efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2)...

A multicriteria framework for producing local, regional, and national insect and disease risk maps

Treesearch

Frank J. Jr. Krist; Frank J. Sapio

2010-01-01

The construction of the 2006 National Insect and Disease Risk Map, compiled by the USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry Area, Forest Health Protection Unit, resulted in the development of a GIS-based, multicriteria approach for insect and disease risk mapping that can account for regional variations in forest health concerns and threats. This risk mapping...

Libya: Transition and U.S. Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-13

country’s public finances , or create a viable framework for post-conflict justice and reconciliation. Elections for legislative bodies and a...significant pressure on government finances . The Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook estimates that Libya’s 2015 budget deficit was 49% of GDP...and effective oversight over the National Oil Corporation , the Central Bank of Libya, and the Libyan Investment Authority.” United Nations and

Community Resource Development; Proceedings of National Extension Workshop (2nd, Michigan State University, July 11-22, 1966).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing.

The Second National Workshop in Community Resource Development (CRD) was planned to provide training for extension personnel; representatives came from Canada and Puerto Rico as well as from the United States. It emphasized the development of a comprehensive framework for CRD and operation materials for carrying out programs in the states and…

Response capabilities of the National Guard: a focus on domestic disaster medical response.

PubMed

Bochicchio, Daniel

2010-01-01

The National Guard has a 373-year history of responding to the nation's call to duty for service both at home and abroad (The National Guard Bureau Web site: Available at http://www.ngb.army.mil/default. aspx.). The National Guard (NG) is a constitutionally unique organization (United States Constitution, US Government Printing Office Web site: Available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/constitution/index.html.). Today's Guard conducts domestic disaster response and civilian assistance missions on a daily basis. Yet, the NG's role, mission, and capabilities are not well-known or understood. The National Response Framework (NRF) places significant responsibility on the local and state disaster planners (Department of Homeland Security: National Response Framework. US Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC, January 2008). The public health professionals are an integral component of the disaster planning community. It is critical that the public health community be knowledgeable of types and capabilities of all the response assets at their disposal.

CORAL DISEASE & HEALTH CONSORTIUM: FINDING SOLUTIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Interior (DOI) developed the framework for a Coral Disease and Health Consortium (CDHC) for the United States Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) through an interag...

San Francisco urban partnership agreement : national evaluation plan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-12-22

This report provides an analytic framework for evaluating the San Francisco Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) under the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) UPA Program. The San Francisco UPA projects to be evaluated focus on those r...

50 CFR 648.25 - Possession restrictions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Mackerel, squid, and butterfish framework adjustments to management measures. (a) Within season management... 648.25 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES Management Measures for the...

Estonian greenhouse gas emissions inventory report

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

Punning, J.M.; Ilomets, M.; Karindi, A.

1996-07-01

It is widely accepted that the increase of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere due to human activities would result in warming of the Earth`s surface. To examine this effect and better understand how the GHG increase in the atmosphere might change the climate in the future, how ecosystems and societies in different regions of the World should adapt to these changes, what must policymakers do for the mitigation of that effect, the worldwide project within the Framework Convention on Climate Change was generated by the initiative of United Nations. Estonia is one of more than 150 countries, which signedmore » the Framework Convention on Climate Change at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. In 1994 a new project, Estonian Country Study was initiated within the US Country Studies Program. The project will help to compile the GHG inventory for Estonia, find contemporary trends to investigate the impact of climate change on the Estonian ecosystems and economy and to formulate national strategies for Estonia addressing to global climate change.« less

The Climate Change Strategy Gap: Crafting a Strategic Framework for the Department of Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-24

Climate Change Effects: Issues for International and US National Security (Alexandria, VA: The Institute for Defense Analyses, 2009), 3. 3 in...Security Needs Assessment, (New York: United Nations, 2012), 7. 50 Christine Youngblut, Climate Change Effects: Issues for International and US National...Master’s Thesis 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 10-01-2015 - 03-19-2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Climate Change Strategy Gap: Crafting a Strategic 5a

The Climate Change Strategy Gap: Crafting a Strategic Framework for the Department of Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-23

Climate Change Effects: Issues for International and US National Security (Alexandria, VA: The Institute for Defense Analyses, 2009), 3. 3 in...Security Needs Assessment, (New York: United Nations, 2012), 7. 50 Christine Youngblut, Climate Change Effects: Issues for International and US National...Master’s Thesis 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 10-01-2015 - 03-19-2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Climate Change Strategy Gap: Crafting a Strategic 5a

Proposal for a United Nations Basic Space Technology Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balogh, Werner

Putting space technology and its applications to work for sustainable economic and social development is the primary objective of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications, launched in 1971. A specific goal for achieving this objective is to establish a sustainable national space capacity. The traditional line of thinking has supported a logical progression from building capacity in basic space science, to using space applications and finally - possibly - to establishing indigenous space technology capabilities. The experience in some countries suggests that such a strict line of progression does not necessarily hold true and that priority given to the establishment of early indigenous space technology capabilities may contribute to promoting the operational use of space applications in support of sustainable economic and social development. Based on these findings and on the experiences with the United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNBSSI) as well as on a series of United Nations/International Academy of Astronautics Workshops on Small Satellites in the Service of Developing Countries, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is considering the launch of a dedicated United Nations Basic Space Technology Initiative (UNBSTI). The initiative would aim to contribute to capacity building in basic space technology and could include, among other relevant fields, activities related to the space and ground segments of small satellites and their applications. It would also provide an international framework for enhancing cooperation between all interested actors, facilitate the exchange of information on best practices, and contribute to standardization efforts. It is expected that these activities would advance the operational use of space technology and its applications in an increasing number of space-using countries and emerging space nations. The paper reports on these initial considerations and on the potential value-adding role the United Nations could play with such an initiative.

Technical aspects of the forest carbon inventory of the United States: recent past and near future

Treesearch

Christopher W. Woodall; James E. Smith; Grant M. Domke; Sean P. Healey; John W. Coulston; Andrew N. Gray

2012-01-01

The Forest Inventory and Analysis program of the U.S. Forest Service has explicitly assumed responsibility for providing an inventory of the U.S. forests' carbon stocks and stock change to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for numerous years to meet obligations to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Recent improvements, plans for the...

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: (...

50 CFR 648.237 - Framework provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., Sept. 29, 2011. (a) Within season management action. The Councils may, at any time, initiate action to....237 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES Management Measures for the...

Homeland security : a framework for addressing the nation's efforts

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-09-21

According to a variety of U.S. intelligence assessments, the United States now confronts a range of increasingly diffuse threats that puts greater destructive power into the hands of small states, groups, and individuals and threatens our values and ...

Delineating managed land for reporting national greenhouse gas emissions and removals to the United Nations framework convention on climate change

Treesearch

Stephen M. Ogle; Grant Domke; Werner A. Kurz; Marcelo T. Rocha; Ted Huffman; Amy Swan; James E. Smith; Christopher Woodall; Thelma Krug

2018-01-01

Land use and management activities have a substantial impact on carbon stocks and associated greenhouse gas emissions and removals. However, it is challenging to discriminate between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic sources and sinks from land. To address this problem, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change developed a managed land proxy to determine which...

Carbon storage in harvested wood products for Ireland 1961-2009

Treesearch

Jennifer Donlan; Kenneth Skog; Kenneth A. Byrne

2012-01-01

Forests are significant stores of carbon (C). This has been recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and forests are one of the sectors which are included in national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. Some of this C pool remains in wood after harvest and can remain in use for long periods of time. Accounting for the C stored in harvested...

Higher Education and Native Nation Building: Using a Human Capital Framework to Explore the Role of Postsecondary Education in Tribal Economic Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marling, David

2012-01-01

Native American Nations have perpetually had the highest rates of poverty and unemployment and the lowest per capita income of any ethnic population in the United States. Additionally, American Indian students have the highest high school dropout rates and lowest academic performance rates as well as the lowest college admission and retention…

Standards-Based Reform in the United States: History, Research, and Future Directions

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

conducted by professional organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics . Although notions of what constitutes effective SBR have...some states and by various professional organizations, such as the curriculum standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics ... NCTM ). The mathematics content frameworks developed in California in the 1980s and the 1989 NCTMCurriculum and Evaluation Standards for School

Updated preparedness and response framework for influenza pandemics.

PubMed

Holloway, Rachel; Rasmussen, Sonja A; Zaza, Stephanie; Cox, Nancy J; Jernigan, Daniel B

2014-09-26

The complexities of planning for and responding to the emergence of novel influenza viruses emphasize the need for systematic frameworks to describe the progression of the event; weigh the risk of emergence and potential public health impact; evaluate transmissibility, antiviral resistance, and severity; and make decisions about interventions. On the basis of experience from recent influenza responses, CDC has updated its framework to describe influenza pandemic progression using six intervals (two prepandemic and four pandemic intervals) and eight domains. This updated framework can be used for influenza pandemic planning and serves as recommendations for risk assessment, decision-making, and action in the United States. The updated framework replaces the U.S. federal government stages from the 2006 implementation plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza (US Homeland Security Council. National strategy for pandemic influenza: implementation plan. Washington, DC: US Homeland Security Council; 2006. Available at http://www.flu.gov/planning-preparedness/federal/pandemic-influenza-implementation.pdf). The six intervals of the updated framework are as follows: 1) investigation of cases of novel influenza, 2) recognition of increased potential for ongoing transmission, 3) initiation of a pandemic wave, 4) acceleration of a pandemic wave, 5) deceleration of a pandemic wave, and 6) preparation for future pandemic waves. The following eight domains are used to organize response efforts within each interval: incident management, surveillance and epidemiology, laboratory, community mitigation, medical care and countermeasures, vaccine, risk communications, and state/local coordination. Compared with the previous U.S. government stages, this updated framework provides greater detail and clarity regarding the potential timing of key decisions and actions aimed at slowing the spread and mitigating the impact of an emerging pandemic. Use of this updated framework is anticipated to improve pandemic preparedness and response in the United States. Activities and decisions during a response are event-specific. These intervals serve as a reference for public health decision-making by federal, state, and local health authorities in the United States during an influenza pandemic and are not meant to be prescriptive or comprehensive. This framework incorporates information from newly developed tools for pandemic planning and response, including the Influenza Risk Assessment Tool and the Pandemic Severity Assessment Framework, and has been aligned with the pandemic phases restructured in 2013 by the World Health Organization.

IMPLEMENTING ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN A MULTI-POLLUTANT AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

EPA Science Inventory

In 2004, the National Research Council (NRC) published a major assessment of air quality management practices: Air Quality Management in the United States. The assessment resulted from a Congressional directive that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency commission the Nationa...

Children's Television in the Twenty-First Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Browne, Dina

1997-01-01

Discusses the state of children's television in Australia and considers possibilities for the future. Topics include regulatory frameworks and requirements for children's programs; imported programming, including animated material; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; and values promoted to children. (LRW)

50 CFR 648.165 - Framework specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., Sept. 29, 2011. (a) Within season management action. The Council may, at any time, initiate action to... 648.165 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES Management Measures for the...

Predicting Developmental Change in Healthy Eating and Regular Exercise among Adolescents in China and the United States: The Role of Psychosocial and Behavioral Protection and Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jessor, Richard; Turbin, Mark S.; Costa, Frances M.

2010-01-01

This article reports a cross-national study of developmental change in health-enhancing behavior--healthy eating and regular exercise--among adolescents in China and the United States. The application of a conceptual framework comprising psychosocial and behavioral protective and risk factors--both proximal and distal and at both the individual…

The Continuing Education Unit. Five Guideline Statements: Purdue University, Indiana University, University of Delaware, University of New Hampshire, University of North Dakota.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New Hampshire Univ., Durham. Div. of Continuing Education.

The National Task Force Interim Statement of 1970, regarding the utilization of the Continuing Education Unit (CEU), provides the basic framework of these five documents. All agree in their definition of the CEU as 10 contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience and set forth criteria for applying the CEU to their…

Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Hearing on S. 846 before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

This document is a transcript of two days of proceedings for a United States Senate committee hearing to discuss "Goals 2000: Educate America Act." This bill was proposed by President Clinton to provide a national framework for education reform; promote the research, consensus building, and systemic changes needed to endure equal…

Illicit Drug Trafficking in West Africa -- Primary Surveillance Radar Introduction

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-22

States Party. All West African countries are Party to the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic ...efforts against illicit drug trafficking and related crimes by Member States at the regional and national levels, especially within the framework of...Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Cape Verde, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.29 14 Effective airspace management not only aids in countering illicit drug

Developing a monitoring and evaluation framework to integrate and formalize the informal waste and recycling sector: the case of the Philippine National Framework Plan.

PubMed

Serrona, Kevin Roy B; Yu, Jeongsoo; Aguinaldo, Emelita; Florece, Leonardo M

2014-09-01

The Philippines has been making inroads in solid waste management with the enactment and implementation of the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000. Said legislation has had tremendous influence in terms of how the national and local government units confront the challenges of waste management in urban and rural areas using the reduce, reuse, recycle and recovery framework or 4Rs. One of the sectors needing assistance is the informal waste sector whose aspiration is legal recognition of their rank and integration of their waste recovery activities in mainstream waste management. To realize this, the Philippine National Solid Waste Management Commission initiated the formulation of the National Framework Plan for the Informal Waste Sector, which stipulates approaches, strategies and methodologies to concretely involve the said sector in different spheres of local waste management, such as collection, recycling and disposal. What needs to be fleshed out is the monitoring and evaluation component in order to gauge qualitative and quantitative achievements vis-a-vis the Framework Plan. In the process of providing an enabling environment for the informal waste sector, progress has to be monitored and verified qualitatively and quantitatively and measured against activities, outputs, objectives and goals. Using the Framework Plan as the reference, this article developed monitoring and evaluation indicators using the logical framework approach in project management. The primary objective is to institutionalize monitoring and evaluation, not just in informal waste sector plans, but in any waste management initiatives to ensure that envisaged goals are achieved. © The Author(s) 2014.

Stroke units: research and reality. Results from the National Sentinel Audit of Stroke

PubMed Central

Rudd, A; Hoffman, A; Irwin, P; Pearson, M; Lowe, D; on, b

2005-01-01

Objectives: To use data from the 2001–2 National Stroke Audit to describe the organisation of stroke units in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to see if key characteristics deemed effective from the research literature were present. Design: Data were collected as part of the National Sentinel Audit of Stroke in 2001, both on the organisation and structure of inpatient stroke care and the process of care to hospitals managing stroke patients. Setting: 240 hospitals from England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the 2001–2 National Stroke Audit, a response rate of over 95%. These sites audited a total of 8200 patients. Audit tool: Royal College of Physicians Intercollegiate Working Party Stroke Audit Tool. Results: 73% of hospitals participating in the audit had a stroke unit but only 36% of stroke admissions spent any time on one. Only 46% of all units describing themselves as stroke units had all five organisational characteristics that previous research literature had identified as being key features, while 26% had four and 28% had three or less. Better organisation was associated with better process of care for patients, with patients managed on stroke units receiving better care than those managed in other settings. Conclusion: The National Service Framework for Older People set a target for all hospitals treating stroke patients to have a stroke unit by April 2004. This study suggests that in many hospitals this is being achieved without adequate resource and expertise. PMID:15691997

Development of an optimised key worker framework for people with dementia, their family and caring unit living in the community.

PubMed

Renehan, Emma; Goeman, Dianne; Koch, Susan

2017-07-20

In Australia, dementia is a national health priority. With the rising number of people living with dementia and shortage of formal and informal carers predicted in the near future, developing approaches to coordinating services in quality-focused ways is considered an urgent priority. Key worker support models are one approach that have been used to assist people living with dementia and their caring unit coordinate services and navigate service systems; however, there is limited literature outlining comprehensive frameworks for the implementation of community dementia key worker roles in practice. In this paper an optimised key worker framework for people with dementia, their family and caring unit living in the community is developed and presented. A number of processes were undertaken to inform the development of a co-designed optimised key worker framework: an expert working and reference group; a systematic review of the literature; and a qualitative evaluation of 14 dementia key worker models operating in Australia involving 14 interviews with organisation managers, 19 with key workers and 15 with people living with dementia and/or their caring unit. Data from the systematic review and evaluation of dementia key worker models were analysed by the researchers and the expert working and reference group using a constant comparative approach to define the essential components of the optimised framework. The developed framework consisted of four main components: overarching philosophies; organisational context; role definition; and key worker competencies. A number of more clearly defined sub-themes sat under each component. Reflected in the framework is the complexity of the dementia journey and the difficulty in trying to develop a 'one size fits all' approach. This co-designed study led to the development of an evidence based framework which outlines a comprehensive synthesis of components viewed as being essential to the implementation of a dementia key worker model of care in the community. The framework was informed and endorsed by people living with dementia and their caring unit, key workers, managers, Australian industry experts, policy makers and researchers. An evaluation of its effectiveness and relevance for practice within the dementia care space is required.

School Health Programs in Australia - A Special Insert.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nader, Philip R.; Rissel, Chris; Rowling, Louise; Marshall, Bernard J.; Sheehan, Margaret M.; Northfield, Jeff R.; Maher, Shelley; Carlisle, Rachel; St. Leger, Lawrence H.; Stewart, Donald E.; Parker, Elizabeth; Gillespie, Amaya; Stokes, Helen; Mukherjee, Dev; Nutbeam, Don; Mitchell, Anne; Ollis, Debbie; Watson, Jan

2000-01-01

Eight papers on Australia's school health programs discuss: creating health promoting schools in the United States; intersectoral collaboration for developing a national framework for health promoting schools; school-based health promotion nationwide; auditing health promoting schools policy documentation; the nature of health service/school…

Language of Possibility: 1991 Accreditation Criteria.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siler, Bobbie; And Others

1994-01-01

Evaluation of the National League for Nursing's 1991 Criteria for Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs using Huebner's value frameworks (technical, scientific, political, esthetic, ethical) finds the values incorporated to some degree. The new criteria shift power in curriculum design to individual nursing units, allowing adoption of…

Carbon offsets from improved swine manure management using aerobic treatment technology

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aerobic treatment of manure is an accepted manure management system under protocols adopted through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Our objectives were to determine greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from replacement of anaerobic lagoons with aerobic treatme...

U.S. States and Territories National Tsunami Hazard Assessment: Historical record and sources for waves – Update

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dunbar, Paula K.; Weaver, Craig S.

2015-01-01

The first U.S. Tsunami Hazard Assessment (Dunbar and Weaver, 2008) was prepared at the request of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP). The NTHMP is a partnership formed between federal and state agencies to reduce the impact of tsunamis through hazard assessment, warning guidance, and mitigation. The assessment was conducted in response to a 2005 joint report by the Sub-Committee on Disaster Reduction and the U.S. Group on Earth Observations entitled Tsunami Risk Reduction for the United States: A Framework for Action. The first specific action called for in the Framework was to “develop standardized and coordinated tsunami hazard and risk assessments for all coastal regions of the United States and its territories.” Since the first assessment, there have been a number of very significant tsunamis, including the 2009 Samoa, 2010 Chile, and 2011 Japan tsunamis. As a result, the NTHMP requested an update of the U.S. tsunami hazard assessment.

Hydrologic Unit Map -- 1978, state of South Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1978-01-01

This map and accompanying table show Hydrologic Unites that are basically hydrographic in nature. The Cataloging Unites shown supplant the Cataloging Units previously depicted n the 1974 State Hydrologic Unit Map. The boundaries as shown have been adapted from the 1974 State Hydrologic Unit Map, "The Catalog of Information on Water Data" (1972), "Water Resources Regions and Subregions for the National Assessment of Water and Related Land Resources" by the U.S. Water Resources Council (1970), "River Basin of the United States" by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (1963, 1970), "River Basin Maps Showing Hydrologic Stations" by the Inter-Agency Committee on Water Resources, Subcommittee on Hydrology (1961), and State planning maps. The Political Subdivision has been adopted from "Counties and County Equivalents of the States if the United States" presented in Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 6-2, issued by the National Bureau of Standards (1973) in which each county or county equivalent is identified by a 2-character State code and a 3-character county code. The Regions, Subregions and Accounting Units are aggregates of the Cataloging Unites. The Regions and Sub regions are currently (1978) used by the U.S> Water Resources Council for comprehensive planning, including the National Assessment, and as a standard geographical framework for more detailed water and related land-resources planning. The Accounting Units are those currently (1978) in use by the U.S. Geological Survey for managing the National Water Data Network. This map was revised to include a boundary realinement between Cataloging Units 10140103 and 10160009.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources─South Florida Basin: Chapter L in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts-Ashby, Tina L.; Brennan, Sean T.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2015-08-26

This report presents five storage assessment units (SAUs) that have been identified as potentially suitable for geologic carbon dioxide sequestration within a 35,075-square-mile area that includes the entire onshore and State-water portions of the South Florida Basin. Platform-wide, thick successions of laterally extensive carbonates and evaporites deposited in highly cyclic depositional environments in the South Florida Basin provide several massive, porous carbonate reservoirs that are separated by evaporite seals. For each storage assessment unit identified within the basin, the areal distribution of the reservoir-seal couplet identified as suitable for geologic Carbon dioxide sequestration is presented, along with a description of the geologic characteristics that influence the potential carbon dioxide storage volume and reservoir performance. On a case-by-case basis, strategies for estimating the pore volume existing within structurally and (or) stratigraphically closed traps are also discussed. Geologic information presented in this report has been employed to calculate potential storage capacities for carbon dioxide sequestration in the storage assessment units assessed herein, although complete assessment results are not contained in this report.

Arctic Trail: Six Steps the United States Must Take to Manage the Global Rush North

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-01

Currently, the international legal framework is not sufficient to handle the sovereignty and resource rights disputes in the region. Increased human ... activity in the region will exacerbate these disputes, creating significant national security, economic, and environmental implications. Arctic development

National assessment and critiques of state-and-transition models: The baby with the bathwater

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ecological site descriptions (ESDs) have been characterized as the world’ s largest land management framework. They comprise a database and document collection used throughout the United States to provide management guidance in rangelands and, increasingly, in forests, wetlands, and croplands. ESDs ...

Establishing the Competence of Outdoor Training Staff.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Everard, Bertie

1997-01-01

The United Kingdom lacks a framework of nationally recognized professional qualifications for outdoor trainers and facilitators. Various definitions of competence are examined, and suggestions are offered for improving approaches to establishing staff competence. Includes a model of personal development dimensions, and compares U.K. and U.S.…

NOAA Homeland Security Program Office

Science.gov Websites

Emergency Managment Institute IS 100.b - Introduction to Incident Command System IS 700.a - NIMS An Introduction IS 701.b - NIMS Multiagency Coordination System (MACS) Course IS 800.b - National Response Framework, An Introduction United States Coast Guard; Maritime Domain Awareness Privacy Act Statement

ESD and the Rio Conventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarabhai, Kartikeya V.; Ravindranath, Shailaja; Schwarz, Rixa; Vyas, Purvi

2012-01-01

Chapter 36 of Agenda 21, a key document of the 1992 Earth Summit, emphasised reorienting education towards sustainable development. While two of the Rio conventions, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), developed communication, education and public awareness (CEPA)…

Military Technical Revolution: A Structural Framework

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-03-01

new world situation and draw conclusions about the military forces the United States will need in the years ahead to meet its demands and challenges...collectivization of peacetime military operations. In this new world , the United States will need to rethink the nature and scope of its national interests. Those...mission will also require defense of international sea- lanes and Middle East oil, both of which remain vital to the world and U ’. S . economies. Third

Human rights from the grassroots up: Vermont's campaign for universal health care.

PubMed

McGill, Mariah

2012-06-15

In 2008, the Vermont Workers' Center launched the "Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign," a grassroots campaign to secure the creation of a universal health care system in Vermont. Campaign organizers used a human rights framework to mobilize thousands of voters in support of universal health care. In response to this extraordinary grassroots effort, the state legislature passed health care legislation that incorporates human rights principles into Vermont law and provides a framework for universal health care. The United States has often lagged behind other nations in recognizing economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights, including the right to health. Nonetheless, activists have begun to incorporate ESC rights into domestic advocacy campaigns, and state and local governments are beginning to respond where the federal government has not. Vermont serves as a powerful example of how a human rights framework can inform health care policy and inspire grassroots campaigns in the United States. This three-part article documents the Vermont Workers' Center campaign and discusses the impact that human rights activity at the grassroots level may have on attitudes towards ESC rights in the United States. The first part describes the Vermont health care crisis and explains why the center adopted international human rights principles for their campaign. The article then goes on to discuss the three-year campaign and analyze the health care reform bill that the Vermont legislature passed. Finally, the article discusses the campaign's local and national impact. Copyright © 2012 McGill.

The American Experience in the Transition from Vocational Schools to Work: A Report to the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. International Symposium on Problems of Transition from Technical and Vocational Schools to Work (Berlin, German Democratic Republic, 14-18 April, 1980).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunham, Daniel B.

This paper discusses the central problems and issues of the transition from school to worklife in the United States. Developed from a framework which outlines the structure of the education system and the place of vocational-technical education within it, the paper addresses measures the United States has taken to facilitate the transition from…

Past and prospective carbon stocks in forests of northern Wisconsin: a report from the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest Climate Change Response Framework

Treesearch

Richard Birdsey; Yude Pan; Maria Janowiak; Susan Stewart; Sarah Hines; Linda Parker; Stith Gower; Jeremy Lichstein; Kevin McCullough; Fangmin Zhang; Jing Chen; David Mladenoff; Craig Wayson; Chris Swanston

2014-01-01

This report assesses past and prospective carbon stocks for 4.5 million ha of forest land in northern Wisconsin, including a baseline assessment and analysis of the impacts of disturbance and management on carbon stocks. Carbon density (amount of carbon stock per unit area) averages 237 megagrams (Mg) per ha, with the National Forest lands having slightly higher carbon...

National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, Long Island-New Jersey (LINJ) Coastal Drainages Study Unit : Scope of the Long Island-New Jersey Coastal Drainages Study-Unit investigation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ayers, Mark A.

1994-01-01

Scope of the Long Island-New Jersey Coastal Drainages Study-Unit InvestigationIn 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program to document the status of and trends in quality of a large representative part of the Nation's water resources and to provide a sound scientific understanding of the primary natural and human factors that affect the quality of these resources. The program is designed to produce long-term, consistent water-quality information that will be useful to policymakers and managers at national, State, and local levels.Investigations of 60 hydrologic systems (study units), which include parts of most major river basins and aquifer systems in the United States, are the building blocks of NAWQA. A framework has been established to ensure nationwide consistency in the approach to each study--in field and laboratory methods, in water-quality measurements, and in the supporting data requirements. Twenty studies were started in 1991, 20 more have begun in 1994, and 20 are scheduled to begin in 1997.A major design feature of the program that will facilitate integration of water-quality information at national, regional, and local scales is coordination between the individual study-unit teams and the national synthesis effort at all stages of the investigations. Thus, results that relate to various topics addressed in the study-unit investigations will be integrated smoothly into NAWQA's national synthesis component. Teams have been developed to address the following topics of national importance: pesticides, nutrients, and volatile organic compounds. These teams are investigating the specific issues by means of comparative studies of a large set of hydrologic systems distributed over a wide range of environmental settings found in the 60 study-units.The information below summarizes the goals and scope of the NAWQA Program and the Long Island-New Jersey Coastal Drainages study, which began in 1994.

[Better communication between surgery and anesthesia may provide safer surgery. The exchange of information has been mapped within the framework of "Safe abdominal surgery"].

PubMed

Göransson, Katarina; Lundberg, Johan; Ljungqvist, Olle; Ohlsson, Elisabet; Sandblom, Gabriel

2015-09-01

Poor communication between surgical and anesthesia unit personnel may jeopardize patient safety.  Review reports from a national survey on patient safety performed at 17 units 2011-2013 were analyzed in order to identify strategies to reduce risks related to the interaction between surgery and anesthesia. The reports were reviewed in this study by an independent group in order to extract findings related to communication between anesthesia and surgical unit personnel. Suggested strategies to improve patient safety included: uniform national health declaration forms; consistent use of admission notes; uniform systems for documenting medical information; multidisciplinary forum for evaluation of high-risk patients; weekly and daily scheduling of surgical programs; application of the WHO check list; open dialog during surgery; oral and written reports from the surgeon to the postoperative unit; and combined mortality and morbidity conferences.

A framework convention on global health: health for all, justice for all.

PubMed

Gostin, Lawrence O

2012-05-16

Health inequalities represent perhaps the most consequential global health challenge and yet they persist despite increased funding and innovative programs. The United Nations is revising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that will shape the world for many years to come. What would a transformative post-MDG framework for global health justice look like? A global coalition of civil society and academics--the Joint Action and Learning Initiative on National and Global Responsibilities for Health (JALI)--has formed an international campaign to advocate for a Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH). Recently endorsed by the UN Secretary-General, the FCGH would reimagine global governance for health, offering a new post-MDG vision. This Special Communication describes the key modalities of an FCGH to illustrate how it would improve health and reduce inequalities. The modalities would include defining national responsibilities for the population's health; defining international responsibilities for reliable, sustainable funding; setting global health priorities; coordinating fragmented activities; reshaping global governance for health; and providing strong global health leadership through the World Health Organization.

A Sense of Belonging: Childrens' Views of Acceptance in "Inclusive" Mainstream Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Richard; Shevlin, Michael

2017-01-01

In recent years, international initiatives such as the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994) and the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations General Assembly, 2015) have encouraged educational researchers to focus their attentions on those conditions that enable schools to become more…

Methods for reducing biases and errors in regional photochemical model outputs for use in emission reduction and exposure assessments

EPA Science Inventory

In the United States, regional-scale photochemical models are being used to design emission control strategies needed to meet the relevant National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) within the framework of the attainment demonstration process. Previous studies have shown that...

The APU and Assessment in the Middle Years.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marjoram, D. T. E.

1978-01-01

Because of student characteristics in the middle years, several types of assessment are needed. The national monitoring system being developed by the Assessment of Performance Unit (APU) may prove a useful assessment framework for individual schools, providing developmental data for program comparisons and student movement between schools. (SJL)

Communication Skills for Workplace Assessors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corbett, Deborah

This document is designed to help develop the communication skills of individuals training for the position of workplace assessor in Australia's National Training Framework and practicing workplace assessors who require additional assistance with on-the-job communication skills. The document consists of 11 units of study that each contain some or…

Information Society: Agenda for Action in the UK.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips of Ellesmere, Lord

1997-01-01

Explains the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology in the UK (United Kingdom) and discusses its report that addresses the need for information technology planning on a national basis. Topics include electronic publishing for access to government publications, universal access, regulatory framework, encryption and verification,…

Carbon pools and flux in U.S. forest products

Treesearch

Linda S. Heath; Richard A. Birdsey; Clark Row; Andrew J. Plantinga

1996-01-01

Increasing recognition that anthropogenic CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions may effect climate change has prompted research studies on global carbon (C) budgets and international agreements for action. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, world leaders and citizens gathered and initiated the Framework...

75 FR 12232 - Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2008

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-15

... Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reported in a format consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines. The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas...: Comments should be submitted to Mr. Leif Hockstad at: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change...

77 FR 11533 - Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2010; Notice of Availability and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-27

... recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reported in a format consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines. The Inventory... of Atmospheric Programs, Climate Change Division, (202) 343-9432, [email protected

78 FR 12310 - Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2011

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-22

... Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reported in a format consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines. The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas...: Comments should be submitted to Mr. Leif Hockstad at: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change...

76 FR 10026 - Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2009

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-23

... Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reported in a format consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reporting guidelines. The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas...: Comments should be submitted to Mr. Leif Hockstad at: Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change...

Equity as a Basis for Inclusive Educational Systems Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sailor, Wayne

2017-01-01

Inclusion of students with "disabilities" in public systems of general education has been a global initiative since the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action by the Ministry of Education and Science, Madrid (Spain), and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France), in 1994. Despite global and…

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...

Stream ecological condition modeling at the reach and the hydrologic unit (HUC) scale: A look at model performance and mapping

EPA Science Inventory

The National Hydrography and updated Watershed Boundary Datasets provide a ready-made framework for hydrographic modeling. Determining particular stream reaches or watersheds in poor ecological condition across large regions is an essential goal for monitoring and management. T...

A Conceptual Model of Observed Physical Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dudley, Dean A.

2015-01-01

Physical literacy is a concept that is gaining greater acceptance around the world with the United Nations Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (2013) recognizing it as one of several central tenets in a quality physical education framework. However, previous attempts to understand progression in physical literacy learning have been…

International marine environmental governance: A review.

PubMed

Grip, Kjell

2017-05-01

Impressive numbers of global and regional governmental and non-governmental organizations are working in the field of the marine environment and its resources. Many of these organizations operate within international legal frameworks ranging from comprehensive global conventions, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to regional agreements aiming at protection and development of regional seas. Characteristic for the management of these seas, both at the national and international level, is that sectoral approaches predominate. Over time, several initiatives have been taken to improve cooperation, coordination and integration to achieve greater coherence of policies and strategies between different organizations dealing with marine and maritime management, within and outside the United Nation system. However, the success has been limited. The weaknesses of international organizations depend fundamentally on problems at the national level. The international organizations are no stronger than their Contracting Parties allow them to be.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) relative value unit workload model, its limitations and the evolution to a safety, quality and performance framework.

PubMed

Pitman, A; Jones, D N; Stuart, D; Lloydhope, K; Mallitt, K; O'Rourke, P

2009-10-01

The study reports on the evolution of the Australian radiologist relative value unit (RVU) model of measuring radiologist reporting workloads in teaching hospital departments, and aims to outline a way forward for the development of a broad national safety, quality and performance framework that enables value mapping, measurement and benchmarking. The Radiology International Benchmarking Project of Queensland Health provided a suitable high-level national forum where the existing Pitman-Jones RVU model was applied to contemporaneous data, and its shortcomings and potential avenues for future development were analysed. Application of the Pitman-Jones model to Queensland data and also a Victorian benchmark showed that the original recommendation of 40,000 crude RVU per full-time equivalent consultant radiologist (97-98 baseline level) has risen only moderately, to now lie around 45,000 crude RVU/full-time equivalent. Notwithstanding this, the model has a number of weaknesses and is becoming outdated, as it cannot capture newer time-consuming examinations particularly in CT. A significant re-evaluation of the value of medical imaging is required, and is now occurring. We must rethink how we measure, benchmark, display and continually improve medical imaging safety, quality and performance, throughout the imaging care cycle and beyond. It will be necessary to ensure alignment with patient needs, as well as clinical and organisational objectives. Clear recommendations for the development of an updated national reporting workload RVU system are available, and an opportunity now exists for developing a much broader national model. A more sophisticated and balanced multidimensional safety, quality and performance framework that enables measurement and benchmarking of all important elements of health-care service is needed.

Towards a Framework Convention on Global Health: a transformative agenda for global health justice.

PubMed

Gostin, Lawrence O; Friedman, Eric A

2013-01-01

Global health inequities cause nearly 20 million deaths annually, mostly among the world's poor. Yet international law currently does little to reduce the massive inequalities that underlie these deaths. This Article offers the first systematic account of the goals and justifications, normative foundations, and potential construction of a proposed new global health treaty, a Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH), grounded in the human right to health. Already endorsed by the United Nations Secretary-General, the FCGH would reimagine global governance for health, offering a new, post-Millennium Development Goals vision. A global coalition of civil society and academics has formed the Joint Action and Learning Initiative on National and Global Responsibilities for Health (JALI) to advance the FCGH.

Security, development and human rights: normative, legal and policy challenges for the international drug control system.

PubMed

Barrett, Damon

2010-03-01

This commentary addresses some of the challenges posed by the broader normative, legal and policy framework of the United Nations for the international drug control system. The 'purposes and principles' of the United Nations are presented and set against the threat based rhetoric of the drug control system and the negative consequences of that system. Some of the challenges posed by human rights law and norms to the international drug control system are also described, and the need for an impact assessment of the current system alongside alternative policy options is highlighted as a necessary consequence of these analyses. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stakeholder Perspectives on a Culture of Health: Key Findings.

PubMed

Acosta, Joie D; Whitley, Margaret D; May, Linnea Warren; Dubowitz, Tamara; Williams, Malcolm V; Chandra, Anita

2017-06-01

Since 2013, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has embarked on a pioneering effort to advance a Culture of Health. The Culture of Health action framework is founded on a vision in which "everyone in our diverse society leads healthier lives now and for generations to come." To put the Culture of Health vision into action, RWJF asked RAND Health to support the development of an action framework and measurement strategy. This article summarizes the stakeholder engagement efforts that RAND used to inform this work. It draws on a series of interviews and focus groups that RAND researchers conducted with stakeholders both within and outside the United States. It should be of interest to RWJF, as well as to those individuals and organizations interested in advancing the Culture of Health action framework. Given that RWJF is focused on using the Culture of Health action framework and measures to catalyze national dialogue about content and investments to improve population health and well-being, the study should be beneficial to a range of national, state, and local leaders across a variety of sectors that contribute to health as described by the Culture of Health action framework.

Applying national survey results for strategic planning and program improvement: the National Diabetes Education Program.

PubMed

Griffey, Susan; Piccinino, Linda; Gallivan, Joanne; Lotenberg, Lynne Doner; Tuncer, Diane

2015-02-01

Since the 1970s, the federal government has spearheaded major national education programs to reduce the burden of chronic diseases in the United States. These prevention and disease management programs communicate critical information to the public, those affected by the disease, and health care providers. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), the leading federal program on diabetes sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), uses primary and secondary quantitative data and qualitative audience research to guide program planning and evaluation. Since 2006, the NDEP has filled the gaps in existing quantitative data sources by conducting its own population-based survey, the NDEP National Diabetes Survey (NNDS). The NNDS is conducted every 2–3 years and tracks changes in knowledge, attitudes and practice indicators in key target audiences. This article describes how the NDEP has used the NNDS as a key component of its evaluation framework and how it applies the survey results for strategic planning and program improvement. The NDEP's use of the NNDS illustrates how a program evaluation framework that includes periodic population-based surveys can serve as an evaluation model for similar national health education programs.

Framework for assessing causality of air pollution-related health effects for reviews of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

PubMed

Owens, Elizabeth Oesterling; Patel, Molini M; Kirrane, Ellen; Long, Thomas C; Brown, James; Cote, Ila; Ross, Mary A; Dutton, Steven J

2017-08-01

To inform regulatory decisions on the risk due to exposure to ambient air pollution, consistent and transparent communication of the scientific evidence is essential. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) develops the Integrated Science Assessment (ISA), which contains evaluations of the policy-relevant science on the effects of criteria air pollutants and conveys critical science judgments to inform decisions on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This article discusses the approach and causal framework used in the ISAs to evaluate and integrate various lines of scientific evidence and draw conclusions about the causal nature of air pollution-induced health effects. The framework has been applied to diverse pollutants and cancer and noncancer effects. To demonstrate its flexibility, we provide examples of causality judgments on relationships between health effects and pollutant exposures, drawing from recent ISAs for ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen. U.S. EPA's causal framework has increased transparency by establishing a structured process for evaluating and integrating various lines of evidence and uniform approach for determining causality. The framework brings consistency and specificity to the conclusions in the ISA, and the flexibility of the framework makes it relevant for evaluations of evidence across media and health effects. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Poverty and the violation of human rights: a proposed conceptual framework.

PubMed

Schuftan, Claudio

2012-01-01

The paper proposes a conceptual framework linking the causes of poverty with the causes of human rights violations. Both are presented as outcomes of a cascading chain of determinants grouped as immediate, underlying, and basic causes. The framework will make situation analyses focused on poverty and human rights better adjusted to the reality on the ground. It is also the first step in using the human rights-based approach, now an established methodology being used by a growing number of health and development practitioners and seen by the United Nations system as the way forward. The framework also provides guidance to communities in identifying, in a participatory way, causes of the problems that affect them. The framework is presented in a diagram format followed by a list of the major determinants in each causal level.

GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH NEWS #3: IPCC SPECIAL REPORT ON "LAND USE, LAND USE CHANGE, AND FORESTRY"

EPA Science Inventory

ORD is participating in the development of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on "Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry." Preparation of the Special Report was requested by the Conference of the Parties(COP) to the United Nations Framework Conve...

Framework for Disciplinary Writing in Science Grades 6-12: A National Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drew, Sally Valentino; Olinghouse, Natalie G.; Faggella-Luby, Michael; Welsh, Megan E.

2017-01-01

This study investigated the current state of writing instruction in science classes (Grades 6-12). A random sample of certified science teachers from the United States (N = 287) was electronically surveyed. Participants reported on their purposes for teaching writing, the writing assignments most often given to students, use of evidence-based…

Education and Development: Dynamics of Access, Equity, and Social Justice in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oghenekohwo, Jonathan E.; Torunarigha, Young D.

2018-01-01

Widening access to education as social justice is basic in any discourse on educational investment, growth and development in developing country such as Nigeria. Presently, there is disconnect between educational development expectations and public policy frameworks designed to drive the united nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) in 2030…

Next Generation Science Standards: Adoption and Implementation Workbook

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peltzman, Alissa; Rodriguez, Nick

2013-01-01

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) represent the culmination of years of collaboration and effort by states, science educators and experts from across the United States. Based on the National Research Council's "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" and developed in partnership with 26 lead states, the NGSS, when…

Education Differences in Intended and Unintended Fertility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musick, Kelly; England, Paula; Edgington, Sarah; Kangas, Nicole

2009-01-01

Using a hazards framework and panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979-2004), we analyze the fertility patterns of a recent cohort of white and black women in the United States. We examine how completed fertility varies by women's education, differentiating between intended and unintended births. We find that the education…

UNESCO: Agenda 21 and UNCED Follow-Up.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France). Bureau for the Coordination of Environmental Programme.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) took place in Rio de Janeiro in June, 1992. The main results of UNCED were the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, Convention on Biological Diversity, Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Statement of Forest Principles. Agenda 21 is the international program of action for global…

Work-Based Learning: In Search of an Effective Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sobiechowska, Paula; Maisch, Maire

2006-01-01

This article draws upon 10 years of pedagogic experience in developing and delivering work-based learning programmes within the United Kingdom national social work post-qualifying framework. The article is a retrospective, reflective and thematic account of our work. It briefly outlines the history of post-qualifying social work education and…

The Dynamics of Climate Change: A Case Study in Organisational Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasdell, David

2011-01-01

Purpose: Based in the discipline of applied consultancy-research, this paper seeks to present a synthesis-review of the social dynamics underlying the stalled negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Its aim is to enhance understanding of the processes involved, to offer a working agenda to the organizational…

A Model for Increasing Access: Teenage Pregnancy Prevention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Henry W.; And Others

1990-01-01

The United States leads all other developed nations in inappropriate teenage pregnancies and the educational and societal consequences. Describes activities of the community-based I Have a Future Program (IHAF), built on the premise that changes in sex behavior must be pursued in a framework of enhancing self-esteem and presenting positive…

A Framework for Inaction?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Archer, David

2010-01-01

On paper, CONFINTEA VI, the United Nations world conference on adult education that took place in Brazil in December, was just as important as the climate change conference in Copenhagen that took place the following week. As a UN conference it attracted delegations from 162 countries, many headed up by ministers. In total, about 2,000 people…

Every Child Mattered in England: But What Matters to Children?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meehan, Catherine

2016-01-01

"Every Child Matters" under New Labour provided a framework for services for young children's care and education. It was pushed aside by the Conservative-led coalition and replaced by "More Great Childcare". The UK as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, therefore has obligations for…

Education for Rural Development towards New Policy Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atchoarena, David, Ed.; Gasperini, Lavinia, Ed.

2003-01-01

An international joint study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) was conducted on education and rural development to review the status of the topic from the standpoint of public policies and the conceptual frameworks on which they are based and…

China’s Arrival: A Strategic Framework for a Global Relationship

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

in areas like tourism , even as it broadly strengthens diplomatic and economic ties with many of these small and seemingly obscure island nations...agenda — because they are in the process of defining, as does the United States, good gover - nance and rule of law within countries as sources of

Global Warning: Project-Based Science Inspired by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colaianne, Blake

2015-01-01

Misconceptions about climate change are common, which suggests a need to effectively address the subject in the classroom. This article describes a project-based science activity in which students report on the physical basis, adaptations, and mitigation of this global problem, adapting the framework of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel…

Positive Educational Outcomes among School-Age Mothers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manlove, Jennifer; George, Carrie

Due to the unusually high number of adolescent mothers in the United States, public concern surrounding the issue of teenage motherhood has accelerated. In order to understand this birth trend, an ecological framework which considers multiple aspects of the lives of teenage mothers is presented here. The study, which uses the National Education…

Regulating Cross-Border Higher Education: A Case Study of the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Jason E.; Kinser, Kevin; Knox, Daniel

2013-01-01

In an increasing number of nations, foreign education providers are becoming part of the educational landscape. This aspect of cross-border higher education raises many questions about how such activities are regulated, particularly the role of the importing and exporting governments. Drawing on a principal-agent framework, this study uses the…

77 FR 33562 - Unblocking of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons Pursuant to the Foreign...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-06

... 3, 1999, the Kingpin Act was signed into law by the President of the United States. The Kingpin Act provides a statutory framework for the President to impose sanctions against significant foreign narcotics.... jurisdiction, owned or controlled by significant foreign narcotics traffickers as identified by the President...

77 FR 41479 - Unblocking of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons Pursuant to the Foreign...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-13

..., 1999, the Kingpin Act was signed into law by the President of the United States. The Kingpin Act provides a statutory framework for the President to impose sanctions against significant foreign narcotics.... jurisdiction, owned or controlled by significant foreign narcotics traffickers as identified by the President...

Providing Comprehensive Educational Opportunity to Low Income Students. Part 1: A Legal Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rebell, Michael A.

2011-01-01

Raising academic standards and eliminating achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged students are America's prime national educational goals. Current federal and state policies, however, largely ignore the fact that the childhood poverty rate in the United States is 21%, the highest in the industrialized world, and that poverty…

Literacy Skills Gaps: A Cross-Level Analysis on International and Intergenerational Variations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Suehye

2018-01-01

The global agenda for sustainable development has centred lifelong learning on UNESCO's Education 2030 Framework for Action. The study described in this article aimed to examine international and intergenerational variations in literacy skills gaps within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this purpose, the…

Applying the ecosystem services concept to public land management

Treesearch

Jeffrey D. Kline; Marisa J. Mazzota; Thomas A. Spies; Mark E. Harmon

2013-01-01

We examine challenges and opportunities involved in applying ecosystem services to public land management with an emphasis on national forests in the United States. We review historical forest management paradigms and related economic approaches, outline a conceptual framework defining the informational needs of forest managers, and consider the feasibility of its...

One Nation, Divided: Culture, Civic Institutions, and the Marriage Divide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilcox, W. Bradford; Wolfinger, Nicholas H.; Stokes, Charles E.

2015-01-01

Since the 1960s, the United States has witnessed a dramatic retreat from marriage, marked by divorce, cohabitation, single parenthood, and lower overall marriage rates. Marriage is now less likely to anchor adults' lives or provide a stable framework for childrearing, especially among poor and working-class Americans. Much research on the retreat…

Constructing a Cyber Preparedness Framework (CPF): The Lockheed Martin Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beyer, Dawn M.

2014-01-01

The protection of sensitive data and technologies is critical in preserving United States (U.S.) national security and minimizing economic losses. However, during a cyber attack, the operational capability to constrain the exfiltrations of sensitive data and technologies may not be available. A cyber preparedness methodology (CPM) can improve…

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Denver Basin, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska: Chapter G in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drake II, Ronald M.; Brennan, Sean T.; Covault, Jacob A.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.

2014-01-01

This is a report about the geologic characteristics of five storage assessment units (SAUs) within the Denver Basin of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. These SAUs are Cretaceous in age and include (1) the Plainview and Lytle Formations, (2) the Muddy Sandstone, (3) the Greenhorn Limestone, (4) the Niobrara Formation and Codell Sandstone, and (5) the Terry and Hygiene Sandstone Members. The described characteristics, as specified in the methodology, affect the potential carbon dioxide storage resource in the SAUs. The specific geologic and petrophysical properties of interest include depth to the top of the storage formation, average thickness, net-porous thickness, porosity, permeability, groundwater quality, and the area of structural reservoir traps. Descriptions of the SAU boundaries and the overlying sealing units are also included. Assessment results are not contained in this report; however, the geologic information included here will be used to calculate a statistical Monte Carlo-based distribution of potential storage volume in the SAUs.

Formation mechanism of the secondary building unit in a chromium terephthalate metal-organic framework

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

Cantu Cantu, David; McGrail, B. Peter; Glezakou, Vassiliki Alexandra

2014-09-18

Based on density functional theory calculations and simulation, a detailed mechanism is presented on the formation of the secondary building unit (SBU) of MIL-101, a chromium terephthalate metal-organic framework (MOF). SBU formation is key to MOF nucleation, the rate-limiting step in the formation process of many MOFs. A series of reactions that lead to the formation of the SBU of MIL-101 is proposed in this work. Initial rate-limiting reactions form the metal cluster with three chromium (III) atoms linked to a central bridging oxygen. Terephthalate linkers play a key role as chromium (III) atoms are joined to linker carboxylate groupsmore » prior to the placement of the central bridging oxygen. Multiple linker addition reactions, which follow in different paths due to structural isomers, are limited by the removal of water molecules in the first chromium coordination shell. The least energy path is identified were all linkers on one face of the metal center plane are added first. A simple kinetic model based on transition state theory shows the rate of secondary building unit formation similar to the rate metal-organic framework nucleation. The authors are thankful to Dr. R. Rousseau for a critical reading of the manuscript. This research would not have been possible without the support of the Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy. This research was performed using EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and the PNNL Institutional Computing (PIC) program located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.« less

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Hanna, Laramie, and Shirley Basins, Wyoming: Chapter C in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merrill, Matthew D.; Covault, Jacob A.; Craddock, William H.; Slucher, Ernie R.; Warwick, Peter D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Gosai, Mayur A.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven M.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2012-01-01

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110-140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used for the national CO2 assessment is non-economic and intended to be used at regional to subbasinal scales. This report identifies and contains geologic descriptions of twelve storage assessment units (SAUs) in six separate packages of sedimentary rock within the Hanna, Laramie, and Shirley Basins of Wyoming. It focuses on the particular characteristics, specified in the methodology, that influence the potential CO2 storage resource in those SAUs. Specific descriptions of SAU boundaries as well as their sealing and reservoir units are included. Properties for each SAU, such as depth to top, gross thickness, net porous thickness, porosity, permeability, groundwater quality, and structural reservoir traps are provided to illustrate geologic factors critical to the assessment. Although assessment results are not contained in this report, the geologic information included herein will be employed, as specified in the methodology, to calculate a statistical Monte Carlo-based distribution of potential storage space in the various SAUs. Figures in this report show SAU boundaries and cell maps of well penetrations through the sealing unit into the top of the storage formation. Cell maps show the number of penetrating wells within one square mile and are derived from interpretations of incompletely attributed well data in a digital compilation that is known not to include all drilling. The USGS does not expect to know the location of all wells and cannot guarantee the amount of drilling through specific formations in any given cell shown on cell maps.

Evaluation of the causal framework used for setting national ambient air quality standards.

PubMed

Goodman, Julie E; Prueitt, Robyn L; Sax, Sonja N; Bailey, Lisa A; Rhomberg, Lorenz R

2013-11-01

Abstract A scientifically sound assessment of the potential hazards associated with a substance requires a systematic, objective and transparent evaluation of the weight of evidence (WoE) for causality of health effects. We critically evaluated the current WoE framework for causal determination used in the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) assessments of the scientific data on air pollutants for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) review process, including its methods for literature searches; study selection, evaluation and integration; and causal judgments. The causal framework used in recent NAAQS evaluations has many valuable features, but it could be more explicit in some cases, and some features are missing that should be included in every WoE evaluation. Because of this, it has not always been applied consistently in evaluations of causality, leading to conclusions that are not always supported by the overall WoE, as we demonstrate using EPA's ozone Integrated Science Assessment as a case study. We propose additions to the NAAQS causal framework based on best practices gleaned from a previously conducted survey of available WoE frameworks. A revision of the NAAQS causal framework so that it more closely aligns with these best practices and the full and consistent application of the framework will improve future assessments of the potential health effects of criteria air pollutants by making the assessments more thorough, transparent, and scientifically sound.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Columbia Basin of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and the Western Oregon-Washington basins: Chapter D in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Covault, Jacob A.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Freeman, P.A.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2013-01-01

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows that of previous USGS work. The methodology is non-economic and intended to be used at regional to subbasinal scales. This report identifies and contains geologic descriptions of three storage assessment units (SAUs) in Eocene and Oligocene sedimentary rocks within the Columbia, Puget, Willapa, Astoria, Nehalem, and Willamette Basins of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and focuses on the characteristics, specified in the methodology, that influence the potential CO2 storage resource in those SAUs. Specific descriptions of the SAU boundaries as well as their sealing and reservoir units are included. Properties for each SAU, such as depth to top, gross thickness, porosity, permeability, groundwater quality, and structural reservoir traps, are provided to illustrate geologic factors critical to the assessment. The designated sealing unit in the Columbia Basin is tentatively chosen to be the ubiquitous and thick Miocene Columbia River Basalt Group. As a result of uncertainties regarding the seal integrity of the Columbia River Basalt Group, the SAUs were not quantitatively assessed. Figures in this report show SAU boundaries and cell maps of well penetrations through sealing units into the top of the storage formations. The cell maps show the number of penetrating wells within one square mile and are derived from interpretations of incompletely attributed well data, a digital compilation that is known not to include all drilling. The USGS does not expect to know the location of all wells and cannot guarantee the amount of drilling through specific formations in any given cell shown on the cell maps.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, and Wyoming-Idaho-Utah Thrust Belt: Chapter E in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buursink, Marc L.; Slucher, Ernie R.; Brennan, Sean T.; Doolan, Colin A.; Drake II, Ronald M.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.

2014-01-01

The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows up on previous USGS work. The methodology is non-economic and intended to be used at regional to subbasinal scales. This report identifies and contains geologic descriptions of 14 storage assessment units (SAUs) in Ordovician to Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks within the Greater Green River Basin (GGRB) of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, and eight SAUs in Ordovician to Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks within the Wyoming-Idaho-Utah Thrust Belt (WIUTB). The GGRB and WIUTB are contiguous with nearly identical geologic units; however, the GGRB is larger in size, whereas the WIUTB is more structurally complex. This report focuses on the characteristics, specified in the methodology, that influence the potential CO2 storage resource in the SAUs. Specific descriptions of the SAU boundaries, as well as their sealing and reservoir units, are included. Properties for each SAU, such as depth to top, gross thickness, porosity, permeability, groundwater quality, and structural reservoir traps, are typically provided to illustrate geologic factors critical to the assessment. This geologic information was employed, as specified in the USGS methodology, to calculate a probabilistic distribution of potential storage resources in each SAU. Figures in this report show SAU boundaries and cell maps of well penetrations through sealing units into the top of the storage formations. The cell maps show the number of penetrating wells within one square mile and are derived from interpretations of variably attributed well data and a digital compilation that is known not to include all drilling.

A Methodology for Forecasting Damage & Economic Consequences to Floods: Building on the National Flood Interoperability Experiment (NFIE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tootle, G. A.; Gutenson, J. L.; Zhu, L.; Ernest, A. N. S.; Oubeidillah, A.; Zhang, X.

2015-12-01

The National Flood Interoperability Experiment (NFIE) held June 3-July 17, 2015 at the National Water Center (NWC) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama sought to demonstrate an increase in flood predictive capacity for the coterminous United States (CONUS). Accordingly, NFIE-derived technologies and workflows offer the ability to forecast flood damage and economic consequence estimates that coincide with the hydrologic and hydraulic estimations these physics-based models generate. A model providing an accurate prediction of damage and economic consequences is a valuable asset when allocating funding for disaster response, recovery, and relief. Damage prediction and economic consequence assessment also offer an adaptation planning mechanism for defending particularly valuable or vulnerable structures. The NFIE, held at the NWC on The University of Alabama (UA) campus led to the development of this large scale flow and inundation forecasting framework. Currently, the system can produce 15-hour lead-time forecasts for the entire coterminous United States (CONUS). A concept which is anticipated to become operational as of May 2016 within the NWC. The processing of such a large-scale, fine resolution model is accomplished in a parallel computing environment using large supercomputing clusters. Traditionally, flood damage and economic consequence assessment is calculated in a desktop computing environment with a ménage of meteorology, hydrology, hydraulic, and damage assessment tools. In the United States, there are a range of these flood damage/ economic consequence assessment software's available to local, state, and federal emergency management agencies. Among the more commonly used and freely accessible models are the Hydrologic Engineering Center's Flood Damage Reduction Analysis (HEC-FDA), Flood Impact Assessment (HEC-FIA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) United States Multi-Hazard (Hazus-MH). All of which exist only in a desktop environment. With this, authors submit an initial framework for estimating damage and economic consequences to floods using flow and inundation products from the NFIE framework. This adaptive system utilizes existing nationwide datasets describing location and use of structures and can take assimilate a range of data resolutions.

International boundary experiences by the United Nations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kagawa, A.

2013-12-01

Over the last few decades, the United Nations (UN) has been approached by Security Council and Member States on international boundary issues. The United Nations regards the adequate delimitation and demarcation of international boundaries as a very important element for the maintenance of peace and security in fragile post-conflict situations, establishment of friendly relationships and cross-border cooperation between States. This paper will present the main principles and framework the United Nations applies to support the process of international boundary delimitation and demarcation activities. The United Nations is involved in international boundary issues following the principle of impartiality and neutrality and its role as mediator. Since international boundary issues are multi-faceted, a range of expertise is required and the United Nations Secretariat is in a good position to provide diverse expertise within the multiple departments. Expertise in different departments ranging from legal, political, technical, administrative and logistical are mobilised in different ways to provide support to Member States depending on their specific needs. This presentation aims to highlight some of the international boundary projects that the United Nations Cartographic Section has been involved in order to provide the technical support to different boundary requirements as each international boundary issue requires specific focus and attention whether it be in preparation, delimitation, demarcation or management. Increasingly, the United Nations is leveraging geospatial technology to facilitate boundary delimitation and demarcation process between Member States. Through the presentation of the various case studies ranging from Iraq - Kuwait, Israel - Lebanon (Blue Line), Eritrea - Ethiopia, Cyprus (Green Line), Cameroon - Nigeria, Sudan - South Sudan, it will illustrate how geospatial technology is increasingly used to carry out the support. In having applied a range of geospatial solutions, some of the good practices that have been applied in preceding projects, but there have been challenges and limitations faced. However, these challenges need to be seen as an opportunity to improve the geospatial technology solutions in future international boundary projects. This presentation will also share the aspirations that the United Nations Cartographic Section has in becoming a facilitator in geospatial technical aspects related to international boundary issues as we increasingly develop our geospatial institutional knowledge base and expertise. The presentation will conclude by emphasizing the need for more collaboration between different actors dealing with geospatial technology on borderland issues in order to meet the main goal of the United Nations - to live and work together as "We the Peoples of the United Nations".

A System Dynamics Framework for Assessing Nation-Building in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-23

of the genocide to flee into the Democratic Republic of the Congo where they continued their campaign to rid Rwanda of all Tutsis. Groups such as the...3.1.1: Rwanda Chapter 3.1.2: Uganda Chapter 3.2: Belgium Chapter 3.3: China Chapter 3.4: India Chapter 3.5: United States Chapter 4: System Dynamics... Rwanda (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda ) mostly comprised of ethnic Hutu militia. GNI – Gross National Income IDA – International

Informing the NCA: EPA's Climate Change Impact and Risk Analysis Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarofim, M. C.; Martinich, J.; Kolian, M.; Crimmins, A. R.

2017-12-01

The Climate Change Impact and Risk Analysis (CIRA) framework is designed to quantify the physical impacts and economic damages in the United States under future climate change scenarios. To date, the framework has been applied to 25 sectors, using scenarios and projections developed for the Fourth National Climate Assessment. The strength of this framework has been in the use of consistent climatic, socioeconomic, and technological assumptions and inputs across the impact sectors to maximize the ease of cross-sector comparison. The results of the underlying CIRA sectoral analyses are informing the sustained assessment process by helping to address key gaps related to economic valuation and risk. Advancing capacity and scientific literature in this area has created opportunity to consider future applications and strengthening of the framework. This presentation will describe the CIRA framework, present results for various sectors such as heat mortality, air & water quality, winter recreation, and sea level rise, and introduce potential enhancements that can improve the utility of the framework for decision analysis.

USGEO Common Framework For Earth Observation Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, J.; de la Beaujardiere, J.; Bristol, S.

2015-12-01

The United States Group on Earth Observations (USGEO) Data Management Working Group (DMWG) is an interagency body established by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The primary purpose of this group is to foster interagency cooperation and collaboration for improving the life cycle data management practices and interoperability of federally held earth observation data consistent with White House documents including the National Strategy for Civil Earth Observations, the National Plan for Civil Earth Observations, and the May 2013 Executive Order on Open Data (M-13-13). The members of the USGEO DMWG are working on developing a Common Framework for Earth Observation Data that consists of recommended standards and approaches for realizing these goals as well as improving the discoverability, accessibility, and usability of federally held earth observation data. These recommendations will also guide work being performed under the Big Earth Data Initiative (BEDI). This talk will summarize the Common Framework, the philosophy behind it, and next steps forward.

The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework and its implications for continuing professional development in nursing.

PubMed

Gould, Dinah; Berridge, Emma-Jane; Kelly, Daniel

2007-01-01

The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework has been introduced as part of the Agenda for Change Reforms in the United Kingdom to link pay and career progression to competency. The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications for nurses, their managers and the impact on university departments delivering continuing professional development for nurses. The new system has the potential to increase the human resources management aspect of the clinical nurse managers' role and could have legal implications, for example if practitioners perceive that their needs for continuing professional development have been overlooked to the detriment of their pay and career aspirations. The new system also has implications for providers of continuing professional development in the universities and is likely to demand closer liaison between education providers and trust staff who commission education and training. The Knowledge and Skills Framework is of interest to nurses and nurse educators internationally because the system, if effective, could be introduced elsewhere.

National Water-Quality Assessment Program--Southern High Plains, Texas and New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woodward, Dennis G.; Diniz, Cecilia G.

1994-01-01

BACKGROUND In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. The long-term goals of the NAWQA program are to describe the status of, and trends in, the quality of a large, representative part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources and to identify the major natural and human factors that affect the quality of these resources. In addressing these goals, the program will produce a wealth of water-quality information that will be useful to policy makers and managers at the National, State, and local levels. The NAWQA program emphasis is on regional water-quality problems. The program will not diminish the need for smaller studies and monitoring designed and currently being conducted by Federal, State, and local agencies to meet their individual needs. The NAWQA program, however, will provide a large-scale framework for conducting many of these activities and an understanding about National and regional water-quality conditions that cannot be acquired from individual, small-scale programs and studies. Studies of 60 hydrologic systems that include parts of most major river basins and aquifer systems (study-unit investigations) are the building blocks of the National assessment. The 60 study units range in size from 1,000 mi 2 (square miles) to more than 60,000 mi 2 and represent 60 to 70 percent of the Nation's water use and population served by public water supplies. Twenty study-unit investigations were started in 1991, 20 additional are starting in 1994, and 20 more are planned to start in 1997. The Southern High Plains study unit was selected as one of 20 study units to begin assessment activities in 1994. This study will be run from the New Mexico District office of the USGS in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Leadership Influence: A Core Foundation for Advocacy.

PubMed

Shillam, Casey R; MacLean, Lola

As the largest segment of the health care workforce, nurses have the greatest potential for advancing systems and services to improve health care delivery in the United States. This article presents a framework for nurse administrators to use in developing direct care nurses in their leadership influence competency as a means of increasing their advocacy potential. A systematic review resulted in establishing a nurse leadership influence framework based on the Kouzes and Posner leadership model. The framework includes leadership competencies by nursing professional organizations and was validated by 2 national nurse leader focus groups. Nurse administrators have the opportunity to adopt an evidence-based leadership influence framework to ensure development of advocacy competency in direct care nurses. The impact of nurse administrators systematically adopting a standardized leadership influence framework will result in setting a strong foundation for nurse advocacy. Successful long-term impacts will result in nurses skillfully integrating leadership influence and advocacy into all aspects of daily practice.

The importance of an integrating framework for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: the example of health and well-being.

PubMed

Nunes, Ana Raquel; Lee, Kelley; O'Riordan, Tim

2016-01-01

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development came into force in January 2016 as the central United Nations (UN) platform for achieving 'integrated and indivisible' goals and targets across the three characteristic dimensions of sustainable development: the social, environmental and economic. We argue that, despite the UN adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a framework for operationalising them in an integrated fashion is lacking. This article puts forth a framework for integrating health and well-being across the SDGs as both preconditions and outcomes of sustainable development. We present a rationale for this approach, and identify the challenges and opportunities for implementing and monitoring such a framework through a series of examples. We encourage other sectors to develop similar integrating frameworks for supporting a more coordinated approach for operationalising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The importance of an integrating framework for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: the example of health and well-being

PubMed Central

Lee, Kelley; O'Riordan, Tim

2016-01-01

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development came into force in January 2016 as the central United Nations (UN) platform for achieving ‘integrated and indivisible’ goals and targets across the three characteristic dimensions of sustainable development: the social, environmental and economic. We argue that, despite the UN adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a framework for operationalising them in an integrated fashion is lacking. This article puts forth a framework for integrating health and well-being across the SDGs as both preconditions and outcomes of sustainable development. We present a rationale for this approach, and identify the challenges and opportunities for implementing and monitoring such a framework through a series of examples. We encourage other sectors to develop similar integrating frameworks for supporting a more coordinated approach for operationalising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. PMID:28588955

Social policy devolution: a historical review of Canada, the United kingdom, and the United States (1834-1999).

PubMed

Dunlop, Judith M

2009-01-01

This paper explores the recurring themes of devolution and social policy across time and nation in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Devolution is defined as the transfer of responsibility from national governments to state and local levels. Using a historical framework, the central/local tensions that characterize devolution and social policy in these countries are noted from 1834 to the late 1990s. This chronology shows that despite their geographical, ideological, and cultural differences, all of these countries have shifted responsibility for social provision back and forth between central and local governments in similar ways throughout the three eras delineated in this analysis. Clearly, devolution characterizes the current social policy climate in these three countries and across many Western democracies. Recent trends in the environment such as privatization, mandatory collaboration, community capacity building, and service integration are identified, and process questions are presented as a guide for practitioners who seek to explore the current devolution reality.

Mitigation activities in the forest sector to reduce emissions and enhance sinks of greenhouse gases

Treesearch

Richard Birdsey; Ralph Alig; Darius Adams

2000-01-01

In June 1992, representatives from 172 countries gathered at the "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro to discuss environmental issues. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) was adopted to achieve ". . . stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic...

Changes in Residents' Self-Efficacy Beliefs in a Clinically Rich Graduate Teacher Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Heather M.; Wagle, A. Tina; Mahar, Donna; Yannuzzi, Leigh; Tramonte, Barbara; King, Joseph

2016-01-01

Increasing the clinical preparation of teachers in the United States to meet greater rigor in K-12 education has become a goal of institutions of higher education, especially since the publication of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Blue Ribbon Panel Report on Clinical Practice. Using a theoretical framework grounded…

Gender Differences in Mathematics Achievement in Jordan: A Differential Item Functioning Analysis of the 2015 TIMSS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Innabi, Hanan; Dodeen, Hamzeh

2018-01-01

This study is within the framework of the United Nations sustainable development goals related to equitable quality education. The total score on the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study that indicated eighth-grade girls in Jordan significantly outperformed boys is hiding many details related to the quality of mathematics…

About PCDC | Division of Cancer Prevention

Cancer.gov

Why Was the Consortium Created? The Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012 called on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop scientific frameworks for research on recalcitrant cancers that have a 5-year relative survival rate of less than 20%, and are estimated to cause the death of at least 30,000 individuals in the United States per year. |

Critical Race Theory in India: "Theory Translation" and the Analysis of Social Identities and Discrimination in Indian Schooling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodnight, Melissa Rae

2017-01-01

This article examines ethical and philosophical considerations in "theory translation," i.e. translating a theoretical framework from its original place to another national context. Critical race theory (CRT) was developed in the United States through significant struggle in order to analyze everyday racism. Marginalized groups have…

76 FR 11243 - Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders To Inform the National Framework for Electronics Stewardship

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-01

... a metal detector, and sign the EPA visitor log. All visitor bags are processed through an X- ray... equipment from solid waste landfills in the United States. EPA does, however, control how cathode ray tube... cell phone and computers/laptops or recover valuable resources, such as precious metals, plastics or...

Bridges to Work: International Comparison of Transition Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reubens, Beatrice G.

Using a cross-country framework which draws on the experience of the developed nations--Western Europe, Canada, the United States, and Japan--this study examines the way countries view the problems of the transition from school to work and the role of the transition services in smoothing the passage. Focus is on the formal and public transition…

Exploring How Research Experiences for Teachers Changes Their Understandings of the Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buxner, Sanlyn R.

2014-01-01

The nature of science is a prevalent theme across United States national science education standards and frameworks as well as other documents that guide formal and informal science education reform. To support teachers in engaging their students in authentic scientific practices and reformed teaching strategies, research experiences for teachers…

Educating for Transforming Our World: Revisiting International Debates Surrounding Education for Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mochizuki, Yoko

2016-01-01

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a resolution titled "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" and a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The notion of "transformative education" is being mainstreamed in the work of UNESCO within the new framework of the SDGs,…

78 FR 36638 - Unblocking of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons Pursuant to the Foreign...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-18

... December 3, 1999, the Kingpin Act was signed into law by the President of the United States. The Kingpin Act provides a statutory framework for the President to impose sanctions against significant foreign... by the President. In addition, the Secretary of the Treasury consults with the Attorney General, the...

The Eastern Non-industrial Private Forests

Treesearch

Gerard D. Hertel

The USDA Forest Service ?cares for the land and serves the people? under the framework of the Natural Resources Agenda (Watershed Health and Restoration; Sustainable Forest Ecosystems; Recreation; and Forest Roads). The National Forests comprise only 19 percent of the forestland (land that is at least 10% covered with trees) in the United States. The Forest Service has...

Advancement of Children's Rights in Africa: A Social Justice Framework for School Psychologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pillay, Jace

2014-01-01

The United Nations Convention on Children's Rights and the subsequent African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child together with the Bill of Children's Rights and numerous other policies and regulations in many African countries have set the precedent for children's rights to be respected and implemented across the African Continent.…

The new forest carbon accounting framework for the United States

Treesearch

Grant M. Domke; John W. Coulston; Christopher W. Woodall

2015-01-01

The forest carbon accounting system used in recent National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGI) was developed more than a decade ago when the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis annual inventory system was in its infancy and contemporary questions regarding the terrestrial sink (e.g., attribution) did not exist. The time has come to develop a new...

Sustainable forest management of tropical forests can reduce carbon emissions and stabilize timber production

Treesearch

N. Sasaki; G.P. Asner; Yude Pan; W. Knorr; P.B. Durst; H.O. Ma; I. Abe; A.J. Lowe; L.P. Koh

2016-01-01

The REDD+ scheme of the United Nations Framework Conventionon Climate Change has provided opportunities to manage tropical forests for timber production and carbon emission reductions. To determine the appropriate loggingtechniques, we analyzed potential timber production and carbon emission reductions under two logging techniques over a 40-year period of selective...

The Role of Social Contexts in Adolescence: Context Protection and Context Risk in the United States and China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costa, Frances M.; Jessor, Richard; Turbin, Mark S.; Dong, Qi; Zhang, Hongchuan; Wang, Changhai

2005-01-01

A theoretical framework about protective factors (models protection, controls protection, support protection) and risk factors (models risk, opportunity risk, vulnerability risk) was employed to articulate the content of 4 key contexts of adolescent life--family, peers, school, and neighborhood--in a cross-national study of problem behavior among…

Quantifying uncertainty in national forest carbon stocks: challenges and opportunities for the United States National Greenhouse Gas Inventory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clough, B.; Russell, M.; Domke, G. M.; Woodall, C. W.

2016-12-01

Uncertainty estimates are needed to establish confidence in national forest carbon stocks and to verify changes reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Good practice guidance from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stipulates that uncertainty assessments should neither exaggerate nor underestimate the actual error within carbon stocks, yet methodological guidance for forests has been hampered by limited understanding of how complex dynamics give rise to errors across spatial scales (i.e., individuals to continents). This talk highlights efforts to develop a multi-scale, data-driven framework for assessing uncertainty within the United States (US) forest carbon inventory, and focuses on challenges and opportunities for improving the precision of national forest carbon stock estimates. Central to our approach is the calibration of allometric models with a newly established legacy biomass database for North American tree species, and the use of hierarchical models to link these data with the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) database as well as remote sensing datasets. Our work suggests substantial risk for misestimating key sources of uncertainty including: (1) attributing more confidence in allometric models than what is warranted by the best available data; (2) failing to capture heterogeneity in biomass stocks due to environmental variation at regional scales; and (3) ignoring spatial autocorrelation and other random effects that are characteristic of national forest inventory data. Our results suggest these sources of error may be much higher than is generally assumed, though these results must be understood with the limited scope and availability of appropriate calibration data in mind. In addition to reporting on important sources of uncertainty, this talk will discuss opportunities to improve the precision of national forest carbon stocks that are motivated by our use of data-driven forecasting including: (1) improving the taxonomic and geographic scope of available biomass data; (2) direct attribution of landscape-level heterogeneity in biomass stocks to specific ecological processes; and (3) integration of expert opinion and meta-analysis to lessen the influence of often highly variable datasets on biomass stock forecasts.

The Role of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in Building Capacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haubold, Hans

The Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) will provide an overview of achievements of UN- COPUOS, UNISPACE Conferences, particularly the establishment of the Programme on Space Applications and its priority thematic areas, UN-affiliated Regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education, the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG), the UN Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-Spider), and legal framework governing space activities of UN Member States. OOSA will review results of the United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative, particularly the development of networks of astronomical telescope facilities, planetariums, and instrument arrays for space research in developing nations. The mission of OOSA, implemented through on-going programmes developed for the International Heliophysical Year 2007 (IHY2007) and the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) will be highlighted.

Global Health: A Pivotal Moment Of Opportunity And Peril.

PubMed

Gostin, Lawrence O; Friedman, Eric A

2017-01-01

A growing tide of populism in Europe and the United States, combined with other factors, threatens the solidarity upon which the global health movement is based. The highest-profile example of the turn toward populism is US president-elect Donald Trump, whose proposals would redefine US engagement in global health, development, and environmental efforts. In this challenging landscape, three influential global institutions-the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank-are undergoing leadership transitions. This new global health leadership should prioritize global health security, including antimicrobial resistance, health system strengthening, and action on mass migration and climate change. They will need to work as a team, leveraging the World Health Organization's technical competence and mandate to set health norms and standards, the United Nations' political clout, and the World Bank's economic strength. Human rights, including principles of equality, participation, and accountability, should be their foremost guide, such as holding a United Nations special session on health inequities and advancing the Framework Convention on Global Health. The need for predictable and innovative financing and high ethical standards to prevent conflicts of interest can further guide global health leaders. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Advancing the Framework: Use of Health Data—A Report of a Working Conference of the American Medical Informatics Association

PubMed Central

Bloomrosen, Meryl; Detmer, Don

2008-01-01

The fields of health informatics and biomedical research increasingly depend on the availability of aggregated health data. Yet, despite over fifteen years of policy work on health data issues, the United States (U.S.) lacks coherent policy to guide users striving to navigate the ethical, political, technical, and economic challenges associated with health data use. In 2007, building on more than a decade of previous work, the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) convened a panel of experts to stimulate discussion about and action on a national framework for health data use. This initiative is being carried out in the context of rapidly accelerating advances in the fields of health informatics and biomedical research, many of which are dependent on the availability of aggregated health data. Use of these data poses complex challenges that must be addressed by public policy. This paper highlights the results of the meeting, presents data stewardship as a key building block in the national framework, and outlines stewardship principles for the management of health information. The authors also introduce a taxonomy developed to focus definitions and terminology in the evolving field of health data applications. Finally, they identify areas for further policy analysis and recommend that public and private sector organizations elevate consideration of a national framework on the uses of health data to a top priority. PMID:18755988

CAMx Ozone Source Attribution in the Eastern United States using Guidance from Observations during DISCOVER-AQ Maryland

PubMed Central

Goldberg, Daniel L.; Vinciguerra, Timothy P.; Anderson, Daniel C.; Hembeck, Linda; Canty, Timothy P.; Ehrman, Sheryl H.; Martins, Douglas K.; Stauffer, Ryan M.; Thompson, Anne M.; Salawitch, Ross J.; Dickerson, Russell R.

2018-01-01

A Comprehensive Air-Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) version 6.10 simulation was assessed through comparison with data acquired during NASA’s 2011 DISCOVER-AQ Maryland field campaign. Comparisons for the baseline simulation (CB05 chemistry, EPA 2011 National Emissions Inventory) show a model overestimate of NOy by +86.2% and an underestimate of HCHO by −28.3%. We present a new model framework (CB6r2 chemistry, MEGAN v2.1 biogenic emissions, 50% reduction in mobile NOx, enhanced representation of isoprene nitrates) that better matches observations. The new model framework attributes 31.4% more surface ozone in Maryland to electric generating units (EGUs) and 34.6% less ozone to on-road mobile sources. Surface ozone becomes more NOx-limited throughout the eastern United States compared to the baseline simulation. The baseline model therefore likely underestimates the effectiveness of anthropogenic NOx reductions as well as the current contribution of EGUs to surface ozone. PMID:29618849

CAMx Ozone Source Attribution in the Eastern United States using Guidance from Observations during DISCOVER-AQ Maryland.

PubMed

Goldberg, Daniel L; Vinciguerra, Timothy P; Anderson, Daniel C; Hembeck, Linda; Canty, Timothy P; Ehrman, Sheryl H; Martins, Douglas K; Stauffer, Ryan M; Thompson, Anne M; Salawitch, Ross J; Dickerson, Russell R

2016-03-16

A Comprehensive Air-Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) version 6.10 simulation was assessed through comparison with data acquired during NASA's 2011 DISCOVER-AQ Maryland field campaign. Comparisons for the baseline simulation (CB05 chemistry, EPA 2011 National Emissions Inventory) show a model overestimate of NO y by +86.2% and an underestimate of HCHO by -28.3%. We present a new model framework (CB6r2 chemistry, MEGAN v2.1 biogenic emissions, 50% reduction in mobile NO x , enhanced representation of isoprene nitrates) that better matches observations. The new model framework attributes 31.4% more surface ozone in Maryland to electric generating units (EGUs) and 34.6% less ozone to on-road mobile sources. Surface ozone becomes more NO x -limited throughout the eastern United States compared to the baseline simulation. The baseline model therefore likely underestimates the effectiveness of anthropogenic NO x reductions as well as the current contribution of EGUs to surface ozone.

Federated queries of clinical data repositories: Scaling to a national network.

PubMed

Weber, Griffin M

2015-06-01

Federated networks of clinical research data repositories are rapidly growing in size from a handful of sites to true national networks with more than 100 hospitals. This study creates a conceptual framework for predicting how various properties of these systems will scale as they continue to expand. Starting with actual data from Harvard's four-site Shared Health Research Information Network (SHRINE), the framework is used to imagine a future 4000 site network, representing the majority of hospitals in the United States. From this it becomes clear that several common assumptions of small networks fail to scale to a national level, such as all sites being online at all times or containing data from the same date range. On the other hand, a large network enables researchers to select subsets of sites that are most appropriate for particular research questions. Developers of federated clinical data networks should be aware of how the properties of these networks change at different scales and design their software accordingly. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Status and trends of land change in the United States--1973 to 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2012-01-01

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper 1794 is a four-volume series on the status and trends of the Nation’s land use and land cover, providing an assessment of the rates and causes of land-use and land-cover change in the United States between 1973 and 2000. Volumes A, B, C, and D provide analyses for the Western United States, the Great Plains, the Midwest–South Central United States, and the Eastern United States, respectively. The assessments of land-use and land-cover trends are conducted on an ecoregion-by-ecoregion basis, and each ecoregion assessment is guided by a nationally consistent study design that includes mapping, statistical methods, field studies, and analysis. Individual assessments provide a picture of the characteristics of land change occurring in a given ecoregion; in combination, they provide a framework for understanding the complex national mosaic of change and also the causes and consequences of change. Thus, each volume in this series provides a regional assessment of how (and how fast) land use and land cover are changing, and why. The four volumes together form the first comprehensive picture of land change across the Nation. This report is only one of the products produced by USGS on land-use and land-cover change in the United States. Other reports and land-cover statistics are available online at http://landcovertrends.usgs.gov.

Health Policy Brief: Global Mental Health and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

PubMed

Cratsley, Kelso; Mackey, Tim K

2018-01-25

Increased awareness of the importance of mental health for global health has led to a number of new initiatives, including influential policy instruments issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN). This policy brief describes two WHO instruments, the Mental Health Action Plan for 2013-2020 (World Health Organization, 2013) and the Mental Health Atlas (World Health Organization, 2015), and presents a comparative analysis with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2015). The WHO's Action Plan calls for several specific objectives and targets, with a focus on improving global mental health governance and service coverage. In contrast, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals include only one goal specific to mental health, with a single indicator tracking suicide mortality rates. The discrepancy between the WHO and UN frameworks suggests a need for increased policy coherence. Improved global health governance can provide the basis for ensuring and accelerating progress in global mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

United Nations Human Space Technology Initiative (HSTI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ochiai, Mika; Niu, Aimin; Steffens, Heike; Balogh, Werner; Haubold, Hans; Othman, Mazlan; Doi, Takao

2014-11-01

The Human Space Technology Initiative was launched in 2010 within the framework of the United Nations Programme on Space Applications implemented by the Office for Outer Space Affairs of the United Nations. It aims to involve more countries in activities related to human spaceflight and space exploration and to increase the benefits from the outcome of such activities through international cooperation, to make space exploration a truly international effort. The role of the Initiative in these efforts is to provide a platform to exchange information, foster collaboration between partners from spacefaring and non-spacefaring countries, and encourage emerging and developing countries to take part in space research and benefit from space applications. The Initiative organizes expert meetings and workshops annually to raise awareness of the current status of space exploration activities as well as of the benefits of utilizing human space technology and its applications. The Initiative is also carrying out primary science activities including the Zero-Gravity Instrument Project and the Drop Tower Experiment Series aimed at promoting capacity-building activities in microgravity science and education, particularly in developing countries.

Looking at patients' choices through the lens of expected utility: a critique and research agenda.

PubMed

Russell, Louise B; Schwartz, Alan

2012-01-01

The expected utility framework underlies much research in medical decision making. Because the framework requires decisions to be decomposed into probabilities of states and the values of those states, researchers have investigated the two components separately from each other and from patients' actual decisions. The authors propose that it would be productive to focus more research on the relationships among risk perceptions, outcome valuations, and choices in the same decision makers. They outline exploratory analyses based on two existing national surveys, the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health.

Gate Set Tomography on a trapped ion qubit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, Erik; Blume-Kohout, Robin; Gamble, John; Rundinger, Kenneth; Mizrahi, Jonathan; Sterk, Johathan; Maunz, Peter

2015-03-01

We present enhancements to gate-set tomography (GST), which is a framework in which an entire set of quantum logic gates (including preparation and measurement) can be fully characterized without need for pre-calibrated operations. Our new method, ``extended Linear GST'' (eLGST) uses fast, reliable analysis of structured long gate sequences to deliver tomographic precision at the Heisenberg limit with GST's calibration-free framework. We demonstrate this precision on a trapped-ion qubit, and show significant (orders of magnitude) advantage over both standard process tomography and randomized benchmarking. This work was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program at Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

The Invasive Species Forecasting System: A Space-Based Decision Support Infrastructure for Managing Biological Invasions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Most, N. N.; Kendig, D.; Wichman, K.; Pollack, N.; Ilagan, A.; Morisette, J. T.; Pedelty, J. A.; Tilmes, C.; Smith, J. A.; Pfister, R.; Schnase, J. L.; Stohgren, T. J.; Crosier, C.; Graham, J.; Newman, G.; Kalkhan, M. A.; Reich, R.

2004-12-01

The spread of invasive species is one of the most daunting environmental, economic, and human-health problems facing the United States and the World today. It is one of several grand challenge environmental problems being addressed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate through a national application partnership with the US Geological Survey. NASA and USGS are working together to develop a National Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS) for the management and control of invasive species on Department of Interior and adjacent lands. As part of this effort, we are using NASA's EOS Clearing House (ECHO) framework to create an Invasive Species Data Service (ISDS). The ISDS will be a networked service that integrates a suite of NASA remote sensing data providers with the ecological field data resources of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). Aggregated ISDS data will feed directly into ISFS analysis routines to produce landscape-scale predictive maps of species distributions. ISDS and the ECHO framework thus provide an efficient interface between existing NASA data systems and decision support systems that are the province of federal agencies and other national organizations. The effort significantly broadens the use of NASA data in managing the Nation's invasive species threat. In this talk, we will describe the NASA/USGS invasive species partnership, provide an overview of the Invasive Species Forecasting System, and show how we are using ECHO technologies as the middle-ware framework for a comprehensive Invasive Species Data Service.

Estimation of soil organic carbon in forests of the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domke, G. M.; Perry, C. H.; Walters, B. F.; Woodall, C. W.; Nave, L. E.; Swanston, C.

2015-12-01

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon (C) sink on earth and management of this pool is a critical component of global efforts to mitigate atmospheric C concentrations. Soil organic carbon is also a key indicator of soil quality as it affects essential biological, chemical, and physical soil functions such as nutrient cycling, water retention, and soil structure maintenance. Much of the SOC on earth is found in forest ecosystems and is thought to be relatively stable. That said, there is growing evidence that SOC may be sensitive to disturbance and global change drivers. In the United States (US), SOC in forests is monitored by the national forest inventory (NFI) conducted by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program within the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The FIA program currently uses SOC predictions based on SSURGO/STATSGO data to populate the NFI. Most of estimates of SOC in forests from the SSURGO/STATSGO data are based primarily upon expert opinion and lack systematic field observations. The FIA program has been consistently measuring soil attributes as part of the NFI since 2001 and has amassed an extensive inventory of SOC in forests in the conterminous US and coastal Alaska. Here we present estimates of SOC obtained using data from the NFI and International Soil Carbon Network and describe the modeling framework used to compile estimates for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reporting.

Space Weather Forecasting and Supporting Research in the USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pevtsov, A. A.

2017-12-01

In the United State, scientific research in space weather is funded by several Government Agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). For civilian and commercial purposes, space weather forecast is done by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Observational data for modeling come from the network of groundbased observatories funded via various sources, as well as from the instruments on spacecraft. Numerical models used in forecast are developed in framework of individual research projects. The article provides a brief review of current state of space weather-related research and forecasting in the USA.

Science at Age 13. Assessment of Performance Unit. Science Report for Teachers: 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Patricia; Schofield, Beta

This report presents some of the results of two national surveys which assessed the performance of 13-year-old students in science. It includes an outline of the assessment framework; some of the questions which were written to match it; a description of how well, and how differently, students responded to the questions; and suggests how the…

Toward a Conceptual Framework of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: An Overview of the Conceptual and Theoretical Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown-Jeffy, Shelly; Cooper, Jewell E.

2011-01-01

The United States is a diverse country with constantly changing demographics. The noticeable shift in demographics is even more phenomenal among the school-aged population. The increase of ethnic-minority student presence is largely credited to the national growth of the Hispanic population, which exceeded the growth of all other ethnic minority…

Building Harmony and Peace through Multiculturalist Theology-Based Religious Education: An Alternative for Contemporary Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baidhawy, Zakiyuddin

2007-01-01

Indonesia has experienced a paradigm shift during the last decade in the framework of managing societal diversity because of an increase in ethnic and religious conflict. This shift has an impact on education because school curricula must address issues of living together as a nation united despite differences in religion and ethnicity. This is…

Quantifying allometric model uncertainty for plot-level live tree biomass stocks with a data-driven, hierarchical framework

Treesearch

Brian J. Clough; Matthew B. Russell; Grant M. Domke; Christopher W. Woodall

2016-01-01

Accurate uncertainty assessments of plot-level live tree biomass stocks are an important precursor to estimating uncertainty in annual national greenhouse gas inventories (NGHGIs) developed from forest inventory data. However, current approaches employed within the United States’ NGHGI do not specifically incorporate methods to address error in tree-scale biomass...

Integrated wildfire risk assessment: Framework development and application on the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana, USA

Treesearch

Matthew P. Thompson; Joe Scott; Don Helmbrecht; Dave E. Calkin

2013-01-01

The financial, socioeconomic, and ecological impacts of wildfire continue to challenge federal land management agencies in the United States. In recent years, policymakers and managers have increasingly turned to the field of risk analysis to better manage wildfires and to mitigate losses to highly valued resources and assets (HVRAs). Assessing wildfire risk entails...

The United Nations framework classification for fossil energy and mineral reserves and resources 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

MacDonald, D.; Lynch-Bell, M.; Ross, J.; Heiberg, S.; Griffiths, C.; Klett, T.

2011-01-01

Effective resource management in a globalizing economy requires accurate assessments of fossil energy and minerals resources. The recoverable quantities must be described and categorized in a manner that is consistent with scientific and social/economic information describing the economy as well as with the information describing the projects to recover them. A number of different standards have evolved over time in response to various professional needs Under a mandate given by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has cooperated with Governments, regulatory agencies, industry, international organizations, and professional organizations (including Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO), the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE)), as well as with outstanding experts, to define a global classification for extractive activities (including oil, gas, heavy oil and bitumen extraction) that reflects the principal concerns of existing petroleum and mineral classifications. The United Nations Framework Classification for Fossil Energy and Mineral Reserves and Resources-2009 (UNFC-2009) aims to serve the following four principal needs: 1. The needs in international energy and mineral studies to formulate robust and long-sighted policies. 2. The needs of governments in managing their resources accordingly, allowing market prices to be transferred to the wellhead with as little loss as possible. 3. The industries' needs for information while deploying technology, management and finance to secure energy supplies and capture value efficiently within the established frameworks to serve its host countries, shareholders and stakeholders. 4. The financial community's need for information to allocate capital appropriately, providing reduced costs and improved long-sightedness through the application of lower risk-compensated discount factors. The projects are categorised with respect to economic and social viability, project feasibility and maturity and uncertainty with respect to the quantities addressed. The categorisation of projects rather than of accumulations provides coherence with other critical management information such as production, cash flows, value and demand for various input factors. This key aspect of UNFC-2009 reflects the critical relationship between the quantities that can be recovered economically and the recovery processes (projects) that must be implemented to achieve those recoveries. It facilitates the recognition of potential wastage of resources through flaring or inefficient recovery processes and therefore also the potential for improvement. Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Powder River Basin, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska: Chapter B in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Craddock, William H.; Drake II, Ronald M.; Mars, John L.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Gosai, Mayur A.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven A.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2012-01-01

This report presents ten storage assessment units (SAUs) within the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The Powder River Basin contains a thick succession of sedimentary rocks that accumulated steadily throughout much of the Phanerozoic, and at least three stratigraphic packages contain strata that are suitable for CO2 storage. Pennsylvanian through Triassic siliciclastic strata contain two potential storage units: the Pennsylvanian and Permian Tensleep Sandstone and Minnelusa Formation, and the Triassic Crow Mountain Sandstone. Jurassic siliciclastic strata contain one potential storage unit: the lower part of the Sundance Formation. Cretaceous siliciclastic strata contain seven potential storage units: (1) the Fall River and Lakota Formations, (2) the Muddy Sandstone, (3) the Frontier Sandstone and Turner Sandy Member of the Carlile Shale, (4) the Sussex and Shannon Sandstone Members of Cody Shale, and (5) the Parkman, (6) Teapot, and (7) Teckla Sandstone Members of the Mesaverde Formation. For each SAU, we discuss the areal distribution of suitable CO2 reservoir rock. We also characterize the overlying sealing unit and describe the geologic characteristics that influence the potential CO2 storage volume and reservoir performance. These characteristics include reservoir depth, gross thickness, net thickness, porosity, permeability, and groundwater salinity. Case-by-case strategies for estimating the pore volume existing within structurally and (or) stratigraphically closed traps are presented. Although assessment results are not contained in this report, the geologic information included herein will be employed to calculate the potential storage space in the various SAUs.

Federal standards and procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD)

USGS Publications Warehouse

,; ,; ,

2013-01-01

The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) is a comprehensive aggregated collection of hydrologic unit data consistent with the national criteria for delineation and resolution. This document establishes Federal standards and procedures for creating the WBD as seamless and hierarchical hydrologic unit data, based on topographic and hydrologic features at a 1:24,000 scale in the United States, except for Alaska at 1:63,360 scale, and 1:25,000 scale in the Caribbean. The data within the WBD have been reviewed for certification through the 12-digit hydrologic unit for compliance with the criteria outlined in this document. Any edits to certified data will be reviewed against this standard prior to inclusion. Although not required as part of the framework WBD, the guidelines contain details for compiling and delineating the boundaries of two additional levels, the 14- and 16-digit hydrologic units, as well as the use of higher resolution base information to improve delineations. The guidelines presented herein are designed to enable local, regional, and national partners to delineate hydrologic units consistently and accurately. Such consistency improves watershed management through efficient sharing of information and resources and by ensuring that digital geographic data are usable with other related Geographic Information System (GIS) data.Terminology, definitions, and procedural information are provided to ensure uniformity in hydrologic unit boundaries, names, and numerical codes. Detailed standards and specifications for data are included. The document also includes discussion of objectives, communications required for revising the data resolution in the United States and the Caribbean, as well as final review and data-quality criteria. Instances of unusual landforms or artificial features that affect the hydrologic units are described with metadata standards. Up-to-date information and availability of the hydrologic units are listed at http:// www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/technical/ nra/dma/?&cid=nrcs143_021630/.

Federal standards and procedures for the National Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD)

USGS Publications Warehouse

U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service

2012-01-01

The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) is a comprehensive aggregated collection of hydrologic unit data consistent with the national criteria for delineation and resolution. This document establishes Federal standards and procedures for creating the WBD as seamless and hierarchical hydrologic unit data, based on topographic and hydrologic features at a 1:24,000 scale in the United States, except for Alaska at 1:63,360 scale, and 1:25,000 scale in the Caribbean. The data within the WBD have been reviewed for certification through the 12-digit hydrologic unit for compliance with the criteria outlined in this document. Any edits to certified data will be reviewed against this standard prior to inclusion. Although not required as part of the framework WBD, the guidelines contain details for compiling and delineating the boundaries of two additional levels, the 14- and 16-digit hydrologic units, as well as the use of higher resolution base information to improve delineations. The guidelines presented herein are designed to enable local, regional, and national partners to delineate hydrologic units consistently and accurately. Such consistency improves watershed management through efficient sharing of information and resources and by ensuring that digital geographic data are usable with other related Geographic Information System (GIS) data. Terminology, definitions, and procedural information are provided to ensure uniformity in hydrologic unit boundaries, names, and numerical codes. Detailed standards and specifications for data are included. The document also includes discussion of objectives, communications required for revising the data resolution in the United States and the Caribbean, as well as final review and data-quality criteria. Instances of unusual landforms or artificial features that affect the hydrologic units are described with metadata standards. Up-to-date information and availability of the hydrologic units are listed at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/water/watersheds/?cid=nrcs143_021630/.

A national geographic framework for guiding conservation on a landscape scale

USGS Publications Warehouse

Millard, Michael J.; Czarnecki, Craig A.; Morton, John M.; Brandt, Laura A.; Briggs, Jennifer S.; Shipley, Frank S.; Sayre, Roger G.; Sponholtz, Pamela J.; Perkins, David; Simpkins, Darin G.; Taylor, Janith

2012-01-01

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the global conservation community, has recognized that the conservation challenges of the 21st century far exceed the responsibilities and footprint of any individual agency or program. The ecological effects of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors do not recognize geopolitical boundaries and, as such, demand a national geographic framework to provide structure for cross-jurisdictional and landscape-scale conservation strategies. In 2009, a new map of ecologically based conservation regions in which to organize capacity and implement strategic habitat conservation was developed using rapid prototyping and expert elicitation by an interagency team of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey scientists and conservation professionals. Incorporating Bird Conservation Regions, Freshwater Ecoregions, and U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic unit codes, the new geographic framework provides a spatial template for building conservation capacity and focusing biological planning and conservation design efforts. The Department of Interior's Landscape Conservation Cooperatives are being organized in these new conservation regions as multi-stakeholder collaborations for improved conservation science and management.

Stochastic optimal generation bid to electricity markets with emissions risk constraints.

PubMed

Heredia, F-Javier; Cifuentes-Rubiano, Julián; Corchero, Cristina

2018-02-01

There are many factors that influence the day-ahead market bidding strategies of a generation company (GenCo) within the framework of the current energy market. Environmental policy issues are giving rise to emission limitation that are becoming more and more important for fossil-fueled power plants, and these must be considered in their management. This work investigates the influence of the emissions reduction plan and the incorporation of the medium-term derivative commitments in the optimal generation bidding strategy for the day-ahead electricity market. Two different technologies have been considered: the high-emission technology of thermal coal units and the low-emission technology of combined cycle gas turbine units. The Iberian Electricity Market (MIBEL) and the Spanish National Emissions Reduction Plan (NERP) defines the environmental framework for dealing with the day-ahead market bidding strategies. To address emission limitations, we have extended some of the standard risk management methodologies developed for financial markets, such as Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR), thus leading to the new concept of Conditional Emission at Risk (CEaR). This study offers electricity generation utilities a mathematical model for determining the unit's optimal generation bid to the wholesale electricity market such that it maximizes the long-term profits of the utility while allowing it to abide by the Iberian Electricity Market rules as well as the environmental restrictions set by the Spanish National Emissions Reduction Plan. We analyze the economic implications for a GenCo that includes the environmental restrictions of this National Plan as well as the NERP's effects on the expected profits and the optimal generation bid. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What drives political commitment for nutrition? A review and framework synthesis to inform the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition.

PubMed

Baker, Phillip; Hawkes, Corinna; Wingrove, Kate; Demaio, Alessandro Rhyl; Parkhurst, Justin; Thow, Anne Marie; Walls, Helen

2018-01-01

Generating country-level political commitment will be critical to driving forward action throughout the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025). In this review of the empirical nutrition policy literature, we ask: what factors generate, sustain and constrain political commitment for nutrition, how and under what circumstances? Our aim is to inform strategic 'commitment-building' actions. We adopted a framework synthesis method and realist review protocol. An initial framework was derived from relevant theory and then populated with empirical evidence to test and modify it. Five steps were undertaken: initial theoretical framework development; search for relevant empirical literature; study selection and quality appraisal; data extraction, analysis and synthesis and framework modification. 75 studies were included. We identified 18 factors that drive commitment, organised into five categories: actors; institutions; political and societal contexts; knowledge, evidence and framing; and, capacities and resources. Irrespective of country-context, effective nutrition actor networks, strong leadership, civil society mobilisation, supportive political administrations, societal change and focusing events, cohesive and resonant framing, and robust data systems and available evidence were commitment drivers. Low-income and middle-income country studies also frequently reported international actors, empowered institutions, vertical coordination and capacities and resources. In upper-middle-income and high-income country studies, private sector interference frequently undermined commitment. Political commitment is not something that simply exists or emerges accidentally; it can be created and strengthened over time through strategic action. Successfully generating commitment will likely require a core set of actions with some context-dependent adaptations. Ultimately, it will necessitate strategic actions by cohesive, resourced and strongly led nutrition actor networks that are responsive to the multifactorial, multilevel and dynamic political systems in which they operate and attempt to influence. Accelerating the formation and effectiveness of such networks over the Nutrition Decade should be a core task for all actors involved.

What drives political commitment for nutrition? A review and framework synthesis to inform the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition

PubMed Central

Baker, Phillip; Hawkes, Corinna; Wingrove, Kate; Parkhurst, Justin; Thow, Anne Marie; Walls, Helen

2018-01-01

Introduction Generating country-level political commitment will be critical to driving forward action throughout the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016–2025). In this review of the empirical nutrition policy literature, we ask: what factors generate, sustain and constrain political commitment for nutrition, how and under what circumstances? Our aim is to inform strategic ‘commitment-building’ actions. Method We adopted a framework synthesis method and realist review protocol. An initial framework was derived from relevant theory and then populated with empirical evidence to test and modify it. Five steps were undertaken: initial theoretical framework development; search for relevant empirical literature; study selection and quality appraisal; data extraction, analysis and synthesis and framework modification. Results 75 studies were included. We identified 18 factors that drive commitment, organised into five categories: actors; institutions; political and societal contexts; knowledge, evidence and framing; and, capacities and resources. Irrespective of country-context, effective nutrition actor networks, strong leadership, civil society mobilisation, supportive political administrations, societal change and focusing events, cohesive and resonant framing, and robust data systems and available evidence were commitment drivers. Low-income and middle-income country studies also frequently reported international actors, empowered institutions, vertical coordination and capacities and resources. In upper-middle-income and high-income country studies, private sector interference frequently undermined commitment. Conclusion Political commitment is not something that simply exists or emerges accidentally; it can be created and strengthened over time through strategic action. Successfully generating commitment will likely require a core set of actions with some context-dependent adaptations. Ultimately, it will necessitate strategic actions by cohesive, resourced and strongly led nutrition actor networks that are responsive to the multifactorial, multilevel and dynamic political systems in which they operate and attempt to influence. Accelerating the formation and effectiveness of such networks over the Nutrition Decade should be a core task for all actors involved. PMID:29527338

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Alaska North Slope and Kandik Basin, Alaska: Chapter I in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Craddock, William H.; Buursink, Marc L.; Covault, Jacob A.; Brennan, Sean T.; Doolan, Colin A.; Drake II, Ronald M.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Roberts-Ashby, Tina L.; Slucher, Ernie R.; Warwick, Peter D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven N.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2014-01-01

For each SAU in both of the basins, we discuss the areal distribution of suitable CO2 sequestration reservoir rock. We also characterize the overlying sealing unit and describe the geologic characteristics that influence the potential CO2 storage volume and reservoir performance. These characteristics include reservoir depth, gross thickness, net thickness, porosity, permeability, and groundwater salinity. Case-by-case strategies for estimating the pore volume existing within structurally and (or) stratigraphically closed traps are presented. Although assessment results are not contained in this report, the geologic information included herein was employed to calculate the potential storage volume in the various SAUs. Lastly, in this report, we present the rationale for not conducting assessment work in fifteen sedimentary basins distributed across the Alaskan interior and within Alaskan State waters.

The Missions of National Commissions: Mapping the Forms and Functions of Bioethics Advisory Bodies.

PubMed

Schmidt, Harald; Schwartz, Jason L

The findings, conclusions, and recommendations of national ethics commissions (NECs) have received considerable attention throughout the 40-year history of these groups in the United States and worldwide. However, the procedures or types of argument by which these bodies arrive at their decisions have received far less scrutiny. This paper explores how the diversity of ethical principles, concepts, or theories is featured in publications or decisions of these bodies, with particular emphasis on the need for NECs to be inclusive of pluralist positions that typically exist in contemporary democracies. The discussion is centered on the extent to which NECs may focus on providing focal frameworks, primarily framing the ethical issues at stake, or normative frameworks, additionally providing transparent justifications for any conclusions and recommendations that are made. The structure allows for assessments of the relative merits and drawbacks of different approaches in both theory and practice.

The Use of Quality Talk to Increase Critical Analytical Speaking and Writing of Students in Three Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Maree; Meissel, Kane

2016-01-01

This study was carried out in three secondary schools of varying socioeconomic levels within the usual framework of tasks completed by students while studying towards a national assessment. The study examined the change in the nature of the interactions between students in group conversations, in the context of a film unit and a geography unit…

Conference Proceedings: Forest Criteria and Indicators Analytical Framework and Report Workshop May 19-21, 2008 Joensuu, Finland

Treesearch

US Department of Agriculture Forest Service

2009-01-01

In May 2008, the Finnish Forest Research Institute; the Montréal Process; the International Institute of Tropical Forestry; the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; and the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, sponsored a workshop to address the current status of...

Child Rights as a Framework for Advancing Professional Standards for Practice, Ethics, and Professional Development in School Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nastasi, Bonnie Kaul; Naser, Shereen

2014-01-01

The United Nations (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child was designed to promote and protect the survival, development, and well-being of children, thus extending human rights to individuals from birth to age 18. This article examines the consistency of the Articles of the Convention with the professional standards for school psychology, as…

Effects of climatic variability and change on forest ecosystems: a comprehensive science synthesis for the U.S

Treesearch

James M. Vose; David L. Peterson; Toral Patel-Weynand

2012-01-01

This report is a scientific assessment of the current condition and likely future condition of forest resources in the United States relative to climatic variability and change. It serves as the U.S. Forest Service forest sector technical report for the National Climate Assessment and includes descriptions of key regional issues and examples of a risk-based framework...

Definitions in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Treesearch

Sandra Brown

2013-01-01

In relation to REDD+ implementation, two key steps are needed: (1) establishing a reference emission level or reference level (RL) and (2) monitoring performance against the RL. The RL is based on historic emissions and this can serve as a key starting point for designing any system for future monitoring. A monitoring system must be able to monitor the performance of...

Federal Textbook on Citizenship. Our Constitution and Government: Lessons on the Constitution and Government of the United States for Use in the Public Schools by Candidates for Citizenship.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seckler-Hudson, Catheryn

Thirty lessons, including 60 illustrations of maps and charts, provide a study framework for candidates preparing for their naturalization examinations as applicants for U. S. citizenship. Representative government is described in terms of group associations, comparing family, community, church, school, city, state, and national organization. The…

Regaining Legitimacy in the Context of Global Governance? UNESCO, Education for All Coordination and the Global Monitoring Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, D. Brent, Jr.; Okitsu, Taeko; da Costa, Romina; Kitamura, Yuto

2017-01-01

This research note shares insights which resulted from a larger study into the ways in which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)--during 2010-2014--used its position as coordinator of the post-Dakar Framework for Action (initiated at the World Education Forum held in 2000 and designed to reinvigorate the…

Keeping it wild: Mapping wilderness character in the United States

Treesearch

Steve Carver; James Tricker; Peter Landres

2013-01-01

A GIS-based approach is developed to identify the state of wilderness character in US wilderness areas using Death Valley National Park (DEVA) as a case study. A set of indicators and measures are identified by DEVA staff and used as the basis for developing a flexible and broadly applicable framework to map wilderness character using data inputs selected by park staff...

Adaptive silviculture for climate change: a national experiment in manager-scientist partnerships to apply an adaptation framework

Treesearch

Linda M. ​Nagel; Brian J. Palik; Michael A. Battaglia; Anthony W. D' Amato; James M. Guldin; Chris Swanston; Maria K. Janowiak; Matthew P. Powers; Linda A. Joyce; Constance I. Millar; David L. Peterson; Lisa M. Ganio; Chad Kirschbaum; Molly R. Roske

2017-01-01

Forest managers in the United States must respond to the need for climate-adaptive strategies in the face of observed and projected climatic changes. However, there is a lack of on-the-ground forest adaptation research to indicate what adaptation measures or tactics might be effective in preparing forest ecosystems to deal with climate change. Natural resource managers...

Comparing field- and model-based standing dead tree carbon stock estimates across forests of the US

Treesearch

Chistopher W. Woodall; Grant M. Domke; David W. MacFarlane; Christopher M. Oswalt

2012-01-01

As signatories to the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change, the US has been estimating standing dead tree (SDT) carbon (C) stocks using a model based on live tree attributes. The USDA Forest Service began sampling SDTs nationwide in 1999. With comprehensive field data now available, the objective of this study was to compare field- and model-based...

UN Global Action Programme and Education for Sustainable Development: A Critical Appraisal of the Evidence Base

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, Daniel; Aubrecht, Elisabeth Lena; Brück, Maria; Ditges, Laura; Gathen, Lea; Jahns, Maximilian; Petersmann, Moritz; Rau, Jörn; Wellmann, Christiane

2015-01-01

The United Nations (UN) proclaimed the years 2005 to 2014 the World Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). As a follow up on the World Decade, the UN launched a Global Action Programme (GAP) that is designed to set the framework for international activities on ESD. The GAP focuses on five priority areas that are of high relevance…

The concept of hydrologic landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Winter, T.C.

2001-01-01

Hydrologic landscapes are multiples or variations of fundamental hydrologic landscape units. A fundamental hydrologic landscape unit is defined on the basis of land-surface form, geology, and climate. The basic land-surface form of a fundamental hydrologic landscape unit is an upland separated from a lowland by an intervening steeper slope. Fundamental hydrologic landscape units have a complete hydrologic system consisting of surface runoff, ground-water flow, and interaction with atmospheric water. By describing actual landscapes in terms of land-surface slope, hydraulic properties of soils and geologic framework, and the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration, the hydrologic system of actual landscapes can be conceptualized in a uniform way. This conceptual framework can then be the foundation for design of studies and data networks, syntheses of information on local to national scales, and comparison of process research across small study units in a variety of settings. The Crow Wing River watershed in central Minnesota is used as an example of evaluating stream discharge in the context of hydrologic landscapes. Lake-research watersheds in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska are used as an example of using the hydrologic-landscapes concept to evaluate the effect of ground water on the degree of mineralization and major-ion chemistry of lakes that lie within ground-water flow systems.

A Health Economics Approach to US Value Assessment Frameworks-Introduction: An ISPOR Special Task Force Report [1].

PubMed

Neumann, Peter J; Willke, Richard J; Garrison, Louis P

2018-02-01

Concerns about rising spending on prescription drugs and other areas of health care have led to multiple initiatives in the United States designed to measure and communicate the value of pharmaceuticals and other technologies for decision making. In this section we introduce the work of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Special Task Force on US Value Assessment Frameworks formed to review relevant perspectives and appropriate approaches and methods to support the definition and use of high-quality value frameworks. The Special Task Force was part of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Initiative on US Value Assessment Frameworks, which enlisted the expertise of leading health economists, concentrating on what the field of health economics can provide to help inform the development and use of value assessment frameworks. We focus on five value framework initiatives: the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. These entities differ in their missions, scope of activities, and methodological approaches. Because they are gaining visibility and some traction in the United States, it is essential to scrutinize whether the frameworks use approaches that are transparent as well as conceptually and methodologically sound. Our objectives were to describe the conceptual bases for value and its use in decision making, critically examine existing value frameworks, discuss the importance of sound conceptual underpinning, identify key elements of value relevant to specific decision contexts, and recommend good practice in value definition and implementation as well as areas for further research. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Parcels versus pixels: modeling agricultural land use across broad geographic regions using parcel-based field boundaries

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sohl, Terry L.; Dornbierer, Jordan; Wika, Steve; Sayler, Kristi L.; Quenzer, Robert

2017-01-01

Land use and land cover (LULC) change occurs at a local level within contiguous ownership and management units (parcels), yet LULC models primarily use pixel-based spatial frameworks. The few parcel-based models being used overwhelmingly focus on small geographic areas, limiting the ability to assess LULC change impacts at regional to national scales. We developed a modified version of the Forecasting Scenarios of land use change model to project parcel-based agricultural change across a large region in the United States Great Plains. A scenario representing an agricultural biofuel scenario was modeled from 2012 to 2030, using real parcel boundaries based on contiguous ownership and land management units. The resulting LULC projection provides a vastly improved representation of landscape pattern over existing pixel-based models, while simultaneously providing an unprecedented combination of thematic detail and broad geographic extent. The conceptual approach is practical and scalable, with potential use for national-scale projections.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Eastern Great Basin Province, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2007-01-01

Introduction The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Eastern Great Basin Province of eastern Nevada, western Utah, southeastern Idaho, and northwestern Arizona. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define one total petroleum system and three assessment units. All three assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources.

National poverty reduction strategies and HIV/AIDS governance in Malawi: a preliminary study of shared health governance.

PubMed

Wachira, Catherine; Ruger, Jennifer Prah

2011-06-01

The public health and development communities understand clearly the need to integrate anti-poverty efforts with HIV/AIDS programs. This article reports findings about the impact of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process on Malawi's National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework (NSF). In this article we ask, how does the PRSP process support NSF accountability, participation, access to information, funding, resource planning and allocation, monitoring, and evaluation? In 2007, we developed and conducted a survey of Malawian government ministries, United Nations agencies, members of the Country Coordination Mechanism, the Malawi National AIDS Commission (NAC), and NAC grantees (N = 125, 90% response rate), seeking survey respondents' retrospective perceptions of NSF resource levels, participation, inclusion, and governance before, during, and after Malawi's PRSP process (2000-2004). We also assessed principle health sector and economic indicators and budget allocations for HIV/AIDS. These indicators are part of a new conceptual framework called shared health governance (SHG), which seeks congruence among the values and goals of different groups and actors to reflect a common purpose. Under this framework, global health policy should encompass: (i) consensus among global, national, and sub-national actors on goals and measurable outcomes; (ii) mutual collective accountability; and (iii) enhancement of individual and group health agency. Indicators to assess these elements included: (i) goal alignment; (ii) adequate resource levels; (iii) agreement on key outcomes and indicators for evaluating those outcomes; (iv) meaningful inclusion and participation of groups and institutions; (v) special efforts to ensure participation of vulnerable groups; and (vi) effectiveness and efficiency measures. Results suggest that the PRSP process supported accountability for NSF resources. However, the process may have marginalized key stakeholders, potentially undercutting the implementation of HIV/AIDS Action Plans. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Global Inventory of Regional and National Qualifications Frameworks. Volume II: National and Regional Cases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2015

2015-01-01

This second volume of the "Global Inventory of Regional and National Qualifications Frameworks" focuses on national and regional cases of national qualifications frameworks for eighty- six countries from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan and seven regional qualifications frameworks. Each country profile provides a thorough review of the main…

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.

Globalization of environmental regulations for offshore E & P operations

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

Shannon, B.E.

1995-12-31

One of the enduring legacies of the Rio Environmental Summit of 1992 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED) is Agenda 21 (Chapter 17 - Protection of the Oceans), which among other things called for the assessment of the need for a global authority to regulate offshore Exploration & Production (E&P) discharges, emissions and safety. Despite advice to the contrary from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), interest is building within the European community for the standardization of regulations for offshore E&P activities. Several international of regulations for offshore E&P activities. Several international frameworks or forums have been mentioned asmore » possible candidates. These include the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS); London Convention 1972 (LC 1972) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL) 73/78. International offshore oil and gas operators operate within requirements of regional conventions under the United Nations Environmental Program`s (UNEP) - Regional Seas Program. Domestic offshore operations are undertaken under the auspices of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minerals Management Service.« less

United Nations convention on the rights of persons with disabilities: a roadmap for change.

PubMed

Stuart, Heather

2012-09-01

This study considers the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a tool for promoting the full social inclusion of people with a mental or intellectual disability. The United Nations Convention has ushered in a new era of discourse that moves beyond a consideration of individual impairments, to focus on the social and environmental barriers that prevent full and effective social participation of people with disabilities. It provides an important social justice framework to guide and integrate disability policy within and across countries. In order to realize its potential, the mental health community must now actively develop a new disability discourse - one that moves beyond the traditional focus on negative protections, such as against forced confinement or coercive treatment, to one that examines the services and supports that are needed to allow people who have a mental illness to become fully functioning members of society. To meet the monitoring requirements of the Convention, the mental health community must actively seek population data to assess the nature of prejudice and discrimination experienced by people with a mental illness. An approach used by Statistics Canada is provided as one such example. The United Nations Convention is an important roadmap for change, which can be used to shift current mental health discourse from a discussion emphasizing the protection of negative rights, such as from involuntary detention or coerced treatment, to one emphasizing social rights and civic participation.

Strengthening health disaster risk management in Africa: multi-sectoral and people-centred approaches are required in the post-Hyogo Framework of Action era.

PubMed

Olu, Olushayo; Usman, Abdulmumini; Manga, Lucien; Anyangwe, Stella; Kalambay, Kalula; Nsenga, Ngoy; Woldetsadik, Solomon; Hampton, Craig; Nguessan, Francois; Benson, Angela

2016-08-02

In November 2012, the 62nd session of the Regional Committee for Africa adopted a comprehensive 10-year regional strategy for health disaster risk management (DRM). This was intended to operationalize the World Health Organization's core commitments to health DRM and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 in the health sectors of the 47 African member states. This study reported the formative evaluation of the strategy, including evaluation of the progress in achieving nine targets (expected to be achieved incrementally by 2014, 2017, and 2022). We proposed recommendations for accelerating the strategy's implementation within the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. This study used a mixed methods design. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted along with a review of available reports and information on the implementation of the strategy. A review meeting to discuss and finalize the study findings was also conducted. In total, 58 % of the countries assessed had established DRM coordination units within their Ministry of Health (MOH). Most had dedicated MOH DRM staff (88 %) and national-level DRM committees (71 %). Only 14 (58 %) of the countries had health DRM subcommittees using a multi-sectoral disaster risk reduction platform. Less than 40 % had conducted surveys such as disaster risk analysis, hospital safety index, and mapping of health resources availability. Key challenges in implementing the strategy were inadequate political will and commitment resulting in poor funding for health DRM, weak health systems, and a dearth of scientific evidence on mainstreaming DRM and disaster risk reduction in longer-term health system development programs. Implementation of the strategy was behind anticipated targets despite some positive outcomes, such as an increase in the number of countries with health DRM incorporated in their national health legislation, MOH DRM units, and functional health sub-committees within national DRM committees. Health system-based, multi-sectoral, and people-centred approaches are proposed to accelerate implementation of the strategy in the post-Hyogo Framework of Action era.

Pathway to 2022: The Ongoing Modernization of the United States National Spatial Reference System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, W. A.; Caccamise, D.

2017-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) mission is "to define, maintain and provide access to the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) to meet our nation's economic, social, and environmental needs." The NSRS is an assemblage of geophysical and geodetic models, tools, and data, with the most-visible components being the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88), which together provide a consistent spatial reference framework for myriad geospatial applications and positioning requirements throughout the United States. The NGS is engaged in an ongoing and comprehensive multi-year project of modernizing the NSRS, a makeover necessitated by technological developments and user accuracy requirements, all with a goal of providing a modern, accurate, accessible, and globally aligned national positioning framework exploiting the substantial power and utility of the Global Navigation Satellite System - of both today and tomorrow. The modernized NSRS will include four new-generation geometric terrestrial reference frames (replacing NAD83) and a technically unprecedented geopotential datum (replacing NAVD88), all to be released in 2022 (anticipated). This poster/presentation will describe the justification for this modernization effort and will update the status and planned evolution of the NSRS as 2022 draws ever closer. Also discussed will be recent developments, including the publication of "blueprint" documents addressing technical details of various facets of the modernized NSRS and a continued series of public Geospatial Summits. Supporting/ancillary projects such as Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum (GRAV-D), which will result in the generation of a highly accurate gravimetric geoid - or definitional reference surface (zero elevation) - for the future geopotential datum, and Geoid Slope Validation Surveys (GSVS), which are exploring the achievable accuracy of the new geopotential datum, will be summarized. Also included will be suggestions of user preparation for transition to the NSRS of tomorrow.

Is This Year's Exam as Demanding as Last Year's? Using a Pilot Method to Evaluate the Consistency of Examination Demands over Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crisp, Victoria; Novakovic, Nadezda

2009-01-01

Maintaining standards over time is a much debated topic in the context of national examinations in the UK. This study used a pilot method to compare the demands, over time, of two examination units testing administration. The method involved 15 experts revising a framework of demand types and making paired comparisons of examinations from…

Developing Basic and Higher Level Reading Processing Skills: Exploring an Instructional Framework with the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 Database

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deasy, Michael Joseph

2012-01-01

Concern over worldwide literacy rates prompted the United Nations to establish the UN Literacy Decade (2003-2012) with one area of focus being to provide support to schools to develop effective literacy programs (UNESCO, 2005). This study addressed the area of providing support to schools to develop effective literacy programs by exploring the…

Studying ocean acidification in the Arctic Ocean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robbins, Lisa

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Ice Breaker Healey and its United Nations Convention Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) cruises has produced new synoptic data from samples collected in the Arctic Ocean and insights into the patterns and extent of ocean acidification. This framework of foundational geochemical information will help inform our understanding of potential risks to Arctic resources due to ocean acidification.

How Business Leaders Can Support College and Career-Readiness: Staying the Course on Common Core. White Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Lori

2014-01-01

For the first time in the nation's history, a majority of students in the United States are learning based on a common set of standards for mathematics and English language arts (ELA) that will prepare them for the demands of the 21st century. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) provide a clear, consistent framework for what students should…

A World Fit for Children: Millennium Development Goals; Special Session on Children Documents; The Convention on the Rights of the Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Children's Fund, New York, NY.

In May 2002, participants at the United Nations General Assembly's Special Session on Children committed to a set of specific goals for children and youth and a basic framework for meeting these goals. This report compiles the commitments that were part of the Special Session: (1) the Millennium Development Goals, earlier pledged to by all 189…

Does Homeland Security Constitute an Emerging Academic Discipline?

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

Postgraduate School NSA National Security Agency OED Oxford English Dictionary U.S. United States xiv THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK xv...Curriculum Design: A Case Study in Neuroscience ,” The Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education 10, no. 1 (2011): A71–A79. 37 physical reaction...article entitled, “A Conceptual Framework for Interdisciplinary Curriculum Design: A Case Study in Neuroscience :”140 Table 2. An Overview of

[Diffusion of clinical governance among the Italian Local Health Units (LHUs). Analysis of the Health Surveys, the Firm Acts and the Health Plans].

PubMed

de Belvis, A G; Biasco, A; Pelone, F; Romaniello, A; De Micco, F; Volpe, M; Ricciardi, W

2009-01-01

The objective of our research is to report on the diffusion of Clinical Governance, as introduced with the National Health Plan 2006-2008, by analysing the planning instruments set up by each Region (Regional Health Plans and Emergency Plans in regions with budget deficit), the organizational frameworks (Atti Aziendali, firm acts), and the surveys on performance and quality of healthcare among the Italian Local Health Units (Health Surveys). Our research was realized on September-December 2007 and consisted of the collection of all retrieved documents available on the web and on the online public access catalog (OPAC SBN) of the National Library Service. Futhermore, each document has been classified and analysed according to Chambers' Clinical Governance definition. A descriptive statistical and inferential analysis by applying the Chi-2 Test was performed to test the correlation between the diffusion of such a classified documents and the geographical partition of each LHU. Our results show a scarce diffusion of Firm acts (43%) and Health Surveys (24.9% of the total). Any remind to Clinical Governance instruments and methods inside each document resulted even poorer among both the organizational and performance surveys and the regional health planning frameworks, respectively.

The United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: a story of partnerships and smart investments to turn the tide of the global AIDS pandemic.

PubMed

Goosby, Eric; Dybul, Mark; Fauci, Anthony S; Fauci, Anthony A; Fu, Joe; Walsh, Thomas; Needle, Richard; Bouey, Paul

2012-08-15

The United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has played a key leadership role in the global response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. PEPFAR was inspired by the principles of the historic Monterrey Consensus (United Nations. Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development, Monterrey, Mexico, March 18-22, 2002. New York: United Nations; 2002. Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/monterrey/MonterreyConsensus.pdf. Accessed April 21, 2012), which changed the underlying conceptual framework for international development, and therefore global health--a shift from paternalism to partnership that begins with country ownership and requires good governance, a results-based approach, and engagement of all sectors of society. PEPFAR began with a focus on the growing emergency of the HIV/AIDS pandemic by rapidly expanding HIV services, building clinical capacity, implementing strategic information systems, and building a coalition of partners to lead the response. Within the first years of implementation, there was a shift to sustainability, including the advent of Partnership Frameworks. The PEPFAR reauthorization in 2008 codified into law, the evolution in policies and programs for the next phase of implementation. In 2011 alone, PEPFAR supported nearly 4 million people on treatment, supported programs that provided more than 1.5 million HIV-positive pregnant women with antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV transmission to their children, and supported HIV testing for more than 40 million people. This article provides an overview of how smart investments and partnerships across sectors and US agencies have helped achieve unprecedented results in increasing HIV/AIDS services and engaging partner countries and organizations in sharing the responsibility for an AIDS-free generation.

Integrated wildfire risk assessment: framework development and application on the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana, USA.

PubMed

Thompson, Matthew P; Scott, Joe; Helmbrecht, Don; Calkin, Dave E

2013-04-01

The financial, socioeconomic, and ecological impacts of wildfire continue to challenge federal land management agencies in the United States. In recent years, policymakers and managers have increasingly turned to the field of risk analysis to better manage wildfires and to mitigate losses to highly valued resources and assets (HVRAs). Assessing wildfire risk entails the interaction of multiple components, including integrating wildfire simulation outputs with geospatial identification of HVRAs and the characterization of fire effects to HVRAs. We present an integrated and systematic risk assessment framework that entails 3 primary analytical components: 1) stochastic wildfire simulation and burn probability modeling to characterize wildfire hazard, 2) expert-based modeling to characterize fire effects, and 3) multicriteria decision analysis to characterize preference structures across at-risk HVRAs. We demonstrate application of this framework for a wildfire risk assessment performed on the Little Belts Assessment Area within the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana, United States. We devote particular attention to our approach to eliciting and encapsulating expert judgment, in which we: 1) adhered to a structured process for using expert judgment in ecological risk assessment, 2) used as our expert base local resource scientists and fire/fuels specialists who have a direct connection to the specific landscape and HVRAs in question, and 3) introduced multivariate response functions to characterize fire effects to HVRAs that consider biophysical variables beyond fire behavior. We anticipate that this work will further the state of wildfire risk science and will lead to additional application of risk assessment to inform land management planning. Copyright © 2012 SETAC.

Pay-for-performance: too much of a good thing? A conversation with Martin Roland. Interview by Robert Galvin.

PubMed

Roland, Martin

2006-01-01

As the United States moves down the road of pay-for-performance (P4P), concerns about unintended consequences are foremost in the minds of policymakers. Initial results from the world's most ambitious P4P program, the United Kingdom's Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), indicate that while quality improvements exceeded expectations, so too did the amount of funds paid out, straining the National Health Service (NHS) budget. Martin Roland, one of the leading U.K. health services researchers and an adviser to the QOF, gives his views on what went right and what went wrong, and he offers his advice to the United States about using financial incentives to improve quality.

Newborn screening policy in the United Kingdom & the United States: two different communities of practice.

PubMed

Patch, Christine

2006-01-01

Newborn screening is a rapidly developing area driven by both technological advances and public pressure. If they are not yet, all nurses working with mothers and children will soon be involved with implementing newborn-screening programs, and it is therefore important that they appreciate both the benefits and potential harms of such programs. In the United Kingdom, policy regarding the implementation of newborn-screening programs is developed at national level, and consideration of the introduction of new tests is subject to a formalized evaluation framework. In the United States, by contrast, each state develops its own screening program. Knowledge of developments in newborn screening in different countries that have diverse types of healthcare systems helps to inform nurses about the totality of healthcare for newborns, and assists them in becoming more knowledgeable about how international standards differ from those in the United States.

Balancing habitat delivery for breeding marsh birds and nonbreeding waterfowl: An integrated waterbird management and monitoring approach at Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge, Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

Loges, Brian W.; Lyons, James E.; Tavernia, Brian G.

2017-08-23

The Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge (CCNWR) in the Mississippi River flood plain of eastern Missouri provides high quality emergent marsh and moist-soil habitat benefitting both nesting marsh birds and migrating waterfowl. Staff of CCNWR manipulate water levels and vegetation in the 17 units of the CCNWR to provide conditions favorable to these two important guilds. Although both guilds include focal species at multiple planning levels and complement objectives to provide a diversity of wetland community types and water regimes, additional decision support is needed for choosing how much emergent marsh and moist-soil habitat should be provided through annual management actions.To develop decision guidance for balanced delivery of high-energy waterfowl habitat and breeding marsh bird habitat, two measureable management objectives were identified: nonbreeding Anas Linnaeus (dabbling duck) use-days and Rallus elegans (king rail) occupancy of managed units. Three different composite management actions were identified to achieve these objectives. Each composite management action is a unique combination of growing season water regime and soil disturbance. The three composite management actions are intense moist-soil management (moist-soil), intermediate moist-soil (intermediate), and perennial management, which idles soils disturbance (perennial). The two management objectives and three management options were used in a multi-criteria decision analysis to indicate resource allocations and inform annual decision making. Outcomes of the composite management actions were predicted in two ways and multi-criteria decision analysis was used with each set of predictions. First, outcomes were predicted using expert-elicitation techniques and a panel of subject matter experts. Second, empirical data from the Integrated Waterbird Management and Monitoring Initiative collected between 2010 and 2013 were used; where data were lacking, expert judgment was used. Also, a Bayesian decision model was developed that can be updated with monitoring data in an adaptive management framework.Optimal resource allocations were identified in the form of portfolios of composite management actions for the 17 units in the framework. A constrained optimization (linear programming) was used to maximize an objective function that was based on the sum of dabbling duck and king rail utility. The constraints, which included management costs and a minimum energetic carrying capacity (total moist-soil acres), were applied to balance habitat delivery for dabbling ducks and king rails. Also, the framework was constrained in some cases to apply certain management actions of interest to certain management units; these constraints allowed for a variety of hypothetical Habitat Management Plans, including one based on output from a hydrogeomorphic study of the refuge. The decision analysis thus created numerous refuge-wide scenarios, each representing a unique mix of options (one for each of 17 units) and associated benefits (i.e., outcomes with respect to two management objectives).Prepared in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the decision framework presented here is designed as a decision-aiding tool for CCNWR managers who ultimately make difficult decisions each year with multiple objectives, multiple management units, and the complexity of natural systems. The framework also provides a way to document hypotheses about how the managed system functions. Furthermore, the framework identifies specific monitoring needs and illustrates precisely how monitoring data will be used for decision-aiding and adaptive management.

What justifies the United States ban on federal funding for nonreproductive cloning?

PubMed

Cunningham, Thomas V

2013-11-01

This paper explores how current United States policies for funding nonreproductive cloning are justified and argues against that justification. I show that a common conceptual framework underlies the national prohibition on the use of public funds for cloning research, which I call the simple argument. This argument rests on two premises: that research harming human embryos is unethical and that embryos produced via fertilization are identical to those produced via cloning. In response to the simple argument, I challenge the latter premise. I demonstrate there are important ontological differences between human embryos (produced via fertilization) and clone embryos (produced via cloning). After considering the implications my argument has for the morality of publicly funding cloning for potential therapeutic purposes and potential responses to my position, I conclude that such funding is not only ethically permissible, but also humane national policy.

Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI): A successful start to a national program in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Muths, Erin; Jung, Robin E.; Bailey, Larissa L.; Adams, Michael J.; Corn, P. Stephen; Dodd, C. Kenneth; Fellers, Gary M.; Sadinski, Walter J.; Schwalbe, Cecil R.; Walls, Susan C.; Fisher, Robert N.; Gallant, Alisa L.; Battaglin, William A.; Green, D. Earl

2005-01-01

Most research to assess amphibian declines has focused on local-scale projects on one or a few species. The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is a national program in the United States mandated by congressional directive and implemented by the U.S. Department of the Interior (specifically the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS). Program goals are to monitor changes in populations of amphibians across U.S. Department of the Interior lands and to address research questions related to amphibian declines using a hierarchical framework of base-, mid- and apex-level monitoring sites. ARMI is currently monitoring 83 amphibian species (29% of species in the U.S.) at mid- and apex-level areas. We chart the progress of this 5-year-old program and provide an example of mid-level monitoring from 1 of the 7 ARMI regions.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas, Hanna, Laramie, and Shirley Basins Province, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

U.S. Geological Survey Hanna, Laramie

2007-01-01

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey?s (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Hanna, Laramie, and Shirley Basins Province in Wyoming and northeastern Colorado. The assessment is based on the geologic elements of each total petroleum system (TPS) defined in the province, including hydrocarbon source rocks (source-rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation, and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined three TPSs and seven assessment units (AUs) within them; undiscovered resources for three of the seven AUs were quantitatively assessed.

Transforming Our World: Implementing the 2030 Agenda Through Sustainable Development Goal Indicators.

PubMed

Lee, Bandy X; Kjaerulf, Finn; Turner, Shannon; Cohen, Larry; Donnelly, Peter D; Muggah, Robert; Davis, Rachel; Realini, Anna; Kieselbach, Berit; MacGregor, Lori Snyder; Waller, Irvin; Gordon, Rebecca; Moloney-Kitts, Michele; Lee, Grace; Gilligan, James

2016-09-01

The United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes violence as a threat to sustainability. To serve as a context, we provide an overview of the Sustainable Development Goals as they relate to violence prevention by including a summary of key documents informing violence prevention efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) partners. After consultation with the United Nations (UN) Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDG), we select specific targets and indicators, featuring them in a summary table. Using the diverse expertise of the authors, we assign attributes that characterize the focus and nature of these indicators. We hope that this will serve as a preliminary framework for understanding these accountability metrics. We include a brief analysis of the target indicators and how they relate to promising practices in violence prevention.

The United Nations and Climate Change: Legal and Policy Developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunn, Isabella D.

2009-07-01

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has declared that climate change is "the defining challenge of our times." Climate change trends indicate increasingly severe negative impacts on the majority of countries, with disproportionate effects on poor and vulnerable populations. The scientific reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as the negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), have placed the issue on the forefront of the international agenda. This article examines how climate change is shaping legal and policy developments in five key areas of UN responsibility: international law, humanitarian affairs, human rights, development, and peace and security. It concludes with some observations about high-level efforts to coordinate the response of multilateral institutions, the changing stance of the US government, and the role of environmental protection in addressing the current global economic crisis.

Primary healthcare reform in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

PubMed

Santoro, A; Abu-Rmeileh, N; Khader, A; Seita, A; McKee, M

2016-09-25

Palestinian refugees served by the United Nation Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) are experiencing increasing rates of diagnosis of non-communicable diseases. In response, in 2011 UNRWA initiated an Agency-wide programme of primary healthcare reform, informed by the Chronic Care Model framework. Health services were reorganized following a family-centred approach, with delivery by multidisciplinary family health teams supported by updated technical advice. An inclusive clinical information system, termed e-Health, was implemented to collect a wide range of health information, with a focus on continuity of treatment. UNRWA was able to bring about these wide-ranging changes within its existing resources, reallocating finances, reforming its payment mechanisms, and modernizing its drug-procurement policies. While specific components of UNRWA's primary healthcare reform are showing promising results, additional efforts are needed to empower patients further and to strengthen involvement of the community.

Intercomparison of Streamflow Simulations between WRF-Hydro and Hydrology Laboratory-Research Distributed Hydrologic Model Frameworks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

KIM, J.; Smith, M. B.; Koren, V.; Salas, F.; Cui, Z.; Johnson, D.

2017-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-National Weather Service (NWS) developed the Hydrology Laboratory-Research Distributed Hydrologic Model (HL-RDHM) framework as an initial step towards spatially distributed modeling at River Forecast Centers (RFCs). Recently, the NOAA/NWS worked with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to implement the National Water Model (NWM) for nationally-consistent water resources prediction. The NWM is based on the WRF-Hydro framework and is run at a 1km spatial resolution and 1-hour time step over the contiguous United States (CONUS) and contributing areas in Canada and Mexico. In this study, we compare streamflow simulations from HL-RDHM and WRF-Hydro to observations from 279 USGS stations. For streamflow simulations, HL-RDHM is run on 4km grids with the temporal resolution of 1 hour for a 5-year period (Water Years 2008-2012), using a priori parameters provided by NOAA-NWS. The WRF-Hydro streamflow simulations for the same time period are extracted from NCAR's 23 retrospective run of the NWM (version 1.0) over CONUS based on 1km grids. We choose 279 USGS stations which are relatively less affected by dams or reservoirs, in the domains of six different RFCs. We use the daily average values of simulations and observations for the convenience of comparison. The main purpose of this research is to evaluate how HL-RDHM and WRF-Hydro perform at USGS gauge stations. We compare daily time-series of observations and both simulations, and calculate the error values using a variety of error functions. Using these plots and error values, we evaluate the performances of HL-RDHM and WRF-Hydro models. Our results show a mix of model performance across geographic regions.

The Health Care System Under French National Health Insurance: Lessons for Health Reform in the United States

PubMed Central

Rodwin, Victor G.

2003-01-01

The French health system combines universal coverage with a public–private mix of hospital and ambulatory care and a higher volume of service provision than in the United States. Although the system is far from perfect, its indicators of health status and consumer satisfaction are high; its expenditures, as a share of gross domestic product, are far lower than in the United States; and patients have an extraordinary degree of choice among providers. Lessons for the United States include the importance of government’s role in providing a statutory framework for universal health insurance; recognition that piecemeal reform can broaden a partial program (like Medicare) to cover, eventually, the entire population; and understanding that universal coverage can be achieved without excluding private insurers from the supplementary insurance market. PMID:12511380

A Toxicological Framework for the Prioritization of Children’s Safe Product Act Data

PubMed Central

Smith, Marissa N.; Grice, Joshua; Cullen, Alison; Faustman, Elaine M.

2016-01-01

In response to concerns over hazardous chemicals in children’s products, Washington State passed the Children’s Safe Product Act (CSPA). CSPA requires manufacturers to report the concentration of 66 chemicals in children’s products. We describe a framework for the toxicological prioritization of the ten chemical groups most frequently reported under CSPA. The framework scores lifestage, exposure duration, primary, secondary and tertiary exposure routes, toxicokinetics and chemical properties to calculate an exposure score. Four toxicological endpoints were assessed based on curated national and international databases: reproductive and developmental toxicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity. A total priority index was calculated from the product of the toxicity and exposure scores. The three highest priority chemicals were formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate and styrene. Elements of the framework were compared to existing prioritization tools, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ExpoCast and Toxicological Prioritization Index (ToxPi). The CSPA framework allowed us to examine toxicity and exposure pathways in a lifestage-specific manner, providing a relatively high throughput approach to prioritizing hazardous chemicals found in children’s products. PMID:27104547

Assessment of a Hospital Palliative Care Unit (HPCU) for Cancer Patients; A Conceptual Framework.

PubMed

Rouhollahi, Mohammad Reza; Saghafinia, Masoud; Zandehdel, Kazem; Motlagh, Ali Ghanbari; Kazemian, Ali; Mohagheghi, Mohammad Ali; Tahmasebi, Mamak

2015-01-01

The first hospital palliative care unit (HPCU) in Iran (FARS-HPCU) has been established in 2008 in the Cancer Institute, which is the largest referral cancer center in the country. We attempted to assess the performance of the HPCU based on a comprehensive conceptual framework. The main aim of this study was to develop a conceptual framework for assessment of the HPCU performances through designing a value chain in line with the goals and the main processes (core and support). We collected data from a variety of sources, including international guidelines, international best practices, and expert opinions in the country and compared them with national policies and priorities. We also took into consideration the trend of the HPCU development in the Cancer Institute of Iran. Through benchmarking the gap area with the performance standards, some recommendations for better outcome are proposed. The framework for performance assessment consisted of 154 process indicators (PIs), based on which the main stakeholders of the HPCU (including staff, patients, and families) offered their scoring. The outcome revealed the state of the processes as well as the gaps. Despite a significant improvement in many processes and indicators, more development in the comprehensive and integrative aspects of FARS-HPCU performance is required. Consideration of all supportive and palliative requirements of the patients through interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches is recommended.

How Successful are U.S. Efforts to Build Capacity in Developing Countries? A Framework to Assess the Global Train and Equip 1206 Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

CARE INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORTATION INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS LAW AND BUSINESS NATIONAL SECURITY POPULATION AND AGING PUBLIC SAFETY SCIENCE AND...Prevention—International cooperation—Evaluation. 5. Combined operations (Military science )—Evaluation. 6. United States—Military relations—Foreign...as well as to elicit informa- tion regarding assessment guidance and skills. 7 See Jennifer D. P. Moroney, Jefferson P. Marquis, Cathryn Quantic

The National SShipbuilding Research Program. 1997 Ship Production Symposium. Proceedings

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-04-01

continues to advance the value and potential benefit of an ISO style process management system will increase. ISO provides the framework that is...understanding of systemic management beyond the buzzword level. In fairness , this probably is attributed to the fact that middle managers often perceive they...common or accepted practice. In the United States, the phrase of laisse - faire , or freedom of choice coupled with a lack of uniform standards continues to

Development of Information and Knowledge Architectures and an Associated Framework and Methodology for System Management of a Global Reserve Currency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardullo, Mario W.

2013-01-01

The global financial system appears to be heading for a major financial crisis. This crisis is being driven by a growing global debt. This crisis is not limited to nations that are heavily in debt such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy or Cyprus but to such others as the United States. While there has been a great deal of emphasis on…

Proposal for Creating a Pocket of Innovation and Adaptability Within a Bureaucratic Enterprise

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

Nichols, T. T.; Millet, C. B.

2001-07-02

A conceptual framework is developed that is based on a behavioral model for organizations that rely upon innovation and adaptability for their survival in the market place. The model supports the assertion that change efforts aimed at performance improvement need a systems approach because contributions to an organization's performance cross functional lines and are systemic in nature. The model implies four conclusions for a unit trying to effectuate change within a greater bureaucracy. First, the desired behaviors are currently neither evaluated nor rewarded enough by either the enterprise or the local unit. Second, the model has to be applied tomore » the local unit, treating the unit as a distinct enterprise itself. Third, a misalignment between the unit's new form and that of the rest of the enterprise will invariably be created. Fourth, this misalignment has to be minimized enough by the local unit to avoid the larger enterprise from responding negatively to the change effort. The mode l results in a change approach that constrains localized behavior modification by the need to remain aligned with the overall structure of the complete enterprise. The conceptual framework is used to develop a proposal for effectuating behavioral change within the High-Level Waste (HLW) Program at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). A ''strawman'' involving a set of critical systems, performance and evaluation measures, and tactics is presented as a starting point for further discussion and development within the Program organization.« less

Proposal for Creating a Pocket of Innovation & Adaptability within a Bureaucratic Enterprise

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

Nichols, Todd Travis; Millet, C. D.

2001-07-01

A conceptual framework is developed that is based on a behavioral model for organizations that rely upon innovation and adaptability for their survival in the market place. The model supports the assertion that change efforts aimed at performance improvement need a systems approach because contributions to an organization's performance cross functional lines and are systemic in nature. The model implies four conclusions for a unit trying to effectuate change within a greater bureaucracy. First, the desired behaviors are currently neither evaluated nor rewarded enough by either the enterprise or the local unit. Second, the model has to be applied tomore » the local unit, treating the unit as a distinct enterprise itself. Third, a misalignment between the unit's new form and that of the rest of the enterprise will invariably be created. Fourth, this misalignment has to be minimized enough by the local unit to avoid the larger enterprise from responding negatively to the change effort. The model results in a change approach that constrains localized behavior modification by the need to remain aligned with the overall structure of the complete enterprise. The conceptual framework is used to develop a proposal for effectuating behavioral change within the High-Level Waste (HLW) Program at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). A "strawman" involving a set of critical systems, performance and evaluation measures, and tactics is presented as a starting point for further discussion and development within the Program organization.« less

Private sector response to improving oral health care access.

PubMed

Robinson, Lindsey A

2009-07-01

Despite vast improvements in the oral health status of the United States population over the past 50 years, disparities in oral health status continue, with certain segments of the population carrying a disproportionate disease burden. This article attempts to describe the problem, discuss various frameworks for action, illustrate some solutions developed by the private sector, and present a vision for collaborative action to improve the health of the nation. No one sector of the health care system can resolve the problem. The private sector, the public sector, and the not-for-profit community must collaborate to improve the oral health of the nation.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Petroleum systems and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in the Denver Basin Province, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming - USGS Province 39

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.

2007-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The USGS recently completed an assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Denver Basin Province (USGS Province 39), Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Petroleum is produced in the province from sandstone, shale, and limestone reservoirs that range from Pennsylvanian to Upper Cretaceous in age. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define seven total petroleum systems and twelve assessment units. Nine of these assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources. Gas was not assessed for two coal bed methane assessment units due to lack of information and limited potential; oil resources were not assessed for the Fractured Pierre Shale Assessment Unit due to its mature development status.

Teen health: working for a common agenda.

PubMed

Urgel, R

1995-01-01

Adolescents' health and psychosocial needs have been neglected for too long. The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) therefore invited experts and other individuals from various countries to attend a study group meeting in Valais, Switzerland, from November 28 to December 5, 1995, on programming for adolescent health. The meeting was organized and held with the goal of developing a strategic framework and a common agenda to aid in the development of adolescent health policies and programs which will stimulate government action at the national level. The main organizer of the meeting, the WHO, presented a discussion paper on current adolescent health issues which stressed the need to invest in young people. Participants shared their perceptions on adolescent health issues, programs which seek to address the issues, and factors which serve as catalysts for the establishment of national programs on adolescent health. The participation of young people in the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs was recognized as important for the success of any program. The participants agreed that the health problems of adolescents cannot be separated from the underlying social conditions which affect their behaviors and health status.

Perspectives on Violence Against Women: A Study of United States Nursing Textbooks.

PubMed

Price-Glynn, Kim; Missari, Stacy

2017-03-01

This study examines conceptualizations of violence against women in U.S. nursing textbooks published from 1995 to 2005. Framing this pivotal decade, the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed and renewed. The American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing also recognized violence against women as a health care priority. Sampling 107 generalist nursing textbooks from 1995 to 2005, the current study analyzes textbook terminologies, arguments, and protocols. Textbooks including violence were empirically tested for their application of gender neutral, symmetrical, and asymmetrical theoretical frameworks. Over 40% of generalist textbooks did not mention violence against women. Despite the VAWA in 1994 and broad recognition across national nursing organizations, textbooks did not change with regard to their treatment of violence over the next decade. The frameworks that nursing textbooks use may foster challenges for nurses in recognizing, supporting, and assisting women who are victims/survivors of violence. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(3):164-169.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

Ecoregions of Arizona (poster)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Griffith, Glenn E.; Omernik, James M.; Johnson, Colleen Burch; Turner, Dale S.

2014-01-01

Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources; they are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. By recognizing the spatial differences in the capacities and potentials of ecosystems, ecoregions stratify the environment by its probable response to disturbance. These general purpose regions are critical for structuring and implementing ecosystem management strategies across federal agencies, state agencies, and nongovernment organizations that are responsible for different types of resources within the same geographical areas. The Arizona ecoregion map was compiled at a scale of 1:250,000. It revises and subdivides an earlier national ecoregion map that was originally compiled at a smaller scale. The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity. These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 50 regions. At level III, the continental United States contains 105 ecoregions and the conterminous United States has 85 ecoregions. Level IV is a further subdivision of level III ecoregions. Arizona contains arid deserts and canyonlands, semiarid shrub- and grass-covered plains, woodland- and shrubland-covered hills, lava fields and volcanic plateaus, forested mountains, glaciated peaks, and river alluvial floodplains. Ecological diversity is remarkably high. There are 7 level III ecoregions and 52 level IV ecoregions in Arizona and many continue into ecologically similar parts of adjacent states. This poster is part of a collaborative project primarily between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), USEPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (Corvallis, Oregon), USEPA Region IX, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), The Nature Conservancy, and several Arizona state agencies. The project is associated with an interagency effort to develop a common national framework of ecological regions. Reaching that objective requires recognition of the differences in the conceptual approaches and mapping methodologies applied to develop the most common ecoregion-type frameworks, including those developed by the USDA–Forest Service, the USEPA, and the NRCS. As each of these frameworks is further refined, their differences are becoming less discernible. Collaborative ecoregion projects, such as this one in Arizona, are a step toward attaining consensus and consistency in ecoregion frameworks for the entire nation.

Development of a framework to improve the utilisation of malaria research for policy development in Malawi.

PubMed

Mwendera, Chikondi; de Jager, Christiaan; Longwe, Herbert; Hongoro, Charles; Phiri, Kamija; Mutero, Clifford M

2017-11-21

The existing gap between research evidence and public health practice has attributed to the unmet Millennium Development Goals in Africa and consequently, has stimulated the development of frameworks to enhance knowledge translation. These efforts aim at maximising health research utilisation in policy and practice to address the world's disease burdens, including malaria. This study aimed at developing a contextual framework to improve the utilisation of malaria research for policy development in Malawi. The study used two approaches including: two case studies of policy analysis exploring the policy-making process in Malawi, utilisation of local malaria research, and the role of key stakeholders in policy formulation process; and the assessment of facilitating factors and barriers to malaria research utilisation for policy-making in Malawi. From the case studies' lessons and elements identified during the assessment of facilitating factors and barriers, a framework is developed to promote an integrated approach to knowledge translation. In this framework the Ministry of Health is considered as the main user of knowledge from research through the demand created by the research directorate and the National Malaria Control Programme. Key documents identified as being particularly relevant to the Ministry of Health for purposes of knowledge translation include the National Health Research Agenda, Guidelines for Policy Development and Analysis, and Guidelines for Evidence Use in Policy-making. Institutions conducting academic and policy-relevant malaria research in Malawi are identified and a consolidation of their linkages with the users of research is established through the Knowledge Translation Unit, the Evidence Informed decision-making Centre, and the African Institute for Development Policy. Equally, key players in this framework are the funding partners for both research and programmes that need to see accountability and impact of their support. Independent advisors, partners, and consultants also have their vital role in the process. The framework offers a practical basis for the factors identified and their linkages to promote a co-ordinated approach to malaria research utilisation in policy-making. Its applicability and success hinges on its wider dissemination and ownership by the government through the National Malaria Control Programme.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Bighorn Basin, Wyoming and Montana: Chapter A in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Covault, Jacob A.; Buursink, Mark L.; Craddock, William H.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Gosai, Mayur A.; Freeman, P.A.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2012-01-01

This report identifies and contains geologic descriptions of twelve storage assessment units (SAUs) in six separate packages of sedimentary rocks within the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming and Montana and focuses on the particular characteristics, specified in the methodology, that influence the potential CO2 storage resource in those SAUs. Specific descriptions of the SAU boundaries as well as their sealing and reservoir units are included. Properties for each SAU such as depth to top, gross thickness, net porous thickness, porosity, permeability, groundwater quality, and structural reservoir traps are provided to illustrate geologic factors critical to the assessment. Although assessment results are not contained in this report, the geologic information included here will be employed, as specified in the methodology of earlier work, to calculate a statistical Monte Carlo-based distribution of potential storage space in the various SAUs. Figures in this report show SAU boundaries and cell maps of well penetrations through the sealing unit into the top of the storage formation. Wells sharing the same well borehole are treated as a single penetration. Cell maps show the number of penetrating wells within one square mile and are derived from interpretations of incompletely attributed well data, a digital compilation that is known not to include all drilling. The USGS does not expect to know the location of all wells and cannot guarantee the amount of drilling through specific formations in any given cell shown on cell maps.

Conceptual Elements: A Detailed Framework to Support and Assess Student Learning of Biology Core Concepts

PubMed Central

Cary, Tawnya; Branchaw, Janet

2017-01-01

The Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: Call to Action report has inspired and supported a nationwide movement to restructure undergraduate biology curricula to address overarching disciplinary concepts and competencies. The report outlines the concepts and competencies generally but does not provide a detailed framework to guide the development of the learning outcomes, instructional materials, and assessment instruments needed to create a reformed biology curriculum. In this essay, we present a detailed Vision and Change core concept framework that articulates key components that transcend subdisciplines and scales for each overarching biological concept, the Conceptual Elements (CE) Framework. The CE Framework was developed using a grassroots approach of iterative revision and incorporates feedback from more than 60 biologists and undergraduate biology educators from across the United States. The final validation step resulted in strong national consensus, with greater than 92% of responders agreeing that each core concept list was ready for use by the biological sciences community, as determined by scientific accuracy and completeness. In addition, we describe in detail how educators and departments can use the CE Framework to guide and document reformation of individual courses as well as entire curricula. PMID:28450444

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Arkoma Basin, Kansas Basins, and Midcontinent Rift Basin study areas: Chapter F in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buursink, Marc L.; Craddock, William H.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, Phillip A.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.

2013-01-01

2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows that of previous USGS work. This methodology is non-economic and intended to be used at regional to subbasinal scales. This report identifies and contains geologic descriptions of three storage assessment units (SAUs) in Upper Cambrian to Mississippian sedimentary rocks within the Arkoma Basin study area, and two SAUs in Upper Cambrian to Mississippian sedimentary rocks within the Kansas Basins study area. The Arkoma Basin and Kansas Basins are adjacent with very similar geologic units; although the Kansas Basins area is larger, the Arkoma Basin is more structurally complex. The report focuses on the characteristics, specified in the methodology, that influence the potential CO2 storage resource in the SAUs. Specific descriptions of the SAU boundaries as well as their sealing and reservoir units are included. Properties for each SAU, such as depth to top, gross thickness, porosity, permeability, groundwater quality, and structural reservoir traps, are usually provided to illustrate geologic factors critical to the assessment. Although assessment results are not contained in this report, the geologic information herein was employed, as specified in the USGS methodology, to calculate a probabilistic distribution of potential storage resources in each SAU. The Midcontinent Rift Basin study area was not assessed, because no suitable storage formations meeting our size, depth, reservoir quality, and regional seal guidelines were found. Figures in this report show study area boundaries along with the SAU boundaries and cell maps of well penetrations through sealing units into the top of the storage formations. The cell maps show the number of penetrating wells within one-square mile and are derived from interpretations of incompletely attributed well data and from a digital compilation that is known not to include all drilling. The USGS does not expect to know the location of all wells and cannot guarantee the amount of drilling through specific formations in any given cell shown on the cell maps.

Camx Ozone Source Attribution in the Eastern United States Using Guidance from Observations During DISCOVER-AQ Maryland

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldberg, Daniel L.; Vinciguerra, Timothy P.; Anderson, Daniel C.; Hembeck, Linda; Canty, Timothy P.; Ehrman, Sheryl H.; Martins, Douglas K.; Stauffer, Ryan M.; Thompson, Anne M.; Salawitch, Ross J.;

Perceiving political polarization in the United States: party identity strength and attitude extremity exacerbate the perceived partisan divide.

PubMed

Westfall, Jacob; Van Boven, Leaf; Chambers, John R; Judd, Charles M

2015-03-01

An important component of political polarization in the United States is the degree to which ordinary people perceive political polarization. We used over 30 years of national survey data from the American National Election Study to examine how the public perceives political polarization between the Democratic and Republican parties and between Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. People in the United States consistently overestimate polarization between the attitudes of Democrats and Republicans. People who perceive the greatest political polarization are most likely to report having been politically active, including voting, trying to sway others' political beliefs, and making campaign contributions. We present a 3-factor framework to understand ordinary people's perceptions of political polarization. We suggest that people perceive greater political polarization when they (a) estimate the attitudes of those categorized as being in the "opposing group"; (b) identify strongly as either Democrat or Republican; and (c) hold relatively extreme partisan attitudes-particularly when those partisan attitudes align with their own partisan political identity. These patterns of polarization perception occur among both Democrats and Republicans. © The Author(s) 2015.

Advancing US GHG Inventory by Incorporating Survey Data using Machine-Learning Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alsaker, C.; Ogle, S. M.; Breidt, J.

2017-12-01

Crop management data are used in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory that is compiled annually and reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Emissions for carbon stock change and N2O emissions for US agricultural soils are estimated using the USDA National Resources Inventory (NRI). NRI provides basic information on land use and cropping histories, but it does not provide much detail on other management practices. In contrast, the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) survey collects detailed crop management data that could be used in the GHG Inventory. The survey data were collected from NRI survey locations that are a subset of the NRI every 10 years. Therefore, imputation of the CEAP are needed to represent the management practices across all NRI survey locations both spatially and temporally. Predictive mean matching and an artificial neural network methods have been applied to develop imputation model under a multiple imputation framework. Temporal imputation involves adjusting the imputation model using state-level USDA Agricultural Resource Management Survey data. Distributional and predictive accuracy is assessed for the imputed data, providing not only management data needed for the inventory but also rigorous estimates of uncertainty.

Delineating managed land for reporting national greenhouse gas emissions and removals to the United Nations framework convention on climate change.

PubMed

Ogle, Stephen M; Domke, Grant; Kurz, Werner A; Rocha, Marcelo T; Huffman, Ted; Swan, Amy; Smith, James E; Woodall, Christopher; Krug, Thelma

2018-05-29

Land use and management activities have a substantial impact on carbon stocks and associated greenhouse gas emissions and removals. However, it is challenging to discriminate between anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic sources and sinks from land. To address this problem, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change developed a managed land proxy to determine which lands are contributing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and removals. Governments report all emissions and removals from managed land to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change based on this proxy, and policy interventions to reduce emissions from land use are expected to focus on managed lands. Our objective was to review the use of the managed land proxy, and summarize the criteria that governments have applied to classify land as managed and unmanaged. We found that the large majority of governments are not reporting on their application of the managed land proxy. Among the governments that do provide information, most have assigned all area in specific land uses as managed, while designating all remaining lands as unmanaged. This designation as managed land is intuitive for croplands and settlements, which would not exist without management interventions, but a portion of forest land, grassland, and wetlands may not be managed in a country. Consequently, Brazil, Canada and the United States have taken the concept further and delineated managed and unmanaged forest land, grassland and wetlands, using additional criteria such as functional use of the land and accessibility of the land to anthropogenic activity. The managed land proxy is imperfect because reported emissions from any area can include non-anthropogenic sources, such as natural disturbances. However, the managed land proxy does make reporting of GHG emissions and removals from land use more tractable and comparable by excluding fluxes from areas that are not directly influenced by anthropogenic activity. Moreover, application of the managed land proxy can be improved by incorporating additional criteria that allow for further discrimination between managed and unmanaged land.

50 CFR 86.100 - What is the National Framework?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... (BIG) PROGRAM Service Completion of the National Framework § 86.100 What is the National Framework? The... your State. Through a State survey, you must conduct a boating access needs assessment or data...

50 CFR 86.100 - What is the National Framework?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... (BIG) PROGRAM Service Completion of the National Framework § 86.100 What is the National Framework? The... your State. Through a State survey, you must conduct a boating access needs assessment or data...

A High Performance Computing Approach to Tree Cover Delineation in 1-m NAIP Imagery Using a Probabilistic Learning Framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basu, Saikat; Ganguly, Sangram; Michaelis, Andrew; Votava, Petr; Roy, Anshuman; Mukhopadhyay, Supratik; Nemani, Ramakrishna

2015-01-01

Tree cover delineation is a useful instrument in deriving Above Ground Biomass (AGB) density estimates from Very High Resolution (VHR) airborne imagery data. Numerous algorithms have been designed to address this problem, but most of them do not scale to these datasets, which are of the order of terabytes. In this paper, we present a semi-automated probabilistic framework for the segmentation and classification of 1-m National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) for tree-cover delineation for the whole of Continental United States, using a High Performance Computing Architecture. Classification is performed using a multi-layer Feedforward Backpropagation Neural Network and segmentation is performed using a Statistical Region Merging algorithm. The results from the classification and segmentation algorithms are then consolidated into a structured prediction framework using a discriminative undirected probabilistic graphical model based on Conditional Random Field, which helps in capturing the higher order contextual dependencies between neighboring pixels. Once the final probability maps are generated, the framework is updated and re-trained by relabeling misclassified image patches. This leads to a significant improvement in the true positive rates and reduction in false positive rates. The tree cover maps were generated for the whole state of California, spanning a total of 11,095 NAIP tiles covering a total geographical area of 163,696 sq. miles. The framework produced true positive rates of around 88% for fragmented forests and 74% for urban tree cover areas, with false positive rates lower than 2% for both landscapes. Comparative studies with the National Land Cover Data (NLCD) algorithm and the LiDAR canopy height model (CHM) showed the effectiveness of our framework for generating accurate high-resolution tree-cover maps.

A High Performance Computing Approach to Tree Cover Delineation in 1-m NAIP Imagery using a Probabilistic Learning Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, S.; Ganguly, S.; Michaelis, A.; Votava, P.; Roy, A.; Mukhopadhyay, S.; Nemani, R. R.

2015-12-01

Tree cover delineation is a useful instrument in deriving Above Ground Biomass (AGB) density estimates from Very High Resolution (VHR) airborne imagery data. Numerous algorithms have been designed to address this problem, but most of them do not scale to these datasets which are of the order of terabytes. In this paper, we present a semi-automated probabilistic framework for the segmentation and classification of 1-m National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) for tree-cover delineation for the whole of Continental United States, using a High Performance Computing Architecture. Classification is performed using a multi-layer Feedforward Backpropagation Neural Network and segmentation is performed using a Statistical Region Merging algorithm. The results from the classification and segmentation algorithms are then consolidated into a structured prediction framework using a discriminative undirected probabilistic graphical model based on Conditional Random Field, which helps in capturing the higher order contextual dependencies between neighboring pixels. Once the final probability maps are generated, the framework is updated and re-trained by relabeling misclassified image patches. This leads to a significant improvement in the true positive rates and reduction in false positive rates. The tree cover maps were generated for the whole state of California, spanning a total of 11,095 NAIP tiles covering a total geographical area of 163,696 sq. miles. The framework produced true positive rates of around 88% for fragmented forests and 74% for urban tree cover areas, with false positive rates lower than 2% for both landscapes. Comparative studies with the National Land Cover Data (NLCD) algorithm and the LiDAR canopy height model (CHM) showed the effectiveness of our framework for generating accurate high-resolution tree-cover maps.

End of FY10 report - used fuel disposition technical bases and lessons learned : legal and regulatory framework for high-level waste disposition in the United States.

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

Weiner, Ruth F.; Blink, James A.; Rechard, Robert Paul

This report examines the current policy, legal, and regulatory framework pertaining to used nuclear fuel and high level waste management in the United States. The goal is to identify potential changes that if made could add flexibility and possibly improve the chances of successfully implementing technical aspects of a nuclear waste policy. Experience suggests that the regulatory framework should be established prior to initiating future repository development. Concerning specifics of the regulatory framework, reasonable expectation as the standard of proof was successfully implemented and could be retained in the future; yet, the current classification system for radioactive waste, including hazardousmore » constituents, warrants reexamination. Whether or not consideration of multiple sites are considered simultaneously in the future, inclusion of mechanisms such as deliberate use of performance assessment to manage site characterization would be wise. Because of experience gained here and abroad, diversity of geologic media is not particularly necessary as a criterion in site selection guidelines for multiple sites. Stepwise development of the repository program that includes flexibility also warrants serious consideration. Furthermore, integration of the waste management system from storage, transportation, and disposition, should be examined and would be facilitated by integration of the legal and regulatory framework. Finally, in order to enhance acceptability of future repository development, the national policy should be cognizant of those policy and technical attributes that enhance initial acceptance, and those policy and technical attributes that maintain and broaden credibility.« less

The need for a regional framework for marine scientific research in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea.

PubMed

Oral, Nilufer

2014-10-01

One of the important contributions of the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) is Part XIII on Marine Scientific Research (MSR). UNCLOS recognizes the general rule that all states have the right to conduct MSR subject to rights and duties of other states under the convention and in addition, the obligation to promote and facilitate MSR. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Security Sector Reform in Liberia: Progress and Challenges Ahead of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) Drawdown

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-09

were processed. This program was designed to target a wide variety of combatants, with special emphasis placed on child soldiers. With these...Brzoska, SSR has its origin in the development of donor debate, where there has been ongoing discussion among different groups of theoreticians on how...human rights, humanitarian relief, and electoral reform. This document describes the framework on how post -war Liberia should implement the peace

PTSD Trajectory, Co-morbidity, and Utilization of Mental Health Services Among National Guard Soldiers

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

full-time 2 Working part-time 3 Looking for work or unemployed 4 Retired 5 A homemaker 6 A student 7 On maternity or paternity leave 8 On illness...AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Robert J. Ursano, M.D. 5e. TASK NUMBER Email: rursano@usuhs.mil 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER...causal framework taking into account life course experiences together with combat history, other military experience and civilian traumatic event

Hague climate talks collapse, new round called for next year

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

When it comes to global greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. slice of the pie amounts to roughly one-fourth.For one moment on November 22, though, the U.S. chief negotiator to the Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP 6) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change wore the entire (custard) pie on his face and suit coat, courtesy of a protester pushing for stronger U.S. support to cut industrial emissions.

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: U.S. Gulf Coast: Chapter H in Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts-Ashby, Tina L.; Brennan, Sean T.; Buursink, Marc L.; Covault, Jacob A.; Craddock, William H.; Drake II, Ronald M.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Slucher, Ernie R.; Warwick, Peter D.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Gosai, Mayur A.; Freeman, P.A.; Cahan, Steven M.; DeVera, Christina A.; Lohr, Celeste D.; Warwick, Peter D.; Corum, Margo D.

2014-01-01

This report presents 27 storage assessment units (SAUs) within the United States (U.S.) Gulf Coast. The U.S. Gulf Coast contains a regionally extensive, thick succession of clastics, carbonates, salts, and other evaporites that were deposited in a highly cyclic depositional environment that was subjected to a fluctuating siliciclastic sediment supply and transgressive and regressive sea levels. At least nine major depositional packages contain porous strata that are potentially suitable for geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration within the region. For each SAU identified within these packages, the areal distribution of porous rock that is suitable for geologic CO2 sequestration is discussed, along with a description of the geologic characteristics that influence the potential CO2 storage volume and reservoir performance. These characteristics include reservoir depth, gross thickness, net-porous thickness, porosity, permeability, and groundwater salinity. Additionally, a characterization of the overlying regional seal for each SAU is presented. On a case-by-case basis, strategies for estimating the pore volume existing within structurally and (or) stratigraphically closed traps are also presented. Geologic information presented in this report has been employed to calculate potential storage capacities for CO2 sequestration in the SAUs that are assessed herein, although complete assessment results are not contained in this report.

Ethics in American health 1: ethical approaches to health policy.

PubMed

Ruger, Jennifer Prah

2008-10-01

I trace the evolution of ethical approaches to health policy in the United States and examine a number of critical unresolved issues pertaining to the current set of frameworks. Several themes emerge. First, fair procedures claim more attention than substantive and procedural principles. Second, in the case of public deliberation, more focus has been placed on factors such as procedural mechanisms than on understanding how individuals and groups value different aspects of health and agree on health-related decisions. Third, the nation needs workable frameworks to guide collective choices about valuable social ends and their trade-offs; purely procedural strategies are limited in illuminating overarching health policy and ethics questions. There is a need to integrate consequential and procedural approaches to health ethics and policy.

NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF HEALTH KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION INITIATIVES IN UGANDA.

PubMed

Basaza, Robert; Kinegyere, Alison; Mutatina, Boniface; Sewankambo, Nelson

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to provide evidence about the design and implementation of policies for advancing the sustainability of knowledge translation (KT) initiatives and policies in Uganda's health system. We searched for and reviewed evidence about KT sustainability issues in Uganda, the impacts of options, barriers to implementing these options, and implementation strategies to address such barriers. In instances where the systematic reviews provided limited evidence, these were supplemented with relevant primary studies. Documents such as the government reports and unpublished literature were also included in the search. Key informant interviews and a policy dialogue were conducted, and an expert working group guided the study. The KT sustainability issues identified were: the absence of a specific unit within the health sector to coordinate and synthesize research; health worker not familiar with KT activities and not often used. Furthermore, Uganda lacks a mechanism to sustain its current national health frameworks or platforms, and does not have a system to ensure the sustained coordination of existing national health KT platforms. The policy options proposed include: (i) the identification of a KT champion; (ii) the establishment of an operational KT framework; (iii) KT capacity building for researchers and research users, as well as policy and decision makers. The sustainability of KT will be influenced by the prevailing context and concerns within healthcare both in Uganda and internationally. Furthermore, the availability of resources for KT advocacy, communication, and program design will impact on the sustainability of Uganda's KT activities.

Geologic Setting and Hydrogeologic Units of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kahle, Sue C.; Olsen, Theresa D.; Morgan, David S.

2009-01-01

The Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System (CPRAS) covers approximately 44,000 square miles of northeastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and western Idaho. The area supports a $6 billion per year agricultural industry, leading the Nation in production of apples and nine other commodities (State of Washington Office of Financial Management, 2007; U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2007). Groundwater availability in the aquifers of the area is a critical water-resource management issue because the water demand for agriculture, economic development, and ecological needs is high. The primary aquifers of the CPRAS are basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) and overlying basin-fill sediments. Water-resources issues that have implications for future groundwater availability in the region include (1) widespread water-level declines associated with development of groundwater resources for irrigation and other uses, (2) reduction in base flow to rivers and associated effects on temperature and water quality, and (3) current and anticipated effects of global climate change on recharge, base flow, and ultimately, groundwater availability. As part of a National Groundwater Resources Program, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study of the CPRAS in 2007 with the broad goals of (1) characterizing the hydrologic status of the system, (2) identifying trends in groundwater storage and use, and (3) quantifying groundwater availability. The study approach includes documenting changes in the status of the system, quantifying the hydrologic budget for the system, updating the regional hydrogeologic framework, and developing a groundwater-flow simulation model for the system. The simulation model will be used to evaluate and test the conceptual model of the system and later to evaluate groundwater availability under alternative development and climate scenarios. The objectives of this study were to update the hydrogeologic framework for the CPRAS using the available geologic mapping and well information and to develop a digital, three-dimensional hydrogeologic model that could be used as the basis of a groundwater-flow model. This report describes the principal geologic and hydrogeologic units of the CPRAS and geologic map and well data that were compiled as part of the study. The report also describes simplified regional hydrogeologic sections and unit extent maps that were used to conceptualize the framework prior to development of the digital 3-dimensional framework model.

75 FR 18355 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 44

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-09

... Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 44; Final... [Docket No. 0910051338-0151-02] RIN 0648-AY29 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast... implements measures approved under Framework Adjustment 44 (FW 44) to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery...

Weaponisation of Space - Some Legal Considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jolly, C.

2002-01-01

This paper will examine a current national initiative from the United States of America to achieve greater national security through the `weaponisation' of extra-atmospheric space. We will propose a synthesis of the current international legal framework pertaining to military activities in space. Based on the analysis of the legal regime and on some current national and regional political initiatives, we will make some practical recommendations to prevent an arms race in space. Civil remote sensing, telecommunications, and launchers launch vehicle technologies have all benefited from a military heritage. They are dual use technologies, in other words, technologies that have both military and civilian applications. In fact, space has always been militarised, ever since the first satellites were put in orbit for reconnaissance missions. But recently, some national policies and technological advances are making the militarisation of space less `discrete'. Military assets from different countries are already stationed in orbit (e.g. reconnaissance and navigation satellites), but they might soon be joined by new `space weapons' with lethal strike capabilities. Currently, in the United States, military and civilian space activities are being closely intertwined. A typical example is the call of the NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, a former Secretary of the Navy, for closer cooperation on research and development between NASA and the Department of Defense. Concerning plans to station weapons in space, the American Air Force Space Command issued, in February 2000, its `Strategic Master Plan for FY02 and Beyond'. It states that the United States "...future Air Force Space Command capabilities will enable a fully integrated Aerospace Force to rapidly engage military forces worldwide. [...] Full spectrum dominance in the space medium will be achieved through total space situational awareness, protection of friendly space assets, prevention of unauthorized use of those assets, negation of adversarial use of space and a fully-capable National Missile Defense (NMD). [American] ICBMs will continue to provide a credible strategic deterrence, while advanced, conventional weapons operating in or through space will provide our National Command Authorities (NCA) with formidable and flexible options for prompt, global, conventional strike." As we will see in this paper, the current international legal framework restricting the stationing and use of weapons in space is composed mainly of three treaties. They are: the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (1972), called commonly the `ABM treaty', the `Outer Space Treaty' (1967) and the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water (1963). We will also see that - contrary to public opinion - those current legal instruments, even coupled with other international legal texts, do not prohibit the `weaponisation' of space. For instance, The Article Four of the Outer Space Treaty is often cited as the main legal argument against militarisation of space. This article does indeed prohibit the installation or stationing of "any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction", "in orbit around the Earth", "on celestial bodies", "in outer space" and "in any other manner". But, aside from the weapons identified (nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction), nothing prohibits a government signatory to the Outer Space Treaty, to actually station other types of weapons in space, such as laser-based systems. In this paper, the current situation of potential `weaponisation' of space, the international impacts of such a policy and the gaps of the international legal framework concerning the militarisation of space, will prompt some comments and practical recommendations.

Conceptual model of the Great Basin carbonate and alluvial aquifer system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heilweil, Victor M.; Brooks, Lynette E.

2011-01-01

A conceptual model of the Great Basin carbonate and alluvial aquifer system (GBCAAS) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for a regional assessment of groundwater availability as part of a national water census. The study area is an expansion of a previous USGS Regional Aquifer Systems Analysis (RASA) study conducted during the 1980s and 1990s of the carbonate-rock province of the Great Basin. The geographic extent of the study area is 110,000 mi2, predominantly in eastern Nevada and western Utah, and includes 165 hydrographic areas (HAs) and 17 regional groundwater flow systems.A three-dimensional hydrogeologic framework was constructed that defines the physical geometry and rock types through which groundwater moves. The diverse sedimentary units of the GBCAAS study area are grouped into hydrogeologic units (HGUs) that are inferred to have reasonably distinct hydrologic properties due to their physical characteristics. These HGUs are commonly disrupted by large-magnitude offset thrust, strike-slip, and normal faults, and locally affected by caldera formation. The most permeable aquifer materials within the study area include Cenozoic unconsolidated sediments and volcanic rocks, along with Mesozoic and Paleozoic carbonate rocks. The framework was built by extracting and combining information from digital elevation models, geologic maps, cross sections, drill hole logs, existing hydrogeologic frameworks, and geophysical data.

Observing the work of the Clinical Nurse Specialist: a pilot study.

PubMed

Darmody, Julie V

2005-01-01

The Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) is an advanced practice nurse (APN) with graduate preparation as a clinical expert within a specialty area of nursing practice. There is a need for information about the work of the CNS in order to link CNS activities to outcomes and costs of care. To describe the work of the CNS in the acute care setting using the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) model as an organizing framework. Descriptive pilot study of the work of the CNS in acute care. A 500-bed academic medical center located in the Midwestern United States. Five masters-prepared APNs in a unit-based CNS role. Direct observation and time study were used to record activities and time for 4 hours with each CNS (n = 5) for a total of 20 hours of observation. CNS activity and time within each practice domain included patient/client (30%), nursing (44%), organization/system (10%), and other activities (16%). Specific activities observed were linked to possible outcomes in the NACNS framework. The NACNS model provided a useful framework for developing a data collection tool that can be used in a larger study that analyzes the work of the acute care CNS. Describing the work of the CNS is an important preliminary step to measuring outcomes and costs of care.

How misapplication of the hydrologic unit framework diminishes the meaning of watersheds

USGS Publications Warehouse

Omernik, James M.; Griffith, Glenn E.; Hughes, Robert M.; Glover, James B.; Weber, Marc H.

2017-01-01

Hydrologic units provide a convenient but problematic nationwide set of geographic polygons based on subjectively determined subdivisions of land surface areas at several hierarchical levels. The problem is that it is impossible to map watersheds, basins, or catchments of relatively equal size and cover the whole country. The hydrologic unit framework is in fact composed mostly of watersheds and pieces of watersheds. The pieces include units that drain to segments of streams, remnant areas, noncontributing areas, and coastal or frontal units that can include multiple watersheds draining to an ocean or large lake. Hence, half or more of the hydrologic units are not watersheds as the name of the framework “Watershed Boundary Dataset” implies. Nonetheless, hydrologic units and watersheds are commonly treated as synonymous, and this misapplication and misunderstanding can have some serious scientific and management consequences. We discuss some of the strengths and limitations of watersheds and hydrologic units as spatial frameworks. Using examples from the Northwest and Southeast United States, we explain how the misapplication of the hydrologic unit framework has altered the meaning of watersheds and can impair understanding associations between spatial geographic characteristics and surface water conditions.

Elevation-derived watershed basins and characteristics for major rivers of the conterminous United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poppenga, S.K.; Worstell, B.B.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Center Topographic Science Project has developed elevation-derived watershed basins and characteristics for major rivers of the conterminous United States. Watershed basins are delineated upstream from the mouth of major rivers by using the hydrologic connectivity of the Elevation Derivatives for National Applications (EDNA) seamless database. Watershed characteristics are quantified by integrating ancillary geospatial datasets, including land cover, population, slope, and topography, with elevation-derived watershed boundaries. The results are published in an online EDNA Watershed Atlas at http://edna.usgs.gov/watersheds. The atlas serves as a framework for evaluating and analyzing the physical, biological, and anthropogenic status of watersheds.

The factors affecting the institutionalisation of two policy units in Burkina Faso's health system: a case study.

PubMed

Zida, Andre; Lavis, John N; Sewankambo, Nelson K; Kouyate, Bocar; Moat, Kaelan

2017-07-17

This paper is one of three linked studies that attempts to understand the process of institutionalisation of policy units within Burkina Faso's health system. It examines the relationships between the existence of an institutional framework, data production capacity and other resource availability in the institutionalisation of policy units in health systems. It therefore contributes to our understanding of the dynamics linking the key drivers and indicators of institutionalisation. Additionally, it examines how factors within the managerial setting, including workplace environment, and budgetary and human resource availability, may influence the institutionalisation process. The study used an explanatory qualitative case study approach, examining two policy units in Burkina Faso's Ministry of Health, the first of which had been institutionalised successfully and the other less so. Data were collected from key policymakers, including 13 connected with the first policy unit and 10 with the second, plus two funders. We also conducted a documentary analysis of the National Program for Health Development, two mid-term strategic plans, 230 action plans, eight Ministry of Health state budgets, eight Ministry of Health annual statistics reports, 16 policy unit budgets and published literature. The framework within which the government gave the policy unit its mandate and policy focus had the strongest effect on the institutionalisation process. Institutionalisation depended on political will, in both the host government and any donors, and the priority given to the policy unit's focus. It was also affected by the leadership of the policy unit managers. These factors were influenced by human resource capacity, and our findings suggest that, for successful institutionalisation in Burkina Faso's health system, policy units need to be given sufficient human resources to achieve their objectives. Policy units' institutionalisation in Burkina Faso's health system depend on the leadership of the unit managers to implement relevant activities, mobilise funding, and recruit and maintain enough human resources, as well as the mandate given by the government.

Building the national health information infrastructure for personal health, health care services, public health, and research

PubMed Central

Detmer, Don E

2003-01-01

Background Improving health in our nation requires strengthening four major domains of the health care system: personal health management, health care delivery, public health, and health-related research. Many avoidable shortcomings in the health sector that result in poor quality are due to inaccessible data, information, and knowledge. A national health information infrastructure (NHII) offers the connectivity and knowledge management essential to correct these shortcomings. Better health and a better health system are within our reach. Discussion A national health information infrastructure for the United States should address the needs of personal health management, health care delivery, public health, and research. It should also address relevant global dimensions (e.g., standards for sharing data and knowledge across national boundaries). The public and private sectors will need to collaborate to build a robust national health information infrastructure, essentially a 'paperless' health care system, for the United States. The federal government should assume leadership for assuring a national health information infrastructure as recommended by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee. Progress is needed in the areas of funding, incentives, standards, and continued refinement of a privacy (i.e., confidentiality and security) framework to facilitate personal identification for health purposes. Particular attention should be paid to NHII leadership and change management challenges. Summary A national health information infrastructure is a necessary step for improved health in the U.S. It will require a concerted, collaborative effort by both public and private sectors. If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it. Lord Kelvin PMID:12525262

Can a theoretical framework help to embed alcohol screening and brief interventions in an endoscopy day-unit?

PubMed

O'Neill, G; Masson, S; Bewick, L; Doyle, J; McGovern, R; Stoker, E; Wright, H; Newbury-Birch, D

2016-01-01

The National Institute for Health Care and Excellence recommend that alcohol screening and brief intervention (ASBI) should be routinely implemented in secondary care. This study used theoretical frameworks to understand how health professionals can be supported to adapt their behaviour and clinical practice. Staff training and support was conducted using theoretical frameworks. A 12-week study, delivering ASBI was carried out as part of routine practice in an endoscopy day-unit. Anonymised patient data were collected using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tool (AUDIT) and whether patients received a brief intervention. Staff completed the Shortened Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perceptions Questionnaire at three time points and took part in a focus group both pre and post study. For staff, levels or role adequacy, role legitimacy, motivation to discuss alcohol, security in their role, job satisfaction and commitment to working with patients who drink increased during the time of the study. 1598 individual patients were seen in the department in the timeframe. Of these, 1180 patients were approached (74%); 18% (n=207) of patients were AUDIT positive. This study has shown that it is possible to reach a high number of patients in a busy hospital out-patient department and deliver ASBI by working with staff using theoretical frameworks for training. Embedding evidence-based public health interventions into routine clinical environments is complex. The social system in which professionals operate requires consideration alongside individual professionals' real and perceived barriers and facilitators to change.

A Framework for Credit. Framework Guidelines 2. Learning Outcomes, Units and Modules.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Further Education Development Agency, London (England).

This document refines and develops a 1992 proposal by Great Britain's Further Education Unit (FEU) that all kinds of student achievement be documented within a common framework involving the following procedures: describing adult learners' achievements in terms of learning outcomes; grouping the learning outcomes into coherent units; defining the…

Entropy, recycling and macroeconomics of water resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karakatsanis, Georgios; Mamassis, Nikos; Koutsoyiannis, Demetris

2014-05-01

We propose a macroeconomic model for water quantity and quality supply multipliers derived by water recycling (Karakatsanis et al. 2013). Macroeconomic models that incorporate natural resource conservation have become increasingly important (European Commission et al. 2012). In addition, as an estimated 80% of globally used freshwater is not reused (United Nations 2012), under increasing population trends, water recycling becomes a solution of high priority. Recycling of water resources creates two major conservation effects: (1) conservation of water in reservoirs and aquifers and (2) conservation of ecosystem carrying capacity due to wastewater flux reduction. Statistical distribution properties of the recycling efficiencies -on both water quantity and quality- for each sector are of vital economic importance. Uncertainty and complexity of water reuse in sectors are statistically quantified by entropy. High entropy of recycling efficiency values signifies greater efficiency dispersion; which -in turn- may indicate the need for additional infrastructure for the statistical distribution's both shifting and concentration towards higher efficiencies that lead to higher supply multipliers. Keywords: Entropy, water recycling, water supply multipliers, conservation, recycling efficiencies, macroeconomics References 1. European Commission (EC), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations (UN) and World Bank (2012), System of Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA) Central Framework (White cover publication), United Nations Statistics Division 2. Karakatsanis, G., N. Mamassis, D. Koutsoyiannis and A. Efstratiades (2013), Entropy and reliability of water use via a statistical approach of scarcity, 5th EGU Leonardo Conference - Hydrofractals 2013 - STAHY '13, Kos Island, Greece, European Geosciences Union, International Association of Hydrological Sciences, International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics 3. United Nations (UN) (2012), World Water Development Report 4, UNESCO Publishing

Evaluating Comprehensive State Tobacco Prevention and Control Programs Using an Outcome Indicator Framework.

PubMed

Fulmer, Erika; Rogers, Todd; Glasgow, LaShawn; Brown, Susan; Kuiper, Nicole

2018-03-01

The outcome indicator framework helps tobacco prevention and control programs (TCPs) plan and implement theory-driven evaluations of their efforts to reduce and prevent tobacco use. Tobacco use is the single-most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The implementation of public health best practices by comprehensive state TCPs has been shown to prevent the initiation of tobacco use, reduce tobacco use prevalence, and decrease tobacco-related health care expenditures. Achieving and sustaining program goals require TCPs to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of their programs. To guide evaluation efforts by TCPs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health developed an outcome indicator framework that includes a high-level logic model and evidence-based outcome indicators for each tobacco prevention and control goal area. In this article, we describe how TCPs and other community organizations can use the outcome indicator framework in their evaluation efforts. We also discuss how the framework is used at the national level to unify tobacco prevention and control efforts across varying state contexts, identify promising practices, and expand the public health evidence base.

In Brief: Kyoto Protocol moves forward

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2004-10-01

The Russian cabinet's 30 September endorsement of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) likely clears the way for the treaty's ratification by that country's parliament and for its entry into force. The protocol enters into force when not less than 55 Parties to the Convention, including industrialized countries (so called ``Annex I Parties'') which accounted in total for at least 55 % of the total carbon dioxide emissions for 1990 from that group, officially have agreed to the treaty.

A Framework for Synthesizing the United States Code in Support of Cyberspace Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

inter- title operations, it is unclear whether this de facto shift in the application of U.S.C. statutes is necessary. The U.S.C. has a limited number of...de facto shift in the application of U.S.C. statutes is necessary. The U.S.C. has a limited number of exclusionary distinctions de jure, which is...NATION STATE Though statecraft has progressed through numerous iterations over the course of human history, in the current post -colonial era, the

United Nations Human and Financial Resources for Peacekeeping in Africa

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-01

date of proclamation of the cease-fire and will finish when the results of the referendum are declared. As soon as the cease-fire is declared, MINURSO...regional organization, as envisaged in Chapter VII of the Charter." [Ref. 14] On 25 July 1993, a meeting was held in Cotonou (Benin) to establish a new...Abass Bundu (Executive Secretary of ECOWAS), and the leaders of the fighting factions. The Cotonou Agreement was formulated with a clear framework drawn

Reaching Unreached Learners in Mozambique: A Report to the Minister of Education on Learning Needs and Alternative Pathways to Learning in the Perspective of an Integrated Response to the Needs of a Rapidly Developing Society in a Complex World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klees, Steve; Matangala, Anisio; Spronk, Barbara; Visser, Jan

This report was prepared in the framework of Mozambique's concern to respond to the needs of large numbers of unreached learners and to attend, in an integrated fashion, to a growing diversity of learning needs. As step 1 of a three-phase process assisted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO's)…

Assessing dangerous climate change through an update of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) "reasons for concern".

PubMed

Smith, Joel B; Schneider, Stephen H; Oppenheimer, Michael; Yohe, Gary W; Hare, William; Mastrandrea, Michael D; Patwardhan, Anand; Burton, Ian; Corfee-Morlot, Jan; Magadza, Chris H D; Füssel, Hans-Martin; Pittock, A Barrie; Rahman, Atiq; Suarez, Avelino; van Ypersele, Jean-Pascal

2009-03-17

Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [United Nations (1992) http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf. Accessed February 9, 2009] commits signatory nations to stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that "would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference (DAI) with the climate system." In an effort to provide some insight into impacts of climate change that might be considered DAI, authors of the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified 5 "reasons for concern" (RFCs). Relationships between various impacts reflected in each RFC and increases in global mean temperature (GMT) were portrayed in what has come to be called the "burning embers diagram." In presenting the "embers" in the TAR, IPCC authors did not assess whether any single RFC was more important than any other; nor did they conclude what level of impacts or what atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases would constitute DAI, a value judgment that would be policy prescriptive. Here, we describe revisions of the sensitivities of the RFCs to increases in GMT and a more thorough understanding of the concept of vulnerability that has evolved over the past 8 years. This is based on our expert judgment about new findings in the growing literature since the publication of the TAR in 2001, including literature that was assessed in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), as well as additional research published since AR4. Compared with results reported in the TAR, smaller increases in GMT are now estimated to lead to significant or substantial consequences in the framework of the 5 "reasons for concern."

Water matters: An assessment of opinion on water management and community engagement in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Rolston, Alec; Jennings, Eleanor; Linnane, Suzanne

2017-01-01

Internationally, water management is moving from the traditional top-down approach to more integrated initiatives focussing on community-led action. With inadequacies in previous engagement initiatives undertaken through the first cycle of River Basin Management Planning for the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Republic of Ireland has only recently embraced this bottom-up approach. The attempted introduction of national charging for domestic water use in 2015 has resulted in significant public disquiet and protest movements against the national government. In April 2015 we undertook a survey of current opinion on water management and community engagement initiatives in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. A total of 520 survey responses identified that although freshwater bodies are important in peoples' lives, respondents were typically unaware of global initiatives such as Integrated Water Resources Management and Integrated Catchment Management. Overall, 81% of respondents did not feel included in decisions about their water environment despite an overwhelming 95% believing that local communities should have a say in how the water environment is managed. However, only 35.1% of respondents stated that they would be willing to attend local water management engagement initiatives. Rather than supporting individual gain, respondents identified social gains for the local community as avenues for increasing local involvement in water initiatives. In the Republic of Ireland, a water engagement initiative that implements the national framework local delivery model should be developed and implemented. This would 1) contribute to the second round of WFD River Basin Management Planning; 2) facilitate stronger connections between local communities and their water environment; and 3) foster bottom-up initiatives that empower communities regarding local water management issues.

Assessing dangerous climate change through an update of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “reasons for concern”

PubMed Central

Smith, Joel B.; Schneider, Stephen H.; Oppenheimer, Michael; Yohe, Gary W.; Hare, William; Mastrandrea, Michael D.; Patwardhan, Anand; Burton, Ian; Corfee-Morlot, Jan; Magadza, Chris H. D.; Füssel, Hans-Martin; Pittock, A. Barrie; Rahman, Atiq; Suarez, Avelino; van Ypersele, Jean-Pascal

2009-01-01

Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [United Nations (1992) http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf. Accessed February 9, 2009] commits signatory nations to stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that “would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference (DAI) with the climate system.” In an effort to provide some insight into impacts of climate change that might be considered DAI, authors of the Third Assessment Report (TAR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified 5 “reasons for concern” (RFCs). Relationships between various impacts reflected in each RFC and increases in global mean temperature (GMT) were portrayed in what has come to be called the “burning embers diagram.” In presenting the “embers” in the TAR, IPCC authors did not assess whether any single RFC was more important than any other; nor did they conclude what level of impacts or what atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases would constitute DAI, a value judgment that would be policy prescriptive. Here, we describe revisions of the sensitivities of the RFCs to increases in GMT and a more thorough understanding of the concept of vulnerability that has evolved over the past 8 years. This is based on our expert judgment about new findings in the growing literature since the publication of the TAR in 2001, including literature that was assessed in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), as well as additional research published since AR4. Compared with results reported in the TAR, smaller increases in GMT are now estimated to lead to significant or substantial consequences in the framework of the 5 “reasons for concern.” PMID:19251662

Water matters: An assessment of opinion on water management and community engagement in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom

PubMed Central

Jennings, Eleanor; Linnane, Suzanne

2017-01-01

Internationally, water management is moving from the traditional top-down approach to more integrated initiatives focussing on community-led action. With inadequacies in previous engagement initiatives undertaken through the first cycle of River Basin Management Planning for the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the Republic of Ireland has only recently embraced this bottom-up approach. The attempted introduction of national charging for domestic water use in 2015 has resulted in significant public disquiet and protest movements against the national government. In April 2015 we undertook a survey of current opinion on water management and community engagement initiatives in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. A total of 520 survey responses identified that although freshwater bodies are important in peoples’ lives, respondents were typically unaware of global initiatives such as Integrated Water Resources Management and Integrated Catchment Management. Overall, 81% of respondents did not feel included in decisions about their water environment despite an overwhelming 95% believing that local communities should have a say in how the water environment is managed. However, only 35.1% of respondents stated that they would be willing to attend local water management engagement initiatives. Rather than supporting individual gain, respondents identified social gains for the local community as avenues for increasing local involvement in water initiatives. In the Republic of Ireland, a water engagement initiative that implements the national framework local delivery model should be developed and implemented. This would 1) contribute to the second round of WFD River Basin Management Planning; 2) facilitate stronger connections between local communities and their water environment; and 3) foster bottom-up initiatives that empower communities regarding local water management issues. PMID:28369136

An approach for verifying biogenic greenhouse gas emissions inventories with atmospheric CO 2 concentration data

DOE PAGES

Ogle, Stephen; Davis, Kenneth J.; Lauvaux, Thomas; ...

2015-03-10

Verifying national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories is a critical step to ensure that reported emissions data to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are accurate and representative of a country’s contribution to GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. Verification could include a variety of evidence, but arguably the most convincing verification would be confirmation of a change in GHG concentrations in the atmosphere that is consistent with reported emissions to the UNFCCC. We report here on a case study evaluating this option based on a prototype atmospheric CO2 measurement network deployed in the Mid-Continent Region of themore » conterminous United States. We found that the atmospheric CO2 measurement data did verify the accuracy of the emissions inventory within the confidence limits of the emissions estimates, suggesting that this technology could be further developed and deployed more widely in the future for verifying reported emissions.« less

In Brief: Science academies' statement on climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2009-06-01

“It is essential that world leaders agree on emissions reductions needed to combat negative consequences of anthropogenic climate change,” national science academies from 13 countries declared in a joint statement issued on 11 June. The statement, issued by the academies of the G8 countries—including England, France, Russia, and the United States—and five other countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa), came in advance of a G8 meeting in Italy in July and prior to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations in Denmark in December. “The G8+5 should lead the transition to an energy-efficient and low-carbon world economy, and foster innovation and research and development for both mitigation and adaptation technologies,” the statement noted. The academies urged governments to agree at the UNFCCC negotiations to adopt a long-term global goal and short-term emissions reduction targets so that by 2050 global emissions would be reduced by about 50% from 1990 levels.

U.S. initiatives to strengthen forensic science & international standards in forensic DNA.

PubMed

Butler, John M

2015-09-01

A number of initiatives are underway in the United States in response to the 2009 critique of forensic science by a National Academy of Sciences committee. This article provides a broad review of activities including efforts of the White House National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Forensic Science and a partnership between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create the National Commission on Forensic Science and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees. These initiatives are seeking to improve policies and practices of forensic science. Efforts to fund research activities and aid technology transition and training in forensic science are also covered. The second portion of the article reviews standards in place or in development around the world for forensic DNA. Documentary standards are used to help define written procedures to perform testing. Physical standards serve as reference materials for calibration and traceability purposes when testing is performed. Both documentary and physical standards enable reliable data comparison, and standard data formats and common markers or testing regions are crucial for effective data sharing. Core DNA markers provide a common framework and currency for constructing DNA databases with compatible data. Recent developments in expanding core DNA markers in Europe and the United States are discussed. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

U.S. initiatives to strengthen forensic science & international standards in forensic DNA

PubMed Central

Butler, John M.

2015-01-01

A number of initiatives are underway in the United States in response to the 2009 critique of forensic science by a National Academy of Sciences committee. This article provides a broad review of activities including efforts of the White House National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Forensic Science and a partnership between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create the National Commission on Forensic Science and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees. These initiatives are seeking to improve policies and practices of forensic science. Efforts to fund research activities and aid technology transition and training in forensic science are also covered. The second portion of the article reviews standards in place or in development around the world for forensic DNA. Documentary standards are used to help define written procedures to perform testing. Physical standards serve as reference materials for calibration and traceability purposes when testing is performed. Both documentary and physical standards enable reliable data comparison, and standard data formats and common markers or testing regions are crucial for effective data sharing. Core DNA markers provide a common framework and currency for constructing DNA databases with compatible data. Recent developments in expanding core DNA markers in Europe and the United States are discussed. PMID:26164236

Toward a national, sustained U.S. ecosystem assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jackson, Stephen T.; Duke, Clifford S.; Hampton, Stephanie E.; Jacobs, Katharine L.; Joppa, Lucas N.; Kassam, Karim-Aly S. K.; Mooney, Harold A.; Ogden, Laura A.; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Shogren, Jason F.

2016-01-01

The massive investment of resources devoted to monitoring and assessment of economic and societal indicators in the United States is neither matched by nor linked to efforts to monitor and assess the ecosystem services and biodiversity that support economic and social well-being. Although national-scale assessments of biodiversity (1) and ecosystem indicators (2) have been undertaken, nearly a decade has elapsed since the last systematic assessment (2). A 2011 White House report called for a national biodiversity and ecosystem services assessment (3), but the initiative has stalled. Our aim here is to stimulate the process and outline a credible framework and pathway for an ongoing assessment of ecosystem functioning (see the photo). A national assessment should engage diverse stakeholders from multiple sectors of society and should focus on metrics and analyses of direct relevance to policy decisions, from local to national levels. Although many technical or science-focused components are in place, they need to be articulated, distilled, and organized to address policy issues.

Teaching about Israel in the Seventh Grade: How It Relates to the History/Social Science Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benson, Cecile

1981-01-01

Describes an eight-week unit on Israel for seventh graders and shows how the unit relates to the 1981 "California History/Social Science Framework." The unit introduces students to framework content goals in history and the humanities. Activities include journal writing, artifact building, archaeological simulations, and a geographical…

Key subsurface data help to refine Trinity aquifer hydrostratigraphic units, south-central Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Blome, Charles D.; Clark, Allan K.

2014-01-01

The geologic framework and hydrologic characteristics of aquifers are important components for studying the nation’s subsurface heterogeneity and predicting its hydraulic budgets. Detailed study of an aquifer’s subsurface hydrostratigraphy is needed to understand both its geologic and hydrologic frameworks. Surface hydrostratigraphic mapping can also help characterize the spatial distribution and hydraulic connectivity of an aquifer’s permeable zones. Advances in three-dimensional (3-D) mapping and modeling have also enabled geoscientists to visualize the spatial relations between the saturated and unsaturated lithologies. This detailed study of two borehole cores, collected in 2001 on the Camp Stanley Storage Activity (CSSA) area, provided the foundation for revising a number of hydrostratigraphic units representing the middle zone of the Trinity aquifer. The CSSA area is a restricted military facility that encompasses approximately 4,000 acres and is located in Boerne, Texas, northwest of the city of San Antonio. Studying both the surface and subsurface geology of the CSSA area are integral parts of a U.S. Geological Survey project funded through the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. This modification of hydrostratigraphic units is being applied to all subsurface data used to construct a proposed 3-D EarthVision model of the CSSA area and areas to the south and west.

Guidelines for the Institutional Implementation of Developmental Neuroprotective Care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Part A: Background and Rationale. A Joint Position Statement From the CANN, CAPWHN, NANN, and COINN.

PubMed

Milette, Isabelle; Martel, Marie-Josée; Ribeiro da Silva, Margarida; Coughlin McNeil, Mary

2017-06-01

The use of age-appropriate care as an organized framework for care delivery in the neonatal intensive care unit is founded on the work of Heidelise Als, PhD, and her synactive theory of development. This theoretical construct has recently been advanced by the work of Gibbins and colleagues with the "universe of developmental care" conceptual model and developmental care core measures which were endorsed by the National Association of Neonatal Nurses in their age-appropriate care of premature infant guidelines as best-practice standards for the provision of high-quality care in the neonatal intensive care unit. These guidelines were recently revised and expanded. In alignment with the Joint Commission's requirement for health-care professionals to provide age-specific care across the lifespan, the core measures for developmental care suggest the necessary competencies for those caring for the premature and critically ill hospitalized infant. Further supported by the Primer Standards of Accreditation and Health Canada, the institutional implementation of theses core measures requires a strong framework for institutional operationalization, presented in these guidelines. Part A of this article will present the background and rationale behind the present guidelines and their condensed table of recommendations.

Developing a costing framework for palliative care services.

PubMed

Mosoiu, Daniela; Dumitrescu, Malina; Connor, Stephen R

2014-10-01

Palliative care services have been reported to be a less expensive alternative to traditional treatment; however, little is known about how to measure the cost of delivering quality palliative care. The purpose of this project was to develop a standardized method for measuring the cost of palliative care delivery that could potentially be replicated in multiple settings. The project was implemented in three stages. First, an interdisciplinary group of palliative care experts identified standards of quality palliative care delivery in the inpatient and home care services. Surveys were conducted of government agencies and palliative care providers to identify payment practices and budgets for palliative care services. In the second phase, unit costs were defined and a costing framework was designed to measure inpatient and home-based palliative care unit costs. The final phase was advocacy for inclusion of calculated costs into the national funding system. In this project, a reliable framework for determining the cost of inpatient and home-based palliative care services was developed. Inpatient palliative care cost in Romania was calculated at $96.58 per day. Home-based palliative care was calculated at $30.37 per visit, $723.60 per month, and $1367.71 per episode of care, which averaged 45 visits. A standardized methodology and framework for costing palliative care are presented. The framework allows a country or provider of care to substitute their own local costs to generate cost information relevant to the health-care system. In Romania, this allowed the palliative care provider community to advocate for a consistent payment system. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ethics in American Health 1: Ethical Approaches to Health Policy

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

I trace the evolution of ethical approaches to health policy in the United States and examine a number of critical unresolved issues pertaining to the current set of frameworks. Several themes emerge. First, fair procedures claim more attention than substantive and procedural principles. Second, in the case of public deliberation, more focus has been placed on factors such as procedural mechanisms than on understanding how individuals and groups value different aspects of health and agree on health-related decisions. Third, the nation needs workable frameworks to guide collective choices about valuable social ends and their trade-offs; purely procedural strategies are limited in illuminating overarching health policy and ethics questions. There is a need to integrate consequential and procedural approaches to health ethics and policy. PMID:18703449

Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Gas Resources of the Eastern Oregon and Washington Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Oregon and Washington Province Assessment Team, (compiler)

2008-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geology-based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States, focusing on the distribution, quantity, and availability of oil and natural gas resources. The USGS has completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Eastern Oregon and Washington Province of Oregon and Washington (USGS Province 5005). The province is a priority Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) province for the National Assessment because of its potential for oil and gas resources. The assessment of this province is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). In the Eastern Oregon and Washington Province, the USGS used this geologic framework to define one total petroleum system and two assessment units within the total petroleum system, and quantitatively estimated the undiscovered gas resources within each assessment unit.

Applying a systems approach to assess carbon emission reductions from climate change mitigation in Mexico’s forest sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olguin, Marcela; Wayson, Craig; Fellows, Max; Birdsey, Richard; Smyth, Carolyn E.; Magnan, Michael; Dugan, Alexa J.; Mascorro, Vanessa S.; Alanís, Armando; Serrano, Enrique; Kurz, Werner A.

2018-03-01

The Paris Agreement of the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change calls for a balance of anthropogenic greenhouse emissions and removals in the latter part of this century. Mexico indicated in its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution and its Climate Change Mid-Century Strategy that the land sector will contribute to meeting GHG emission reduction goals. Since 2012, the Mexican government through its National Forestry Commission, with international financial and technical support, has been developing carbon dynamics models to explore climate change mitigation options in the forest sector. Following a systems approach, here we assess the biophysical mitigation potential of forest ecosystems, harvested wood products and their substitution benefits (i.e. the change in emissions resulting from substitution of wood for more emissions-intensive products and fossil fuels), for policy alternatives considered by the Mexican government, such as a net zero deforestation rate and sustainable forest management. We used available analytical frameworks (Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector and a harvested wood products model), parameterized with local input data in two contrasting Mexican states. Using information from the National Forest Monitoring System (e.g. forest inventories, remote sensing, disturbance data), we demonstrate that activities aimed at reaching a net-zero deforestation rate can yield significant CO2e mitigation benefits by 2030 and 2050 relative to a baseline scenario (‘business as usual’), but if combined with increasing forest harvest to produce long-lived products and substitute more energy-intensive materials, emissions reductions could also provide other co-benefits (e.g. jobs, illegal logging reduction). We concluded that the relative impact of mitigation activities is locally dependent, suggesting that mitigation strategies should be designed and implemented at sub-national scales. We were also encouraged about the ability of the modeling framework to effectively use Mexico’s data, and showed the need to include multiple sectors and types of collaborators (scientific and policy-maker communities) to design more comprehensive portfolios for climate change mitigation.

Using an expanded outcomes framework and continuing education evidence to improve facilitation of patient-centered medical home recognition and transformation.

PubMed

Van Hoof, Thomas J; Kelvey-Albert, Michele; Katz, Matthew; Lalime, Ken; Sacks, Ken; Meehan, Thomas P

2014-01-01

The patient-centered medical home is a model for delivering primary care in the United States. Primary care clinicians and their staffs require assistance in understanding the innovation and in applying it to practice. The purpose of this article is to describe and to critique a continuing education program that is relevant to, and will become more common in, primary care. A multifaceted educational strategy prepared 20 primary care private practices to achieve National Committee for Quality Assurance Level 3 recognition as Patient-Centered Medical Homes. Eighteen (90%) practices submitted an application to the National Committee for Quality Assurance. On the first submission attempt, 13 of 18 (72%) achieved Level 3 recognition and 5 (28%) achieved Level 1 recognition. An interactive multifaceted educational strategy can be successful in preparing primary care practices for Patient-Centered Medical Homes recognition, but the strategy may not ensure transformation. Future educational activities should consider an expanded outcomes framework and the evidence of effective continuing education to be more successful with recognition and transformation.

In-service documentation tools and statements on palliative sedation in Germany--do they meet the EAPC framework recommendations? A qualitative document analysis.

PubMed

Stiel, Stephanie; Heckel, Maria; Christensen, Britta; Ostgathe, Christoph; Klein, Carsten

2016-01-01

Numerous (inter-)national guidelines and frameworks have been developed to provide recommendations for the application of palliative sedation (PS). However, they are still not widely known, and large variations in PS clinical practice can be found. This study aims to collect and describe contents from documents used in clinical practice and to compare to what extent they match the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) framework recommendations. In a national survey on PS in Germany 2012, participants were asked to upload their in-service templates, assessment tools, specific protocols, and in-service statements for the application and documentation of PS. These documents are analyzed by using systematic structured content analysis. Three hundred seven content units of 52 provided documents were coded. The analyzed templates are very heterogeneous and also contain items not mentioned in the EAPC framework. Among 11 scales for the evaluation of sedation level, the Ramsey Sedation Score (n = 5) and the Richmond-Agitation-Sedation-Scale (n = 2) were found most often. For symptom assessment, three different scales were provided one time respectively. In all six PS statements, the common core elements were possible indications for PS, instructions on dose titration, patient monitoring, and care. Wide congruency exists for physical and psychological indications. Most documents coincide on midazolam as a preferred drug and basic monitoring in regular intervals. Aspects such as pre-emptive discussion of the potential role of sedation, informational needs of relatives, and care for the medical professionals are mentioned rarely. The analyzed templates do neglect some points of the EAPC recommendations. However, they expand the ten-point scheme of the framework in some details. The findings may facilitate the development of standardized consensus documentation and monitoring draft as an operational statement.

How Misapplication of the Hydrologic Unit Framework ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Hydrologic units provide a convenient nationwide set of geographic polygons based on an arbitrary subdivision of the drainage of land surface areas at several hierarchical levels. Half or more of these units, however, are not true watersheds as the official name of the framework, Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD), implies. Hydrologic units and watersheds are commonly treated as synonymous, and this misuse and misunderstanding can have some serious consequences. We discuss some of the strengths and limitations of watersheds and hydrologic units as spatial frameworks. Using examples from the Northwest and Southeast U.S., we explain how the misuse of the hydrologic unit framework has affected the meaning of watersheds and can impair the understanding of the associations of spatial geographic phenomena relative to a potentially infinite number of points on streams due to their linear nature. Watersheds are a fundamental geographic unit used to study the effects of natural and anthropogenic characteristics on the quality and quantity of water. Most scientists and resource managers historically have been in agreement on the spatial meaning of the term ‘watershed’ – that is, the topographic area within which water drains to a specific point on a stream, river, or particular waterbody. The Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) framework, however, has changed this understanding. Hydrologic units provide a convenient nationwide set of geographic polygons based on an arbitra

Multiprofessional evaluation in clinical practice: establishing a core set of outcome measures for children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Mäenpää, Helena; Autti-Rämö, Ilona; Varho, Tarja; Forsten, Wivi; Haataja, Leena

2017-03-01

To develop a national consensus on outcome measures that define functional ability in children with cerebral palsy (CP) according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. The project started in 2008 in neuropaediatric units of two university hospitals and one outpatient clinic. Each professional group selected representatives to be knowledge brokers for their own specialty. Based on the evidence, expert opinion, and the ICF framework, multiprofessional teams selected the most valid measures used in clinical practice (2009-2010). Data from 269 children with CP were analysed, classified by the Gross Motor Function Classification System, Manual Ability Classification System, and Communication Function Classification System, and evaluated. The process aimed at improving and unifying clinical practice in Finland through a national consensus on the core set of measures. The selected measures were presented by professional groups, and consensus was reached on the recommended core set of measures to be used in all hospitals treating children with CP in Finland. A national consensus on relevant and feasible measures is essential for identifying differences in the effectiveness of local practices, and for conducting multisite intervention studies. This project showed that multiprofessional rehabilitation practices can be improved through respect for and inclusion of everyone involved. © 2016 Mac Keith Press.

Mainstreaming biodiversity and wildlife management into climate change policy frameworks in selected east and southern African countries

PubMed Central

Nhamo, Godwell

2016-01-01

The Rio+20 outcomes document, the Future We Want, enshrines green economy as one of the platforms to attain sustainable development and calls for measures that seek to address climate change and biodiversity management. This paper audits climate change policies from selected east and southern African countries to determine the extent to which climate change legislation mainstreams biodiversity and wildlife management. A scan of international, continental, regional and national climate change policies was conducted to assess whether they include biodiversity and/or wildlife management issues. The key finding is that many climate change policy–related documents, particularly the National Adaptation Programme of Actions (NAPAs), address threats to biodiversity and wildlife resources. However, international policies like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol do not address the matter under deliberation. Regional climate change policies such as the East African Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and African Union address biodiversity and/or wildlife issues whilst the Southern African Development Community region does not have a stand-alone policy for climate change. Progressive countries like Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia have recently put in place detailed NAPAs which are mainstream responsive strategies intended to address climate change adaptation in the wildlife sector.

HIV/AIDS policy agenda setting in Iran

PubMed Central

Khodayari - Zarnaq, Rahim; Ravaghi, Hamid; Mohammad Mosaddeghrad, Ali; Sedaghat, Abbas; Mohraz, Minoo

2016-01-01

Background: HIV/AIDS control are one of the most important goals of the health systems. The aim of this study was to determine how HIV/AIDS control was initiated among policy makers’ agenda setting in Iran. Methods: A qualitative research (semi-structured interview) was conducted using Kingdon’s framework (problem, policy and politics streams, and policy windows and policy entrepreneurs) to analysis HIV/AIDS agenda setting in Iran. Thirty-two policy makers, managers, specialists, and researchers were interviewed. Also, 30 policy documents were analyzed. Framework analysis method was used for data analysis. Results: the increase of HIV among Injecting drug users (IDUs) and Female Sex Workers (FSWs), lack of control of their high-risk behaviors, and exceeding the HIV into concentrated phase were examples of problem stream. Policy stream was evidence-based solutions that highlighted the need for changing strategies for dealing with such a problem and finding technically feasible and acceptable solutions. Iran’s participation in United Nations General Assembly special sessions on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS), the establishment of National AIDS Committee; highlighting AIDS control in Iran’s five years development program and the support of the judiciary system of harm reduction policies were examples of politics stream. Policy entrepreneurs linking these streams put the HIV/AIDS on the national agenda (policy windows) and provide their solutions. Conclusion: There were mutual interactions among these three streams and sometimes, they weakened or reinforced each other. Future studies are recommended to understand the interactions between these streams’ parts and perhaps develop further Kingdon’s framework, especially in the health sector. PMID:27579283

Health and human rights: a statistical measurement framework using household survey data in Uganda.

PubMed

Wesonga, Ronald; Owino, Abraham; Ssekiboobo, Agnes; Atuhaire, Leonard; Jehopio, Peter

2015-05-03

Health is intertwined with human rights as is clearly reflected in the right to life. Promotion of health practices in the context of human rights can be accomplished if there is a better understanding of the level of human rights observance. In this paper, we evaluate and present an appraisal for a possibility of applying household survey to study the determinants of health and human rights and also derive the probability that human rights are observed; an important ingredient into the national planning framework. Data from the Uganda National Governance Baseline Survey were used. A conceptual framework for predictors of a hybrid dependent variable was developed and both bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques employed. Multivariate post estimation computations were derived after evaluations of the significance of coefficients of health and human rights predictors. Findings, show that household characteristics of respondents considered in this study were statistically significant (p < 0.05) to provide a reliable assessment of human rights observance. For example, a unit increase of respondents' schooling levels results in an increase of about 34% level of positively assessing human rights observance. Additionally, the study establishes, through the three models presented, that household assessment of health and human rights observance was 20% which also represents how much of the entire continuum of human rights is demanded. Findings propose important evidence for monitoring and evaluation of health in the context human rights using household survey data. They provide a benchmark for health and human rights assessments with a focus on international and national development plans to achieve socio-economic transformation and health in society.

Java Tool Framework for Automation of Hardware Commissioning and Maintenance Procedures

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

Ho, J C; Fisher, J M; Gordon, J B

2007-10-02

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a 192-beam laser system designed to study high energy density physics. Each beam line contains a variety of line replaceable units (LRUs) that contain optics, stepping motors, sensors and other devices to control and diagnose the laser. During commissioning and subsequent maintenance of the laser, LRUs undergo a qualification process using the Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS) to verify and calibrate the equipment. The commissioning processes are both repetitive and tedious when we use remote manual computer controls, making them ideal candidates for software automation. Maintenance and Commissioning Tool (MCT) software was developed tomore » improve the efficiency of the qualification process. The tools are implemented in Java, leveraging ICCS services and CORBA to communicate with the control devices. The framework provides easy-to-use mechanisms for handling configuration data, task execution, task progress reporting, and generation of commissioning test reports. The tool framework design and application examples will be discussed.« less

System Theoretic Frameworks for Mitigating Risk Complexity in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

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

Williams, Adam David; Mohagheghi, Amir H.; Cohn, Brian

In response to the expansion of nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) activities -- and the associated suite of risks -- around the world, this project evaluated systems-based solutions for managing such risk complexity in multimodal and multi-jurisdictional international spent nuclear fuel (SNF) transportation. By better understanding systemic risks in SNF transportation, developing SNF transportation risk assessment frameworks, and evaluating these systems-based risk assessment frameworks, this research illustrated interdependency between safety, security, and safeguards risks is inherent in NFC activities and can go unidentified when each "S" is independently evaluated. Two novel system-theoretic analysis techniques -- dynamic probabilistic risk assessment (DPRA) andmore » system-theoretic process analysis (STPA) -- provide integrated "3S" analysis to address these interdependencies and the research results suggest a need -- and provide a way -- to reprioritize United States engagement efforts to reduce global nuclear risks. Lastly, this research identifies areas where Sandia National Laboratories can spearhead technical advances to reduce global nuclear dangers.« less

50 CFR 86.102 - How did the Service design the National Framework?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... design the National Framework? The Framework divides the survey into two components: boater survey, and boat access provider survey. (a) The purpose of the boater survey component is to identify boat user... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false How did the Service design the National...

50 CFR 86.102 - How did the Service design the National Framework?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... design the National Framework? The Framework divides the survey into two components: boater survey, and boat access provider survey. (a) The purpose of the boater survey component is to identify boat user... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false How did the Service design the National...

50 CFR 86.102 - How did the Service design the National Framework?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... design the National Framework? The Framework divides the survey into two components: boater survey, and boat access provider survey. (a) The purpose of the boater survey component is to identify boat user... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false How did the Service design the National...

50 CFR 86.102 - How did the Service design the National Framework?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... design the National Framework? The Framework divides the survey into two components: boater survey, and boat access provider survey. (a) The purpose of the boater survey component is to identify boat user... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false How did the Service design the National...

50 CFR 86.102 - How did the Service design the National Framework?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... design the National Framework? The Framework divides the survey into two components: boater survey, and boat access provider survey. (a) The purpose of the boater survey component is to identify boat user... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false How did the Service design the National...

Clinical governance in practice: closing the loop with integrated audit systems.

PubMed

Taylor, L; Jones, S

2006-04-01

Clinical governance has been acknowledged as the driving force behind National Health Service (NHS) reform since the government white paper outlined a new style of NHS in the UK in 1997. The framework of clinical governance ensures that NHS organizations are accountable for continually improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care will develop. A major component of a clinical governance framework requires utilizing audit procedures, which assess the effectiveness of current systems and ultimately direct continual quality improvement. This paper describes the audit component of a local clinical governance framework designed for a unit based within an NHS trust, which has utilized a multidisciplinary approach to assess the effectiveness of a newly commissioned service and its impact on the residents and staff. The unit is a 12-bedded, low-secure-intensive rehabilitation unit for clients with severe and enduring mental illness. Using recognized and standardized psychometric outcome measures, information was collected on clinical symptoms, social functioning, social behaviour, quality of life, relationship quality with named nurses and medication side-effects. Additionally, confidential staff measures were included to assess levels of burnout, identify expressed emotion and assess staff perception of models of illness. The paper includes a comprehensive account of how managerial commitment, teaching processes and application of technology ensured prompt data collection and maintained the momentum through the audit timescale. Data analysis and presentation of data in both clinical reviews and in senior management meetings within the unit are discussed. Findings highlight the full integration of the audit system into the processes of the unit. Clinically, the paper highlights the enhancement of the knowledge base of the client group and the influence on clinical decision-making processes and care delivery as a result of the audit. Brief clinical examples are given. In conclusion, the impact of the audit on unit strategy and organizational efficiency are discussed to highlight the importance of closing the audit loop and completing the cycle of clinical governance. The audit system has positive implications for replication in other services.

Hispanic Medical Organizations' Support for LGBT Health Issues.

PubMed

Sánchez, John Paul; Sola, Orlando; Ramallo, Jorge; Sánchez, Nelson Felix; Dominguez, Kenneth; Romero-Leggott, Valerie

2014-09-01

Hispanics represent the fastest growing ethnic segment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and are disproportionately burdened by LGBT-related health issues and limited political support from Hispanic medical organizations. Recently, the Latino Medical Student Association, the National Hispanic Medical Association, and the Hispanic Serving Health Professions Schools, representing over 60,000 Hispanic students and providers and 35 institutions, collaborated to support a resolution opposing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and recognizing the obstacles encountered by LGBTQ Hispanics. The resolution provides an important framework for organizational members and leaders to address LGBT health issues and serve to support a more positive sociopolitical climate for the Hispanic LGBT community nationally and internationally.

Towards integrated solutions for water, energy, and land using an integrated nexus modeling framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wada, Y.

2017-12-01

Humanity has already reached or even exceeded the Earth's carrying capacity. Growing needs for food, energy and water will only exacerbate existing challenges over the next decades. Consequently, the acceptance of "business as usual" is eroding and we are being challenged to adopt new, more integrated, and more inclusive development pathways that avoid dangerous interference with the local environment and global planetary boundaries. This challenge is embodied in the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which endeavor to set a global agenda for moving towards more sustainable development strategies. To improve and sustain human welfare, it is critical that access to modern, reliable, and affordable water, energy, and food is expanded and maintained. The Integrated Solutions for Water, Energy, and Land (IS-WEL) project has been launched by IIASA, together with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). This project focuses on the water-energy-land nexus in the context of other major global challenges such as urbanization, environmental degradation, and equitable and sustainable futures. It develops a consistent framework for looking at the water-energy-land nexus and identify strategies for achieving the needed transformational outcomes through an advanced assessment framework. A multi-scalar approach are being developed that aims to combine global and regional integrated assessment tools with local stakeholder knowledge in order to identify robust solutions to energy, water, food, and ecosystem security in selected regions of the world. These are regions facing multiple energy, water and land use challenges and rapid demographic and economic changes, and are hardest hit by increasing climate variability and change. This project combines the global integrated assessment model (MESSAGE) with the global land (GLOBIOM) and water (Community Water Model) model respectively, and the integrated modeling framework are then combined with detailed regional decision support tools for water-energy-land nexus analysis in case study regions. A number of stakeholder meetings are used to engage local communities in the definition of important nexus drivers, scenario development and definition of performance metrics.

Understanding the competitive advantage of TPP-related nations from an econophysics perspective: Influence caused by China and the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Lizhi; Guan, Jun; Dong, Xianlei; Wu, Shan

2018-07-01

A new analytical framework of relatively competitive advantages of economies is established in this paper, which involves distinguishing functions of industrial sectors on the global value chain with bipartite graph theory and extracting inter-sector competitive relations through resource allocation process. Furthermore, it introduces network-based quantitative indices to measure the competitive advantage on the level of industrial sector and country respectively, taking scarcity of industrial resources into consideration. Finally, it carries out scenario simulation to analyze impacts on 13 TPP-related countries' competitiveness under four kinds of scenarios. Results show that a TPP without both the United States and China will undermine the two countries' competitiveness, and China's impact on GVC will be truly weaken if a TPP agreement led by the United States is reached and vice versa. Anyway, A TPP including both these two countries would serve the mutual interests

Methane Ebullition in Temperate Hydropower Reservoirs and Implications for US Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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

Miller, Benjamin L.; Arntzen, Evan V.; Goldman, Amy E.

The United States is home to more than 87,000 dams, 2,198 of which are actively used for hydropower production. With the December 2015 consensus adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Paris Agreement, it is imperative for the U.S. to accurately quantify greenhouse gas fluxes from its hydropower reservoirs. Methane ebullition, or methane bubbles originating from river or lake sediments, can account for nearly all of a reservoir’s methane emissions to the atmosphere. However, methane ebullition in hydropower reservoirs has been studied in only three temperate locations, none of which are in the United States. This studymore » measures high ebullitive methane fluxes from two hydropower reservoirs in eastern Washington, synthesizes the known information about methane ebullition from tropical, boreal, and temperate hydropower reservoirs, and investigates the implications for U.S. hydropower management and growth.« less

A Local to National Scale Catchment Model Simulation Framework for Hydrological Predictions and Impact Assessments Under Uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freer, Jim; Coxon, Gemma; Quinn, Niall; Dunne, Toby; Lane, Rosie; Bates, Paul; Wagener, Thorsten; Woods, Ross; Neal, Jeff; Howden, Nicholas; Musuuza, Jude

2017-04-01

There is a huge challenge in developing hydrological model structures that can be used for hypothesis testing, prediction, impact assessment and risk analyses over a wide range of spatial scales. There are many reasons why this is the case, from computational demands, to how we define and characterize different features and pathway connectivities in the landscape, that differ depending on the objectives of the study. However there is certainly a need more than ever to explore the trade-offs between the complexity of modelling applied (i.e. spatial discretization, levels of process representation, complexity of landscape representation) compared to the benefits realized in terms of predictive capability and robustness of these predictions during hydrological extremes and during change. Furthermore, there is a further balance, particularly associated with prediction uncertainties, in that it is not desirable to have modelling systems that are too complex compared to the observed data that would ever be available to apply them. This is particularly the case when models are applied to quantify national impact assessments, especially if these are based on validation assessments from smaller more detailed case studies. Therefore the hydrological community needs modelling tools and approaches that enable these trade-offs to be explored and to understand the level of representation needed in models to be 'fit-for-purpose' for a given application. This paper presents a catchment scale national modelling framework based on Dynamic-TOPMODEL specifically setup to fulfil these aims. A key component of the modelling framework is it's structural flexibility, as is the ability to assess model outputs using Monte Carlo simulation techniques. The model build has been automated to work at any spatial scale to the national scale, and within that to control the level of spatial discretisation and connectivity of locally accounted landscape elements in the form of hydrological response units (HRU's). This allows for the explicit consideration of spatial rainfall fields, landscape, soils and geological attributes and the spatial connectivity of hydrological flow pathways to explore what level of modelling complexity we need for different prediction problems. We shall present this framework and show how it can be used in flood and drought risk analyses as well as include attributes and features within the landscape to explore societal and climate impacts effectively within an uncertainty analyses framework.

Potential impact of the digestible indispensable amino acid score as a measure of protein quality on dietary regulations and health

PubMed Central

Marinangeli, Christopher P F; House, James D

2017-01-01

Abstract Regulatory frameworks for protein content claims in Canada and the United States are underpinned by the protein efficiency ratio and protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS), respectively, which are used to assess the protein quality of a given food. The digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) is a novel approach to measuring the protein quality of foods and is supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Methodological concerns about the PDCAAS are addressed by the DIAAS through introduction of the use of ileal amino acid digestibility coefficients and untruncated protein scores. However, before the DIAAS is widely adopted within regulatory frameworks, a comprehensive assessment is required. Accordingly, this review addresses the potential impact of the DIAAS on regulation, communication, and public health, as well as knowledge gaps, analytical challenges, and cost of implementation. A pragmatic approach to addressing protein quality is advocated by suggesting the use of conservative coefficients of digestibility that are derived from in vitro methods. Before adopting the DIAAS as a framework for supporting protein content claims, updated food-related regulations and policies should also be evaluated through a lens that anticipates the impact on consumer-facing nutrition communication, the adoption of dietary patterns that are nutritionally adequate, and a food value chain that fosters a spirit of food and nutritional innovation. PMID:28969364

Getting It Right for Every Child: A National Policy Framework to Promote Children's Well-being in Scotland, United Kingdom.

PubMed

Coles, Emma; Cheyne, Helen; Rankin, Jean; Daniel, Brigid

2016-06-01

Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), a landmark policy framework for improving children's well-being in Scotland, United Kingdom, is a practice initiative signifying a distinct way of thinking, an agenda for change, and the future direction of child welfare policy. GIRFEC represents a unique case study of national transformative change within the contexts of children's well-being and universal services and is of relevance to other jurisdictions. Implementation is under way, with an understanding of well-being and the requirement for information sharing enshrined in law. Yet there is scope for interpretation within the legislation and associated guidance. Inherent tensions around intrusion, data gathering, professional roles, and balancing well-being against child protection threaten the effectiveness of the policy if not resolved. Despite persistent health inequalities and intergenerational deprivation, the Scottish government aspires for Scotland to be the best country for children to grow up in. Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) is a landmark children's policy framework to improve children's well-being via early intervention, universal service provision, and multiagency coordination across organizational boundaries. Placing the child and family "at the center," this approach marks a shift from welfare to well-being, yet there is still a general lack of consensus over how well-being is defined and measured. As an umbrella policy framework with broad reach, GIRFEC represents the current and future direction of children's/family policy in Scotland, yet large-scale practice change is required for successful implementation. This article explores the origins and emergence of GIRFEC and presents a critical analysis of its incremental design, development, and implementation. There is considerable scope for interpretation within the GIRFEC legislation and guidance, most notably around assessment of well-being and the role and remit of those charged with implementation. Tensions have arisen around issues such as professional roles; intrusion, data sharing, and confidentiality; and the balance between supporting well-being and protecting children. Despite the policy's intentions for integration, the service landscape for children and families still remains relatively fragmented. Although the policy has groundbreaking potential, inherent tensions must be resolved and the processes of change carefully managed in order for GIRFEC to be effective. It remains to be seen whether GIRFEC can fulfil the Scottish government's aspirations to reduce inequalities and improve lifelong outcomes for Scotland's children and young people. In terms of both a national children's well-being framework within a universal public service context and a distinct style of policymaking and implementation, the Scottish experience represents a unique case study of whole-country, transformational change and is of relevance to other jurisdictions. © 2016 Milbank Memorial Fund.

Getting It Right for Every Child: A National Policy Framework to Promote Children's Well‐being in Scotland, United Kingdom

PubMed Central

CHEYNE, HELEN; RANKIN, JEAN; DANIEL, BRIGID

2016-01-01

Policy Points: Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), a landmark policy framework for improving children's well‐being in Scotland, United Kingdom, is a practice initiative signifying a distinct way of thinking, an agenda for change, and the future direction of child welfare policy.GIRFEC represents a unique case study of national transformative change within the contexts of children's well‐being and universal services and is of relevance to other jurisdictions.Implementation is under way, with an understanding of well‐being and the requirement for information sharing enshrined in law. Yet there is scope for interpretation within the legislation and associated guidance.Inherent tensions around intrusion, data gathering, professional roles, and balancing well‐being against child protection threaten the effectiveness of the policy if not resolved. Context Despite persistent health inequalities and intergenerational deprivation, the Scottish government aspires for Scotland to be the best country for children to grow up in. Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) is a landmark children's policy framework to improve children's well‐being via early intervention, universal service provision, and multiagency coordination across organizational boundaries. Placing the child and family “at the center,” this approach marks a shift from welfare to well‐being, yet there is still a general lack of consensus over how well‐being is defined and measured. As an umbrella policy framework with broad reach, GIRFEC represents the current and future direction of children's/family policy in Scotland, yet large‐scale practice change is required for successful implementation. Methods This article explores the origins and emergence of GIRFEC and presents a critical analysis of its incremental design, development, and implementation. Findings There is considerable scope for interpretation within the GIRFEC legislation and guidance, most notably around assessment of well‐being and the role and remit of those charged with implementation. Tensions have arisen around issues such as professional roles; intrusion, data sharing, and confidentiality; and the balance between supporting well‐being and protecting children. Despite the policy's intentions for integration, the service landscape for children and families still remains relatively fragmented. Conclusions Although the policy has groundbreaking potential, inherent tensions must be resolved and the processes of change carefully managed in order for GIRFEC to be effective. It remains to be seen whether GIRFEC can fulfil the Scottish government's aspirations to reduce inequalities and improve lifelong outcomes for Scotland's children and young people. In terms of both a national children's well‐being framework within a universal public service context and a distinct style of policymaking and implementation, the Scottish experience represents a unique case study of whole‐country, transformational change and is of relevance to other jurisdictions. PMID:27265560

Modelling Participatory Geographic Information System for Customary Land Conflict Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyamera, E. A.; Arko-Adjei, A.; Duncan, E. E.; Kuma, J. S. Y.

2017-11-01

Since land contributes to about 73 % of most countries Gross Domestic Product (GDP), attention on land rights have tremendously increased globally. Conflicts over land have therefore become part of the major problems associated with land administration. However, the conventional mechanisms for land conflict resolution do not provide satisfactory result to disputants due to various factors. This study sought to develop a Framework of using Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) for customary land conflict resolution. The framework was modelled using Unified Modelling Language (UML). The PGIS framework, called butterfly model, consists of three units namely, Social Unit (SU), Technical Unit (TU) and Decision Making Unit (DMU). The name butterfly model for land conflict resolution was adopted for the framework based on its features and properties. The framework has therefore been recommended to be adopted for land conflict resolution in customary areas.

Arden Syntax Clinical Foundation Framework for Event Monitoring in Intensive Care Units: Report on a Pilot Study.

PubMed

de Bruin, Jeroen S; Zeckl, Julia; Adlassnig, Katharina; Blacky, Alexander; Koller, Walter; Rappelsberger, Andrea; Adlassnig, Klaus-Peter

2017-01-01

The creation of clinical decision support systems has received a strong impulse over the last years, but their integration into a clinical routine has lagged behind, partly due to a lack of interoperability and trust by physicians. We report on the implementation of a clinical foundation framework in Arden Syntax, comprising knowledge units for (a) preprocessing raw clinical data, (b) the determination of single clinical concepts, and (c) more complex medical knowledge, which can be modeled through the composition and configuration of knowledge units in this framework. Thus, it can be tailored to clinical institutions or patients' caregivers. In the present version, we integrated knowledge units for several infection-related clinical concepts into the framework and developed a clinical event monitoring system over the framework that employs three different scenarios for monitoring clinical signs of bloodstream infection. The clinical event monitoring system was tested using data from intensive care units at Vienna General Hospital, Austria.

Water Resource Management Mechanisms for Intrastate Violent Conflict Resolution: the Capacity Gap and What To Do About It.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Workman, M.; Veilleux, J. C.

2014-12-01

Violent conflict and issues surrounding available water resources are both global problems and are connected. Violent conflict is increasingly intrastate in nature and coupled with increased hydrological variability as a function of climate change, there will be increased pressures on water resource use. The majority of mechanisms designed to secure water resources are often based on the presence of a governance framework or another type of institutional capacity, such as offered through a supra- or sub-national organization like the United Nations or a river basin organization. However, institutional frameworks are not present or loose functionality during violent conflict. Therefore, it will likely be extremely difficult to secure water resources for a significant proportion of populations in Fragile and Conflict Affected States. However, the capacity in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations for the appropriate interventions to address this problem is reduced by an increasing reluctance to participate in interventionist operations following a decade of expeditionary warfighting mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and related defence cuts. Therefore, future interventions in violent conflict and securing water resources may be more indirect in nature. This paper assesses the state of understanding key areas in the present literature and highlights the gap of securing water resources during violent conflict in the absence of institutional capacity. There is a need to close this gap as a matter of urgency by formulating frameworks to assess the lack of institutional oversight / framework for water resources in areas where violent conflict is prevalent; developing inclusive resource management platforms through transparency and reconciliation mechanisms; and developing endogenous confidence-building measures and evaluate how these may be encouraged by exogenous initiatives including those facilitated by the international community. This effort will require the development of collaborations between academic, NGO sectors, and national aid agencies in order to allow the development of the appropriate tools, understanding in a broad range of contexts, and the mechanisms that can be brought to bear to address this increasingly important area.

76 FR 38602 - Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis; Program Framework

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-01

...] Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis; Program Framework AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service... framework being developed for the bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis programs in the United States. This... proposed revisions to its programs regarding bovine tuberculosis (TB) and bovine brucellosis in the United...

Evaluation of marginal and internal gap of three-unit metal framework according to subtractive manufacturing and additive manufacturing of CAD/CAM systems.

PubMed

Kim, Dong-Yeon; Kim, Eo-Bin; Kim, Hae-Young; Kim, Ji-Hwan; Kim, Woong-Chul

2017-12-01

To evaluate the fit of a three-unit metal framework of fixed dental prostheses made by subtractive and additive manufacturing. One master model of metal was fabricated. Twenty silicone impressions were made on the master die, working die of 10 poured with Type 4 stone, and working die of 10 made of scannable stone. Ten three-unit wax frameworks were fabricated by wax-up from Type IV working die. Stereolithography files of 10 three-unit frameworks were obtained using a model scanner and three-dimensional design software on a scannable working die. The three-unit wax framework was fabricated using subtractive manufacturing (SM) by applying the prepared stereolithography file, and the resin framework was fabricated by additive manufacturing (AM); both used metal alloy castings for metal frameworks. Marginal and internal gap were measured using silicone replica technique and digital microscope. Measurement data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U-test (α=.05). The lowest and highest gaps between premolar and molar margins were in the SM group and the AM group, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the marginal gap among the 3 groups ( P <.001). In the marginal area where pontic was present, the largest gap was 149.39 ± 42.30 µm in the AM group, and the lowest gap was 24.40 ± 11.92 µm in the SM group. Three-unit metal frameworks made by subtractive manufacturing are clinically applicable. However, additive manufacturing requires more research to be applied clinically.

The Framework for the National Assessment of Educational Progress in Civics. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patrick, John J.

This digest briefly summarizes the contents of the "Civics Framework for the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress" in terms of the Framework's development and components including civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic dispositions. The framework may be used to inform and guide curriculum development projects in civics and…

The U.S. National Plan for Civil Earth Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stryker, T.; Clavin, C.; Gallo, J.

2014-12-01

Globally, the United Sates Government is one of the largest providers of environmental and Earth-system data. As the nation's Earth observation capacity has grown, so have the complexity and challenges associated with managing Earth observation systems and related data holdings. In July 2014, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released the first-ever National Plan for Civil Earth Observations to address these challenges. The Plan provides a portfolio management-based framework for maximizing the value of Federal Earth observations. The Plan identifies Federal priorities for Earth observations and improved management of their data. Through routine assessments, expanding data management efforts, interagency planning, and international collaboration, OSTP and its partner agencies will seek ensure the continued provision of and access to key Earth observation data, which support a broad range of public services and research programs. The presenters will provide a detailed review of the components of the National Plan, its impacts across the Federal agencies involved in Earth observations, and associated efforts to enable interagency coordination.

Synergising Public Health Concepts with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: A Conceptual Glossary

PubMed Central

Phibbs, Suzanne; Kenney, Christine; Severinsen, Christina; Mitchell, Jon; Hughes, Roger

2016-01-01

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015) is a global strategy for addressing disaster risk and resilience that has been ratified by member countries of the United Nations. Its guiding principles emphasise building resilience through inter-sectoral collaboration, as well as partnerships that facilitate community empowerment and address underlying risk factors. Both public health and the emergency management sector face similar challenges related to developing and implementing strategies that involve structural change, facilitating community resilience and addressing individual risk factors. Familiarity with public health principles enables an understanding of the holistic approach to risk reduction that is outlined within the Sendai Framework. We present seven concepts that resonate with contemporary public health practice, namely: the social determinants of health; inequality and inequity; the inverse care law; community-based and community development approaches; hard to reach communities and services; the prevention paradox; and the inverse prevention law. These ideas from public health provide a useful conceptual base for the ”new” agenda in disaster risk management that underpins the 2015 Sendai Framework. The relevance of these ideas to disaster risk management and research is illustrated through drawing on the Sendai Framework, disaster literature and exemplars from the 2010–2011 earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand. PMID:27983666

Synergising Public Health Concepts with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: A Conceptual Glossary.

PubMed

Phibbs, Suzanne; Kenney, Christine; Severinsen, Christina; Mitchell, Jon; Hughes, Roger

2016-12-14

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015) is a global strategy for addressing disaster risk and resilience that has been ratified by member countries of the United Nations. Its guiding principles emphasise building resilience through inter-sectoral collaboration, as well as partnerships that facilitate community empowerment and address underlying risk factors. Both public health and the emergency management sector face similar challenges related to developing and implementing strategies that involve structural change, facilitating community resilience and addressing individual risk factors. Familiarity with public health principles enables an understanding of the holistic approach to risk reduction that is outlined within the Sendai Framework. We present seven concepts that resonate with contemporary public health practice, namely: the social determinants of health; inequality and inequity; the inverse care law; community-based and community development approaches; hard to reach communities and services; the prevention paradox; and the inverse prevention law. These ideas from public health provide a useful conceptual base for the "new" agenda in disaster risk management that underpins the 2015 Sendai Framework. The relevance of these ideas to disaster risk management and research is illustrated through drawing on the Sendai Framework, disaster literature and exemplars from the 2010-2011 earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Global warming at the summit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

During the recent summit meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Bill Clinton, the two leaders reaffirmed their concerns about global warming and the need to continue to take actions to try to reduce the threat.In a June 4 joint statement, they stressed the need to develop flexibility mechanisms, including international emissions trading, under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. They also noted that initiatives to reduce the risk of greenhouse warming, including specific mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, could potentially promote economic growth.

Antimicrobial resistance-a threat to the world's sustainable development.

PubMed

Jasovský, Dušan; Littmann, Jasper; Zorzet, Anna; Cars, Otto

2016-08-01

This commentary examines how specific sustainable development goals (SDGs) are affected by antimicrobial resistance and suggests how the issue can be better integrated into international policy processes. Moving beyond the importance of effective antibiotics for the treatment of acute infections and health care generally, we discuss how antimicrobial resistance also impacts on environmental, social, and economic targets in the SDG framework. The paper stresses the need for greater international collaboration and accountability distribution, and suggests steps towards a broader engagement of countries and United Nations agencies to foster global intersectoral action on antimicrobial resistance.

Assessing local market and organizational readiness for the integration of complementary and alternative medicine into ambulatory care centers.

PubMed

Makowski, Suzana K E

2004-01-01

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is one of the fastest growing segments of the health care industry today, with studies suggesting that between 30% and 50% of the adult population in the United States uses some form of CAM. Many ambulatory care centers are considering integrating CAM into their clinical services. This article will review some of the national trends and present a framework for assessing local market demand for CAM in order to help prioritize an organization's CAM integration strategy.

Measuring patient-centered communication in cancer care: a literature review and the development of a systematic approach.

PubMed

McCormack, Lauren A; Treiman, Katherine; Rupert, Douglas; Williams-Piehota, Pamela; Nadler, Eric; Arora, Neeraj K; Lawrence, William; Street, Richard L

2011-04-01

Patient-centered communication (PCC) is a critical element of patient-centered care, which the Institute of Medicine (Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, 2001) promulgates as essential to improving healthcare delivery. Consequently, the US National Cancer Institute's Strategic Plan for Leading the Nation (2006) calls for assessing the delivery of PCC in cancer care. However, no comprehensive measure of PCC exists, and stakeholders continue to embrace different conceptualizations and assumptions about how to measure it. Our approach was grounded in the PCC conceptual framework presented in a recent US National Cancer Institute monograph (Epstein & Street, 2007). In this study, we developed a comprehensive inventory of domains and subdomains for PCC by reviewing relevant literature and theories, interviewing a limited number of cancer patients, and consulting experts. The resulting measurement domains are organized under the six core functions specified in the PCC conceptual framework: exchanging information, fostering healing relationships, recognizing and responding to emotions, managing uncertainty, making decisions, and enabling patient self-management. These domains represent a promising platform for operationalizing the complicated PCC construct. Although this study focused specifically on cancer care, the PCC measurements are relevant to other clinical contexts and illnesses, given that patient-centered care is a goal across all healthcare. Finally, we discuss considerations for developing PCC measures for research, quality assessment, and surveillance purposes. United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (2006). The NCI Strategic Plan for Leading the Nation: To Eliminate the Suffering and Death Due to Cancer. NIH Publication No. 06-5773. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Griff, M.T.

This paper provides an overview of recent initiatives of the United States which promote greater use of natural gas and unconventional gas as one part of this nations`s larger response to the global warming threat. Measurable increases in greenhouse gas concentrations since the beginning of the industrial revolution have led to the belief in the existence of a global warming problem. The international community has responded to the global warming threat with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which is directed toward the stabilization of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The Climate Change Action Plan is the Clintonmore » Administration`s detailed response to the global warming threat. It is designed to return United States emissions of greenhouse gases to their 1990 levels by the year 2000. The Action Plan targets all greenhouse gases and emphasizes energy efficiency. Significant regulatory reformation designed to increase the efficiency of the natural gas industry has already occurred and will be continued. Recovery of methane emissions from landfills will be encouraged through indentification of suitable sites and use of existing technology and development of new technology. Recovery of methane from coal mining operations will be promoted by targeting 50 of the gassiest mines in the United States. Even if the Action Plan is fully implemented. legitimate questions arise as to whether its goals will be achieved as a result of funding shortfalls.« less

Development of a Curricular Framework for Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowships.

PubMed

Jerardi, Karen E; Fisher, Erin; Rassbach, Caroline; Maniscalco, Jennifer; Blankenburg, Rebecca; Chase, Lindsay; Shah, Neha

2017-07-01

Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) is an emerging field in pediatrics and one that has experienced immense growth and maturation in a short period of time. Evolution and rapid expansion of the field invigorated the goal of standardizing PHM fellowship curricula, which naturally aligned with the field's evolving pursuit of a defined identity and consideration of certification options. The national group of PHM fellowship program directors sought to establish curricular standards that would more accurately reflect the competencies needed to practice pediatric hospital medicine and meet future board certification needs. In this manuscript, we describe the method by which we reached consensus on a 2-year curricular framework for PHM fellowship programs, detail the current model for this framework, and provide examples of how this curricular framework may be applied to meet the needs of a variety of fellows and fellowship programs. The 2-year PHM fellowship curricular framework was developed over a number of years through an iterative process and with the input of PHM fellowship program directors (PDs), PHM fellowship graduates, PHM leaders, pediatric hospitalists practicing in a variety of clinical settings, and other educators outside the field. We have developed a curricular framework for PHM Fellowships that consists of 8 education units (defined as 4 weeks each) in 3 areas: clinical care, systems and scholarship, and individualized curriculum. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Key principles for a national clinical decision support knowledge sharing framework: synthesis of insights from leading subject matter experts.

PubMed

Kawamoto, Kensaku; Hongsermeier, Tonya; Wright, Adam; Lewis, Janet; Bell, Douglas S; Middleton, Blackford

2013-01-01

To identify key principles for establishing a national clinical decision support (CDS) knowledge sharing framework. As part of an initiative by the US Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) to establish a framework for national CDS knowledge sharing, key stakeholders were identified. Stakeholders' viewpoints were obtained through surveys and in-depth interviews, and findings and relevant insights were summarized. Based on these insights, key principles were formulated for establishing a national CDS knowledge sharing framework. Nineteen key stakeholders were recruited, including six executives from electronic health record system vendors, seven executives from knowledge content producers, three executives from healthcare provider organizations, and three additional experts in clinical informatics. Based on these stakeholders' insights, five key principles were identified for effectively sharing CDS knowledge nationally. These principles are (1) prioritize and support the creation and maintenance of a national CDS knowledge sharing framework; (2) facilitate the development of high-value content and tooling, preferably in an open-source manner; (3) accelerate the development or licensing of required, pragmatic standards; (4) acknowledge and address medicolegal liability concerns; and (5) establish a self-sustaining business model. Based on the principles identified, a roadmap for national CDS knowledge sharing was developed through the ONC's Advancing CDS initiative. The study findings may serve as a useful guide for ongoing activities by the ONC and others to establish a national framework for sharing CDS knowledge and improving clinical care.

Options for sampling and stratification for national forest inventories to implement REDD+ under the UNFCCC

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Developing countries that are willing to participate in the recently adopted (16th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP) in Cancun) mitigation mechanism of Reducing emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation - and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) - will have to establish a national forest monitoring system in order to assess anthropogenic forest-related greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks. Such a system should support the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) requirement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the REDD+ mechanism is results-based. A national forest inventory (NFI) is one potential key component of such an MRV system. Following the Decision adopted during the 15th Session of the COP in Copenhagen, the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidance and Guidelines should be used as a basis for estimating anthropogenic forest-related greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks and changes in forest carbon stocks and area. Results First, we present the key indispensable elements of the IPCC Guidance and Guidelines that have been developed to fulfil the UNFCCC reporting requirements. This is done in order to set the framework to develop the MRV requirement in which a NFI for REDD+ implementation could be developed. Second, within this framework, we develop and propose a novel scheme for the stratification of forest land for REDD+. Finally, we present some non-exhaustive optional elements within this framework that a country could consider to successfully operationalise and implement its REDD+ NFI. Conclusion Evidently, both the methodological guidance and political decisions on REDD+ under the UNFCCC will continue to evolve. Even so, and considering that there exists decades of experience in setting up traditional NFIs, developing a NFI that a country may use to directly support REDD+ activities under the UNFCCC represents the development of a new challenge in this field. It is therefore important that both the scientific community and national implementing agencies acquaint themselves with both the context and content of this challenge so that REDD+ mitigation actions may be implemented successfully and with environmental integrity. This paper provides important contributions to the subject through our proposal of the stratification of forest land for REDD+. PMID:21187009

76 FR 69755 - National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-09

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Federal Emergency Management Agency [Docket ID FEMA-2010-0004] National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS. ACTION... Framework (NRF) to provide organizing constructs and principles solely focused on disaster recovery...

Comparability of outcome frameworks in medical education: Implications for framework development.

PubMed

Hautz, Stefanie C; Hautz, Wolf E; Feufel, Markus A; Spies, Claudia D

2015-01-01

Given the increasing mobility of medical students and practitioners, there is a growing need for harmonization of medical education and qualifications. Although several initiatives have sought to compare national outcome frameworks, this task has proven a challenge. Drawing on an analysis of existing outcome frameworks, we identify factors that hinder comparability and suggest ways of facilitating comparability during framework development and revisions. We searched MedLine, EmBase and the Internet for outcome frameworks in medical education published by national or governmental organizations. We analyzed these frameworks for differences and similarities that influence comparability. Of 1816 search results, 13 outcome frameworks met our inclusion criteria. These frameworks differ in five core features: history and origins, formal structure, medical education system, target audience and key terms. Many frameworks reference other frameworks without acknowledging these differences. Importantly, the level of detail of the outcomes specified differs both within and between frameworks. The differences identified explain some of the challenges involved in comparing outcome frameworks and medical qualifications. We propose a two-level model distinguishing between "core" competencies and culture-specific "secondary" competencies. This approach could strike a balance between local specifics and cross-national comparability of outcome frameworks and medical education.

Integrating the social determinants of health into two interprofessional courses: Findings from a pilot study.

PubMed

Lane, Sandra D; Keefe, Robert H; Rubinstein, Robert A; Hall, Meghan; Kelly, Kathleen A; Satterly, Lynn Beth; Shaw, Andrea; Fisher, Julian

2018-02-07

Five colleges and universities in Upstate New York, United States, created the 'Route-90 Collaborative' to support faculty implementing the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Framework for Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health. The two courses described herein used a flipped classroom approach in which students from 14 different nations were responsible for facilitating individual classes. This descriptive study used an educational intervention in two interprofessional courses - reproductive health and global health - based on the IOM Framework into two courses. The evaluation used quantitative and open-ended text response data from students. Course evaluations indicated the students found the courses helped them to learn more about health issues and service delivery in various countries, expand their knowledge base on sociocultural and ecological influences on health care, and broaden their perspectives on various health topics so they will be able to provide higher quality healthcare. Although this is the first effort of our Collaborative to implement the Framework, given the student feedback, we believe implementing the Framework in various courses has the potential to enhance healthcare service delivery and reduce the negative impact of social determinants of health.

Why the South African NQF Failed: Lessons for Countries Wanting to Introduce National Qualifications Frameworks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allais, Stephanie Matseleng

2007-01-01

This article examines the South African National Qualifications Framework as a case study of a particular approach to the design of qualifications frameworks, which revolves around the specification of learning outcomes separate from educational institutions or programmes. It shows how an outcomes-led qualifications framework was seen as a…

Blueprint for Bologna: University of Prishtina and the European Union

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epp, Juanita Ross; Epp, Walter

2010-01-01

Countries hoping to demonstrate an adequate educational infrastructure need a national framework that meets Bologna requirements, a national accreditation agency which sets out the approved framework, and national accreditation processes by which individual institutions can be measured against the standards set by the national accreditation…

Ecoregions of the conterminous United States: evolution of a hierarchical spatial framework

USGS Publications Warehouse

Omernik, James M.; Griffith, Glenn E.

2014-01-01

A map of ecological regions of the conterminous United States, first published in 1987, has been greatly refined and expanded into a hierarchical spatial framework in response to user needs, particularly by state resource management agencies. In collaboration with scientists and resource managers from numerous agencies and institutions in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the framework has been expanded to cover North America, and the original ecoregions (now termed Level III) have been refined, subdivided, and aggregated to identify coarser as well as more detailed spatial units. The most generalized units (Level I) define 10 ecoregions in the conterminous U.S., while the finest-scale units (Level IV) identify 967 ecoregions. In this paper, we explain the logic underpinning the approach, discuss the evolution of the regional mapping process, and provide examples of how the ecoregions were distinguished at each hierarchical level. The variety of applications of the ecoregion framework illustrates its utility in resource assessment and management.

Ecoregions of the Conterminous United States: Evolution of a Hierarchical Spatial Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Omernik, James M.; Griffith, Glenn E.

2014-12-01

A map of ecological regions of the conterminous United States, first published in 1987, has been greatly refined and expanded into a hierarchical spatial framework in response to user needs, particularly by state resource management agencies. In collaboration with scientists and resource managers from numerous agencies and institutions in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the framework has been expanded to cover North America, and the original ecoregions (now termed Level III) have been refined, subdivided, and aggregated to identify coarser as well as more detailed spatial units. The most generalized units (Level I) define 10 ecoregions in the conterminous U.S., while the finest-scale units (Level IV) identify 967 ecoregions. In this paper, we explain the logic underpinning the approach, discuss the evolution of the regional mapping process, and provide examples of how the ecoregions were distinguished at each hierarchical level. The variety of applications of the ecoregion framework illustrates its utility in resource assessment and management.

Evaluation of marginal and internal gap of three-unit metal framework according to subtractive manufacturing and additive manufacturing of CAD/CAM systems

PubMed Central

Kim, Dong-Yeon; Kim, Eo-Bin; Kim, Hae-Young; Kim, Ji-Hwan

2017-01-01

PURPOSE To evaluate the fit of a three-unit metal framework of fixed dental prostheses made by subtractive and additive manufacturing. MATERIALS AND METHODS One master model of metal was fabricated. Twenty silicone impressions were made on the master die, working die of 10 poured with Type 4 stone, and working die of 10 made of scannable stone. Ten three-unit wax frameworks were fabricated by wax-up from Type IV working die. Stereolithography files of 10 three-unit frameworks were obtained using a model scanner and three-dimensional design software on a scannable working die. The three-unit wax framework was fabricated using subtractive manufacturing (SM) by applying the prepared stereolithography file, and the resin framework was fabricated by additive manufacturing (AM); both used metal alloy castings for metal frameworks. Marginal and internal gap were measured using silicone replica technique and digital microscope. Measurement data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U-test (α=.05). RESULTS The lowest and highest gaps between premolar and molar margins were in the SM group and the AM group, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the marginal gap among the 3 groups (P<.001). In the marginal area where pontic was present, the largest gap was 149.39 ± 42.30 µm in the AM group, and the lowest gap was 24.40 ± 11.92 µm in the SM group. CONCLUSION Three-unit metal frameworks made by subtractive manufacturing are clinically applicable. However, additive manufacturing requires more research to be applied clinically. PMID:29279766

Conceptualizing In-service Secondary School Science Teachers' Knowledge Base for Promoting Understanding about the Science of Global Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Devarati

Efforts to adapt and mitigate the effects of global climate change (GCC) have been ongoing for the past two decades and have become a major global concern. However, research and practice for promoting climate literacy and understanding about GCC have only recently become a national priority. The National Research Council (NRC), has recently emphasized upon the importance of developing learners' capacity of reasoning, their argumentation skills and understanding of GCC (Framework for K-12 Science Education, National Research Council, 2012). This framework focuses on fostering conceptual clarity about GCC to promote innovation, resilience, and readiness in students as a response towards the threat of a changing environment. Previous research about teacher understanding of GCC describes that in spite of the prevalent frameworks like the AAAS Science Literacy Atlas (AAAS, 2007) and the Essential Principles for Climate Literacy (United States Global Climate Research Program, 2009; Bardsley, 2007), most learners are challenged in understanding the science of GCC (Michail et al., 2007) and misinformed perceptions about basic climate science content and the role of human activities in changing climate remain persistent (Reibich and Gautier, 2006). Our teacher participants had a rather simplistic knowledge structure. While aware of climate change, teacher participants lacked in depth understanding of how change in climate can impact various ecosystems on the Earth. Furthermore, they felt overwhelmed with the extensive amount of information needed to comprehend the complexity in GCC. Hence, extensive efforts not only focused on assessing conceptual understanding of GCC but also for teaching complex science topics like GCC are essential. This dissertation explains concept mapping, and the photo elicitation method for assessing teachers' understanding of GCC and the use of metacognitive scaffolding in instruction of GCC for developing competence of learners in this complex science phenomenon.

[Civilian-military coordination].

PubMed

de Montravel, G

2002-01-01

Current humanitarian emergencies create complex, mutidimensional situations that stimulate simultaneous responses from a wide variety of sources including governments, non-governmental organizations (NGO), United Nations agencies, and private individuals. As a result, it has become essential to establish a coherent framework in which each actor can contribute promptly and effectively to the overall effort. This is the role of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Regardless of the circumstances and level of coordination, cooperation and collaboration between humanitarian and military personnel, it is necessary to bear in mind their objectives. The purpose of humanitarian action is to reduce human suffering. The purpose of military intervention is to stop warfare. The author of this article will discuss the three major obstacles to civilian-military coordination (strategic, tactical, and operational). Operations cannot be conducted smoothly and differences cannot be ironed out without mutual respect between the two parties, an explicit definition of their respective duties and responsibilities, a clear understanding of their cultural differences, and the presence of an organization and facilities for coordination and arbitrage by a neutral referee.

A Framework for Comprehensive Health Terminology Systems in the United States

PubMed Central

Chute, Christopher G.; Cohn, Simon P.; Campbell, James R.

1998-01-01

Health care in the United States has become an information-intensive industry, yet electronic health records represent patient data inconsistently for lack of clinical data standards. Classifications that have achieved common acceptance, such as the ICD-9-CM or ICD, aggregate heterogeneous patients into broad categories, which preclude their practical use in decision support, development of refined guidelines, or detailed comparison of patient outcomes or benchmarks. This document proposes a framework for the integration and maturation of clinical terminologies that would have practical applications in patient care, process management, outcome analysis, and decision support. Arising from the two working groups within the standards community—the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Healthcare Informatics Standards Board Working Group and the Computer-based Patient Records Institute Working Group on Codes and Structures—it outlines policies regarding 1) functional characteristics of practical terminologies, 2) terminology models that can broaden their applications and contribute to their sustainability, 3) maintenance attributes that will enable terminologies to keep pace with rapidly changing health care knowledge and process, and 4) administrative issues that would facilitate their accessibility, adoption, and application to improve the quality and efficiency of American health care. PMID:9824798

Key principles for a national clinical decision support knowledge sharing framework: synthesis of insights from leading subject matter experts

PubMed Central

Hongsermeier, Tonya; Wright, Adam; Lewis, Janet; Bell, Douglas S; Middleton, Blackford

2013-01-01

Objective To identify key principles for establishing a national clinical decision support (CDS) knowledge sharing framework. Materials and methods As part of an initiative by the US Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) to establish a framework for national CDS knowledge sharing, key stakeholders were identified. Stakeholders' viewpoints were obtained through surveys and in-depth interviews, and findings and relevant insights were summarized. Based on these insights, key principles were formulated for establishing a national CDS knowledge sharing framework. Results Nineteen key stakeholders were recruited, including six executives from electronic health record system vendors, seven executives from knowledge content producers, three executives from healthcare provider organizations, and three additional experts in clinical informatics. Based on these stakeholders' insights, five key principles were identified for effectively sharing CDS knowledge nationally. These principles are (1) prioritize and support the creation and maintenance of a national CDS knowledge sharing framework; (2) facilitate the development of high-value content and tooling, preferably in an open-source manner; (3) accelerate the development or licensing of required, pragmatic standards; (4) acknowledge and address medicolegal liability concerns; and (5) establish a self-sustaining business model. Discussion Based on the principles identified, a roadmap for national CDS knowledge sharing was developed through the ONC's Advancing CDS initiative. Conclusion The study findings may serve as a useful guide for ongoing activities by the ONC and others to establish a national framework for sharing CDS knowledge and improving clinical care. PMID:22865671

Epidemiologic Surveillance of Teenage Birth Rates in the United States, 2006-2012.

PubMed

Amin, Raid; Decesare, Julie Zemaitis; Hans, Jennifer; Roussos-Ross, Kay

2017-06-01

To investigate the geographic variation in the average teenage birth rates by county in the contiguous United States. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics were used in this retrospective cohort to count the total number of live births to females aged 15-19 years by county between 2006 and 2012. Software for disease surveillance and spatial cluster analysis was used to identify clusters of high or low teenage births in counties or areas of greater than 100,000 teenage females. The analysis was then adjusted for percentage of poverty and high school diploma achievement. The unadjusted analysis identified the top 10 clusters of teenage births. The cluster with the highest rate was a city and the surrounding 40 counties, demonstrating an average teen birth rate of 67 per 1,000 females in the age range, 87% higher than the rate in the contiguous United States. Adjustments for poverty rates and high school diploma achievement shifted the top clusters to other areas. Despite an overall national decline in the teenage birth rate, clusters of elevated teenage birth rates remain. These clusters are not random and remain higher than expected when adjusted for poverty and education. This data set provides a framework to focus targeted interventions to reduce teenage birth rates in this high-risk population.

Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered, Technically Recoverable Coalbed-Gas Resources in Cretaceous and Tertiary Rocks, North Slope and Adjacent State Waters, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, Stephen B.

2008-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geology-based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States, focusing on the distribution, quantity, and availability of oil and natural gas resources. The USGS has completed an assessment of the undiscovered, technically recoverable coalbed-gas resources in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks underlying the North Slope and adjacent State waters of Alaska (USGS Northern Alaska Province 5001). The province is a priority Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) province for the National Assessment because of its potential for oil and gas resources. The assessment of this province is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). In the Northern Alaska Province, the USGS used this geologic framework to define one composite coalbed gas total petroleum system and three coalbed gas assessment units within the petroleum system, and quantitatively estimated the undiscovered coalbed-gas resources within each assessment unit.

Taxing Soda: Strategies for Dealing with the Obesity and Diabetes Epidemic.

PubMed

Maa, John

2016-01-01

Over the past several decades, the United States has been experiencing a twin epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Recently, advocacy efforts to tax sugary drinks, place warning labels on soda, improve nutritional labeling, and reduce sugar overconsumption have swept across the nation to address public health concerns from sugary drinks that strain our nation's health-care resources. In this article, the historical and scientific framework of this public health policy and valuable lessons learned from implementation efforts thus far will be examined to shape the next steps forward for the movement. Additional goals of this article are to share a surgeon's perspective about trends in bariatric surgery and the link between obesity and type 2 diabetes as a result of peripheral insulin resistance.

Engaging the public on climate change issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bean, Alice

2016-03-01

As a Jefferson Science Fellow from August 2014-August 2015, Alice Bean worked with the Office of Religion and Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of State on climate change and environmental issues. The Office of Religion and Global Affairs works to implement the National Strategy on Religious Leader and Faith Community Engagement which includes building partnerships on environmental issues. With the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties meeting 21 in December, 2015 in Paris, there were and continue to be great opportunities for physicists to interact with policy makers and the general public. As an experimental particle physicist, much was learned about climate change science, how the public views scientists, how science can influence policy, but most especially how to communicate about science.

National Health Accounts: A Framework For Understanding Health Care Financing.

PubMed

Waldo, Daniel

2018-03-01

Over the course of the past century, the challenges facing the United States in its consumption of health care goods and services have not changed very much. What is being consumed, who is paying for it, and how much is affordable are questions that arise in every cycle of the debate-if they ever go dormant. National Health Accounts are one tool to use in the search for answers to these questions and to the challenges behind the questions. The accounts cannot (and do not pretend to) address every aspect of the debate, but they provide an important context. In this article I briefly review the history of the health accounts and discuss their strengths and weaknesses in the context of the present debate over spending.

The right to health of non-nationals and displaced persons in the sustainable development goals era: challenges for equity in universal health care.

PubMed

Brolan, Claire E; Forman, Lisa; Dagron, Stéphanie; Hammonds, Rachel; Waris, Attiya; Latif, Lyla; Ruano, Ana Lorena

2017-02-21

Under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), United Nations (UN) Member States reported progress on the targets toward their general citizenry. This focus repeatedly excluded marginalized ethnic and linguistic minorities, including people of refugee backgrounds and other vulnerable non-nationals that resided within a States' borders. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to be truly transformative by being made operational in all countries, and applied to all, nationals and non-nationals alike. Global migration and its diffuse impact has intensified due to escalating conflicts and the growing violence in war-torn Syria, as well as in many countries in Africa and in Central America. This massive migration and the thousands of refugees crossing borders in search for safety led to the creation of two-tiered, ad hoc, refugee health care systems that have added to the sidelining of non-nationals in MDG-reporting frameworks. We have identified four ways to promote the protection of vulnerable non-nationals' health and well being in States' application of the post-2015 SDG framework: In setting their own post-2015 indicators the UN Member States should explicitly identify vulnerable migrants, refugees, displaced persons and other marginalized groups in the content of such indicators. Our second recommendation is that statisticians from different agencies, including the World Health Organization's Gender, Equity and Human Rights programme should be actively involved in the formulation of SDG indicators at both the global and country level. In addition, communities, civil society and health justice advocates should also vigorously engage in country's formulation of post-2015 indicators. Finally, we advocate that the inclusion of non-nationals be anchored in the international human right to health, which in turn requires appropriate financing allocations as well as robust monitoring and evaluation processes that can hold technocratic decision-makers accountable for progress.

Towards a results-based management approach for capacity-building in space science, technology and applications to support the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balogh, Werner R.; St-Pierre, Luc; Di Pippo, Simonetta

2017-10-01

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has the mandate to assist Member States with building capacity in using space science, technology and their applications in support of sustainable economic, social and environmental development. From 20 to 21 June 2018 the international community will gather in Vienna for UNISPACE + 50, a special segment of the 61st session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first UNISPACE conference and to reach consensus on a global space agenda for the next two decades. ;Capacity-building for the twenty-first century; is one of the seven thematic priorities of UNISPACE + 50, identified and agreed upon by COPUOS. The Committee has tasked UNOOSA with undertaking the work under this thematic priority and with reporting regularly to the Committee and its Subcommittees on the progress of its work. It is therefore appropriate, in this context, to take stock of the achievements of the capacity-building activities of the Office, to review the relevant mandates and activities and to consider the necessity to strengthen and better align them with the future needs of the World and in particular with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This paper describes the efforts on-going at UNOOSA, building on its experiences with implementing the United Nations Programme on Space Applications and the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) and working with Member States and other United Nations entities, to develop a results-based management approach, based on an indicator framework and a database with space solutions, for promoting the use of space-based solutions to help Member States achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and successfully implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

An Integrated Framework to Analyze Local Decision Making and Adaptation to Sea-Level Rise in Coastal Regions in Santos-Brazil, Broward County-USA and Selsey-UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marengo, J. A.; Muller-Karger, F. E.; Pelling, M.; Reynolds, C. J.; Merril, S. B.; Nunes, L. H.; Paterson, S.; Gray, A.; Lockman, J. T.; Kartez, J.; Moreira, F.; Greco, R.; Harari, J.; Souza, C. G.; Alves, L. M.; Hosokawa, E.; Tabuchi, E.

2016-12-01

One of the clear signals of present climate change is sea level rise (SLR). There is mounting evidence of other changes, including warmer temperatures in many localities, and changes in the intensity and frequency of extreme meteorological events, including wind, rain, and waves. A rising sea level combined with these factors and tides is expected to affect coastal communities through a number of processes, including increased risk of flooding and contamination of water sources. An international collaboration between Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States was designed to evaluate local decision making processes and to open convening space for local urban managers to reflect on possible actions toward adaption to SLR and the constraints imposed by framing administrative and institutional structures. The overall goal of the project is to help coastal communities better understand factors that facilitate or hinder their intrinsic, local decision-making processes related to planning for adaptation to risk. The project carried out these tests in 2014 and 2015 in one coastal city in each partnering nation. The framework was designed by an interdisciplinary team that incorporated social and natural scientists from these three nations, and which included local government officials. To support the overall goal, this paper 1) discusses some aspects of adaptive capacity and participant survey research conducted through the project, 2) presents technical modelling results for adaptation options that may reduce the potential damages of SLR and storm surge in each location, and 3) identifies project design considerations for similar transnational adaptation projects.

Microbiological monitoring for the US Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Francy, Donna S.; Myers, Donna N.; Helsel, Dennis R.

2000-01-01

Data to characterize the microbiological quality of the Nation?s fresh, marine, and estuarine waters are usually collected for local purposes, most often to judge compliance with standards for protection of public health in swimmable or drinkable waters. Methods and procedures vary with the objectives and practices of the parties collecting data and are continuously being developed or modified. Therefore, it is difficult to provide a nationally consistent picture of the microbial quality of the Nation?s waters. Study objectives and guidelines for a national microbiological monitoring program are outlined in this report, using the framework of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. A national program is designed to provide long-term data on the presence of microbiological pathogens and indicators in ground water and surface water to support effective water policy and management. Three major groups of waterborne pathogens affect the public health acceptability of waters in the United States?bacteria, protozoa, and viruses. Microbiological monitoring in NAWQA would be designed to assess the occurrence, distribution, and trends of pathogenic organisms and indicators in surface waters and ground waters; relate the patterns discerned to factors that help explain them; and improve our understanding of the processes that control microbiological water quality.

A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Extreme Heat Vulnerability Across the United States using Geospatial Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schoessow, F. S.; Li, Y.; Howe, P. D.

2016-12-01

Extreme heat events are the deadliest natural hazard in the United States and are expected to increase in both severity and frequency in the coming years due to the effects of climate change. The risks of climate change and weather-related events such as heat waves to a population can be more comprehensively assessed by coupling the traditional examination of natural hazards using remote sensing and geospatial analysis techniques with human vulnerability factors and individual perceptions of hazards. By analyzing remote-sensed and empirical survey data alongside national hazards advisories, this study endeavors to establish a nationally-representative baseline quantifying the spatiotemporal variation of individual heat vulnerabilities at multiple scales and between disparate population groups affected by their unique socioenvironmental factors. This is of immediate academic interest because the study of heat waves risk perceptions remains relatively unexplored - despite the intensification of extreme heat events. The use of "human sensors", georeferenced & timestamped individual response data, provides invaluable contextualized data at a high spatial resolution, which will enable policy-makers to more effectively implement targeted strategies for risk prevention, mitigation, and communication. As climate change risks are further defined, this cognizance will help identify vulnerable populations and enhance national hazard preparedness and recovery frameworks.

Report on the International Workshop on Drug Prevention and Treatment in Rural Settings Organized by United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and World Health Organization (WHO).

PubMed

Milano, Giulia; Saenz, Elizabeth; Clark, Nicolas; Busse, Anja; Gale, John; Campello, Giovanna; Mattfeld, Elizabeth; Maalouf, Wadih; Heikkila, Hanna; Martelli, Antonietta; Morales, Brian; Gerra, Gilberto

2017-11-10

Very little evidence has been reported in literature regarding the misuse of substances in rural areas. Despite the common perception of rural communities as a protective and risk-mitigating environment, the scientific literature demonstrated the existence of many risk factors in rural communities. The Drug Prevention and Health Branch (DHB) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the World Health Organization (WHO), in June 2016, organized a meeting of experts in treatment and prevention of SUDs in rural settings. The content presented during the meeting and the related discussion have provided materials for the preparation of an outline document, which is the basis to create a technical tool on SUDs prevention and treatment in rural settings. The UNODC framework for interventions in rural settings is a technical tool aimed to assist policy makers and managers at the national level. This paper is a report on UNODC/WHO efforts to improve the clinical conditions of people affected by SUDs and living in rural areas. The purpose of this article is to draw attention on a severe clinical and social problem in a reality forgotten by everyone.

The Common Ground Preparedness Framework: A Comprehensive Description of Public Health Emergency Preparedness

PubMed Central

Theadore, Fred; Jellison, James B.

2012-01-01

Currently, public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) is not well defined. Discussions about public health preparedness often make little progress, for lack of a shared understanding of the topic. We present a concise yet comprehensive framework describing PHEP activities. The framework, which was refined for 3 years by state and local health departments, uses terms easily recognized by the public health workforce within an information flow consistent with the National Incident Management System. To assess the framework's completeness, strengths, and weaknesses, we compare it to 4 other frameworks: the RAND Corporation's PREPARE Pandemic Influenza Quality Improvement Toolkit, the National Response Framework's Public Health and Medical Services Functional Areas, the National Health Security Strategy Capabilities List, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's PHEP Capabilities. PMID:22397343

Priority data on marine and estuarine resources within northeastern National Parks: Inventory and acquisition needs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hart, Tracy E.; Neckles, Hilary A.; Kopp, Blaine S.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this project was to guide development of a strategy for the inventory and mapping of submerged natural resources associated within 10 coastal parks of the National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Region (NER; see Table 1). Priority data needs were identified by the NER Ocean Stewardship Task Force. The majority of the NER priority data needs involve the biotic, chemical, and geological characterization of the seabed. Taken collectively, this demands a consistent and unified approach to habitat classification. The Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) is endorsed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC-STD-018) for classifying ecological units in coastal and marine environments, and is recommended as a framework for acquiring and organizing NER data. We prepared an inventory of existing data on priority marine and estuarine natural resources within the ten NER coastal parks. This report describes the data and information sources relevant to each park and identifies gaps in available data. Overwhelmingly and uniformly across all parks, the most pressing needs are consistent, high-resolution bathymetry and seafloor characterization data. Approaches for acquiring these data using an integrated, multi-resolution sampling framework are recommended.

Stability and Degradation Mechanisms of Metal-Organic Frameworks Containing the Zr6O4(OH)4 Secondary Building Unit

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-18

0188 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) - UU UU UU UU Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Stability and degradation mechanisms of metal ...Stability and degradation mechanisms of metal –organic frameworks containing the Zr6O4(OH)4 secondary building unit Report Title See publication. 3...Stability and degradation mechanisms of metal –organic frameworks containing the Zr6O4(OH)4 secondary building unit Approved for public release; distribution

How Misapplication of the Hydrologic Unit Framework Diminishes the Meaning of Watersheds

EPA Science Inventory

Hydrologic units provide a convenient nationwide set of geographic polygons based on an arbitrary subdivision of the drainage of land surface areas at several hierarchical levels. Half or more of these units, however, are not true watersheds as the official name of the framework,...

36 CFR 219.3 - Overview.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... System Land and Resource Management Planning The Framework for Planning § 219.3 Overview. (a) The planning framework. Land and resource management planning is a flexible process for fitting solutions to... responsible for national planning. National planning includes the Forest Service national strategic plan...

A retrospective streamflow ensemble forecast for an extreme hydrologic event: a case study of Hurricane Irene and on the Hudson River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleh, Firas; Ramaswamy, Venkatsundar; Georgas, Nickitas; Blumberg, Alan F.; Pullen, Julie

2016-07-01

This paper investigates the uncertainties in hourly streamflow ensemble forecasts for an extreme hydrological event using a hydrological model forced with short-range ensemble weather prediction models. A state-of-the art, automated, short-term hydrologic prediction framework was implemented using GIS and a regional scale hydrological model (HEC-HMS). The hydrologic framework was applied to the Hudson River basin ( ˜ 36 000 km2) in the United States using gridded precipitation data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) and was validated against streamflow observations from the United States Geologic Survey (USGS). Finally, 21 precipitation ensemble members of the latest Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS/R) were forced into HEC-HMS to generate a retrospective streamflow ensemble forecast for an extreme hydrological event, Hurricane Irene. The work shows that ensemble stream discharge forecasts provide improved predictions and useful information about associated uncertainties, thus improving the assessment of risks when compared with deterministic forecasts. The uncertainties in weather inputs may result in false warnings and missed river flooding events, reducing the potential to effectively mitigate flood damage. The findings demonstrate how errors in the ensemble median streamflow forecast and time of peak, as well as the ensemble spread (uncertainty) are reduced 48 h pre-event by utilizing the ensemble framework. The methodology and implications of this work benefit efforts of short-term streamflow forecasts at regional scales, notably regarding the peak timing of an extreme hydrologic event when combined with a flood threshold exceedance diagram. Although the modeling framework was implemented on the Hudson River basin, it is flexible and applicable in other parts of the world where atmospheric reanalysis products and streamflow data are available.

National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (NJ1), 2011

2011-01-01

This document is a revised version of the National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework (the Framework) originally developed in 2005. It articulates a rationale for consumer and financial education in Australian schools; describes essential consumer and financial capabilities that will support lifelong learning; and provides guidance on how…

National Qualification Frameworks: Developing Research Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernie, Scott; Pilcher, Nick

2009-01-01

Arguments for National Qualification Frameworks (NQF) are compelling. Indeed, such frameworks are now an international phenomenon. Yet, few studies take a critical perspective and challenge the broad assumptions underpinning NQF. Arguments presented in this paper attempt to open a debate within the higher education community that draws attention…

Framing the Framework: Discourses in Australia's National Values Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Tiffany Mary

2009-01-01

In the past, many Australian state schools avoided teaching about values explicitly. However, the Australian government released Australia's first official values education policy in 2005: the "National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools" (NFVEAS). This framework represents a local manifestation of the recent…

75 FR 20980 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Framework...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-22

..., evaluate, and enforce fishery regulations. Framework Adjustment 1 (FW1) to the Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Framework Adjustment I AGENCY: National...

75 FR 19356 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Framework...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-14

..., evaluate, and enforce fishery regulations. Framework Adjustment 1 (FW1) to the Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Framework Adjustment I AGENCY: National...

A Novel Framework Based on FastICA for High Density Surface EMG Decomposition

PubMed Central

Chen, Maoqi; Zhou, Ping

2015-01-01

This study presents a progressive FastICA peel-off (PFP) framework for high density surface electromyogram (EMG) decomposition. The novel framework is based on a shift-invariant model for describing surface EMG. The decomposition process can be viewed as progressively expanding the set of motor unit spike trains, which is primarily based on FastICA. To overcome the local convergence of FastICA, a “peel off” strategy (i.e. removal of the estimated motor unit action potential (MUAP) trains from the previous step) is used to mitigate the effects of the already identified motor units, so more motor units can be extracted. Moreover, a constrained FastICA is applied to assess the extracted spike trains and correct possible erroneous or missed spikes. These procedures work together to improve the decomposition performance. The proposed framework was validated using simulated surface EMG signals with different motor unit numbers (30, 70, 91) and signal to noise ratios (SNRs) (20, 10, 0 dB). The results demonstrated relatively large numbers of extracted motor units and high accuracies (high F1-scores). The framework was also tested with 111 trials of 64-channel electrode array experimental surface EMG signals during the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle contraction at different intensities. On average 14.1 ± 5.0 motor units were identified from each trial of experimental surface EMG signals. PMID:25775496

Hydraulic characterization of volcanic rocks in Pahute Mesa using an integrated analysis of 16 multiple-well aquifer tests, Nevada National Security Site, 2009–14

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garcia, C. Amanda; Jackson, Tracie R.; Halford, Keith J.; Sweetkind, Donald S.; Damar, Nancy A.; Fenelon, Joseph M.; Reiner, Steven R.

2017-01-20

An improved understanding of groundwater flow and radionuclide migration downgradient from underground nuclear-testing areas at Pahute Mesa, Nevada National Security Site, requires accurate subsurface hydraulic characterization. To improve conceptual models of flow and transport in the complex hydrogeologic system beneath Pahute Mesa, the U.S. Geological Survey characterized bulk hydraulic properties of volcanic rocks using an integrated analysis of 16 multiple-well aquifer tests. Single-well aquifer-test analyses provided transmissivity estimates at pumped wells. Transmissivity estimates ranged from less than 1 to about 100,000 square feet per day in Pahute Mesa and the vicinity. Drawdown from multiple-well aquifer testing was estimated and distinguished from natural fluctuations in more than 200 pumping and observation wells using analytical water-level models. Drawdown was detected at distances greater than 3 miles from pumping wells and propagated across hydrostratigraphic units and major structures, indicating that neither faults nor structural blocks noticeably impede or divert groundwater flow in the study area.Consistent hydraulic properties were estimated by simultaneously interpreting drawdown from the 16 multiple-well aquifer tests with an integrated groundwater-flow model composed of 11 well-site models—1 for each aquifer test site. Hydraulic properties were distributed across volcanic rocks with the Phase II Pahute Mesa-Oasis Valley Hydrostratigraphic Framework Model. Estimated hydraulic-conductivity distributions spanned more than two orders of magnitude in hydrostratigraphic units. Overlapping hydraulic conductivity ranges among units indicated that most Phase II Hydrostratigraphic Framework Model units were not hydraulically distinct. Simulated total transmissivity ranged from 1,600 to 68,000 square feet per day for all pumping wells analyzed. High-transmissivity zones exceeding 10,000 square feet per day exist near caldera margins and extend along the northern and eastern Pahute Mesa study area and near the southwestern edge of the study area. The estimated hydraulic-property distributions and observed hydraulic connections among geologic structures improved the characterization and representation of groundwater flow at Pahute Mesa.

Framework of Sustainability Assessment (FSA) method for manufacturing industry in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soliha Sahimi, Nur; Turan, Faiz Mohd; Johan, Kartina

2018-04-01

In recent years, our planet faced massive social, environmental and economic challenges. Moreover, Environmental Democracy Index (EDI) published that Malaysia has been ranked as the second worst environmental democracy among 70 countries in May 2015. This is due to lack of participation in sustainability compliance and less awareness on sustainability by Malaysia’s business partners. By combating and achieving these, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defines global priorities and inspirations through Agenda 2030 that recognize by United Nation. This paper attempts to propose Framework Sustainability Assessment (FSA) to assess sustainability for the various sector in Malaysia. This framework will give an overview to reduce the noise from wide data collection to a single element. Lastly, it will integrate the current performance with the linkage of the SDGs and the sustainability elements by dividing into three phase which is baselining, clustering and correlation. Now it is time for business to take action especially every sector or industry in Malaysia and it will improve the awareness and enhance Environmental Democracy Index to a better rank in future.

ASSESSMENT OF HOUSEHOLD CARBON FOOTPRINT REDUCTION POTENTIALS

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

Kramer, Klaas Jan; Homan, Greg; Brown, Rich

2009-04-15

The term ?household carbon footprint? refers to the total annual carbon emissions associated with household consumption of energy, goods, and services. In this project, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory developed a carbon footprint modeling framework that characterizes the key underlying technologies and processes that contribute to household carbon footprints in California and the United States. The approach breaks down the carbon footprint by 35 different household fuel end uses and 32 different supply chain fuel end uses. This level of end use detail allows energy and policy analysts to better understand the underlying technologies and processes contributing to the carbon footprintmore » of California households. The modeling framework was applied to estimate the annual home energy and supply chain carbon footprints of a prototypical California household. A preliminary assessment of parameter uncertainty associated with key model input data was also conducted. To illustrate the policy-relevance of this modeling framework, a case study was conducted that analyzed the achievable carbon footprint reductions associated with the adoption of energy efficient household and supply chain technologies.« less

77 FR 20728 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; Framework Adjustment 23

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-06

.... 111011616-2102-02] RIN 0648-BB51 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery... Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (Framework 23) and implements its measures. Framework 23 was... impacts on sea turtles through the requirement of a turtle deflector dredge; improve the effectiveness of...

Overview of the Special Issue: A Multi-Model Framework to Achieve Consistent Evaluation of Climate Change Impacts in the United States

EPA Science Inventory

The Climate Change Impacts and Risk Analysis (CIRA) project establishes a new multi-model framework to systematically assess the impacts, economic damages, and risks from climate change in the United States. The primary goal of this framework to estimate how climate change impac...

The Large Marine Ecosystem Approach for 21st Century Ocean Health and International Sustainable Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honey, K. T.

2014-12-01

The global coastal ocean and watersheds are divided into 66 Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), which encompass regions from river basins, estuaries, and coasts to the seaward boundaries of continental shelves and margins of major currents. Approximately 80% of global fisheries catch comes from LME waters. Ecosystem goods and services from LMEs contribute an estimated US 18-25 trillion dollars annually to the global economy in market and non-market value. The critical importance of these large-scale systems, however, is threatened by human populations and pressures, including climate change. Fortunately, there is pragmatic reason for optimism. Interdisciplinary frameworks exist, such as the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) approach for adaptive management that can integrate both nature-centric and human-centric views into ecosystem monitoring, assessment, and adaptive management practices for long-term sustainability. Originally proposed almost 30 years ago, the LME approach rests on five modules are: (i) productivity, (ii) fish and fisheries, (iii) pollution and ecosystem health, (iv) socioeconomics, and (v) governance for iterative adaptive management at a large, international scale of 200,000 km2 or greater. The Global Environment Facility (GEF), World Bank, and United Nations agencies recognize and support the LME approach—as evidenced by over 3.15 billion in financial assistance to date for LME projects. This year of 2014 is an exciting milestone in LME history, after 20 years of the United Nations and GEF organizations adopting LMEs as a unit for ecosystem-based approaches to management. The LME approach, however, is not perfect. Nor is it immutable. Similar to the adaptive management framework it propones, the LME approach itself must adapt to new and emerging 21st Century technologies, science, and realities. The LME approach must further consider socioeconomics and governance. Within the socioeconomics module alone, several trillion-dollar opportunities exist for interdisciplinary integration with best practices in: (i) water-energy nexus infrastructure; (ii) responsible tourism; and (iii) open data innovations.

A Semi-Automated Machine Learning Algorithm for Tree Cover Delineation from 1-m Naip Imagery Using a High Performance Computing Architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, S.; Ganguly, S.; Nemani, R. R.; Mukhopadhyay, S.; Milesi, C.; Votava, P.; Michaelis, A.; Zhang, G.; Cook, B. D.; Saatchi, S. S.; Boyda, E.

2014-12-01

Accurate tree cover delineation is a useful instrument in the derivation of Above Ground Biomass (AGB) density estimates from Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery data. Numerous algorithms have been designed to perform tree cover delineation in high to coarse resolution satellite imagery, but most of them do not scale to terabytes of data, typical in these VHR datasets. In this paper, we present an automated probabilistic framework for the segmentation and classification of 1-m VHR data as obtained from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) for deriving tree cover estimates for the whole of Continental United States, using a High Performance Computing Architecture. The results from the classification and segmentation algorithms are then consolidated into a structured prediction framework using a discriminative undirected probabilistic graphical model based on Conditional Random Field (CRF), which helps in capturing the higher order contextual dependencies between neighboring pixels. Once the final probability maps are generated, the framework is updated and re-trained by incorporating expert knowledge through the relabeling of misclassified image patches. This leads to a significant improvement in the true positive rates and reduction in false positive rates. The tree cover maps were generated for the state of California, which covers a total of 11,095 NAIP tiles and spans a total geographical area of 163,696 sq. miles. Our framework produced correct detection rates of around 85% for fragmented forests and 70% for urban tree cover areas, with false positive rates lower than 3% for both regions. Comparative studies with the National Land Cover Data (NLCD) algorithm and the LiDAR high-resolution canopy height model shows the effectiveness of our algorithm in generating accurate high-resolution tree cover maps.

Australian Recognition Framework Arrangements. Australia's National Training Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Australian National Training Authority, Brisbane.

This document explains the objectives, principles, standards, and protocols of the Australian Recognition Framework (ARF), which is a comprehensive approach to national recognition of vocational education and training (VET) that is based on a quality-assured approach to the registration of training organizations seeking to deliver training, assess…

Introduction to the geologic and geophysical studies of Fort Irwin, California: Chapter A in Geology and geophysics applied to groundwater hydrology at Fort Irwin, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buesch, David C.

2014-01-01

Geologic and geophysical investigations in the vicinity of Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, have been completed in support of groundwater investigations, and are presented in eight chapters of this report. A generalized surficial geologic map along with field and borehole investigations conducted during 2010–11 provide a lithostratigraphic and structural framework for the area during the Cenozoic. Electromagnetic properties of resistivity were measured in the laboratory on hand and core samples, and compared to borehole geophysical resistivity data. These data were used in conjunction with ground-based time-domain and airborne data and interpretations to provide a framework for the shallow lithologic units and structure. Gravity and aeromagnetic maps cover areas ~4 to 5 times that of Fort Irwin. Each chapter includes hydrogeologic applications of the data or model results.

Assessing Inter-Sectoral Climate Change Risks: The Role of ISIMIP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Arnell, Nigel W.; Ebi, Kristie L.; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Raes, Frank; Rapley, Chris; Smith, Mark Stafford; Cramer, Wolfgang; Frieler, Katja; Reyer, Christopher P. O.;

National water, food, and trade modeling framework: The case of Egypt.

PubMed

Abdelkader, A; Elshorbagy, A; Tuninetti, M; Laio, F; Ridolfi, L; Fahmy, H; Hoekstra, A Y

2018-10-15

This paper introduces a modeling framework for the analysis of real and virtual water flows at national scale. The framework has two components: (1) a national water model that simulates agricultural, industrial and municipal water uses, and available water and land resources; and (2) an international virtual water trade model that captures national virtual water exports and imports related to trade in crops and animal products. This National Water, Food & Trade (NWFT) modeling framework is applied to Egypt, a water-poor country and the world's largest importer of wheat. Egypt's food and water gaps and the country's food (virtual water) imports are estimated over a baseline period (1986-2013) and projected up to 2050 based on four scenarios. Egypt's food and water gaps are growing rapidly as a result of steep population growth and limited water resources. The NWFT modeling framework shows the nexus of the population dynamics, water uses for different sectors, and their compounding effects on Egypt's food gap and water self-sufficiency. The sensitivity analysis reveals that for solving Egypt's water and food problem non-water-based solutions like educational, health, and awareness programs aimed at lowering population growth will be an essential addition to the traditional water resources development solution. Both the national and the global models project similar trends of Egypt's food gap. The NWFT modeling framework can be easily adapted to other nations and regions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

European emissions of the powerful greenhouse gases hydrofluorocarbons inferred from atmospheric measurements and their comparison with annual national reports to UNFCCC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graziosi, F.; Arduini, J.; Furlani, F.; Giostra, U.; Cristofanelli, P.; Fang, X.; Hermanssen, O.; Lunder, C.; Maenhout, G.; O'Doherty, S.; Reimann, S.; Schmidbauer, N.; Vollmer, M. K.; Young, D.; Maione, M.

2017-06-01

Hydrofluorocarbons are powerful greenhouse gases developed by industry after the phase-out of the ozone depleting chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons required by the Montreal Protocol. The climate benefit of reducing the emissions of hydrofluorocarbons has been widely recognised, leading to an amendment of the Montreal Protocol (Kigali Amendment) calling for developed countries to start to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons by 2019 and in developing countries to follow with a freeze between 2024 and 2028. In this way, nearly half a degree Celsius of warming would be avoided by the end of the century. Hydrofluorocarbons are also included in the basket of gases controlled under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Annex I parties to the Convention submit annual national greenhouse gas inventories based on a bottom-up approach, which relies on declared anthropogenic activities. Top-down methodologies, based on atmospheric measurements and modelling, can be used in support to the inventory compilation. In this study we used atmospheric data from four European sites combined with the FLEXPART dispersion model and a Bayesian inversion method, in order to derive emissions of nine individual hydrofluorocarbons from the whole European Geographic Domain and from twelve regions within it, then comparing our results with the annual emissions that the European countries submit every year to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as with the bottom-up Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research. We found several discrepancies when considering the specific compounds and on the country level. However, an overall agreement is found when comparing European aggregated data, which between 2008 and 2014 are on average 84.2 ± 28.0 Tg-CO2-eq·yr-1 against the 95.1 Tg-CO2-eq·yr-1 reported by UNFCCC in the same period. Therefore, in agreement with other studies, the gap on the global level between bottom-up estimates of Annex I countries and total global top-down emissions should be essentially due to emissions from non-reporting countries (non-Annex I).

A Bayesian Machine Learning Model for Estimating Building Occupancy from Open Source Data

DOE PAGES

Stewart, Robert N.; Urban, Marie L.; Duchscherer, Samantha E.; ...

2016-01-01

Understanding building occupancy is critical to a wide array of applications including natural hazards loss analysis, green building technologies, and population distribution modeling. Due to the expense of directly monitoring buildings, scientists rely in addition on a wide and disparate array of ancillary and open source information including subject matter expertise, survey data, and remote sensing information. These data are fused using data harmonization methods which refer to a loose collection of formal and informal techniques for fusing data together to create viable content for building occupancy estimation. In this paper, we add to the current state of the artmore » by introducing the Population Data Tables (PDT), a Bayesian based informatics system for systematically arranging data and harmonization techniques into a consistent, transparent, knowledge learning framework that retains in the final estimation uncertainty emerging from data, expert judgment, and model parameterization. PDT probabilistically estimates ambient occupancy in units of people/1000ft2 for over 50 building types at the national and sub-national level with the goal of providing global coverage. The challenge of global coverage led to the development of an interdisciplinary geospatial informatics system tool that provides the framework for capturing, storing, and managing open source data, handling subject matter expertise, carrying out Bayesian analytics as well as visualizing and exporting occupancy estimation results. We present the PDT project, situate the work within the larger community, and report on the progress of this multi-year project.Understanding building occupancy is critical to a wide array of applications including natural hazards loss analysis, green building technologies, and population distribution modeling. Due to the expense of directly monitoring buildings, scientists rely in addition on a wide and disparate array of ancillary and open source information including subject matter expertise, survey data, and remote sensing information. These data are fused using data harmonization methods which refer to a loose collection of formal and informal techniques for fusing data together to create viable content for building occupancy estimation. In this paper, we add to the current state of the art by introducing the Population Data Tables (PDT), a Bayesian model and informatics system for systematically arranging data and harmonization techniques into a consistent, transparent, knowledge learning framework that retains in the final estimation uncertainty emerging from data, expert judgment, and model parameterization. PDT probabilistically estimates ambient occupancy in units of people/1000 ft 2 for over 50 building types at the national and sub-national level with the goal of providing global coverage. The challenge of global coverage led to the development of an interdisciplinary geospatial informatics system tool that provides the framework for capturing, storing, and managing open source data, handling subject matter expertise, carrying out Bayesian analytics as well as visualizing and exporting occupancy estimation results. We present the PDT project, situate the work within the larger community, and report on the progress of this multi-year project.« less

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

Stewart, Robert N.; Urban, Marie L.; Duchscherer, Samantha E.

Understanding building occupancy is critical to a wide array of applications including natural hazards loss analysis, green building technologies, and population distribution modeling. Due to the expense of directly monitoring buildings, scientists rely in addition on a wide and disparate array of ancillary and open source information including subject matter expertise, survey data, and remote sensing information. These data are fused using data harmonization methods which refer to a loose collection of formal and informal techniques for fusing data together to create viable content for building occupancy estimation. In this paper, we add to the current state of the artmore » by introducing the Population Data Tables (PDT), a Bayesian based informatics system for systematically arranging data and harmonization techniques into a consistent, transparent, knowledge learning framework that retains in the final estimation uncertainty emerging from data, expert judgment, and model parameterization. PDT probabilistically estimates ambient occupancy in units of people/1000ft2 for over 50 building types at the national and sub-national level with the goal of providing global coverage. The challenge of global coverage led to the development of an interdisciplinary geospatial informatics system tool that provides the framework for capturing, storing, and managing open source data, handling subject matter expertise, carrying out Bayesian analytics as well as visualizing and exporting occupancy estimation results. We present the PDT project, situate the work within the larger community, and report on the progress of this multi-year project.Understanding building occupancy is critical to a wide array of applications including natural hazards loss analysis, green building technologies, and population distribution modeling. Due to the expense of directly monitoring buildings, scientists rely in addition on a wide and disparate array of ancillary and open source information including subject matter expertise, survey data, and remote sensing information. These data are fused using data harmonization methods which refer to a loose collection of formal and informal techniques for fusing data together to create viable content for building occupancy estimation. In this paper, we add to the current state of the art by introducing the Population Data Tables (PDT), a Bayesian model and informatics system for systematically arranging data and harmonization techniques into a consistent, transparent, knowledge learning framework that retains in the final estimation uncertainty emerging from data, expert judgment, and model parameterization. PDT probabilistically estimates ambient occupancy in units of people/1000 ft 2 for over 50 building types at the national and sub-national level with the goal of providing global coverage. The challenge of global coverage led to the development of an interdisciplinary geospatial informatics system tool that provides the framework for capturing, storing, and managing open source data, handling subject matter expertise, carrying out Bayesian analytics as well as visualizing and exporting occupancy estimation results. We present the PDT project, situate the work within the larger community, and report on the progress of this multi-year project.« less

An international comparison of legal frameworks for supported and substitute decision-making in mental health services.

PubMed

Davidson, Gavin; Brophy, Lisa; Campbell, Jim; Farrell, Susan J; Gooding, Piers; O'Brien, Ann-Marie

2016-01-01

There have been important recent developments in law, research, policy and practice relating to supporting people with decision-making impairments, in particular when a person's wishes and preferences are unclear or inaccessible. A driver in this respect is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); the implications of the CRPD for policy and professional practices are currently debated. This article reviews and compares four legal frameworks for supported and substitute decision-making for people whose decision-making ability is impaired. In particular, it explores how these frameworks may apply to people with mental health problems. The four jurisdictions are: Ontario, Canada; Victoria, Australia; England and Wales, United Kingdom (UK); and Northern Ireland, UK. Comparisons and contrasts are made in the key areas of: the legal framework for supported and substitute decision-making; the criteria for intervention; the assessment process; the safeguards; and issues in practice. Thus Ontario has developed a relatively comprehensive, progressive and influential legal framework over the past 30 years but there remain concerns about the standardisation of decision-making ability assessments and how the laws work together. In Australia, the Victorian Law Reform Commission (2012) has recommended that the six different types of substitute decision-making under the three laws in that jurisdiction, need to be simplified, and integrated into a spectrum that includes supported decision-making. In England and Wales the Mental Capacity Act 2005 has a complex interface with mental health law. In Northern Ireland it is proposed to introduce a new Mental Capacity (Health, Welfare and Finance) Bill that will provide a unified structure for all substitute decision-making. The discussion will consider the key strengths and limitations of the approaches in each jurisdiction and identify possible ways that further progress can be made in law, policy and practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Science to support adaptive habitat management: Overton Bottoms North Unit, Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Missouri [Volumes 1-6

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jacobson, Robert B.

2006-01-01

Extensive efforts are underway along the Lower Missouri River to rehabilitate ecosystem functions in the channel and flood plain. Considerable uncertainty inevitably accompanies ecosystem restoration efforts, indicating the benefits of an adaptive management approach in which management actions are treated as experiments, and results provide information to feed back into the management process. The Overton Bottoms North Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge is a part of the Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Habitat Mitigation Project. The dominant management action at the Overton Bottoms North Unit has been excavation of a side-channel chute to increase hydrologic connectivity and to enhance shallow, slow current-velocity habitat. The side-channel chute also promises to increase hydrologic gradients, and may serve to alter patterns of wetland inundation and vegetation community growth in undesired ways. The U.S. Geological Survey's Central Region Integrated Studies Program (CRISP) undertook interdisciplinary research at the Overton Bottoms North Unit in 2003 to address key areas of scientific uncertainty that were highly relevant to ongoing adaptive management of the site, and to the design of similar rehabilitation projects on the Lower Missouri River. This volume presents chapters documenting the surficial geologic, topographic, surface-water, and ground-water framework of the Overton Bottoms North Unit. Retrospective analysis of vegetation community trends over the last 10 years is used to evaluate vegetation responses to reconnection of the Overton Bottoms North Unit to the river channel. Quasi-experimental analysis of cottonwood growth rate variation along hydrologic gradients is used to evaluate sensitivity of terrestrial vegetation to development of aquatic habitats. The integrated, landscape-specific understanding derived from these studies illustrates the value of scientific information in design and management of rehabilitation projects.

The impact of the United Kingdom's national smoking cessation strategy on quit attempts and use of cessation services: findings from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Survey.

PubMed

Gibson, Jack E; Murray, Rachael L; Borland, Ron; Cummings, K Michael; Fong, Geoffrey T; Hammond, David; McNeill, Ann

2010-10-01

The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recommends that provision of cessation support should be included in national tobacco control strategies. This study examines the impact of the United Kingdom's national smoking cessation strategy on quit attempts, use of treatment and short-term abstinence, relative to the United States, Canada, and Australia where less support is provided. Data on quitting behavior and use of support were obtained for all smokers enrolled in the International Tobacco Control 4 Country Survey between 2002 and 2005. Generalized estimating equations were used to calculate the relative odds (adjusted by age, sex, and Heaviness of Smoking Index) that smokers in each country made quit attempts, used behavioral or pharmacological support, and to compare rates of short-term (28 days) abstinence between countries and users of different forms of support. U.K. smokers were less likely to have attempted to quit smoking than those in Australia (odds ratio [OR] = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.12-1.40), Canada (OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.34-1.67), and the United States (OR = 1.25, 95% CI: 1.11-1.40) but were more likely to use pharmacotherapy and/or support from a clinic, helpline, or health professional when attempting to quit than smokers in the other countries. U.K. smokers making quit attempts were significantly more likely to achieve 28-day abstinence than those in Australia (OR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.49-0.71), Canada (OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.61-0.87), and the United States (OR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.42-0.62). U.K. smokers report fewer quit attempts but are more likely to use support when quitting and to achieve short-term abstinence.

Developing a national framework for safe drinking water--case study from Iceland.

PubMed

Gunnarsdottir, Maria J; Gardarsson, Sigurdur M; Bartram, Jamie

2015-03-01

Safe drinking water is one of the fundaments of society and experience has shown that a holistic national framework is needed for its effective provision. A national framework should include legal requirements on water protection, surveillance on drinking water quality and performance of the water supply system, and systematic preventive management. Iceland has implemented these requirements into legislation. This case study analyzes the success and challenges encountered in implementing the legislation and provide recommendations on the main shortcomings identified through the Icelandic experience. The results of the analysis show that the national framework for safe drinking water is mostly in place in Iceland. The shortcomings include the need for both improved guidance and control by the central government; and for improved surveillance of the water supply system and implementation of the water safety plan by the Local Competent Authorities. Communication to the public and between stakeholders is also insufficient. There is also a deficiency in the national framework regarding small water supply systems that needs to be addressed. Other elements are largely in place or on track. Most of the lessons learned are transferable to other European countries where the legal system around water safety is built on a common foundation from EU directives. The lessons can also provide valuable insights into how to develop a national framework elsewhere. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

The Resilience Assessment Framework: a common indicator for land management?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cowie, Annette; Metternicht, Graciela; O'Connell, Deborah

2015-04-01

At the Rio+20 conference in June 2013, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reinforced their mutual interests in building linkages between biodiversity conservation, sustainable land management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The UNCCD sees building resilience of agro-ecosystems as a common interest that could strengthen linkages between the conventions and deliver synergies in progressing goals of each of the conventions. Furthermore, enhancing resilience of productive agro-ecosystems is fundamental to food security and sustainable development, and thus aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Global Environment Facility (GEF) shares the interest of the conventions in building resilience in agro-ecosystems. Indicators of resilience are required for monitoring progress in these endeavors, application of a common indicator between the UNCCD, UNFCCC and CBD as a measure of both land-based adaptation and ecosystem resilience, could strengthen links between the conventions and increase attention to the broad benefits of improved land management. Consequently, the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) to the GEF commissioned the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to produce a report reviewing the conceptual basis for resilience, and proposing an indicator approach that could meet the needs of the Conventions and the GEF for an indicator of agro-ecosystem resilience and land-based adaption. The paper presents a synthesis of scientific understanding of resilience in agro-ecosystems, reviews indicators that have been proposed, and, having concluded that none of the extant indicator approaches adequately assesses resilience of agro-ecosystems, proposes a new approach to the assessment of resilience. Recognizing that no single indicator of resilience is applicable to all agro-ecosystems, and that involvement of stakeholders is critical to discerning the critical variables to be assessed, the proposed framework uses an iterative participatory approach to characterise the system, considering also interactions across and within scales; identify the controlling variables, and assess proximity to thresholds, and adaptive capacity. The framework consists of four elements: Element A: System description; Element B Assessing the system; Element C Adaptive governance and management; Element D Participatory process. Element D is intended as a cross-cutting element, applying across Elements A to C, although Elements A and B can be applied as a desktop activity in a preliminary assessment. The results of the assessment are synthesised in "Resilience action indicators", that summarise the state of the system with respect to the need to adapt or transform. The presentation will summarise the framework and the responses of expert reviewers who identified strengths of the approach, and challenges for implementation, particularly at program and national scales. The presentation will emphasise the conceptual basis for the approach, and the role of scientists in testing, refining and operationalizing the approach.

The climate change convention and human health.

PubMed

Rowbotham, E J

1995-01-01

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed at Rio in June 1992, is intended to minimize climate change and its impact. Much of its text is ambiguous and it is not specifically directed to health considerations. It is, however, recognized that adverse effects of climate change on health are a concern of humankind, and health is an integral part of the Convention. The Convention includes commitments by the developed countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to increase public awareness of these commitments. The significance of the Convention in these respects is discussed critically and future developments considered.

Antimicrobial resistance—a threat to the world’s sustainable development

PubMed Central

Jasovský, Dušan; Littmann, Jasper; Zorzet, Anna; Cars, Otto

2016-01-01

This commentary examines how specific sustainable development goals (SDGs) are affected by antimicrobial resistance and suggests how the issue can be better integrated into international policy processes. Moving beyond the importance of effective antibiotics for the treatment of acute infections and health care generally, we discuss how antimicrobial resistance also impacts on environmental, social, and economic targets in the SDG framework. The paper stresses the need for greater international collaboration and accountability distribution, and suggests steps towards a broader engagement of countries and United Nations agencies to foster global intersectoral action on antimicrobial resistance. PMID:27416324

The National Competency Framework for Registered Nurses in Adult Critical Care: An overview

PubMed Central

Baldwin, Andrea; Donnelly, Karen A; Freeman, Pauline; Himsworth, Angela P; Kinoulty, Sheila M; Kynaston, Melanie; Platten, Julie; Price, Ann M; Rumsby, Neville; Witton, Nicola

2017-01-01

In the years following the abolition of the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting in 2002, concerns were raised within the Critical Care nursing community about a lack of consistency in post-registration education programmes. In response to this, the Critical Care Network National Nurse Leads (CC3N) formed a sub-group, the Critical Care Nurse Education Review Forum (CCNERF) to address these concerns. A review of UK course provision confirmed marked inconsistency in the length, content and associated academic award. The CCNERF commenced a two-phase project, first developing national standards for critical care nurse education such as length of course and academic credit level, followed by the development of a national competency framework. Following significant review and revision, version two of the National Competency Framework for Registered Nurses in Adult Critical Care was published by CC3N in 2015. This paper introduces the National Competency Framework and provides an overview of its background, development and implementation. It then considers the future direction of UK post-registration Critical Care nurse education. PMID:28979563

The National Competency Framework for Registered Nurses in Adult Critical Care: An overview.

PubMed

Deacon, Kate S; Baldwin, Andrea; Donnelly, Karen A; Freeman, Pauline; Himsworth, Angela P; Kinoulty, Sheila M; Kynaston, Melanie; Platten, Julie; Price, Ann M; Rumsby, Neville; Witton, Nicola

2017-05-01

In the years following the abolition of the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting in 2002, concerns were raised within the Critical Care nursing community about a lack of consistency in post-registration education programmes. In response to this, the Critical Care Network National Nurse Leads (CC3N) formed a sub-group, the Critical Care Nurse Education Review Forum (CCNERF) to address these concerns. A review of UK course provision confirmed marked inconsistency in the length, content and associated academic award. The CCNERF commenced a two-phase project, first developing national standards for critical care nurse education such as length of course and academic credit level, followed by the development of a national competency framework. Following significant review and revision, version two of the National Competency Framework for Registered Nurses in Adult Critical Care was published by CC3N in 2015. This paper introduces the National Competency Framework and provides an overview of its background, development and implementation. It then considers the future direction of UK post-registration Critical Care nurse education.

Basic Facts about the United Nations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations, New York, NY. Office of Public Information.

The work of the United Nations is described in summary form. Material is divided into sections on the origin, programs, purpose, principles, and structure of the United Nations; the United Nations at work for International Peace; the United Nations at Work for Economic and Social Development; The United Nations at Work for Decolonization; the…

3 CFR - Waiver of Reimbursement Under the United Nations Participation Act to Support the United Nations...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Participation Act to Support the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur Presidential Documents Other... the United Nations Participation Act to Support the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur... the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur to support the airlift of equipment for...

A framework for evaluating national space activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, Danielle; Weigel, Annalisa

2012-04-01

Space technology and resources are used around the world to address societal challenges. Space provides valuable satellite services, unique scientific discoveries, surprising technology applications and new economic opportunities. Many developing countries formally recognize the advantages of space resources and pursue national level activity to harness them. There is limited data or documentation on the space activities of developing countries. Meanwhile, traditional approaches to summarize national space activity do not necessarily capture the types of activity that developing countries pursue in space. This is especially true if they do not have a formal national space program or office. Developing countries pursue national space activity through activities of many types—from national satellite programs to commercial use of satellite services to involvement with international space institutions. This research aims to understand and analyze these trends. This paper introduces two analytical frameworks for evaluating space activity at the national level. The frameworks are specifically designed to capture the activity of countries that have traditionally been less involved in space. They take a broad view of space related activity across multiple societal sectors and disciplines. The discussion explains the approach for using the frameworks as well as illustrative examples of how they can be applied as part of a research process. The first framework is called the Mission and Management Ladders. This framework considers specific space projects within countries and ranks them on "Ladders" that measure technical challenge and managerial autonomy. This first method is at a micro level of analysis. The second framework is called the Space Participation Metric (SPM). The SPM can be used to assign a Space Participation score to countries based on their involvement in various space related activities. This second method uses a macro level of analysis. The authors developed both frameworks as part of a long term research program about the space activities of developing countries. This aspect of the research focuses on harnessing multiple techniques to summarize complex, multi-disciplinary information about global space activity.

Use of Annotations for Component and Framework Interoperability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

David, O.; Lloyd, W.; Carlson, J.; Leavesley, G. H.; Geter, F.

2009-12-01

The popular programming languages Java and C# provide annotations, a form of meta-data construct. Software frameworks for web integration, web services, database access, and unit testing now take advantage of annotations to reduce the complexity of APIs and the quantity of integration code between the application and framework infrastructure. Adopting annotation features in frameworks has been observed to lead to cleaner and leaner application code. The USDA Object Modeling System (OMS) version 3.0 fully embraces the annotation approach and additionally defines a meta-data standard for components and models. In version 3.0 framework/model integration previously accomplished using API calls is now achieved using descriptive annotations. This enables the framework to provide additional functionality non-invasively such as implicit multithreading, and auto-documenting capabilities while achieving a significant reduction in the size of the model source code. Using a non-invasive methodology leads to models and modeling components with only minimal dependencies on the modeling framework. Since models and modeling components are not directly bound to framework by the use of specific APIs and/or data types they can more easily be reused both within the framework as well as outside of it. To study the effectiveness of an annotation based framework approach with other modeling frameworks, a framework-invasiveness study was conducted to evaluate the effects of framework design on model code quality. A monthly water balance model was implemented across several modeling frameworks and several software metrics were collected. The metrics selected were measures of non-invasive design methods for modeling frameworks from a software engineering perspective. It appears that the use of annotations positively impacts several software quality measures. In a next step, the PRMS model was implemented in OMS 3.0 and is currently being implemented for water supply forecasting in the western United States at the USDA NRCS National Water and Climate Center. PRMS is a component based modular precipitation-runoff model developed to evaluate the impacts of various combinations of precipitation, climate, and land use on streamflow and general basin hydrology. The new OMS 3.0 PRMS model source code is more concise and flexible as a result of using the new framework’s annotation based approach. The fully annotated components are now providing information directly for (i) model assembly and building, (ii) dataflow analysis for implicit multithreading, (iii) automated and comprehensive model documentation of component dependencies, physical data properties, (iv) automated model and component testing, and (v) automated audit-traceability to account for all model resources leading to a particular simulation result. Experience to date has demonstrated the multi-purpose value of using annotations. Annotations are also a feasible and practical method to enable interoperability among models and modeling frameworks. As a prototype example, model code annotations were used to generate binding and mediation code to allow the use of OMS 3.0 model components within the OpenMI context.

Invisible to Visible: Mapping the Continuum of Literacy Learning Experiences in an Early Years Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kervin, Lisa; Turbill, Jan; Harden-Thew, Kathryn

2017-01-01

The face of early childhood education continues to change. In Australia, the national early childhood guidelines, "Early Years Learning Framework" (2009) and the "National Quality Framework" have articulated and defined the work of early years' educators in a range of areas, including literacy. Both frameworks state that their…

Exploring the Practical Adequacy of the Normative Framework Guiding South Africa's National Curriculum Statement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lotz-Sisikta, Heila; Schudel, Ingrid

2007-01-01

This article examines the practical adequacy of the recent defining of a normative framework for the South African National Curriculum Statement that focuses on the relationship between human rights, social justice and a healthy environment. This politically framed and socially critical normative framework has developed in response to…

"EU-on-Demand": Developing National Qualifications Frameworks in a Multi-Level Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elken, Mari

2016-01-01

The development of comprehensive national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) across Europe has been sparked by the introduction of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in 2008. Taking an institutional perspective, this article examines the development of NQFs in three countries, in light of developments that have taken place at the European…

All New and All Outcome-Based? The German Qualifications Framework and the Persistence of National Governance Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gössling, Bernd

2016-01-01

This article analyses the development of the first national qualifications framework in Germany ("Deutscher Qualifikationsrahmen" or "DQR"). In this case, a qualifications framework, which is supposedly outcome-based, had to be adapted to a highly input-oriented qualification system. This raises the question, how clashing…

The Impact and Implementation of National Qualifications Frameworks: A Comparison of 16 Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allais, Stephanie M.

2011-01-01

This article provides some of the key findings of a comparative study commissioned by the International Labour Organization (ILO), which attempted to understand more about the impact and implementation of national qualifications frameworks (NQFs). Sixteen case studies were produced, on qualifications frameworks in Australia; Bangladesh; Botswana;…

Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas, Navarro and Taylor Groups, Western Gulf Province, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2006-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The USGS recently completed an assessment of undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Late Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups in the Western Gulf Province in Texas (USGS Province 5047). The Navarro and Taylor Groups have moderate potential for undiscovered oil resources and good potential for undiscovered gas resources. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define one total petroleum system and five assessment units. Five assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources.

Childhood vaccination requirements: Lessons from history, Mississippi, and a path forward.

PubMed

Cawkwell, Philip B; Oshinsky, David

2015-10-26

Mississippi consistently leads the United States in childhood vaccination with a greater than 99% measles-mumps-rubella vaccination rate for children entering kindergarten. The story of how this came to pass in a state that lags behind on nearly every other public health measure is pertinent given the recent outbreaks of measles in the United States, especially in pockets of the country where there is strong resistance to vaccination. The fight against compulsory vaccination law is centuries old and the enduring success of Mississippi at repelling challenges to their vaccination requirements is a testament to the public health infrastructure and legal framework established in the state. Herein we trace the anti-vaccination movement from its origins in England up until the present time in the United States and explore how Mississippi has established a model vaccination system. Seminal court cases and legislation are evaluated for their impact. Finally, contemporary battles over vaccination legislation are examined and the feasibility of national-level change is considered. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementing a Virtual Exchange Project for student nurses in Queensland and Nottingham.

PubMed

Todhunter, Fern; Hallawell, Bob; Pittaway, Debbie

2013-09-01

This paper discusses the design and initial progress made with a virtual learning environment to help student nurses develop an understanding of cultural awareness and globalization. Using a Web-based application the Virtual Exchange Project was designed to facilitate study-elsewhere experiences located in the student's own setting. Promotion of the United Nations' Millennium Development goals provided an opportunity for student nurses to explore changes in global health and disease patterns, nursing education and systems of nurse regulation in the United Kingdom and Australia. A pedagogical framework created for this activity acknowledges the social and academic identities that learners often use, when working together in a virtual environment. The architecture of the Virtual Exchange supports local conversations about nurse education and health and social issues across hemispheres. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EarthLabs: A National Model for Earth Science Lab Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDaris, J. R.; Dahlman, L.; Barstow, D.

2008-12-01

As a response to the need for more rigorous, inquiry-based high school Earth science courses, a coalition of scientists, educators, and five states have created EarthLabs, a set of pilot modules that can serve as a national model for lab-based science courses. The content of EarthLabs chapters focuses on Earth system science and environmental literacy and conforms to the National Science Education Standards as well as the states' curriculum frameworks. The effort is funded by NOAA's Environmental Literacy program. The pilot modules present activities on Corals, Drought, Fisheries, and Hurricanes. The Fisheries and Hurricanes units were reviewed and field-tested by educators in Texas and Arizona. The feedback from this evaluation led to revisions of these units and guided development of the Corals and Drought chapters. Each module consists of activities that use online data sets, satellite imagery, web-based readings, and hands-on laboratory experiments. The project comprises two separate websites, one for the instructor and one for students. The instructor's site contains the pedagogical underpinnings for each lab including teaching materials, assessment strategies, and the alignment of activities with state and national science standards. The student site provides access to all materials that students need to complete the activities or, in the case of the hands-on labs, where they access additional information to help extend their learning. There are also formative and summative questions embedded in the student webpages to help scaffold learning through the activities.

Enhanced surveillance for the Third United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States, Apia, Samoa, September 2014.

PubMed

White, Paul; Saketa, Salanieta; Durand, Alexis; Vaai-Nielsen, Saine; Leong-Lui, Tile Ah; Naseri, Take; Matalima, Ailuai; Amosa, Filipina; Mercier, Alize; Lepers, Christelle; Lal, Vjesh; Wojcik, Richard; Lewis, Sheri; Roth, Adam; Souares, Yvan; Merilles, Onofre Edwin; Hoy, Damian

2017-01-01

The Ministry of Health in Samoa, in partnership with the Pacific Community, successfully implemented enhanced surveillance for the high-profile Third United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States held concurrently with the popular local Teuila festival during a widespread chikungunya outbreak in September 2014. Samoa's weekly syndromic surveillance system was expanded to 12 syndromes and 10 sentinel sites from four syndromes and seven sentinel sites; sites included the national hospital, four private health clinics and three national health service clinics. Daily situation reports were produced and were disseminated through PacNet (the e-mail alert and communication tool of the Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network) together with daily prioritized line lists of syndrome activity to facilitate rapid response and investigation by the Samoan EpiNet team. Standard operating procedures for surveillance and response were introduced, together with a sustainability plan, including a monitoring and evaluation framework, to facilitate the transition of the mass gathering surveillance improvements to routine surveillance. The enhanced surveillance performed well, providing vital disease early warning and health security assurance. A total of 2386 encounters and 708 syndrome cases were reported. Influenza-like illness was the most frequently seen syndrome (17%). No new infectious disease outbreaks were recorded. The experience emphasized: (1) the need for a long lead time to pilot the surveillance enhancements and to maximize their sustainability; (2) the importance of good communication between key stakeholders; and (3) having sufficient staff dedicated to both surveillance and response.

Enhanced surveillance for the Third United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States, Apia, Samoa, September 2014

PubMed Central

Saketa, Salanieta; Durand, Alexis; Vaai-Nielsen, Saine; Leong-Lui, Tile Ah; Naseri, Take; Matalima, Ailuai; Amosa, Filipina; Mercier, Alize; Lepers, Christelle; Lal, Vjesh; Wojcik, Richard; Lewis, Sheri; Roth, Adam; Souares, Yvan; Merilles, Onofre Edwin; Hoy, Damian

2017-01-01

The Ministry of Health in Samoa, in partnership with the Pacific Community, successfully implemented enhanced surveillance for the high-profile Third United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States held concurrently with the popular local Teuila festival during a widespread chikungunya outbreak in September 2014. Samoa’s weekly syndromic surveillance system was expanded to 12 syndromes and 10 sentinel sites from four syndromes and seven sentinel sites; sites included the national hospital, four private health clinics and three national health service clinics. Daily situation reports were produced and were disseminated through PacNet (the e-mail alert and communication tool of the Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network) together with daily prioritized line lists of syndrome activity to facilitate rapid response and investigation by the Samoan EpiNet team. Standard operating procedures for surveillance and response were introduced, together with a sustainability plan, including a monitoring and evaluation framework, to facilitate the transition of the mass gathering surveillance improvements to routine surveillance. The enhanced surveillance performed well, providing vital disease early warning and health security assurance. A total of 2386 encounters and 708 syndrome cases were reported. Influenza-like illness was the most frequently seen syndrome (17%). No new infectious disease outbreaks were recorded. The experience emphasized: (1) the need for a long lead time to pilot the surveillance enhancements and to maximize their sustainability; (2) the importance of good communication between key stakeholders; and (3) having sufficient staff dedicated to both surveillance and response. PMID:28409055

Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8: Climate Change Curriculum Developed Through a Collaboration Between Scientists and Educators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, E.; Skene, J.; Tran, L.

2011-12-01

Today's youth have been tasked with the overwhelming job of addressing the world's climate future. The students who will become the scientists, policy makers, and citizens of tomorrow must gain a robust understanding of the causes and effects of climate change, as well as possible adaptation strategies. Currently, there are few high quality curricula available to teachers that address these topics in a developmentally appropriate manner. The NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 aims to address this gap by providing teachers with scientifically accurate climate change curriculum that hits on some of the most salient points in climate science, while simultaneously developing students' science process skills. The Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 is developed through a collaboration between some of the nation's leading ocean and climate scientists and the Lawrence Hall of Science's highly qualified GEMS (Great Explorations in Math & Science) curriculum development team. Scientists are active partners throughout the whole development process, from initial brainstorming of key concepts and creating the conceptual storyline for the curriculum to final review of the content and activities. As with all GEMS Sequences, the Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 is designed to provide significant scientific and educational depth, systematic assessments and informational readings, and incorporate new learning technologies. The goal is to focus strategically and effectively on the core concepts within ocean and climate sciences that students need to understand. This curriculum is designed in accordance with the latest research from the learning sciences, and provides numerous opportunities for students to develop inquiry skills and abilities as they learn about the practice of science through hands-on activities. The Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 addresses in depth a significant number of national, state, and district standards and benchmarks. It aligns with the Ocean Literacy and Climate Literacy Frameworks, as well as multiple core ideas in the new National Academy of Sciences Framework for K-12 Science Education. In brief, the curriculum comprises 33 45-minute sessions organized into three thematic units that are each driven by an exploratory question: Unit 1 (11 sessions)-How do the ocean and atmosphere interact?; Unit 2 (8 sessions)-How does carbon flow through the ocean, land, and atmosphere?; and Unit 3 (12 sessions)-What are the causes and effects of climate change? The curriculum deliberately explores the ocean and climate as global systems, and challenges students to use scientific evidence to make explanations about climate change. The Ocean Sciences Sequence for Grades 6-8 is currently being classroom tested by teachers across the United States in a wide variety of classroom settings. Evaluation is also being undertaken to determine the efficacy of the sequence in addressing the curriculum's learning goals.

Strengthening the human rights framework to protect breastfeeding: a focus on CEDAW.

PubMed

Galtry, Judith

2015-01-01

There have been recent calls for increased recognition of breastfeeding as a human right. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979 (CEDAW) is the core human rights treaty on women. CEDAW's approach to breastfeeding is considered from an historical perspective. A comparison is drawn with breastfeeding protection previously outlined in the International Labour Organization's Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (ILO C3), and its 1952 revision (ILO C103), and subsequently, in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 (CRC). Despite breastfeeding's sex-specific significance to an international human rights treaty on women and CEDAW's emphasis on facilitating women's employment, CEDAW is, in reality, a relatively weak instrument for breastfeeding protection. In both its text and subsequent interpretations explicit recognition of breastfeeding is minimal or nonexistent. Explanations for this are proposed and contextualised in relation to various political, social and economic forces, especially those influencing notions of gender equality. During the mid to late 1970s -when CEDAW was formulated - breastfeeding posed a strategic challenge for key feminist goals, particularly those of equal employment opportunity, gender neutral childrearing policy and reproductive rights. Protective legislation aimed at working women had been rejected as outdated and oppressive. Moreover, the right of women to breastfeed was generally assumed, with choice over infant feeding practices often perceived as the right NOT to breastfeed. There was also little awareness or analysis of the various structural obstacles to breastfeeding's practice, such as lack of workplace support, that undermine 'choice'. Subsequent interpretations of CEDAW show that despite significant advances in scientific and epidemiological knowledge about breastfeeding's importance for short-term and long-term maternal health, breastfeeding continues to be inadequately addressed in international human rights law on women. A comparison is made with CRC and its subsequent elaborations. Increasing recognition of the need to protect, promote and support breastfeeding within the framework of CRC but not that of CEDAW suggests that breastfeeding is regarded primarily as a children's rights issue but only minimally as a women's rights issue. The human rights framework requires strengthening in every direction to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. Discussion is needed regarding whether a separate strengthening of the international human rights framework on women is required with regard to breastfeeding.

Ground Water Atlas of the United States: Introduction and national summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, James A.

1999-01-01

The Ground Water Atlas of the United States provides a summary of the most important information available for each principal aquifer, or rock unit that will yield usable quantities of water to wells, throughout the 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Atlas is an outgrowth of the Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a program that investigated 24 of the most important aquifers and aquifer systems of the Nation and one in the Caribbean Islands (fig. 1). The objectives of the RASA program were to define the geologic and hydrologic frameworks of each aquifer system, to assess the geochemistry of the water in the system, to characterize the ground-water flow system, and to describe the effects of development on the flow system. Although the RASA studies did not cover the entire Nation, they compiled much of the data needed to make the National assessments of ground-water resources presented in the Ground Water Atlas of the United States. The Atlas, however, describes the location, extent, and geologic and hydrologic characteristics of all the important aquifers in the United States, including those not studied by the RASA program. The Atlas is written so that it can be understood by readers who are not hydrologists. Simple language is used to explain technical terms. The principles that control the presence, movement, and chemical quality of ground water in different climatic, topographic, and geologic settings are clearly illustrated. The Atlas is, therefore, useful as a teaching tool for introductory courses in hydrology or hydrogeology at the college level and as an overview of ground-water conditions for consultants who need information about an individual aquifer. It also serves as an introduction to regional and National ground-water resources for lawmakers, personnel of local, State, or Federal agencies, or anyone who needs to understand ground-water occurrence, movement, and quality. The purpose of the Ground Water Atlas of the United States is to summarize, in one publication with a common format, the most important ground-water information that has been collected over many years by the USGS, other Federal agencies, and State and local water management agencies. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to describe the content of the Atlas; to discuss the characteristics, use, and limitations of the maps and other types of illustrations used in the different chapters of the book; to summarize the locations of the principal aquifers on a Nationwide map; and to give an example of an aquifer in each principal hydrogeologic setting.

Health as a bridge to peace and trust in Myanmar: The 21st Century Panglong Conference.

PubMed

Tang, Kun; Zhao, Yingxi

2017-06-28

The twenty-first Century Panglong Conference, proposed by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, has concluded with unsatisfactory results. This five-day conference attracted global attention and wide endorsements from the United Nations and many other key stakeholders. The broad framework of the peace dialogue included various social and economic issues. However, the implication of the conference on the health system strengthening efforts in ethnic areas was largely unknown. Although a "convergence model" was proposed by organizations in Thai-Myanmar borders as a roadmap for integrations of the national and ethnic health systems years ago, the genuine bottlenecks beneath have not been addressed. This commentary discussed the Panglong Conference and its implication for the health systems in ethnic regions, as well as the bottlenecks of a "peace process" in health sector. It outlined a few key steps to achieve health system convergence between national and ethnic health systems, the outcome of which will not only improve the health status of the ethnic regions, but also help strengthen mutual trust and understanding among peoples, as a powerful bridge for peace.

Global carbon stocks and potential emissions due to mangrove deforestation from 2000 to 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, Stuart E.; Friess, Daniel A.

2018-03-01

Mangrove forests store high densities of organic carbon, which, when coupled with high rates of deforestation, means that mangroves have the potential to contribute substantially to carbon emissions. Consequently, mangroves are strong candidates for inclusion in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and payments for ecosystem services (PES) programmes that financially incentivize the conservation of forested carbon stocks. This study quantifies annual mangrove carbon stocks from 2000 to 2012 at the global, national and sub-national levels, and global carbon emissions resulting from deforestation over the same time period. Globally, mangroves stored 4.19 Pg of carbon in 2012, with Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea accounting for more than 50% of the global stock. 2.96 Pg of the global carbon stock is contained within the soil and 1.23 Pg in the living biomass. Two percent of global mangrove carbon was lost between 2000 and 2012, equivalent to a maximum potential of 316,996,250 t of CO2 emissions.

Completing the Link between Exposure Science and ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Driven by major scientific advances in analytical methods, biomonitoring, computation, and a newly articulated vision for a greater impact in public health, the field of exposure science is undergoing a rapid transition from a field of observation to a field of prediction. Deployment of an organizational and predictive framework for exposure science analogous to the “systems approaches” used in the biological sciences is a necessary step in this evolution. Here we propose the aggregate exposure pathway (AEP) concept as the natural and complementary companion in the exposure sciences to the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept in the toxicological sciences. Aggregate exposure pathways offer an intuitive framework to organize exposure data within individual units of prediction common to the field, setting the stage for exposure forecasting. Looking farther ahead, we envision direct linkages between aggregate exposure pathways and adverse outcome pathways, completing the source to outcome continuum for more meaningful integration of exposure assessment and hazard identification. Together, the two frameworks form and inform a decision-making framework with the flexibility for risk-based, hazard-based, or exposure-based decision making. The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD research program supports G

Sustainability of partnership projects: a conceptual framework and checklist.

PubMed

Edwards, Janine C; Feldman, Penny Hollander; Sangl, Judy; Polakoff, David; Stern, Glen; Casey, Don

2007-12-01

There is growing recognition that the health care delivery system in the United States must make major changes. Intervention projects focusing on quality and patient safety offer the potential for reshaping the future of medicine. Sustainability of the Partnerships for Quality (PFQ) projects and other patient safety and quality improvement projects that provide evidence of effectiveness is essential if progress is to be made. For the purposes of these projects, a conceptual framework and a checklist for sustainability were developed. The framework consists of two dimensions: (1) the goals--what is to be sustained--and (2) elements for sustainability--infrastructure, incentives, incremental opportunities for involvement, and integration. The checklist is designed to trigger planning for sustainability early in a project's design. Specific questions about each of the elements can cue planners and project leaders to build in the goals for sustainability and change processes. A pilot test showed that the framework and checklist are relevant and helpful across a variety of projects. Two extended examples of planning and action for sustainability from the PFQ projects are described. It is too early to claim sustainability for these project. However, continued monitoring for at least three years with the checklist could result in valuable national data with which to design and implement future projects.

An adaptive framework for selecting environmental monitoring protocols to support ocean renewable energy development.

PubMed

Shumchenia, Emily J; Smith, Sarah L; McCann, Jennifer; Carnevale, Michelle; Fugate, Grover; Kenney, Robert D; King, John W; Paton, Peter; Schwartz, Malia; Spaulding, Malcolm; Winiarski, Kristopher J

2012-01-01

Offshore renewable energy developments (OREDs) are projected to become common in the United States over the next two decades. There are both a need and an opportunity to guide efforts to identify and track impacts to the marine ecosystem resulting from these installations. A monitoring framework and standardized protocols that can be applied to multiple types of ORED would streamline scientific study, management, and permitting at these sites. We propose an adaptive and reactive framework based on indicators of the likely changes to the marine ecosystem due to ORED. We developed decision trees to identify suites of impacts at two scales (demonstration and commercial) depending on energy (wind, tidal, and wave), structure (e.g., turbine), and foundation type (e.g., monopile). Impacts were categorized by ecosystem component (benthic habitat and resources, fish and fisheries, avian species, marine mammals, and sea turtles) and monitoring objectives were developed for each. We present a case study at a commercial-scale wind farm and develop a monitoring plan for this development that addresses both local and national environmental concerns. In addition, framework has provided a starting point for identifying global research needs and objectives for understanding of the potential effects of ORED on the marine environment.

An Adaptive Framework for Selecting Environmental Monitoring Protocols to Support Ocean Renewable Energy Development

PubMed Central

Shumchenia, Emily J.; Smith, Sarah L.; McCann, Jennifer; Carnevale, Michelle; Fugate, Grover; Kenney, Robert D.; King, John W.; Paton, Peter; Schwartz, Malia; Spaulding, Malcolm; Winiarski, Kristopher J.

2012-01-01

Offshore renewable energy developments (OREDs) are projected to become common in the United States over the next two decades. There are both a need and an opportunity to guide efforts to identify and track impacts to the marine ecosystem resulting from these installations. A monitoring framework and standardized protocols that can be applied to multiple types of ORED would streamline scientific study, management, and permitting at these sites. We propose an adaptive and reactive framework based on indicators of the likely changes to the marine ecosystem due to ORED. We developed decision trees to identify suites of impacts at two scales (demonstration and commercial) depending on energy (wind, tidal, and wave), structure (e.g., turbine), and foundation type (e.g., monopile). Impacts were categorized by ecosystem component (benthic habitat and resources, fish and fisheries, avian species, marine mammals, and sea turtles) and monitoring objectives were developed for each. We present a case study at a commercial-scale wind farm and develop a monitoring plan for this development that addresses both local and national environmental concerns. In addition, framework has provided a starting point for identifying global research needs and objectives for understanding of the potential effects of ORED on the marine environment. PMID:23319884

A Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research: Recommendations of a New Study from the National Academes of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weller, R. A.; Bell, R. E.; Geller, L.

2015-12-01

A Committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine carried out a study (at the request of NSF's Division of Polar Programs) to develop a strategic vision for the coming decade of NSF's investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean research. The study was informed by extensive efforts to gather ideas from researchers across the United States. This presentation will provide an overview of the Committee's recommendations—regarding an overall strategic framework for a robust U.S. Antarctic program, regarding the specific areas of research recommended as highest priority for NSF support, and regarding the types of infrastructure, logistical support, data management, and other critical foundations for enabling and adding lasting value to the proposed research .

High Efficiency Space Power Systems Project Advanced Space-Rated Batteries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reid, Concha M.

2011-01-01

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) has an agreement with China National Offshore Oil Corporation New Energy Investment Company, Ltd. (CNOOC), under the United States-China EcoPartnerships Framework, to create a bi-national entity seeking to develop technically feasible and economically viable solutions to energy and environmental issues. Advanced batteries have been identified as one of the initial areas targeted for collaborations. CWRU invited NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) personnel from the Electrochemistry Branch to CWRU to discuss various aspects of advanced battery development as they might apply to this partnership. Topics discussed included: the process for the selection of a battery chemistry; the establishment of an integrated development program; project management/technical interactions; new technology developments; and synergies between batteries for automotive and space operations. Additional collaborations between CWRU and NASA GRC's Electrochemistry Branch were also discussed.

Simbios: an NIH national center for physics-based simulation of biological structures.

PubMed

Delp, Scott L; Ku, Joy P; Pande, Vijay S; Sherman, Michael A; Altman, Russ B

2012-01-01

Physics-based simulation provides a powerful framework for understanding biological form and function. Simulations can be used by biologists to study macromolecular assemblies and by clinicians to design treatments for diseases. Simulations help biomedical researchers understand the physical constraints on biological systems as they engineer novel drugs, synthetic tissues, medical devices, and surgical interventions. Although individual biomedical investigators make outstanding contributions to physics-based simulation, the field has been fragmented. Applications are typically limited to a single physical scale, and individual investigators usually must create their own software. These conditions created a major barrier to advancing simulation capabilities. In 2004, we established a National Center for Physics-Based Simulation of Biological Structures (Simbios) to help integrate the field and accelerate biomedical research. In 6 years, Simbios has become a vibrant national center, with collaborators in 16 states and eight countries. Simbios focuses on problems at both the molecular scale and the organismal level, with a long-term goal of uniting these in accurate multiscale simulations.