Sports science needs more interdisciplinary, constraints-led research programmes: The case of water safety in New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Button, C; Croft, J L

2017-12-01

In the lead article of this special issue, Paul Glazier proposes that Newell's constraints model has the potential to contribute to a grand unified theory of sports performance in that it can help to integrate the disciplinary silos that have typically operated in isolation in sports and exercise science. With a few caveats discussed in this commentary, we agree with Glazier's proposal. However, his ideas suggest that there is a need to demonstrate explicitly how such an integration might occur within applied scientific research. To help fill this perceived 'gap' and thereby illustrate the value of adopting a constraints-led approach, we offer an example of our own interdisciplinary research programme. We believe our research on water safety is ideally suited to this task due to the diverse range of interacting constraints present and as such provides a tangible example of how this approach can unify different disciplinary perspectives examining an important aspect of sport performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Studying the Relationship between Individual and Organizational Factors and Nurses' Perception of Patient Safety Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farahnaz Abdolahzadeh

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Safety culture is considered as an important factor in improving patient safety. Therefore, identifying individual and organizational factors affecting safety culture is crucial. This study was carried out to determine individual and organizational factors associated with nurses' perception of patient safety culture. Methods: The present descriptive study included 940 nurses working in four training hospitals affiliated with Urmia University of Medical Sciences (Iran. Data was collected through the self-report questionnaire of patient safety culture. Descriptive (number, percent, mean, and standard deviation and inferential (t-test and analysis of variance statistics were used to analyze the data in SPSS. Results: Nurses' perception of patient safety culture was significantly correlated with marital status, workplace, and overtime hours. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that some individual and organizational factors can impact on nurses' perception of patient safety culture. Nursing authorities should thus pay more attention to factors which promote patient safety culture and ultimately the safety of provided services.

Occupational dose constraint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heilbron Filho, Paulo Fernando Lavalle; Xavier, Ana Maria

2005-01-01

The revision process of the international radiological protection regulations has resulted in the adoption of new concepts, such as practice, intervention, avoidable and restriction of dose (dose constraint). The latter deserving of special mention since it may involve reducing a priori of the dose limits established both for the public and to individuals occupationally exposed, values that can be further reduced, depending on the application of the principle of optimization. This article aims to present, with clarity, from the criteria adopted to define dose constraint values to the public, a methodology to establish the dose constraint values for occupationally exposed individuals, as well as an example of the application of this methodology to the practice of industrial radiography

Relationships between organizational and individual support, nurses' ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Poikkeus, Tarja; Suhonen, Riitta; Katajisto, Jouko; Leino-Kilpi, Helena

2018-03-12

Organizations and nurse leaders do not always effectively support nurses' ethical competence. More information is needed about nurses' perceptions of this support and relevant factors to improve it. The aim of the study was to examine relationships between nurses' perceived organizational and individual support, ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted. Questionnaires were distributed to nurses (n = 298) working in specialized, primary, or private health care in Finland. Descriptive statistics, multifactor analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis were used to test the relationships. The nurses reported low organizational and individual support for their ethical competence, whereas perceptions of their ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction were moderate. There were statistically significant positive correlations between both perceived individual and organizational support, and ethical competence, nurses' work satisfaction, and nurses' ethical safety. Organizational and individual support for nurses' ethical competence should be strengthened, at least in Finland, by providing more ethics education and addressing ethical problems in multiprofessional discussions. Findings confirm that organizational level support for ethical competence improves nurses' work satisfaction. They also show that individual level support improves nurses' sense of ethical safety, and both organizational and individual support strengthen nurses' ethical competence. These findings should assist nurse leaders to implement effective support practices to strengthen nurses' ethical competence, ethical safety, and work satisfaction.

Driving safety in elderly individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Marottoli, R A

1993-05-01

Driving safety in elderly individuals is becoming an increasingly important issue in geriatrics and in medical practice. The number of elderly drivers is increasing as the population ages, and especially as current generations of female drivers age. Concern is raised about their safe operation of motor vehicles because of the increasing likelihood with advancing age of developing conditions that may adversely affect the visual, cognitive, and motor abilities integral to driving. But this issue is not only a medical one, since there are social and political components as well. This discussion will describe the background of this issue, focus on the changes that may occur with aging and their potential relationship to driving ability, and, finally, will outline an approach that physicians may employ in their practice.

Making workplaces safer: The influence of organisational climate and individual differences on safety behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Ann Toppazzini

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Current work health and safety practices focus predominately on fostering a safety climate to promote safety behaviours and reduce workplace accidents. Despite the importance of safety climates in accident prevention, recent research has demonstrated that individual factors can also predict work safety behaviour. This study considered the importance of organisational climate together with individual characteristics including differences in personality, impulsiveness, and perceptions of safety within the workplace on safety behaviour. 203 participants consisting of 67 males and 136 females aged 18 to 71 years, completed an online questionnaire. Results revealed that safety behaviour was directly related to safety climate, and conscientiousness. In contrast, neuroticism, and impulsiveness were not significantly related to safety behaviour. The present study findings support previous findings in the literature regarding the importance of safety climate as well as the personality trait of conscientiousness in applying safety behaviours. However, the present study findings did not support previous research in relation to the personality trait of high neuroticism resulting in decreased safety behaviour, nor did not confirm an inverse relationship between high impulsivity and low safety behaviour as theoretical models would suggest. This new finding may warrant further research into the precursors for safety behaviour. Keywords: Psychology, Sociology, Industry

The Effects of Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy in Acute Subcortical Cerebral Infarction

OpenAIRE

Yu, Changshen; Wang, Wanjun; Zhang, Yue; Wang, Yizhao; Hou, Weijia; Liu, Shoufeng; Gao, Chunlin; Wang, Chen; Mo, Lidong; Wu, Jialing

2017-01-01

Background: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) promotes upper extremity recovery post stroke, however, it is difficult to implement clinically due to its high resource demand and safety of the restraint. Therefore, we propose that modified CIMT (mCIMT) be used to treat individuals with acute subcortical infarction. Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effects of mCIMT in patients with acute subcortical infarction, and investigate the possible mechanisms underlying the effect. ...

LMFBR safety criteria: cost-benefit considerations under the constraint of an a priori risk criterion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartung, J.

1979-01-01

The role of cost-benefit considerations and a priori risk criteria as determinants of Core Disruptive Accident (CDA)-related safety criteria for large LMFBR's is explored with the aid of quantitative risk and probabilistic analysis methods. A methodology is described which allows a large number of design and siting alternatives to be traded off against each other with the goal of minimizing energy generation costs subject to the constraint of both an a priori risk criterion and a cost-benefit criterion. Application of this methodology to a specific LMFBR design project is described and the results are discussed. 5 refs

The constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, P.M.S.

1987-01-01

There are considerable incentives for the use of nuclear in preference to other sources for base load electricity generation in most of the developed world. These are economic, strategic, environmental and climatic. However, there are two potential constraints which could hinder the development of nuclear power to its full economic potential. These are public opinion and financial regulations which distort the nuclear economic advantage. The concerns of the anti-nuclear lobby are over safety, (especially following the Chernobyl accident), the management of radioactive waste, the potential effects of large scale exposure of the population to radiation and weapons proliferation. These are discussed. The financial constraint is over two factors, the availability of funds and the perception of cost, both of which are discussed. (U.K.)

Radiological Protection Criteria for the Safety of LILW Repository in Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levanat, I.; Lokner, V.; Subasic, D.

2000-01-01

Preparations for a LILW repository development in Croatia, conducted by APO Hazardous Waste Management Agency, have reached a point where the first safety assessment of the prospective facility is being attempted. For evaluation of the calculated radiological impact in the assessed option of repository development, a set of radiological protection criteria should be included in the definition of the assessment context. The Croatian regulations do not explicitly require that the repository development be supported by such safety assessment process, and do not provide a specific set of radiological criteria intended for the repository assessment which would be suitable for the constrained optimization of protection. For the initial safety assessment iterations of the prospective repository, which will address long term performance of the facility for various design and other safety options, we propose to use relatively simple radiological protection criteria, consisting only of individual dose and risk constraints for the general population. The numerical values for these constraints are established in accordance with the recognized international recommendations and in compliance with all possibly relevant Croatian safety requirements. (author)

HIPAA's Individual Right of Access to Genomic Data: Reconciling Safety and Civil Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Barbara J

2018-01-04

In 2014, the United States granted individuals a right of access to their own laboratory test results, including genomic data. Many observers feel that this right is in tension with regulatory and bioethical standards designed to protect the safety of people who undergo genomic testing. This commentary attributes this tension to growing pains within an expanding federal regulatory program for genetic and genomic testing. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 expanded the regulatory agenda to encompass civil rights and consumer safety. The individual access right, as it applies to genomic data, is best understood as a civil-rights regulation. Competing regulatory objectives-safety and civil rights-were not successfully integrated during the initial rollout of genomic civil-rights regulations after 2008. Federal law clarifies how to prioritize safety and civil rights when the two come into conflict, although with careful policy design, the two need not collide. This commentary opens a dialog about possible solutions to advance safety and civil rights together. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Case study on implementation of the dose constraint concept in optimization in working environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krajewska, Grazyna; Krajewski, Pawel [Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection, PL-03194, Warsaw (Poland)

2014-07-01

A case study of already fixed dose constrain values in nuclear medicine sector, indicated that, the practical implementation of ICRP principle of optimization ( Publication 103, ICRP, 2007) still hit on methodology problems due to lack of adequate numerous monitoring data of internal contamination and complicated mathematical formalism. In practice, to ensure that 'the likelihood of incurring exposure, the number of people exposed, and the magnitude of their individual doses are kept as low as reasonably achievable', the baseline of effective doses together with statistical distribution is required. Furthermore, as it has revealed in this study, doses PHP's generated with MC methods had un-regularly shapes, depending on random operations rather than routine procedures. The role of dose constraints for occupational exposures, was further elaborated in Publication 101 (ICRP, 2006) as 'the dose constraint is a value of individual dose used to limit the range of options considered in the process of optimization'. The revisions of the International Basic Safety Standards as well as the Euratom Basic Safety Standard Directive both aim to implement new ICRP recommendations and have requirements to use dose constraints, defined broadly along the lines provided by the ICRP, and suggest that values be selected from the bands recommended by the ICRP. These will be obligatory adopted in the national regulations by regulatory authorities of EU countries. However, due to accidental characteristics of monitoring data, the 95% confidence tail of the doses for the most highly exposed individuals is near the limit of 20 mSv per year. This is apparently observed in the particular endocrinology units dealing with I-131 therapy. One might concluded that dose limitation and optimization are viewed as sufficient for the management of occupational exposures and reasonably be achieved. (authors)

Dose constraints and guidance for exposure of individuals knowingly and willingly helping in the support and comfort of individuals undergoing medical exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansen, J. Th M.; Zoetelief, J.

2006-01-01

The council of the European Union (EU) has adopted directive 97/43/ EURATOM that states that Member States shall ensure that dose constraints are established for exposure of those individuals (voluntary helpers) knowingly and willingly helping patients undergoing medical diagnosis or treatment. This study investigates for which medical diagnoses and treatments voluntary helpers are active. It provides a rough estimation of the effective dose to the voluntary helper for various applications. It summarises the dose constraints established in various EU Member States. Voluntary helpers are especially active in paediatric radiology and in nuclear medicine for both diagnostic and for therapeutic purposes. No voluntary helpers are active during radiotherapy. Voluntary helpers are commonly one of the parents, relatives or friends of the patient. In The Netherlands, the highest effective dose to voluntary helpers of ∼2.3 mSv is found for therapy of patients younger than 1 y with metaiodobenzylguanidine labelled with 131 I. Effective doses to voluntary helpers in paediatric radiology are, generally, quite small, i.e. lower than several tens of μSv at maximum without wearing protective clothing. (authors)

Decision making with epistemic uncertainty under safety constraints: An application to seismic design

Science.gov (United States)

Veneziano, D.; Agarwal, A.; Karaca, E.

2009-01-01

The problem of accounting for epistemic uncertainty in risk management decisions is conceptually straightforward, but is riddled with practical difficulties. Simple approximations are often used whereby future variations in epistemic uncertainty are ignored or worst-case scenarios are postulated. These strategies tend to produce sub-optimal decisions. We develop a general framework based on Bayesian decision theory and exemplify it for the case of seismic design of buildings. When temporal fluctuations of the epistemic uncertainties and regulatory safety constraints are included, the optimal level of seismic protection exceeds the normative level at the time of construction. Optimal Bayesian decisions do not depend on the aleatory or epistemic nature of the uncertainties, but only on the total (epistemic plus aleatory) uncertainty and how that total uncertainty varies randomly during the lifetime of the project. ?? 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Freedom and Safety of an Individual in the Attitude of Liberalism and Christian Social S

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdas Pruskus

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the freedom and safety of an individual under market conditions and ethical limits of market expression in the attitude of liberalism and Christian social science.Liberalism and Christian social teaching admits that market and its mechanism gives an individual and society an opportunity to fulfil their needs better, but differently estimates ethical limits of market expression. It is shown that in the attitude of Christian social teaching the goal of economic action is not only to create welfare for society and the individual but also to secure its safety. In its turn, creation of safety is associated with the necessity to overcome the single-acting dominance of economic values in the market society: ethic values by which economic action of the individual and society should be measured have to penetrate into economic space. 

Temporal Concurrent Constraint Programming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Mogens; Valencia Posso, Frank Dan

2002-01-01

The ntcc calculus is a model of non-deterministic temporal concurrent constraint programming. In this paper we study behavioral notions for this calculus. In the underlying computational model, concurrent constraint processes are executed in discrete time intervals. The behavioral notions studied...... reflect the reactive interactions between concurrent constraint processes and their environment, as well as internal interactions between individual processes. Relationships between the suggested notions are studied, and they are all proved to be decidable for a substantial fragment of the calculus...

Promoting individual learning for trainees with perceived high helplessness: experiences of a safety training program.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiani, Fariba; Khodabakhsh, Mohamad Reza

2014-01-01

The article arises from a research project investigating the effectiveness of safety training on changing attitudes toward safety issues. Followed by the training intervention was observed that employees' helplessness decreased. The researchers have come to the idea of investigating how safety training can reduce perceived helplessness. Thus, this research examined the effectiveness of safety training on reducing employees' helplessness with attention to the mediating role of attitude toward safety issues. The current study was an experimental study with the control group. A total of 204 (101 experimental group and 103 control group) completed safety attitude questionnaire and perceived helplessness before a safety training course including four 90-min sessions over 4 consecutive days in Esfahan Steel Company in 2012 between October and December. Only members of the experimental group participated in this course. These questionnaires, approximately 30 days later, again were run on members of both groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive indexes, t-, and F-test. RESULTS by comparing the two groups showed that safety training was effective only on individuals with perceived low helplessness (p = 0.02). In individuals with perceived high helplessness, safety training only with changing safety attitudes can reduce the perceived helplessness.

Safety climate in university and college laboratories: impact of organizational and individual factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tsung-Chih; Liu, Chi-Wei; Lu, Mu-Chen

2007-01-01

Universities and colleges serve to be institutions of education excellence; however, problems in the areas of occupational safety may undermine such goals. Occupational safety must be the concern of every employee in the organization, regardless of job position. Safety climate surveys have been suggested as important tools for measuring the effectiveness and improvement direction of safety programs. Thus, this study aims to investigate the influence of organizational and individual factors on safety climate in university and college laboratories. Employees at 100 universities and colleges in Taiwan were mailed a self-administered questionnaire survey; the response rate was 78%. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that organizational category of ownership, the presence of a safety manager and safety committee, gender, age, title, accident experience, and safety training significantly affected the climate. Among them, accident experience and safety training affected the climate with practical significance. The authors recommend that managers should address important factors affecting safety issues and then create a positive climate by enforcing continuous improvements.

Use of dose constraints for occupational exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaijage, Tunu

2015-02-01

The use of dose constraints for occupational exposure was reviewed in this project. The role of dose constraints as used in optimization of protection of workers was described. Different issues to be considered in application of the concept and challenges associated with their implementation were also discussed. The situation where dose constraints could be misinterpreted to dose limits is also explained as the two are clearly differentiated by the International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 103. Moreover, recommendations to all parties responsible for protection and safety of workers were discussed. (au)

Automatic Verification of Timing Constraints for Safety Critical Space Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Javier; Parra, Pablo; Sanchez Prieto, Sebastian; Polo, Oscar; Bernat, Guillem

2015-09-01

In this paper is presented an automatic process of verification. We focus in the verification of scheduling analysis parameter. This proposal is part of process based on Model Driven Engineering to automate a Verification and Validation process of the software on board of satellites. This process is implemented in a software control unit of the energy particle detector which is payload of Solar Orbiter mission. From the design model is generated a scheduling analysis model and its verification model. The verification as defined as constraints in way of Finite Timed Automatas. When the system is deployed on target the verification evidence is extracted as instrumented points. The constraints are fed with the evidence, if any of the constraints is not satisfied for the on target evidence the scheduling analysis is not valid.

MtDNA genomes reveal a relaxation of selective constraints in low-BMI individuals in a Uyghur population.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Hong-Xiang; Li, Lei; Jiang, Xiao-Yan; Yan, Shi; Qin, Zhendong; Wang, Xiaofeng; Jin, Li

2017-10-01

Considerable attention has been focused on the effect of deleterious mutations caused by the recent relaxation of selective constraints on human health, including the prevalence of obesity, which might represent an adaptive response of energy-conserving metabolism under the conditions of modern society. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encoding 13 core subunits of oxidative phosphorylation plays an important role in metabolism. Therefore, we hypothesized that a relaxation of selection constraints on mtDNA and an increase in the proportion of deleterious mutations have played a role in obesity prevalence. In this study, we collected and sequenced the mtDNA genomes of 722 Uyghurs, a typical population with a high prevalence of obesity. We identified the variants that occurred in the Uyghur population for each sample and found that the number of nonsynonymous mutations carried by Uyghur individuals declined with elevation of their BMI (P = 0.015). We further calculated the nonsynonymous and synonymous ratio (N/S) of the high-BMI and low-BMI haplogroups, and the results showed that a significantly higher N/S occurred in the whole mtDNA genomes of the low-BMI haplogroups (0.64) than in that of the high-BMI haplogroups (0.35, P = 0.030) and ancestor haplotypes (0.41, P = 0.032); these findings indicated that low-BMI individuals showed a recent relaxation of selective constraints. In addition, we investigated six clinical characteristics and found that fasting plasma glucose might be correlated with the N/S and selective pressures. We hypothesized that a higher proportion of deleterious mutations led to mild mitochondrial dysfunction, which helps to drive glucose consumption and thereby prevents obesity. Our results provide new insights into the relationship between obesity predisposition and mitochondrial genome evolution.

Developmental constraints on behavioural flexibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Holekamp, Kay E; Swanson, Eli M; Van Meter, Page E

2013-05-19

We suggest that variation in mammalian behavioural flexibility not accounted for by current socioecological models may be explained in part by developmental constraints. From our own work, we provide examples of constraints affecting variation in behavioural flexibility, not only among individuals, but also among species and higher taxonomic units. We first implicate organizational maternal effects of androgens in shaping individual differences in aggressive behaviour emitted by female spotted hyaenas throughout the lifespan. We then compare carnivores and primates with respect to their locomotor and craniofacial adaptations. We inquire whether antagonistic selection pressures on the skull might impose differential functional constraints on evolvability of skulls and brains in these two orders, thus ultimately affecting behavioural flexibility in each group. We suggest that, even when carnivores and primates would theoretically benefit from the same adaptations with respect to behavioural flexibility, carnivores may nevertheless exhibit less behavioural flexibility than primates because of constraints imposed by past adaptations in the morphology of the limbs and skull. Phylogenetic analysis consistent with this idea suggests greater evolutionary lability in relative brain size within families of primates than carnivores. Thus, consideration of developmental constraints may help elucidate variation in mammalian behavioural flexibility.

Use of dose constraints in public exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tageldein, Amged

2015-02-01

An overview of the dose constraints in public exposures has been carried out in this project. The establishment, development and the application of the concept of dose constraints are reviewed with regards to public exposure. The role of dose constraints in the process of optimization of radiation protection was described and has been showed that the concept of the dose constraints along with many other concept of radiation protection is widely applied in the optimization of exposure to radiation. From the beginning of the establishment of dose constraints as a concept in radiation protection, the International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) has published a number of documents that provides detailed application related to radiation protection and safety of public exposure from ionizing radiation. This work provides an overview of such publications and related documents with special emphasis on optimization of public exposure using dose constraints. (au)

Near-Optimal Fingerprinting with Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gulyás Gábor György

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Several recent studies have demonstrated that people show large behavioural uniqueness. This has serious privacy implications as most individuals become increasingly re-identifiable in large datasets or can be tracked, while they are browsing the web, using only a couple of their attributes, called as their fingerprints. Often, the success of these attacks depends on explicit constraints on the number of attributes learnable about individuals, i.e., the size of their fingerprints. These constraints can be budget as well as technical constraints imposed by the data holder. For instance, Apple restricts the number of applications that can be called by another application on iOS in order to mitigate the potential privacy threats of leaking the list of installed applications on a device. In this work, we address the problem of identifying the attributes (e.g., smartphone applications that can serve as a fingerprint of users given constraints on the size of the fingerprint. We give the best fingerprinting algorithms in general, and evaluate their effectiveness on several real-world datasets. Our results show that current privacy guards limiting the number of attributes that can be queried about individuals is insufficient to mitigate their potential privacy risks in many practical cases.

Differential constraints on the working memory and reading abilities of individuals with learning difficulties and typically developing children.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayliss, Donna M; Jarrold, Christopher; Baddeley, Alan D; Leigh, Eleanor

2005-09-01

This study examined the factors that constrain the working memory span performance and reading ability of individuals with generalized learning difficulties. In the study, 50 individuals with learning difficulties (LD) and 50 typically developing children (TD) matched for reading age completed two working memory span tasks. Participants also completed independent measures of the processing and storage operations involved in each working memory span task and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices. The results showed that despite an equivalent level of working memory span, the relative importance of the constraints on working memory differed between the groups. In addition, working memory span was not closely related to word recognition or sentence comprehension performance in the LD group. These results suggest that the working memory span performance of LD and TD individuals may reflect different working memory limitations and that individuals with generalized learning difficulties may approach cognitive tasks in a qualitatively different way from that of typically developing individuals.

N reactor individual risk comparison to quantitative nuclear safety goals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, O.S.; Rainey, T.E.; Zentner, M.D.

1990-01-01

A full-scope level III probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) has been completed for N reactor, a US Department of Energy (DOE) production reactor located on the Hanford Reservation in the state of Washington. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) provided the technical leadership for this work, using the state-of-the-art NUREG-1150 methodology developed for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The main objectives of this effort were to assess the risks to the public and to the on-site workers posed by the operation of N reactor, to identify changes to the plant that could reduce the overall risk, and to compare those risks to the proposed NRC and DOE quantitative safety goals. This paper presents the methodology adopted by Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) and SNL for individual health risk evaluation, its results, and a comparison to the NRC safety objectives and the DOE nuclear safety guidelines. The N reactor results, are also compared with the five NUREG-1150 nuclear plants. Only internal events are compared here because external events are not yet reported in the current draft NUREG-1150. This is the first full-scope level III PRA study with a detailed quantitative safety goal comparison performed for DOE production reactors

Overview of the use of dose constraints in medical exposures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuyisenge, J. D.

2014-01-01

The project overviewed the use of dose constraints in medical exposure in literature. Different documents on the establishment, the development and the application of this concept are reviewed with regard to the use of medical exposure of patients, including their comforters and carers or helpers, and volunteers in biomedical research. It has been showed that the concept of Dose Constraints along with many other concepts of radiation protection is widely applied in the optimisation of exposure to radiation. These concepts include Dose Limits, Dose References levels and Guidance levels among others. With regard to medical exposure of patients, it is not appropriate to apply dose limits or dose constraints, because such limits would often do more harm than good as far as benefits from such an exposure is concerned. Dose constraints do not apply with regard to any exposure of patient for his/her diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. With regard to patient comforters, carers or helpers, and volunteers in biomedical research, the benefits of such an exposure are not direct to the exposed individuals; therefore dose constraints will be appropriately applied. From the beginning of the establishment of Dose Constraints as a concept in radiation protection, the International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) has published a number of documents that provide detailed application related to radiological protection and safety in the medical applications of ionising radiation. Each of these publications addresses a specific topic defined by the type of radiation source and the medical discipline in which the source is applied. This is done in the intention of communicating directly to the relevant medical radiation users, competent radiation authorities and health related institutions concerns with radiation protection and safe use of radiation sources in medical applications. This project provides an overview of such publications and related documents. (author)

Self-employed individuals performing different types of work have different occupational safety and health problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jungsun; Han, Boyoung; Kim, Yangho

2018-05-22

We assessed the occupational safety and health (OSH) issues of self-employed individuals in Korea. The working conditions and OSH issues in three groups were analyzed using the Korean Working Conditions Survey of 2014. Among self-employed individuals, "Physical work" was more common among males, whereas "Emotional work" was more common among females. Self-employed individuals performing "Mental work" had more education, higher incomes, and the lowest exposure to physical/chemical and ergonomic hazards in the workplace. In contrast, those performing "Physical work" were older, had less education, lower incomes, greater exposure to physical/chemical and ergonomic hazards in the workplace, and more health problems. Individuals performing "Physical work" were most vulnerable to OSH problems. The self-employed are a heterogeneous group of individuals. We suggest development of specific strategies that focus on workers performing "Physical work" to improve the health and safety of self-employed workers in Korea. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Impact of Coworkers’ Safety Violations on an Individual Worker: A Social Contagion Effect within the Construction Crew

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shoujian; Su, Yikun

2018-01-01

This research developed and tested a model of the social contagion effect of coworkers’ safety violations on individual workers within construction crews. Both situational and routine safety violations were considered in this model. Empirical data were collected from 345 construction workers in China using a detailed questionnaire. The results showed that both types of safety violations made by coworkers were significantly related to individuals’ perceived social support and production pressure. Individuals’ attitudinal ambivalence toward safety compliance mediated the relationships between perceived social support and production pressure and both types of individuals’ safety violations. However, safety motivation only mediated the effects of perceived social support and production pressure on individuals’ situational safety violations. Further, this research supported the differences between situational and routine safety violations. Specifically, we found that individuals were more likely to imitate coworkers’ routine safety violations than their situational safety violations. Coworkers’ situational safety violations had an indirect effect on individuals’ situational safety violations mainly through perceived social support and safety motivation. By contrast, coworkers’ routine safety violations had an indirect effect on individuals’ routine safety violations mainly through perceived production pressure and attitudinal ambivalence. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications, research limitations, and future directions were discussed. PMID:29673149

The Impact of Coworkers' Safety Violations on an Individual Worker: A Social Contagion Effect within the Construction Crew.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Huakang; Lin, Ken-Yu; Zhang, Shoujian; Su, Yikun

2018-04-17

This research developed and tested a model of the social contagion effect of coworkers’ safety violations on individual workers within construction crews. Both situational and routine safety violations were considered in this model. Empirical data were collected from 345 construction workers in China using a detailed questionnaire. The results showed that both types of safety violations made by coworkers were significantly related to individuals’ perceived social support and production pressure. Individuals’ attitudinal ambivalence toward safety compliance mediated the relationships between perceived social support and production pressure and both types of individuals’ safety violations. However, safety motivation only mediated the effects of perceived social support and production pressure on individuals’ situational safety violations. Further, this research supported the differences between situational and routine safety violations. Specifically, we found that individuals were more likely to imitate coworkers’ routine safety violations than their situational safety violations. Coworkers’ situational safety violations had an indirect effect on individuals’ situational safety violations mainly through perceived social support and safety motivation. By contrast, coworkers’ routine safety violations had an indirect effect on individuals’ routine safety violations mainly through perceived production pressure and attitudinal ambivalence. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications, research limitations, and future directions were discussed.

Individual dispersal delays in a cooperative breeder: Ecological constraints, the benefits of philopatry and the social queue for dominance.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson-Flower, Martha J; Wiley, Elizabeth M; Flower, Tom P; Ridley, Amanda R

2018-03-20

Delayed dispersal is a key step in the evolution of familial animal societies and cooperative breeding. However, no consensus has been reached on the ecological and social circumstances driving delayed dispersal. Here, we test predictions from the ecological constraints and benefits of philopatry hypotheses as well as the recently proposed dual benefits hypothesis to better understand the evolution of group-living and cooperative breeding. Furthermore, we consider how individual social circumstances within groups affect dispersal decisions. We examine 11 years of life-history information on a wild population of cooperatively breeding southern pied babblers Turdoides bicolor. We investigate the effects of ecological conditions, natal-group membership and individual social context on male and female dispersal delays, disperser survival and acquisition of dominance. Female dispersal decisions are generally unconstrained by ecological or social circumstances. In contrast, males disperse in response to relaxed ecological constraints, decreases in nepotistic tolerance or when low social rank in the queue for dominance decreases their likelihood of gaining a dominant breeding position. Early dispersal by end-of-queue males often leads to a head-of-queue subordinate position in a non-natal group, thereby increasing access to dominant breeding positions. However, males and females remaining in natal groups gain benefits of philopatry via increased survival and, for head-of-queue males, very high likelihood of acquisition of a breeding position. Overall, predictions from the dual benefits hypothesis best describe these results, while some predictions from each of the ecological constraints and benefits of philopatry hypotheses were supported. The benefits of living and working together (collective action benefits) in large stable groups are of central importance in shaping dispersal delays in southern pied babbler societies. In addition, position in the subordinate social

Systematic approach to training for competence building in radiation safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asiamah, S.D.; Schandorf, C.; Darko, E.O.

2003-01-01

Competence building involves four main attributes, namely, knowledge, skills, operating experience and attitude to radiation safety. These multi-attribute requirements demand a systematic approach to education and training of regulatory staff, licensees/registrants and service providers to ensure commensurate competence in performance of responsibilities and duties to specified standards. In order to address issues of competencies required in radiation safety a national programme for qualification and certification has been initiated for regulatory staff, operators, radiation safety officers and qualified experts. Since the inception of this programme in 1993, 40 training events have been organized involving 423 individuals. This programme is at various levels of implementation due to financial and human resource constraints. A department for Human Resource Development and Research was established in 2000 to enhance and ensure the sustainability of the effectiveness of capacity building in radiation safety. (author)

A Selfish Constraint Satisfaction Genetic Algorithms for Planning a Long-Distance Transportation Network

Science.gov (United States)

Onoyama, Takashi; Maekawa, Takuya; Kubota, Sen; Tsuruta, Setuso; Komoda, Norihisa

To build a cooperative logistics network covering multiple enterprises, a planning method that can build a long-distance transportation network is required. Many strict constraints are imposed on this type of problem. To solve these strict-constraint problems, a selfish constraint satisfaction genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed. In this GA, each gene of an individual satisfies only its constraint selfishly, disregarding the constraints of other genes in the same individuals. Moreover, a constraint pre-checking method is also applied to improve the GA convergence speed. The experimental result shows the proposed method can obtain an accurate solution in a practical response time.

Brain evolution and development: adaptation, allometry and constraint

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, Robert A.

2016-01-01

Phenotypic traits are products of two processes: evolution and development. But how do these processes combine to produce integrated phenotypes? Comparative studies identify consistent patterns of covariation, or allometries, between brain and body size, and between brain components, indicating the presence of significant constraints limiting independent evolution of separate parts. These constraints are poorly understood, but in principle could be either developmental or functional. The developmental constraints hypothesis suggests that individual components (brain and body size, or individual brain components) tend to evolve together because natural selection operates on relatively simple developmental mechanisms that affect the growth of all parts in a concerted manner. The functional constraints hypothesis suggests that correlated change reflects the action of selection on distributed functional systems connecting the different sub-components, predicting more complex patterns of mosaic change at the level of the functional systems and more complex genetic and developmental mechanisms. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive but make different predictions. We review recent genetic and neurodevelopmental evidence, concluding that functional rather than developmental constraints are the main cause of the observed patterns. PMID:27629025

49 CFR 240.113 - Individual's duty to furnish data on prior safety conduct as an employee of a different railroad.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

....113 Individual's duty to furnish data on prior safety conduct as an employee of a different railroad... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Individual's duty to furnish data on prior safety conduct as an employee of a different railroad. 240.113 Section 240.113 Transportation Other Regulations...

Revisiting the simplicity constraints and coherent intertwiners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dupuis, Maite; Livine, Etera R

2011-01-01

In the context of loop quantum gravity and spinfoam models, the simplicity constraints are essential in that they allow one to write general relativity as a constrained topological BF theory. In this work, we apply the recently developed U(N) framework for SU(2) intertwiners to the issue of imposing the simplicity constraints to spin network states. More particularly, we focus on solving on individual intertwiners in the 4D Euclidean theory. We review the standard way of solving the simplicity constraints using coherent intertwiners and we explain how these fit within the U(N) framework. Then we show how these constraints can be written as a closed u(N) algebra and we propose a set of U(N) coherent states that solves all the simplicity constraints weakly for an arbitrary Immirzi parameter.

Assessing the general safety and tolerability of vildagliptin: value of pooled analyses from a large safety database versus evaluation of individual studies

Science.gov (United States)

Schweizer, Anja; Dejager, Sylvie; Foley, James E; Kothny, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

Aim: Analyzing safety aspects of a drug from individual studies can lead to difficult-to-interpret results. The aim of this paper is therefore to assess the general safety and tolerability, including incidences of the most common adverse events (AEs), of vildagliptin based on a large pooled database of Phase II and III clinical trials. Methods: Safety data were pooled from 38 studies of ≥12 to ≥104 weeks’ duration. AE profiles of vildagliptin (50 mg bid; N = 6116) were evaluated relative to a pool of comparators (placebo and active comparators; N = 6210). Absolute incidence rates were calculated for all AEs, serious AEs (SAEs), discontinuations due to AEs, and deaths. Results: Overall AEs, SAEs, discontinuations due to AEs, and deaths were all reported with a similar frequency in patients receiving vildagliptin (69.1%, 8.9%, 5.7%, and 0.4%, respectively) and patients receiving comparators (69.0%, 9.0%, 6.4%, and 0.4%, respectively), whereas drug-related AEs were seen with a lower frequency in vildagliptin-treated patients (15.7% vs 21.7% with comparators). The incidences of the most commonly reported specific AEs were also similar between vildagliptin and comparators, except for increased incidences of hypoglycemia, tremor, and hyperhidrosis in the comparator group related to the use of sulfonylureas. Conclusions: The present pooled analysis shows that vildagliptin was overall well tolerated in clinical trials of up to >2 years in duration. The data further emphasize the value of a pooled analysis from a large safety database versus assessing safety and tolerability from individual studies. PMID:21415917

Subjective perception of safety in healthy individuals working with 7 T MRI scanners: a retrospective multicenter survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Fatahi, Mahsa; Demenescu, Liliana Ramona; Speck, Oliver

2016-06-01

To retrospectively assess perception of safety of healthy individuals working with human 7 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. A total of 66 healthy individuals with a mean age of 31 ± 7 years participated in this retrospective multicentre survey study. Nonparametric correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the relation between self-reported perception of safety and prevalence of sensory effects while working with 7 T MRI scanners for an average 47 months. The results indicated that 98.5 % of the study participants had a neutral or positive feeling about safety aspects at 7 T MRI scanners. 45.5 % reported that they feel very safe and none of the participants stated that they feel moderately or very unsafe while working with 7 T MRI scanners. Perception of safety was not affected by the number of hours per week spent in the vicinity of the 7 T MRI scanner or the duration of experience with 7 T MRI. More than 50 % of individuals experienced vertigo and metallic taste while working with 7 T MRI scanners. However, participants' perceptions of safety were not affected by the prevalence of MR-related symptoms. The overall data indicated an average perception of a moderately safe work environment. To our knowledge, this study delineates the first attempt to assess the subjective safety perception among 7 T MRI workers and suggests further investigations are indicated.

Selection of new constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugier, A.

2003-01-01

The selected new constraints should be consistent with the scale of concern i.e. be expressed roughly as fractions or multiples of the average annual background. They should take into account risk considerations and include the values of the currents limits, constraints and other action levels. The recommendation is to select four leading values for the new constraints: 500 mSv ( single event or in a decade) as a maximum value, 0.01 mSv/year as a minimum value; and two intermediate values: 20 mSv/year and 0.3 mSv/year. This new set of dose constraints, representing basic minimum standards of protection for the individuals taking into account the specificity of the exposure situations are thus coherent with the current values which can be found in ICRP Publications. A few warning need however to be noticed: There is no more multi sources limit set by ICRP. The coherence between the proposed value of dose constraint (20 mSv/year) and the current occupational dose limit of 20 mSv/year is valid only if the workers are exposed to one single source. When there is more than one source, it will be necessary to apportion. The value of 1000 mSv lifetimes used for relocation can be expressed into annual dose, which gives approximately 10 mSv/year and is coherent with the proposed dose constraint. (N.C.)

Assessing the general safety and tolerability of vildagliptin: value of pooled analyses from a large safety database versus evaluation of individual studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schweizer A

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Anja Schweizer1, Sylvie Dejager2, James E Foley3, Wolfgang Kothny31Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland; 2Novartis Pharma SAS, Rueil-Malmaison, France; 3Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USAAim: Analyzing safety aspects of a drug from individual studies can lead to difficult-to-interpret results. The aim of this paper is therefore to assess the general safety and tolerability, including incidences of the most common adverse events (AEs, of vildagliptin based on a large pooled database of Phase II and III clinical trials.Methods: Safety data were pooled from 38 studies of ≥12 to ≥104 weeks' duration. AE profiles of vildagliptin (50 mg bid; N = 6116 were evaluated relative to a pool of comparators (placebo and active comparators; N = 6210. Absolute incidence rates were calculated for all AEs, serious AEs (SAEs, discontinuations due to AEs, and deaths.Results: Overall AEs, SAEs, discontinuations due to AEs, and deaths were all reported with a similar frequency in patients receiving vildagliptin (69.1%, 8.9%, 5.7%, and 0.4%, respectively and patients receiving comparators (69.0%, 9.0%, 6.4%, and 0.4%, respectively, whereas drug-related AEs were seen with a lower frequency in vildagliptin-treated patients (15.7% vs 21.7% with comparators. The incidences of the most commonly reported specific AEs were also similar between vildagliptin and comparators, except for increased incidences of hypoglycemia, tremor, and hyperhidrosis in the comparator group related to the use of sulfonylureas.Conclusions: The present pooled analysis shows that vildagliptin was overall well tolerated in clinical trials of up to >2 years in duration. The data further emphasize the value of a pooled analysis from a large safety database versus assessing safety and tolerability from individual studies.Keywords: type 2 diabetes, dipeptidyl peptidase-4, edema, safety, vildagliptin

Constraints Associated With Pesticide Safety Measures Adoption ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Safety of farmers is basic to the realization of food security and agricultural transformation in developing countries globally. Most farming activities predispose farmers, non-farmers and farming communities to health hazards because some users of these hazardous substances deliberately refuse to observe necessary ...

The role of social capital in the relationship between physical constraint and mental distress in older adults: a latent interaction model.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Sok; Jang, Yuri

2018-02-01

Building upon the widely known link between physical and mental health, the present study explored the buffering effects of social capital (indicated by social cohesion, social ties, and safety) in the relationship between physical constraint (indicated by chronic conditions and functional disability) and mental distress (indicated by symptoms of depression and anxiety). Using data from 2,264 community-dwelling older adults in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Wave 2 (M age = 74.51, SD = 6.67), a latent interaction model was tested. The model of mental distress, including both the main effect of physical constraint and social capital and their latent interaction, presented an excellent fit. The latent constructs of physical constraint (β = .54, p social capital (β = -.11, p interaction was also significant (β = -.26, p social capital had a heightened vulnerability to mental distress when faced with physical constraint, whereas the group with a high level of social capital demonstrated resilience. Findings call attention to ways to enhance older individuals' social capital in efforts to promote their health and well-being.

Declarative Rule-based Safety for Robotic Perception Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Johann Thor Ingibergsson; Kraft, Dirk; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

2017-01-01

Mobile robots are used across many domains from personal care to agriculture. Working in dynamic open-ended environments puts high constraints on the robot perception system, which is critical for the safety of the system as a whole. To achieve the required safety levels the perception system needs...... to be certified, but no specific standards exist for computer vision systems, and the concept of safe vision systems remains largely unexplored. In this paper we present a novel domain-specific language that allows the programmer to express image quality detection rules for enforcing safety constraints...

Safety Computer Vision Rules for Improved Sensor Certification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Johann Thor Ingibergsson; Kraft, Dirk; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

2017-01-01

Mobile robots are used across many domains from personal care to agriculture. Working in dynamic open-ended environments puts high constraints on the robot perception system, which is critical for the safety of the system as a whole. To achieve the required safety levels the perception system needs...... to be certified, but no specific standards exist for computer vision systems, and the concept of safe vision systems remains largely unexplored. In this paper we present a novel domain-specific language that allows the programmer to express image quality detection rules for enforcing safety constraints...

Stakeholder evaluation of an online program to promote physical activity and workplace safety for individuals with disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Nery-Hurwit, Mara; Kincl, Laurel; Driver, Simon; Heller, Brittany

2017-08-01

Individuals with disabilities face increasing health and employment disparities, including increased risk of morbidity and mortality and decreased earnings, occupational roles, and greater risk of injury at work. Thus, there is a need to improve workplace safety and health promotion efforts for people with disability. The purpose of this study was to obtain stakeholder feedback about an online program, Be Active, Work Safe, which was developed to increase the physical activity and workplace safety practices of individuals with disability. Eight stakeholders (content experts and individuals with disability) evaluated the 8-week online program and provided feedback on accessibility, usability, and content using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Stakeholders suggested changes to the organization, layout and accessibility, and content. This included making a stronger connection between the physical activity and workplace safety components of the program, broadening content to apply to individuals in different vocational fields, and reducing the number of participant assessments. Engaging stakeholders in the development of health promotion programs is critical to ensure the unique issues of the population are addressed and facilitate engagement in the program. Feedback provided by stakeholders improved the program and provided insight on barriers for adoption of the program. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Architectural constraints in IEC 61508: Do they have the intended effect?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundteigen, Mary Ann; Rausand, Marvin

2009-01-01

The standards IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 employ architectural constraints to avoid that quantitative assessments alone are used to determine the hardware layout of safety instrumented systems (SIS). This article discusses the role of the architectural constraints, and particularly the safe failure fraction (SFF) as a design parameter to determine the hardware fault tolerance (HFT) and the redundancy level for SIS. The discussion is based on examples from the offshore oil and gas industry, but should be relevant for all applications of SIS. The article concludes that architectural constraints may be required to compensate for systematic failures, but the architectural constraints should not be determined based on the SFF. The SFF is considered to be an unnecessary concept

Safety Verification of Hybrid Systems by Constraint Propagation-based Abstraction Refinement

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ratschan, Stefan; She, Z.

2007-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 1 (2007), Article-8 ISSN 1539-9087 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : hybrid system s * constraint propagation * intervals Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science

Fundamental constraints on some event data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, I.A.

1986-01-01

A modified version of Searle's theory of the structure of human action has been explained and applied to man machine interaction. The comprehensiveness of the theory has been demonstrated, in particular its explanation of human performance and that its consistency with current theories of human error for which it provides an overall setting. The importance of the mental component of human error is highlighted and the constraints that this puts on the collection analysis and use of human error data. Examples have been given to illustrate and apply the theory ranging from considerations of the tenuousness of the link between safety goals and data to simple valve operations. Two approaches which recognise the constraints shown by the theory have been explained. (orig./DG)

Hazard Management Dealt by Safety Professionals in Colleges: The Impact of Individual Factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsung-Chih Wu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Identifying, evaluating, and controlling workplace hazards are important functions of safety professionals (SPs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the content and frequency of hazard management dealt by safety professionals in colleges. The authors also explored the effects of organizational factors/individual factors on SPs’ perception of frequency of hazard management. The researchers conducted survey research to achieve the objective of this study. The researchers mailed questionnaires to 200 SPs in colleges after simple random sampling, then received a total of 144 valid responses (response rate = 72%. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the hazard management scale (HMS extracted five factors, including physical hazards, biological hazards, social and psychological hazards, ergonomic hazards, and chemical hazards. Moreover, the top 10 hazards that the survey results identified that safety professionals were most likely to deal with (in order of most to least frequent were: organic solvents, illumination, other chemicals, machinery and equipment, fire and explosion, electricity, noise, specific chemicals, human error, and lifting/carrying. Finally, the results of one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA indicated there were four individual factors that impacted the perceived frequency of hazard management which were of statistical and practical significance: job tenure in the college of employment, type of certification, gender, and overall job tenure. SPs within colleges and industries can now discuss plans revolving around these five areas instead of having to deal with all of the separate hazards.

Prediction of Driving Safety in Individuals with Homonymous Hemianopia and Quadrantanopia from Clinical Neuroimaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael S. Vaphiades

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. This study aimed to determine whether it is possible to predict driving safety of individuals with homonymous hemianopia or quadrantanopia based upon a clinical review of neuroimages that are routinely available in clinical practice. Methods. Two experienced neuroophthalmologists viewed a summary report of the CT/MRI scans of 16 participants with homonymous hemianopic or quadrantanopic field defects which indicated the site and extent of the lesion and they made predictions regarding whether participants would be safe/unsafe to drive. Driving safety was independently defined at the time of the study using state-recorded motor vehicle crashes (all crashes and at-fault for the previous 5 years and ratings of driving safety determined through a standardized on-road driving assessment by a certified driving rehabilitation specialist. Results. The ability to predict driving safety was highly variable regardless of the driving safety measure, ranging from 31% to 63% (kappa levels ranged from −0.29 to 0.04. The level of agreement between the neuroophthalmologists was only fair (kappa = 0.28. Conclusions. Clinical evaluation of summary reports of currently available neuroimages by neuroophthalmologists is not predictive of driving safety. Future research should be directed at identifying and/or developing alternative tests or strategies to better enable clinicians to make these predictions.

Prediction of driving safety in individuals with homonymous hemianopia and quadrantanopia from clinical neuroimaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaphiades, Michael S; Kline, Lanning B; McGwin, Gerald; Owsley, Cynthia; Shah, Ritu; Wood, Joanne M

2014-01-01

Background. This study aimed to determine whether it is possible to predict driving safety of individuals with homonymous hemianopia or quadrantanopia based upon a clinical review of neuroimages that are routinely available in clinical practice. Methods. Two experienced neuroophthalmologists viewed a summary report of the CT/MRI scans of 16 participants with homonymous hemianopic or quadrantanopic field defects which indicated the site and extent of the lesion and they made predictions regarding whether participants would be safe/unsafe to drive. Driving safety was independently defined at the time of the study using state-recorded motor vehicle crashes (all crashes and at-fault) for the previous 5 years and ratings of driving safety determined through a standardized on-road driving assessment by a certified driving rehabilitation specialist. Results. The ability to predict driving safety was highly variable regardless of the driving safety measure, ranging from 31% to 63% (kappa levels ranged from -0.29 to 0.04). The level of agreement between the neuroophthalmologists was only fair (kappa = 0.28). Conclusions. Clinical evaluation of summary reports of currently available neuroimages by neuroophthalmologists is not predictive of driving safety. Future research should be directed at identifying and/or developing alternative tests or strategies to better enable clinicians to make these predictions.

Safety and functional outcome of thrombolysis in dissection-related ischemic stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zinkstok, Sanne M.; Vergouwen, Mervyn D. I.; Engelter, Stefan T.; Lyrer, Philippe A.; Bonati, Leo H.; Arnold, Marcel; Mattle, Heinrich P.; Fischer, Urs; Sarikaya, Hakan; Baumgartner, Ralf W.; Georgiadis, Dimitrios; Odier, Céline; Michel, Patrik; Putaala, Jukka; Griebe, Martin; Wahlgren, Nils; Ahmed, Niaz; van Geloven, Nan; de Haan, Rob J.; Nederkoorn, Paul J.

2011-01-01

The safety and efficacy of thrombolysis in cervical artery dissection (CAD) are controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to pool all individual patient data and provide a valid estimate of safety and outcome of thrombolysis in CAD. We performed a systematic literature search on intravenous

Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balaji, P.

2014-01-01

Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamics model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making

Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balaji, P. [The Glocal University, Mirzapur Pole, Delhi- Yamuntori Highway, Saharanpur 2470001 (India)

2014-10-06

Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamics model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making.

Design an optimum safety policy for personnel safety management - A system dynamic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Balaji, P.

2014-10-01

Personnel safety management (PSM) ensures that employee's work conditions are healthy and safe by various proactive and reactive approaches. Nowadays it is a complex phenomenon because of increasing dynamic nature of organisations which results in an increase of accidents. An important part of accident prevention is to understand the existing system properly and make safety strategies for that system. System dynamics modelling appears to be an appropriate methodology to explore and make strategy for PSM. Many system dynamics models of industrial systems have been built entirely for specific host firms. This thesis illustrates an alternative approach. The generic system dynamics model of Personnel safety management was developed and tested in a host firm. The model was undergone various structural, behavioural and policy tests. The utility and effectiveness of model was further explored through modelling a safety scenario. In order to create effective safety policy under resource constraint, DOE (Design of experiment) was used. DOE uses classic designs, namely, fractional factorials and central composite designs. It used to make second order regression equation which serve as an objective function. That function was optimized under budget constraint and optimum value used for safety policy which shown greatest improvement in overall PSM. The outcome of this research indicates that personnel safety management model has the capability for acting as instruction tool to improve understanding of safety management and also as an aid to policy making.

Environment, safety and health

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luzianovich, L.Ch.; Fardeau, J.C.; Darras, M.

2000-01-01

Environment, safety and health were the three topics discussed by the WOC 8 working group of the worldwide gas congress. Environment protection has become a major preoccupation and constraint for natural gas industry at the dawn of the new millennium. It is closely linked with the safety of installation and with the health of workmen who exploit or use natural gas energy: methane emissions, health and safety in gas industry, environment management and evaluation. (J.S.)

Dose constraints, what are they now?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazo, T.

2005-01-01

The concept of a source-related dose constraint was first introduced in ICPR publication 60. The idea was to provide a number that individual exposures from a single, specific source should not exceed, and below which optimisation of protection should take place. Dose constraints were applied to occupational and public exposures from practices. In order to simplify and clarify the ICRP's recommendations, the latest draft, RPO5, presents dose constraints again, and with the same meaning as in publication 60. However, the dose constraints are now applied in all situations, not just practices. This new approach does provide simplification, in that a single concept is applied to all types of exposures (normal situations, accident situations, and existing situations). However, the approach and numerical values that are selected by regulatory authorities for the application of the concept, particularly in normal situations which are also subject to dose limits, will be crucial to the implementation of the system of radiological protection. (author)

Study on the unified constraint parameter for characterizing in-plane and out-of-plane constraint based on the equivalent plastic strain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Jie; Wang Guozhen; Xuan Fuzhen; Tu Shandong

2013-01-01

Background: Constraint can significantly alter the material's fracture toughness. Purpose: In order to increase accuracy of the structural integrity assessment. It needs to consider the effect of constraint on the fracture toughness of nuclear power materials and structures. A unified measure which can reflect both in-plane and out-of-plane constraint is needed. Methods: In this paper, the finite element numerical simulation method was used, a unified measure and characterization parameter of in-plane and out-of-plane constraint based on crack-tip equivalent plastic strain have been investigated. Results: The results show that the area surrounded by ε p isoline has a good relevance with the material's fracture toughness on different constraint conditions, so it may be a suitable parameter. Based on the area A PEEQ , a unified constraint characterization parameter √A p is defined. It was found that there exists a sole linear relation between the normalized fracture toughness J IC /J re f and √A p regardless of the in-plane, out-of-plane constraint and the selection of the p isolines. The sole J IC /J re f-√A p line exists for a certain material. For different materials, the slope of J IC /J re f-√A p reference line is different. The material whose slope is larger has a higher J IC /J re f and is more sensitive to constraint at the same magnitude of normalized unified parameter. Conclusions: The unified J IC /J re f -√A p reference line may be used to assess the safety of a cracked component with any constraint levels regardless of in-plane or out-of-plane constraint or both. (authors)

Individual- vs. Culture-Level Dimensions of Individualism and Collectivism: Effects on Preferred Conversational Styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Min-Sun; And Others

1996-01-01

Develops and uses a mediation model to investigate the links between culture, individual values (independent and interdependent construals of self), and perceptions of conversational constraints. Finds culture-level individualism and collectivism systematically related to individual-level cultural orientations (independent and interdependent…

Safety and proliferation concerns as constraints on nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gordon, L.

1981-01-01

Issues of safety and proliferation with respect to the nuclear option are discussed in this chapter. The basic premises underlying the author's analysis are: energy supply and use is a means to promote desired forms of development and not an end in itself; avoidance of nuclear mysticiam; avoidance of permanent discrimination; recognition of incommensurables; technological sophistication; and nuclear proliferation motivations apart from nuclear power development. A rational energy planner in a developing country will have to weigh carefully the interwoven factors of comparative costs and safety. Apart from cost considerations, the principal motivation for developing nuclear power is energy security

Space station pressurized laboratory safety guidelines

Science.gov (United States)

Mcgonigal, Les

1990-01-01

Before technical safety guidelines and requirements are established, a common understanding of their origin and importance must be shared between Space Station Program Management, the User Community, and the Safety organizations involved. Safety guidelines and requirements are driven by the nature of the experiments, and the degree of crew interaction. Hazard identification; development of technical safety requirements; operating procedures and constraints; provision of training and education; conduct of reviews and evaluations; and emergency preplanning are briefly discussed.

Engineered barrier systems (EBS): design requirements and constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

A joint NEA-EC workshop entitled 'Engineered Barrier Systems: Design Requirements and Constraints' was organised in Turku, Finland on 26-29 August 2003 and hosted by Posiva Oy. The main objectives of the workshop were to promote interaction and collaboration among experts responsible for engineering design and safety assessment in order to develop a greater understanding of how to achieve the integration needed for the successful design of engineered barrier systems, and to clarify the role that an EBS can play in the overall safety case for a repository. These proceedings present the outcomes of this workshop. (author)

Safety culture in nuclear installations. Management of safety and safety culture in Indian NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rawal, S.C.

2002-01-01

Nuclear Power Corporation Of India Ltd. (NPCIL) is a company owned by Government of India and is responsible for Design, Construction, Commissioning, Operation and Decommissioning of Nuclear Power plants in India. Presently, a total of 13 Nuclear power Stations are in operation with an installed capacity of 2620 MWe and 2 VVR type PWR Units of 1000 MWe capacity each, 2 PHWR type units of 500 MWe capacity each and 4 PHWR type 220 MWe capacity each are under construction. NPPs generation capacity has been increased from 70% to 85% in the span Of last 7 years with high level of safety standards. This could be achieved through Management commitment towards building a strong Safety Culture. Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organisation and individuals which establishes that as an overriding priority nuclear plant safety issues receives the attention warranted by their significance. This definition of safety culture brings out two major components in its manifestation. The framework within which individuals within the organisation works.The attitude and response of individual towards the safety issues over productivity and economics in the organisational work practices. The two attributes of safety culture are built in and upgraded in each individuals through special training at the time of entry in the organisation and later through in built procedures in the work practices, motivation and encouragement for free participation of each individuals. Individuals are encouraged to participate in Quality circle teams at the sectional level and review of safety proposal originated by individuals in Station operation Review Committee at Station level, in addition to this to continuously enhance the safety culture, refresher training courses are being organised at regular intervals. The safety related proposals are categorised in to two namely: Proposals from Operating Plants, and Proposals from projects and Design. The concept of safety

Roy's safety-first portfolio principle in financial risk management of disastrous events.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Mei Choi; Wong, Hoi Ying; Li, Duan

2012-11-01

Roy pioneers the concept and practice of risk management of disastrous events via his safety-first principle for portfolio selection. More specifically, his safety-first principle advocates an optimal portfolio strategy generated from minimizing the disaster probability, while subject to the budget constraint and the mean constraint that the expected final wealth is not less than a preselected disaster level. This article studies the dynamic safety-first principle in continuous time and its application in asset and liability management. We reveal that the distortion resulting from dropping the mean constraint, as a common practice to approximate the original Roy's setting, either leads to a trivial case or changes the problem nature completely to a target-reaching problem, which produces a highly leveraged trading strategy. Recognizing the ill-posed nature of the corresponding Lagrangian method when retaining the mean constraint, we invoke a wisdom observed from a limited funding-level regulation of pension funds and modify the original safety-first formulation accordingly by imposing an upper bound on the funding level. This model revision enables us to solve completely the safety-first asset-liability problem by a martingale approach and to derive an optimal policy that follows faithfully the spirit of the safety-first principle and demonstrates a prominent nature of fighting for the best and preventing disaster from happening. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

A periodic review integrated inventory model with controllable safety stock and setup cost under service level constraint and distribution-free demand

Science.gov (United States)

Kurdhi, N. A.; Jamaluddin, A.; Jauhari, W. A.; Saputro, D. R. S.

2017-06-01

In this study, we consider a stochastic integrated manufacturer-retailer inventory model with service level constraint. The model analyzed in this article considers the situation in which the vendor and the buyer establish a long-term contract and strategic partnership to jointly determine the best strategy. The lead time and setup cost are assumed can be controlled by an additional crashing cost and an investment, respectively. It is assumed that shortages are allowed and partially backlogged on the buyer’s side, and that the protection interval (i.e., review period plus lead time) demand distribution is unknown but has given finite first and second moments. The objective is to apply the minmax distribution free approach to simultaneously optimize the review period, the lead time, the setup cost, the safety factor, and the number of deliveries in order to minimize the joint total expected annual cost. The service level constraint guarantees that the service level requirement can be satisfied at the worst case. By constructing Lagrange function, the analysis regarding the solution procedure is conducted, and a solution algorithm is then developed. Moreover, a numerical example and sensitivity analysis are given to illustrate the proposed model and to provide some observations and managerial implications.

Hours Constraints Within and Between Jobs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Euwals, R.W.

1997-01-01

In the empirical literature on labour supply, several models are developed to incorporate constraints on working hours. These models do not address the question to which extent working hours are constrained within and between jobs. In this paper I investigate the effect of individual changes in

Total Quality Management and the System Safety Secretary

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Suzan E.

1993-01-01

The system safety secretary is a valuable member of the system safety team. As downsizing occurs to meet economic constraints, the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach is frequently adopted as a formula for success and, in some cases, for survival.

Constraint Differentiation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mödersheim, Sebastian Alexander; Basin, David; Viganò, Luca

2010-01-01

We introduce constraint differentiation, a powerful technique for reducing search when model-checking security protocols using constraint-based methods. Constraint differentiation works by eliminating certain kinds of redundancies that arise in the search space when using constraints to represent...... results show that constraint differentiation substantially reduces search and considerably improves the performance of OFMC, enabling its application to a wider class of problems....

Open innovation in the European space sector : existing practices, constraints and opportunities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Burg, E.; Giannopapa, C.G.; Reymen, I.M.M.J.

2017-01-01

To enhance innovative output and societal spillover of the European space sector, the open innovation approach is becoming popular. Yet, open innovation, referring to innovation practices that cross borders of individual firms, faces constraints. To explore these constraints and identify

Constraint-based scheduling applying constraint programming to scheduling problems

CERN Document Server

Baptiste, Philippe; Nuijten, Wim

2001-01-01

Constraint Programming is a problem-solving paradigm that establishes a clear distinction between two pivotal aspects of a problem: (1) a precise definition of the constraints that define the problem to be solved and (2) the algorithms and heuristics enabling the selection of decisions to solve the problem. It is because of these capabilities that Constraint Programming is increasingly being employed as a problem-solving tool to solve scheduling problems. Hence the development of Constraint-Based Scheduling as a field of study. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the most widely used Constraint-Based Scheduling techniques. Following the principles of Constraint Programming, the book consists of three distinct parts: The first chapter introduces the basic principles of Constraint Programming and provides a model of the constraints that are the most often encountered in scheduling problems. Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 are focused on the propagation of resource constraints, which usually are responsibl...

The influence of individual and team cognitive ability on operators' task and safety performance: a multilevel field study in nuclear power plants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingyu Zhang

Full Text Available While much research has investigated the predictors of operators' performance such as personality, attitudes and motivation in high-risk industries, its cognitive antecedents and boundary conditions have not been fully investigated. Based on a multilevel investigation of 312 nuclear power plant main control room operators from 50 shift teams, the present study investigated how general mental ability (GMA at both individual and team level can influence task and safety performance. At the individual level, operators' GMA was predictive of their task and safety performance and this trend became more significant as they accumulated more experience. At the team level, we found team GMA had positive influences on all three performance criteria. However, we also found a "big-fish-little-pond" effect insofar as team GMA had a relatively smaller effect and inhibited the contribution of individual GMA to workers' extra-role behaviors (safety participation compared to its clear beneficial influence on in-role behaviors (task performance and safety compliance. The possible mechanisms related to learning and social comparison processes are discussed.

The influence of individual and team cognitive ability on operators' task and safety performance: a multilevel field study in nuclear power plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jingyu; Li, Yongjuan; Wu, Changxu

2013-01-01

While much research has investigated the predictors of operators' performance such as personality, attitudes and motivation in high-risk industries, its cognitive antecedents and boundary conditions have not been fully investigated. Based on a multilevel investigation of 312 nuclear power plant main control room operators from 50 shift teams, the present study investigated how general mental ability (GMA) at both individual and team level can influence task and safety performance. At the individual level, operators' GMA was predictive of their task and safety performance and this trend became more significant as they accumulated more experience. At the team level, we found team GMA had positive influences on all three performance criteria. However, we also found a "big-fish-little-pond" effect insofar as team GMA had a relatively smaller effect and inhibited the contribution of individual GMA to workers' extra-role behaviors (safety participation) compared to its clear beneficial influence on in-role behaviors (task performance and safety compliance). The possible mechanisms related to learning and social comparison processes are discussed.

Engineering design constraints of the lunar surface environment

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, D. A.

1992-01-01

Living and working on the lunar surface will be difficult. Design of habitats, machines, tools, and operational scenarios in order to allow maximum flexibility in human activity will require paying attention to certain constraints imposed by conditions at the surface and the characteristics of lunar material. Primary design drivers for habitat, crew health and safety, and crew equipment are: ionizing radiation, the meteoroid flux, and the thermal environment. Secondary constraints for engineering derive from: the physical and chemical properties of lunar surface materials, rock distributions and regolith thicknesses, topography, electromagnetic properties, and seismicity. Protection from ionizing radiation is essential for crew health and safety. The total dose acquired by a crew member will be the sum of the dose acquired during EVA time (when shielding will be least) plus the dose acquired during time spent in the habitat (when shielding will be maximum). Minimizing the dose acquired in the habitat extends the time allowable for EVA's before a dose limit is reached. Habitat shielding is enabling, and higher precision in predicting secondary fluxes produced in shielding material would be desirable. Means for minimizing dose during a solar flare event while on extended EVA will be essential. Early warning of the onset of flare activity (at least a half-hour is feasible) will dictate the time available to take mitigating steps. Warning capability affects design of rovers (or rover tools) and site layout. Uncertainty in solar flare timing is a design constraint that points to the need for quickly accessible or constructible safe havens.

Development of NUMO safety case for geological disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Satoru; Deguchi, Akira

2016-01-01

NUMO has developed a generic safety ease based on the latest knowledge to show the feasibility and safety of geological disposal in Japan. The NUMO safety case has been developed to provide a basic structure for subsequent safety cases that would be applied to any selected site, emphasising practical approaches and methodology, which will be applicable for the conditions/constraints during an actual siting process. This paper will provide a brief overview of the NUMO safety case. (author)

Individual differences and their impact on the safety and the efficiency of human-wheelchair systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Jipp, Meike

2012-12-01

The extent to which individual differences in fine motor abilities affect indoor safety and efficiency of human-wheelchair systems was examined. To reduce the currently large number of indoor wheelchair accidents, assistance systems with a high level of automation were developed. It was proposed to adapt the wheelchair's level of automation to the user's ability to steer the device to avoid drawbacks of highly automated wheelchairs. The state of the art, however, lacks an empirical identification of those abilities. A study with 23 participants is described. The participants drove through various sections of a course with a powered wheelchair. Repeatedly measured criteria were safety (numbers of collisions) and efficiency (times required for reaching goals). As covariates, the participants' fine motor abilities were assessed. A random coefficient modeling approach was conducted to analyze the data,which were available on two levels as course sections were nested within participants.The participants' aiming, precision, and armhand speed contributed significantly to both criteria: Participants with lower fine motor abilities had more collisions and required more time for reaching goals. Adapting the wheelchair's level of automation to these fine motor abilities can improve indoor safety and efficiency. In addition, the results highlight the need to further examine the impact of individual differences on the design of automation features for powered wheelchairs as well as other applications of automation. The results facilitate the improvement of current wheelchair technology.

Alopecia in association with lamotrigine use : an analysis of individual case safety reports in a global database

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tengstrand, Maria; Star, Kristina; van Puijenbroek, Eugène P; Hill, Richard

BACKGROUND: The WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring, maintained by the Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC), has more than 90 member countries contributing individual case safety reports (ICSRs) from their existing national pharmacovigilance systems; these reports are stored in the WHO global

Patient Safety, Present and Future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amalberti, R.

2016-01-01

Health care tends to oversimplify patient safety concepts. We tend to think about patient safety as a linear dimension that is only associated with the progressive reduction in the number of errors and accidents, with the simple notion that fewer are always better. We consider figures in isolation from the underlying context and prerequisites that drive safety models and the reality of the clinical fields. There is no one ultimate reference model of safety, but many models that can be adapted to fit the various clinical fields requirements and constraints. It is therefore not necessarily a bad result to observe a lower safety figure in a medical domain compared to the figures obtained in nonmedical ultra-safe models. The poor figures may represent the best local safety optimization while coping with the special health care requirements such as a high frequency of unplanned and nonstandard challenges. The paper distinguishes three classes of safety models that fit different field demands: the resilient and adaptive model, the high reliability (HRO) model, and the ultra-safe model. The lecture benchmarks the traits of each model while highlighting the specific dimensions for optimization. The conclusion is that firstly, that since the task requirements dictate the relevance and choice of the model and not the other way around, it is counterproductive to impose a model that is inadequate for the task requirements. Either you move the requirements and change the model, or you keep the constraints, and try to locally optimize the model to the clinical and organizational needs. (author)

Software qualification in safety applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrence, J.D.

2000-01-01

The developers of safety-critical instrumentation and control systems must qualify the design of the components used, including the software in the embedded computer systems, in order to ensure that the component can be trusted to perform its safety function under the full range of operating conditions. There are well known ways to qualify analog systems using the facts that: (1) they are built from standard modules with known properties; (2) design documents are available and described in a well understood language; (3) the performance of the component is constrained by physics; and (4) physics models exist to predict the performance. These properties are not generally available for qualifying software, and one must fall back on extensive testing and qualification of the design process. Neither of these is completely satisfactory. The research reported here is exploring an alternative approach that is intended to permit qualification for an important subset of instrumentation software. The research goal is to determine if a combination of static analysis and limited testing can be used to qualify a class of simple, but practical, computer-based instrumentation components for safety application. These components are of roughly the complexity of a motion detector alarm controller. This goal is accomplished by identifying design constraints that enable meaningful analysis and testing. Once such design constraints are identified, digital systems can be designed to allow for analysis and testing, or existing systems may be tested for conformance to the design constraints as a first step in a qualification process. This will considerably reduce the cost and monetary risk involved in qualifying commercial components for safety-critical service

Proposal of dose constraint values to the patient in diagnostic radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arranz, L.; Sastre, J.M.; Ferrer, N.; Andres, J.C. De; Guibelalde, E.; Tobarra, B.; Madrid, G.

1996-01-01

A dose constraint is the value of an individual dose not to be exceeded in the individual dose distribution considered in an optimization process. The objective of a dose constraints is to set a ceiling to the doses to individual from a source, practice or task which are considered acceptable in the optimization process at the design stage. Implicitly, as C. Zuur states, dose constraints are below the relevant dose limit and usually should be established as local or national levels. Exposures for medical purposes are not subject to dose limits and hence dose constraints were recommended by the ICRP just for occupational and public exposures. However, as an effective tool for optimization for medical exposures, ICRP-60 in paragraph 180 recognizes the value of applying this concept to patient diagnostic radiology with some peculiarities: 'Considerations should be given to the use of dose constraints, or investigation levels, selected by the appropriate professional or regulatory agency, for application in some common diagnostic procedures. They should be applied with flexibility to allow higher cases where indicated by sound clinical judgement.' This paper analyzes retrospectively the dose levels imparted to patient in some common examinations (chest, lumbar spine and mammography) at different optimization stages of different facilities to propose some local constraints for diagnostic examinations. Dose values have been obtained under routine working conditions. Centres included in the survey have been chosen all over Spain, classifying them with particular attention to the following aspects: -Organizational aspects of the diagnostic radiology service, i.e., operational, technical and clinical criteria, as well as quality requirements. - Evaluation and revision of routine medical protocols. -Quality control of the radiological equipment. - Quality criteria for the surveillance of the weekly procedures, with requirements of proper training of die technical staff

Work Hours Constraints: Impacts and Policy Implications

OpenAIRE

Constant, Amelie F.; Otterbach, Steffen

2011-01-01

If individuals reveal their preference as consumers, then they are taken seriously. What happens if individuals, as employees, reveal their preferences in working hours? And what happens if there is a misalignment between actual hours worked and preferred hours, the so-called work hours constraints? How does this affect the productivity of workers, their health, and overall life satisfaction? Labor supply and corresponding demand are fundamental to production. Labor economists know for long t...

A study on safety concept and criteria of site release of nuclear installation proposed by international organizations and adopted in decommissioning practices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enokido, Yuji; Miyasaka, Yasuhiko; Ishikawa, Hironori

2008-01-01

Regulatory systems and safety criteria of site release of nuclear installation proposed by international organizations such as IAEA and applied in decommissioning in domestic and foreign countries have been studied, in order to avail them to deliberate the relevant domestic regulation and guides. In addition, the applicability of the proposal and practices to domestic legislation have been discussed. Regarding the national safety criteria, the annual individual dose constraint is optimized between 10 μSv and 300 μSv after recommendation and/or guides of IAEA etc. Unconditional release should be achieved, but the conditional and/or partial site release are possible under the same safety criteria to make the selection flexible for licensees. (author)

The Effect of Individual and Organizational Variables on Patient Safety Culture (PSC: A Case Study on Nurses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Khandan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: The purpose of the hospital accreditation program is to improve the patients' safety. Prevention of mistakes in medical procedures, patients' safety risk identification and infection prevention besides the patients' safety culture (PSC are the key factors that must be considered in a successful patients' safety program.This study aimed to assess PSC and its association with demographic factors among nurses of a hospital in Qom, Iran. Materials & Methods: This research as a descriptive-analytical andcross-sectional study on the effect of individual and organizational variables on patients' safety culture among nurses was conducted in 2015. The final sample included 106 employees from one of the hospitals located in Qom province of Iran. The questionnaires consisted demographic questions and a valid questionnaire about patients' safety culture. T-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation were conducted to analyze the data by SPSS V20. Results:The age of nurses was 35.15±10.33 (Mean±SD years. Results showed that the patients' safety climate scoreamongnurseswas 70.15±7.23. In addition, there are significant differences between groups of work shift and also education levels in the viewpoints of patients' safety (p0.05. Conclusions: Although, based on our finding,considered hospital had a suitable situation of patients' safety culture, but it is important to pay attention to continuous improvement in the scope of health care workers and patient safety to achieve criticalmission and visions of organizing. Job selection on the basis of demographic considerations and implementation of an accreditation plan for health care systems are two examples of how occupational safety and health tools can be used to provide quality improvement information for health care organizations such as hospitals.

Development of the NUMO pre-selection, site-specific safety case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujiyama, Tetsuo; Suzuki, Satoru; Deguchi, Akira; Umeki, Hiroyuki

2016-01-01

Key conclusions: ◆ “The NUMO pre-selection, site-specific safety case” provides the basic structure for subsequent safety cases that will be applied to any selected site, emphasising practical approaches and methodology which will be applicable for the conditions/constraints during an actual siting process. ◆ The preliminary results of the design and safety assessment would underpin the feasibility and safety of geological disposal in Japan.

Modifier constraint in alkali borophosphate glasses using topological constraint theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Xiang [Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Zeng, Huidan, E-mail: hdzeng@ecust.edu.cn [Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Jiang, Qi [Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Zhao, Donghui [Unifrax Corporation, Niagara Falls, NY 14305 (United States); Chen, Guorong [Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Wang, Zhaofeng; Sun, Luyi [Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Polymer Program, Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269 (United States); Chen, Jianding [Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China)

2016-12-01

In recent years, composition-dependent properties of glasses have been successfully predicted using the topological constraint theory. The constraints of the glass network are derived from two main parts: network formers and network modifiers. The constraints of the network formers can be calculated on the basis of the topological structure of the glass. However, the latter cannot be accurately calculated in this way, because of the existing of ionic bonds. In this paper, the constraints of the modifier ions in phosphate glasses were thoroughly investigated using the topological constraint theory. The results show that the constraints of the modifier ions are gradually increased with the addition of alkali oxides. Furthermore, an improved topological constraint theory for borophosphate glasses is proposed by taking the composition-dependent constraints of the network modifiers into consideration. The proposed theory is subsequently evaluated by analyzing the composition dependence of the glass transition temperature in alkali borophosphate glasses. This method is supposed to be extended to other similar glass systems containing alkali ions.

Syntactic constraints and individual differences in native and non-native processing of wh-movement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrienne eJohnson

2016-04-01

Full Text Available There is a debate as to whether second language (L2 learners show qualitatively similar processing profiles as native speakers or whether L2 learners are restricted in their ability to use syntactic information during online processing. In the realm of wh-dependency resolution, research has examined whether learners, similar to native speakers, attempt to resolve wh-dependencies in grammatically licensed contexts but avoid positing gaps in illicit contexts such as islands. Also at issue is whether the avoidance of gap filling in islands is due to adherence to syntactic constraints or whether islands simply present processing bottlenecks. One approach has been to examine the relationship between processing abilities and the establishment of wh-dependencies in islands. Grammatical accounts of islands do not predict such a relationship as the parser should simply not predict gaps in illicit contexts. In contrast, a pattern of results showing that individuals with more processing resources are better able to establish wh-dependencies in islands could conceivably be compatible with certain processing accounts. In a self-paced reading experiment which examines the processing of wh- dependencies, we address both questions, examining whether native English speakers and Korean learners of English show qualitatively similar patterns and whether there is a relationship between working memory, as measured by counting span and reading span, and processing in both island and non-island contexts. The results of the self-paced reading experiment suggest that learners can use syntactic information on the same timecourse as native speakers, showing qualitative similarity between the two groups. Results of regression analyses did not reveal a significant relationship between working memory and the establishment of wh-dependencies in islands but we did observe significant relationships between working memory and the processing of licit wh-dependencies. As the

Safety climate in the federal fire management community: Influences of organizational, environmental, group, and individual characteristics (Abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Brooke Baldauf McBride; Anne E. Black

2012-01-01

This study examined the effects of organizational, environmental, group and individual characteristics on five components of safety climate in the US federal fire management community (HRO Practices, Leadership, Group Culture, Learning Orientation and Mission Clarity). Multiple analyses of variance revealed that all types of characteristics had a significant effect on...

Graphical constraints: a graphical user interface for constraint problems

OpenAIRE

Vieira, Nelson Manuel Marques

2015-01-01

A constraint satisfaction problem is a classical artificial intelligence paradigm characterized by a set of variables (each variable with an associated domain of possible values), and a set of constraints that specify relations among subsets of these variables. Solutions are assignments of values to all variables that satisfy all the constraints. Many real world problems may be modelled by means of constraints. The range of problems that can use this representation is very diverse and embrace...

Safety indicators adopted in the Finnish regulations for long-term safety of spent fuel disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruokola, E.

2002-01-01

A regulatory guide for the safety of spent fuel disposal has recently been issued to guide the implementer's programme in the preconstruction phase. The guide is based on dose criteria in the time frame, which is reasonably predictable with respect to assessment of human exposure. For the time frame that involves major climate changes such as permafrost and glaciation, the guide defines constraints for the activity releases to the environment. This paper discusses the rationale for the selected approach and the derivation of the activity release constraints. (author)

A false sense of security: safety behaviors erode objective speech performance in individuals with social anxiety disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowa, Karen; Paulitzki, Jeffrey R; Ierullo, Maria D; Chiang, Brenda; Antony, Martin M; McCabe, Randi E; Moscovitch, David A

2015-05-01

In the current study, 55 participants with a diagnosis of generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD), 23 participants with a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder other than SAD with no comorbid SAD, and 50 healthy controls completed a speech task as well as self-reported measures of safety behavior use. Speeches were videotaped and coded for global and specific indicators of performance by two raters who were blind to participants' diagnostic status. Results suggested that the objective performance of people with SAD was poorer than that of both control groups, who did not differ from each other. Moreover, self-reported use of safety behaviors during the speech strongly mediated the relationship between diagnostic group and observers' performance ratings. These results are consistent with contemporary cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal models of SAD and suggest that socially anxious individuals' performance skills may be undermined by the use of safety behaviors. These data provide further support for recommendations from previous studies that the elimination of safety behaviors ought to be a priority in cognitive behavioral therapy for SAD. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

On the use of genetic algorithm to optimize industrial assets lifecycle management under safety and budget constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lonchampt, J.; Fessart, K.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the method and tool dedicated to optimize investments planning for industrial assets. These investments may either be preventive maintenance tasks, asset enhancements or logistic investments such as spare parts purchases. The two methodological points to investigate in such an issue are: 1. The measure of the profitability of a portfolio of investments 2. The selection and planning of an optimal set of investments 3. The measure of the risk of a portfolio of investments The measure of the profitability of a set of investments in the IPOP tool is synthesised in the Net Present Value indicator. The NPV is the sum of the differences of discounted cash flows (direct costs, forced outages...) between the situations with and without a given investment. These cash flows are calculated through a pseudo-Markov reliability model representing independently the components of the industrial asset and the spare parts inventories. The component model has been widely discussed over the years but the spare part model is a new one based on some approximations that will be discussed. This model, referred as the NPV function, takes for input an investments portfolio and gives its NPV. The second issue is to optimize the NPV. If all investments were independent, this optimization would be an easy calculation, unfortunately there are two sources of dependency. The first one is introduced by the spare part model, as if components are indeed independent in their reliability model, the fact that several components use the same inventory induces a dependency. The second dependency comes from economic, technical or logistic constraints, such as a global maintenance budget limit or a safety requirement limiting the residual risk of failure of a component or group of component, making the aggregation of individual optimum not necessary feasible. The algorithm used to solve such a difficult optimization problem is a genetic algorithm. After a description

On the use of genetic algorithm to optimize industrial assets lifecycle management under safety and budget constraints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lonchampt, J.; Fessart, K. [EDF R and D, Departement MRI, 6, quai Watier, 78401 Chatou cedex (France)

2013-07-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the method and tool dedicated to optimize investments planning for industrial assets. These investments may either be preventive maintenance tasks, asset enhancements or logistic investments such as spare parts purchases. The two methodological points to investigate in such an issue are: 1. The measure of the profitability of a portfolio of investments 2. The selection and planning of an optimal set of investments 3. The measure of the risk of a portfolio of investments The measure of the profitability of a set of investments in the IPOP tool is synthesised in the Net Present Value indicator. The NPV is the sum of the differences of discounted cash flows (direct costs, forced outages...) between the situations with and without a given investment. These cash flows are calculated through a pseudo-Markov reliability model representing independently the components of the industrial asset and the spare parts inventories. The component model has been widely discussed over the years but the spare part model is a new one based on some approximations that will be discussed. This model, referred as the NPV function, takes for input an investments portfolio and gives its NPV. The second issue is to optimize the NPV. If all investments were independent, this optimization would be an easy calculation, unfortunately there are two sources of dependency. The first one is introduced by the spare part model, as if components are indeed independent in their reliability model, the fact that several components use the same inventory induces a dependency. The second dependency comes from economic, technical or logistic constraints, such as a global maintenance budget limit or a safety requirement limiting the residual risk of failure of a component or group of component, making the aggregation of individual optimum not necessary feasible. The algorithm used to solve such a difficult optimization problem is a genetic algorithm. After a description

NULIFE - Project CABINET. RPV Assessment under Consideration of Constraint and Warm Pre-Stress Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obermeier, F.; Nicak, Tomas; Keim, Elisabeth; Fekete, Tamas; Scibetta, Marc; Planman, Tapio; Laukkanen, Anssi; Carcia, Carlos Cueto-Felgueroso; Sattari-Far, Iradj

2012-01-01

At the moment, nuclear power plant regulators do not predominantly consider constraint and biaxial effects in their concepts for failure assessment of nuclear components. The warm pre-stressing (WPS) effect is only partly considered in some assessment procedures and codes. There is also a lack of a harmonized treatment of these effects in the safety assessment of European plants. This paper introduces the project CABINET (Constraint and Biaxial Loading Effects and their Interactions Considering Thermal Transients) which is a collaborative project under the EU's Network of Excellence NULIFE. The overall objective of CABINET is to investigate and understand constraint, biaxial loading and WPS effects in terms of a clearly defined application window, especially in the light of long term operation. The focus lies on already available experimental data and methodologies. The intention is to provide recommendations for a harmonized application of those effects in European nuclear safety assessment. The possibility to include different level of analysis depending on input data and acceptance of National Regulatory Body is also being evaluated. Although the CABINET project is not completed yet, it has been found that it is possible to rationalize the different existing codes. (author)

Study on safety educations against individual causal factors of unsafe acts and specification of target trainees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirose, Ayako; Takeda, Daisuke

2016-01-01

Many accidents and incidents are caused by unsafe acts. It is important to reduce these unsafe acts for preventing the accidents. The countermeasures for each causal factor behind unsafe acts are needed, however, comparing with improvement of facilities, workers-oriented measures such as safety educations are not sufficient. Then the purposes of this study are as follows: 1) to investigate the individual factors which have great impact of unsafe acts and the existing safety educations which aim to mitigate the impact of these factors, 2) to specify the target trainees to perform these safety educations. To identify common factors that affect unsafe act significantly, a web survey was conducted to 500 workers who have regularly carried out accident prediction training (i.e. Kiken-Yochi training). They were asked the situation which they were apt to act unsafely by free description. As the result, the following three main factors were extracted: impatience, overconfidence, and bothersome. Also, it was found that there were few existing safety educations which aim to mitigate the impact of these factors except for overconfidence. To specify the target trainees to perform safety educations which aim to mitigate the impact of these three factors, another web survey was conducted to 200 personnel in charge of safety at the workplace. They were asked the features of workers who tended to act unsafely by age group. The relationship between the factor that need to mitigate and the trainee who need to receive the education were clarified from the survey. (author)

Safety climate in the US federal wildland fire management community: influences of organizational, environmental, group, and individual characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Anne E. Black; Brooke Baldauf McBride

2013-01-01

This study examined the effects of organisational, environmental, group and individual characteristics on five components of safety climate (High Reliability Organising Practices, Leadership, Group Culture, Learning Orientation and Mission Clarity) in the US federal wildland fire management community. Of particular interest were differences between perceptions based on...

Societal Constraints, Systemic Disadvantages and Homelessness: An Individual Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carol Kauppi

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Research utilizing the individual case study method examined the complex issues related to pathways into and out of home-lessness for an Aboriginal man from a First Nation community on the western James Bay in Canada. This instrumental case study focused on an individual's story, rather than on a site or a group of individuals, an incident or a series of incidents, or a program [6] [15]. First, as a research tool, it provides insight into the issue of homelessness and some of its causes from the perspective of an Aboriginal person. Second, the in-depth data gathered allowed us to understand some of the factors that work and those that do not work in facilitating transitions out of homelessness. Third, as an educational tool, it allows people from the outside to have a better understanding of how systemic disadvantages contribute to individuals falling into homelessness.

The Impact of Gender, Occupation, and Presence of Children on Telecommuting Motivations and Constraints

OpenAIRE

Mokhtarian, Patricia L.; Bagley, Michael N.; Salomon, Ilan

1998-01-01

Accurate forecasts of the adoption and impacts of telecommuting depend on an understanding of what motivates individuals to adopt telecommuting and what constraints prevent them from doing so, since these motivations and constraints offer insight into who is likely to telecommute under what circumstances. Telecommuting motivations and constraints are likely to differ by various segments of society. In this study, we analyze differences in these variables due to gender, occupation, and presenc...

Establishment of source related dose constraints for members of the public. Interim report for comment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-09-01

The International Commission on Radiological Protection is proposing a new concept that it terms a ''dose constraint''. A dose constraint is an individual-related criterion applied to a single radiation source, and fixes an upper value for exposure of the critical group from that source. A dose restraint sets a ceiling on the levels of individual dose that can be considered in the optimization of radiological protection for a single source. 6 refs, 1 fig., 2 tabs

Airborne Management of Traffic Conflicts in Descent With Arrival Constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Doble, Nathan A.; Barhydt, Richard; Krishnamurthy, Karthik

2005-01-01

NASA is studying far-term air traffic management concepts that may increase operational efficiency through a redistribution of decisionmaking authority among airborne and ground-based elements of the air transportation system. One component of this research, En Route Free Maneuvering, allows trained pilots of equipped autonomous aircraft to assume responsibility for traffic separation. Ground-based air traffic controllers would continue to separate traffic unequipped for autonomous operations and would issue flow management constraints to all aircraft. To evaluate En Route Free Maneuvering operations, a human-in-the-loop experiment was jointly conducted by the NASA Ames and Langley Research Centers. In this experiment, test subject pilots used desktop flight simulators to resolve conflicts in cruise and descent, and to adhere to air traffic flow constraints issued by test subject controllers. Simulators at NASA Langley were equipped with a prototype Autonomous Operations Planner (AOP) flight deck toolset to assist pilots with conflict management and constraint compliance tasks. Results from the experiment are presented, focusing specifically on operations during the initial descent into the terminal area. Airborne conflict resolution performance in descent, conformance to traffic flow management constraints, and the effects of conflicting traffic on constraint conformance are all presented. Subjective data from subject pilots are also presented, showing perceived levels of workload, safety, and acceptability of autonomous arrival operations. Finally, potential AOP functionality enhancements are discussed along with suggestions to improve arrival procedures.

Technology for planning and scheduling under complex constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Alguire, Karen M.; Pedro Gomes, Carla O.

1997-02-01

Within the context of law enforcement, several problems fall into the category of planning and scheduling under constraints. Examples include resource and personnel scheduling, and court scheduling. In the case of court scheduling, a schedule must be generated considering available resources, e.g., court rooms and personnel. Additionally, there are constraints on individual court cases, e.g., temporal and spatial, and between different cases, e.g., precedence. Finally, there are overall objectives that the schedule should satisfy such as timely processing of cases and optimal use of court facilities. Manually generating a schedule that satisfies all of the constraints is a very time consuming task. As the number of court cases and constraints increases, this becomes increasingly harder to handle without the assistance of automatic scheduling techniques. This paper describes artificial intelligence (AI) technology that has been used to develop several high performance scheduling applications including a military transportation scheduler, a military in-theater airlift scheduler, and a nuclear power plant outage scheduler. We discuss possible law enforcement applications where we feel the same technology could provide long-term benefits to law enforcement agencies and their operations personnel.

From physical dose constraints to equivalent uniform dose constraints in inverse radiotherapy planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thieke, Christian; Bortfeld, Thomas; Niemierko, Andrzej; Nill, Simeon

2003-01-01

Optimization algorithms in inverse radiotherapy planning need information about the desired dose distribution. Usually the planner defines physical dose constraints for each structure of the treatment plan, either in form of minimum and maximum doses or as dose-volume constraints. The concept of equivalent uniform dose (EUD) was designed to describe dose distributions with a higher clinical relevance. In this paper, we present a method to consider the EUD as an optimization constraint by using the method of projections onto convex sets (POCS). In each iteration of the optimization loop, for the actual dose distribution of an organ that violates an EUD constraint a new dose distribution is calculated that satisfies the EUD constraint, leading to voxel-based physical dose constraints. The new dose distribution is found by projecting the current one onto the convex set of all dose distributions fulfilling the EUD constraint. The algorithm is easy to integrate into existing inverse planning systems, and it allows the planner to choose between physical and EUD constraints separately for each structure. A clinical case of a head and neck tumor is optimized using three different sets of constraints: physical constraints for all structures, physical constraints for the target and EUD constraints for the organs at risk, and EUD constraints for all structures. The results show that the POCS method converges stable and given EUD constraints are reached closely

Operational safety - the IAEA response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, M.

1984-01-01

Nuclear safety is an international issue. The role of the International Atomic Energy Agency is growing because it offers a centre for contact and exchange between East and West, North and South. New initiatives are under way to intensify international co-operative safety efforts through exchange of information on abnormal events at nuclear power plants, and through greater sharing of safety research results. Emergency preparedness also lends itself to international co-operation. A report has been prepared on the need for establishing mutual emergency assistance. By analysing possible constraints to bilateral or multinational efforts in advance, a basis for agreement at the time of an emergency is being worked out. Safety standards have been developed in several areas. The NUSS Codes and Guides, now almost complete, make available to countries starting a nuclear power programme a coherent set of nuclear safety standards. A revised set of Basic Safety Standards for Radiation Protection has been issued in 1982. (author)

Individual differences in drivers' cognitive processing of road safety messages.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaye, Sherrie-Anne; White, Melanie J; Lewis, Ioni M

2013-01-01

acceptance measures. As predicted, the degree of initial processing of the content of the social gain-framed message mediated the relationship between the reward sensitive trait and message effectiveness. Initial processing of the physical loss-framed message partially mediated the relationship between the punishment sensitive trait and both message effectiveness and behavioural intention ratings. These results show that reward sensitivity and punishment sensitivity traits influence cognitive processing of gain-framed and loss-framed message content, respectively, and subsequently, message effectiveness and behavioural intention ratings. Specifically, a range of road safety messages (i.e., gain-frame and loss-frame messages) could be designed which align with the processing biases associated with personality and which would target those individuals who are sensitive to rewards and those who are sensitive to punishments. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The ticking time bomb: Using eye-tracking methodology to capture attentional processing during gradual time constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco-Watkins, Ana M; Davis, Matthew E; Johnson, Joseph G

2016-11-01

Many decisions are made under suboptimal circumstances, such as time constraints. We examined how different experiences of time constraints affected decision strategies on a probabilistic inference task and whether individual differences in working memory accounted for complex strategy use across different levels of time. To examine information search and attentional processing, we used an interactive eye-tracking paradigm where task information was occluded and only revealed by an eye fixation to a given cell. Our results indicate that although participants change search strategies during the most restricted times, the occurrence of the shift in strategies depends both on how the constraints are applied as well as individual differences in working memory. This suggests that, in situations that require making decisions under time constraints, one can influence performance by being sensitive to working memory and, potentially, by acclimating people to the task time gradually.

Beyond mechanistic interaction: Value-based constraints on meaning in language

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna eRączaszek-Leonardi

2015-10-01

Full Text Available According to situated, embodied, distributed approaches to cognition, language is a crucial means for structuring social interactions. Recent approaches that emphasize the coordinative function of language treat language as a system of replicable constraints that work both on individuals and on interactions. In this paper we argue that the integration of replicable constraints approach to language with the ecological view on values allows for a deeper insight into processes of meaning creation in interaction. Such synthesis of these frameworks draws attention to important sources of structuring interactions beyond the sheer efficiency of a collective system in its current task situation. Most importantly the workings of linguistic constraints will be shown as embedded in more general fields of values, which are realized on multiple time-scales. Since the ontogenetic timescale offers a convenient window into a process of the emergence of linguistic constraints, we present illustrations of concrete mechanisms through which values may become embodied in language use in development.

Beyond mechanistic interaction: value-based constraints on meaning in language.

Science.gov (United States)

Rączaszek-Leonardi, Joanna; Nomikou, Iris

2015-01-01

According to situated, embodied, and distributed approaches to cognition, language is a crucial means for structuring social interactions. Recent approaches that emphasize this coordinative function treat language as a system of replicable constraints on individual and interactive dynamics. In this paper, we argue that the integration of the replicable-constraints approach to language with the ecological view on values allows for a deeper insight into processes of meaning creation in interaction. Such a synthesis of these frameworks draws attention to important sources of structuring interactions beyond the sheer efficiency of a collective system in its current task situation. Most importantly, the workings of linguistic constraints will be shown as embedded in more general fields of values, which are realized on multiple timescales. Because the ontogenetic timescale offers a convenient window into the emergence of linguistic constraints, we present illustrations of concrete mechanisms through which values may become embodied in language use in development.

Constraint-based reachability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnaud Gotlieb

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Iterative imperative programs can be considered as infinite-state systems computing over possibly unbounded domains. Studying reachability in these systems is challenging as it requires to deal with an infinite number of states with standard backward or forward exploration strategies. An approach that we call Constraint-based reachability, is proposed to address reachability problems by exploring program states using a constraint model of the whole program. The keypoint of the approach is to interpret imperative constructions such as conditionals, loops, array and memory manipulations with the fundamental notion of constraint over a computational domain. By combining constraint filtering and abstraction techniques, Constraint-based reachability is able to solve reachability problems which are usually outside the scope of backward or forward exploration strategies. This paper proposes an interpretation of classical filtering consistencies used in Constraint Programming as abstract domain computations, and shows how this approach can be used to produce a constraint solver that efficiently generates solutions for reachability problems that are unsolvable by other approaches.

How is success achieved by individuals innovating for patient safety and quality in the NHS?

Science.gov (United States)

Sheard, Laura; Jackson, Cath; Lawton, Rebecca

2017-09-11

Innovation in healthcare is said to be notoriously difficult to achieve and sustain yet simultaneously the health service is under intense pressure to innovate given the ever increasing demands placed upon it. Whilst many studies have looked at diffusion of innovation from an organisational perspective, few have sought to understand how individuals working in healthcare innovate successfully. We took a positive deviance approach to understand how innovations are achieved by individuals working in the NHS. We conducted in depth interviews in 2015 with 15 individuals who had received a national award for being a successful UK innovator in healthcare. We invited only those people who were currently (or had recently) worked in the NHS and whose innovation focused on improving patient safety or quality. Thematic analysis was used. Four themes emerged from the data: personal determination, the ability to broker relationships and make connections, the ways in which innovators were able to navigate organisational culture to their advantage and their ability to use evidence to influence others. Determination, focus and persistence were important personal characteristics of innovators as were skills in being able to challenge the status quo. Innovators were able to connect sometimes disparate teams and people, being the broker between them in negotiating collaborative working. The culture of the organisation these participants resided in was important with some being able to use this (and the current patient safety agenda) to their advantage. Gathering robust data to demonstrate their innovation had a positive impact and was seen as essential to its progression. This paper reveals a number of factors which are important to the success of innovators in healthcare. We have uncovered that innovators have particular personal traits which encourage a propensity towards change and action. Yet, for fruitful innovation to take place, it is important for relational networks and

Constraint-Muse: A Soft-Constraint Based System for Music Therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Hölzl, Matthias; Denker, Grit; Meier, Max; Wirsing, Martin

Monoidal soft constraints are a versatile formalism for specifying and solving multi-criteria optimization problems with dynamically changing user preferences. We have developed a prototype tool for interactive music creation, called Constraint Muse, that uses monoidal soft constraints to ensure that a dynamically generated melody harmonizes with input from other sources. Constraint Muse provides an easy to use interface based on Nintendo Wii controllers and is intended to be used in music therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease and for children with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome.

Dose to individuals: who and how

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Till, J.E.

2003-01-01

In 2002 the Main Commission established a Task Group on 'Characterisation of the Individual for the Purpose of Assessing compliance with Dose Constraints'. This paper highlights some of the Task Group's key recommendations and provides a basis for discussion for break out sessions that follow. Although the title indicates that I will address 'who' the individual is and 'how' the individual is characterised, I thought it wise to first mention 'why' we are concerned about the individual in the consolidated recommendations. Here are a few reasons why characterising the individual is important. First, the proposed consolidated recommendations place greater emphasis on individual-related criteria rather than societal or collective dose based criteria. This has been explained in the earlier presentation by Dr. Clarke. Also, it is necessary to update guidance on how to identify and characterise critical groups and individuals since this topic has not been thoroughly addressed by The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) since the publication of ICRP 43 (ICRP, 1985). Finally, the report intends to address additional conceptual and technical issues related to determining compliance with constraints and making decisions in emergency situations. The scope of the Task Group's work places emphasis on prospective exposure situations. It does not address medical and occupational exposures. (author)

Dose constraint for Industrial gammagraphy developed by regulatory authorities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salinas Mariaca, Rodrigo

2008-01-01

Aware that the dose limitation established by the Basic Safety Standards, is one of the radiation protection requirements necessary but not sufficient; and also aware that given the characteristics of the different practices and the culture of security already achieved in such practices, the workers occupationally exposed are far below from the respective limits. It becomes imperative to improve and exploit another of the requirements established by the referred standards, which is the Dose Constraint. This job takes as a basis the dose history having in the Bolivian Authority in nuclear issues, referred to the practices related to Nuclear Gauges, Well Logging, Radiotherapy and Industrial Gammagraphy (practices considered dangerous). This analysis is intended to be the pivot for the remainder practices and had as its goal, the establishment of a specific dose constraint value. The dose constraint suggested for every practices studied, were determined considering the percentile 95 and with the logic that if that 95% are able to achieve certain values of effective dose, the other 5% should be able to adapt their working conditions in order to decrease their doses. The spread of this work is intended not only aware, to other regulatory bodies to achieve a symbiosis between the different requirements of the Standard, but basically emphasize the fact that it is not convenient let the requirement of dose constraint exclusively in the hands of the regulated institutions and associated workers; making it, very subjective among those institutions according to their analysis (many times with no statistical support). Furthermore these dose constraint values should be determined previously to a new practice authorization or failing shortly after its implementation. (author)

Total safety management: An approach to improving safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blush, S.M.

1993-01-01

A little over 4 yr ago, Admiral James D. Watkins became Secretary of Energy. President Bush, who had appointed him, informed Watkins that his principal task would be to clean up the nuclear weapons complex and put the US Department of Energy (DOE) back in the business of producing tritium for the nation's nuclear deterrent. Watkins recognized that in order to achieve these objectives, he would have to substantially improve the DOE's safety culture. Safety culture is a relatively new term. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) used it in a 1986 report on the root causes of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. In 1990, the IAEA's International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group issued a document focusing directly on safety culture. It provides guidelines to the international nuclear community for measuring the effectiveness of safety culture in nuclear organizations. Safety culture has two principal aspects: an organizational framework conducive to safety and the necessary organizational and individual attitudes that promote safety. These obviously go hand in hand. An organization must create the right framework to foster the right attitudes, but individuals must have the right attitudes to create the organizational framework that will support a good safety culture. The difficulty in developing such a synergistic relationship suggests that achieving and sustaining a strong safety culture is not easy, particularly in an organization whose safety culture is in serious disrepair

Interpersonal Movement Synchrony Responds to High- and Low-Level Conversational Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra Paxton

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Much work on communication and joint action conceptualizes interaction as a dynamical system. Under this view, dynamic properties of interaction should be shaped by the context in which the interaction is taking place. Here we explore interpersonal movement coordination or synchrony—the degree to which individuals move in similar ways over time—as one such context-sensitive property. Studies of coordination have typically investigated how these dynamics are influenced by either high-level constraints (i.e., slow-changing factors or low-level constraints (i.e., fast-changing factors like movement. Focusing on nonverbal communication behaviors during naturalistic conversation, we analyzed how interacting participants' head movement dynamics were shaped simultaneously by high-level constraints (i.e., conversation type; friendly conversations vs. arguments and low-level constraints (i.e., perceptual stimuli; non-informative visual stimuli vs. informative visual stimuli. We found that high- and low-level constraints interacted non-additively to affect interpersonal movement dynamics, highlighting the context sensitivity of interaction and supporting the view of joint action as a complex adaptive system.

Culture and National Well-Being: Should Societies Emphasize Freedom or Constraint?

Science.gov (United States)

Harrington, Jesse R; Boski, Pawel; Gelfand, Michele J

2015-01-01

Throughout history and within numerous disciplines, there exists a perennial debate about how societies should best be organized. Should they emphasize individual freedom and autonomy or security and constraint? Contrary to proponents who tout the benefits of one over the other, we demonstrate across 32 nations that both freedom and constraint exhibit a curvilinear relationship with many indicators of societal well-being. Relative to moderate nations, very permissive and very constrained nations exhibit worse psychosocial outcomes (lower happiness, greater dysthymia, higher suicide rates), worse health outcomes (lower life expectancy, greater mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and diabetes) and poorer economic and political outcomes (lower gross domestic product per capita, greater risk for political instability). This supports the notion that a balance between freedom and constraint results in the best national outcomes. Accordingly, it is time to shift the debate away from either constraint or freedom and focus on both in moderation.

Putting lexical constraints in context into the visual-world paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Novick, Jared M; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L; Trueswell, John C

2008-06-01

Prior eye-tracking studies of spoken sentence comprehension have found that the presence of two potential referents, e.g., two frogs, can guide listeners toward a Modifier interpretation of Put the frog on the napkin... despite strong lexical biases associated with Put that support a Goal interpretation of the temporary ambiguity (Tanenhaus, M. K., Spivey-Knowlton, M. J., Eberhard, K. M. & Sedivy, J. C. (1995). Integration of visual and linguistic information in spoken language comprehension. Science, 268, 1632-1634; Trueswell, J. C., Sekerina, I., Hill, N. M. & Logrip, M. L. (1999). The kindergarten-path effect: Studying on-line sentence processing in young children. Cognition, 73, 89-134). This pattern is not expected under constraint-based parsing theories: cue conflict between the lexical evidence (which supports the Goal analysis) and the visuo-contextual evidence (which supports the Modifier analysis) should result in uncertainty about the intended analysis and partial consideration of the Goal analysis. We reexamined these put studies (Experiment 1) by introducing a response time-constraint and a spatial contrast between competing referents (a frog on a napkin vs. a frog in a bowl). If listeners immediately interpret on the... as the start of a restrictive modifier, then their eye movements should rapidly converge on the intended referent (the frog on something). However, listeners showed this pattern only when the phrase was unambiguously a Modifier (Put the frog that's on the...). Syntactically ambiguous trials resulted in transient consideration of the Competitor animal (the frog in something). A reading study was also run on the same individuals (Experiment 2) and performance was compared between the two experiments. Those individuals who relied heavily on lexical biases to resolve a complement ambiguity in reading (The man heard/realized the story had been...) showed increased sensitivity to both lexical and contextual constraints in the put-task; i

Assessing facial attractiveness: individual decisions and evolutionary constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Kocsor, Ferenc; Feldmann, Adam; Bereczkei, Tamas; Kállai, János

2013-01-01

Background Several studies showed that facial attractiveness, as a highly salient social cue, influences behavioral responses. It has also been found that attractive faces evoke distinctive neural activation compared to unattractive or neutral faces. Objectives Our aim was to design a face recognition task where individual preferences for facial cues are controlled for, and to create conditions that are more similar to natural circumstances in terms of decision making. Design In an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, subjects were shown attractive and unattractive faces, categorized on the basis of their own individual ratings. Results Statistical analysis of all subjects showed elevated brain activation for attractive opposite-sex faces in contrast to less attractive ones in regions that previously have been reported to show enhanced activation with increasing attractiveness level (e.g. the medial and superior occipital gyri, fusiform gyrus, precentral gyrus, and anterior cingular cortex). Besides these, females showed additional brain activation in areas thought to be involved in basic emotions and desires (insula), detection of facial emotions (superior temporal gyrus), and memory retrieval (hippocampus). Conclusions From these data, we speculate that because of the risks involving mate choice faced by women during evolutionary times, selection might have preferred the development of an elaborated neural system in females to assess the attractiveness and social value of male faces. PMID:24693356

Assessing facial attractiveness: individual decisions and evolutionary constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferenc Kocsor

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Several studies showed that facial attractiveness, as a highly salient social cue, influences behavioral responses. It has also been found that attractive faces evoke distinctive neural activation compared to unattractive or neutral faces. Objectives: Our aim was to design a face recognition task where individual preferences for facial cues are controlled for, and to create conditions that are more similar to natural circumstances in terms of decision making. Design: In an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI experiment, subjects were shown attractive and unattractive faces, categorized on the basis of their own individual ratings. Results: Statistical analysis of all subjects showed elevated brain activation for attractive opposite-sex faces in contrast to less attractive ones in regions that previously have been reported to show enhanced activation with increasing attractiveness level (e.g. the medial and superior occipital gyri, fusiform gyrus, precentral gyrus, and anterior cingular cortex. Besides these, females showed additional brain activation in areas thought to be involved in basic emotions and desires (insula, detection of facial emotions (superior temporal gyrus, and memory retrieval (hippocampus. Conclusions: From these data, we speculate that because of the risks involving mate choice faced by women during evolutionary times, selection might have preferred the development of an elaborated neural system in females to assess the attractiveness and social value of male faces.

Reduction of Constraints: Applicability of the Homogeneity Constraint for Macrobatch 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peeler, D.K.

2001-01-01

The Product Composition Control System (PCCS) is used to determine the acceptability of each batch of Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) melter feed in the Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME). This control system imposes several constraints on the composition of the contents of the SME to define acceptability. These constraints relate process or product properties to composition via prediction models. A SME batch is deemed acceptable if its sample composition measurements lead to acceptable property predictions after accounting for modeling, measurement and analytic uncertainties. The baseline document guiding the use of these data and models is ''SME Acceptability Determination for DWPF Process Control (U)'' by Brown and Postles [1996]. A minimum of three PCCS constraints support the prediction of the glass durability from a given SME batch. The Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) is reviewing all of the PCCS constraints associated with durability. The purpose of this review is to revisit these constraints in light of the additional knowledge gained since the beginning of radioactive operations at DWPF and to identify any supplemental studies needed to amplify this knowledge so that redundant or overly conservative constraints can be eliminated or replaced by more appropriate constraints

Safety Commission databases support

CERN Document Server

Petit, S; CERN. Geneva. TS Department

2005-01-01

A collaboration project between the Safety Commission (SC) and the Controls, Safety and Engineering databases group (TS/CSE) started last year. The aim of this collaboration is to transfer several SC applications from their local environments onto the D7i-MTF EDMS framework, for which the TS/CSE group is responsible. Different domains of activity and projects have been defined in the areas of equipment management, safety inspections, accidents and risks management. Priorities have been established in collaboration with SC. This paper presents the new Safety Inspections Management system (SIM) which will be put in production before the summer 2005 and reviews the constraints of both the users and the development and operational framework that needed to be taken into account. The technical solutions adopted to assure a successful production start-up and operation of the SIM system are described. Progress on other on-going projects and plans for the next year are also reported.

Hours Constraints Within and Between Jobs

OpenAIRE

Euwals, R.W.

1997-01-01

In the empirical literature on labour supply, several models are developed to incorporate constraints on working hours. These models do not address the question to which extent working hours are constrained within and between jobs. In this paper I investigate the effect of individual changes in labour supply preferences on actual working hours. The availability of subjective information on the individual’s preferred working hours gives direct measures on the degree of adjustment of working ho...

How is individualization in constraint-induced movement therapy performed?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Gunhild Mo; Pallesen, Hanne; Normann, Britt

2016-01-01

compensatory strategies in the more affected upper limb. Non-participatory observations of four individuals undergoing CIMT group training with a physiotherapist were conducted, followed by theme-based content analysis using concepts from practice knowledge and movement analysis as analytical tools...

Momentum constraint relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marronetti, Pedro

2006-01-01

Full relativistic simulations in three dimensions invariably develop runaway modes that grow exponentially and are accompanied by violations of the Hamiltonian and momentum constraints. Recently, we introduced a numerical method (Hamiltonian relaxation) that greatly reduces the Hamiltonian constraint violation and helps improve the quality of the numerical model. We present here a method that controls the violation of the momentum constraint. The method is based on the addition of a longitudinal component to the traceless extrinsic curvature A ij -tilde, generated by a vector potential w i , as outlined by York. The components of w i are relaxed to solve approximately the momentum constraint equations, slowly pushing the evolution towards the space of solutions of the constraint equations. We test this method with simulations of binary neutron stars in circular orbits and show that it effectively controls the growth of the aforementioned violations. We also show that a full numerical enforcement of the constraints, as opposed to the gentle correction of the momentum relaxation scheme, results in the development of instabilities that stop the runs shortly

In-Home Delivery of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy via Virtual Reality Gaming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra L. Borstad

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: People with chronic hemiparesis are frequently dissatisfied with the recovery of their hand and arm, yet many lack access to effective treatments. Constraint-induced movement therapy (CI therapy effectively increases arm function and spontaneous use in persons with chronic hemiparesis. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and measure safety and outcomes of an in-home model of delivering CI therapy using a custom, avatar-based virtual reality game. Methods: Seventeen individuals with chronic hemiparesis participated in this pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design study. The 10-day intervention had three components: 1 high-repetition motor practice using virtual reality gaming; 2 constraint of the stronger arm via a padded restraint mitt; and 3 a transfer package to reinforce arm use. Feasibility of the intervention was evaluated through comparison to traditional CI therapy and through participants’ subjective responses. The primary outcome measures were the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT and the Motor Activity Log quality of movement scale (MAL-QOM. Results: On average, participants completed 17.2 ± 8 hours and 19,436 repetitions of motor practice. No adverse events were reported. Of 7 feasibility criteria, 4 were met. WMFT rate and MAL-QOM increased, with effect size (Cohen’s d of 1.5 and 1.1, respectively. Conclusions: This model of delivering CI therapy using a custom, avatar-based virtual reality game was feasible, well received, and showed preliminary evidence of being a safe intervention to use in the home for persons with chronic hemiparesis.

Hospital safety climate and safety behavior: A social exchange perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Ancarani, Alessandro; Di Mauro, Carmela; Giammanco, Maria D

Safety climate is considered beneficial to the improvement of hospital safety outcomes. Nevertheless, the relations between two of its key constituents, namely those stemming from leader-subordinate relations and coworker support for safety, are still to be fully ascertained. This article uses the theoretical lens of Social Exchange Theory to study the joint impact of leader-member exchange in the safety sphere and coworker support for safety on safety-related behavior at the hospital ward level. Social exchange constructs are further related to the existence of a shame-/blame-free environment, seen as a potential antecedent of safety behavior. A cross-sectional study including 166 inpatients in hospital wards belonging to 10 public hospitals in Italy was undertaken to test the hypotheses developed. Hypothesized relations have been analyzed through a fully mediated multilevel structural equation model. This methodology allows studying behavior at the individual level, while keeping into account the heterogeneity among hospital specialties. Results suggest that the linkage between leader support for safety and individual safety behavior is mediated by coworker support on safety issues and by the creation of a shame-free environment. These findings call for the creation of a safety climate in which managerial efforts should be directed not only to the provision of new safety resources and the enforcement of safety rules but also to the encouragement of teamwork and freedom to report errors as ways to foster the capacity of the staff to communicate, share, and learn from each other.

Superstitious Beliefs as Constraints in The Learning of Science ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines the nature, prevalence and effect of superstitious beliefs as constraints to the appropriate learning of science in our schools. Studies done on identification and analysis of types and degrees of superstitious beliefs have been reported as well as to how these beliefs inhibit the individual learner\\'s ...

Culture and National Well-Being: Should Societies Emphasize Freedom or Constraint?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesse R Harrington

Full Text Available Throughout history and within numerous disciplines, there exists a perennial debate about how societies should best be organized. Should they emphasize individual freedom and autonomy or security and constraint? Contrary to proponents who tout the benefits of one over the other, we demonstrate across 32 nations that both freedom and constraint exhibit a curvilinear relationship with many indicators of societal well-being. Relative to moderate nations, very permissive and very constrained nations exhibit worse psychosocial outcomes (lower happiness, greater dysthymia, higher suicide rates, worse health outcomes (lower life expectancy, greater mortality rates from cardiovascular disease and diabetes and poorer economic and political outcomes (lower gross domestic product per capita, greater risk for political instability. This supports the notion that a balance between freedom and constraint results in the best national outcomes. Accordingly, it is time to shift the debate away from either constraint or freedom and focus on both in moderation.

Working with Individuals Who Provide Nursing Care to Educate Older Adults about Foodborne Illness Prevention: The Food Safety Because You Care! Intervention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelly C. Wohlgenant

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Older adults are more susceptible to foodborne infections than younger adults and many older adults do not follow recommended food safety practices. This study implemented the Food Safety Because You Care! program with 88 individuals in the United States who provide nursing care to older adult patients and subsequently surveyed them. The majority of respondents had favorable opinions of the program. Following program exposure, many of the respondents advised their older adult patients about food safety. The findings from this study suggest that the program is a useful tool that can assist those who provide nursing care as they interact with their older patients and lead them to positively influence older adults’ food safety practices. However, more research is needed to examine changes in providers’ behaviors as a result of program exposure and the accompanying effect on older adults’ food safety practices.

Experiential knowledge of expert coaches can help identify informational constraints on performance of dynamic interceptive actions.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, Daniel; Davids, Keith; Renshaw, Ian

2014-01-01

Coordination of dynamic interceptive movements is predicated on cyclical relations between an individual's actions and information sources from the performance environment. To identify dynamic informational constraints, which are interwoven with individual and task constraints, coaches' experiential knowledge provides a complementary source to support empirical understanding of performance in sport. In this study, 15 expert coaches from 3 sports (track and field, gymnastics and cricket) participated in a semi-structured interview process to identify potential informational constraints which they perceived to regulate action during run-up performance. Expert coaches' experiential knowledge revealed multiple information sources which may constrain performance adaptations in such locomotor pointing tasks. In addition to the locomotor pointing target, coaches' knowledge highlighted two other key informational constraints: vertical reference points located near the locomotor pointing target and a check mark located prior to the locomotor pointing target. This study highlights opportunities for broadening the understanding of perception and action coupling processes, and the identified information sources warrant further empirical investigation as potential constraints on athletic performance. Integration of experiential knowledge of expert coaches with theoretically driven empirical knowledge represents a promising avenue to drive future applied science research and pedagogical practice.

Safety assessment in plant layout design using indexing approach: Implementing inherent safety perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tugnoli, Alessandro; Khan, Faisal; Amyotte, Paul; Cozzani, Valerio

2008-01-01

Layout planning plays a key role in the inherent safety performance of process plants since this design feature controls the possibility of accidental chain-events and the magnitude of possible consequences. A lack of suitable methods to promote the effective implementation of inherent safety in layout design calls for the development of new techniques and methods. In the present paper, a safety assessment approach suitable for layout design in the critical early phase is proposed. The concept of inherent safety is implemented within this safety assessment; the approach is based on an integrated assessment of inherent safety guideword applicability within the constraints typically present in layout design. Application of these guidewords is evaluated along with unit hazards and control devices to quantitatively map the safety performance of different layout options. Moreover, the economic aspects related to safety and inherent safety are evaluated by the method. Specific sub-indices are developed within the integrated safety assessment system to analyze and quantify the hazard related to domino effects. The proposed approach is quick in application, auditable and shares a common framework applicable in other phases of the design lifecycle (e.g. process design). The present work is divided in two parts: Part 1 (current paper) presents the application of inherent safety guidelines in layout design and the index method for safety assessment; Part 2 (accompanying paper) describes the domino hazard sub-index and demonstrates the proposed approach with a case study, thus evidencing the introduction of inherent safety features in layout design

Competition as a source of constraint on life history evolution in natural populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, A J

2014-01-01

Competition among individuals is central to our understanding of ecology and population dynamics. However, it could also have major implications for the evolution of resource-dependent life history traits (for example, growth, fecundity) that are important determinants of fitness in natural populations. This is because when competition occurs, the phenotype of each individual will be causally influenced by the phenotypes, and so the genotypes, of competitors. Theory tells us that indirect genetic effects arising from competitive interactions will give rise to the phenomenon of 'evolutionary environmental deterioration', and act as a source of evolutionary constraint on resource-dependent traits under natural selection. However, just how important this constraint is remains an unanswered question. This article seeks to stimulate empirical research in this area, first highlighting some patterns emerging from life history studies that are consistent with a competition-based model of evolutionary constraint, before describing several quantitative modelling strategies that could be usefully applied. A recurrent theme is that rigorous quantification of a competition's impact on life history evolution will require an understanding of the causal pathways and behavioural processes by which genetic (co)variance structures arise. Knowledge of the G-matrix among life history traits is not, in and of itself, sufficient to identify the constraints caused by competition.

Consideration of timescales in the finnish safety regulations for spent fuel disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruokola, E.

2010-01-01

Esko Ruokola (STUK) presented an example of regulatory approach and explained that the Finnish spent fuel disposal program is progressing towards the construction license stage. The Government Decree on the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal which entered into force on 1 St December 2008 will be detailed by a STUK Guide that is currently being updated. These regulations distinguish three post-closure time periods for which different safety criteria are defined: The Environmentally Predictable Future: During this first period, extending up to several thousands of years, predictable environmental changes will occur. People may be exposed to the disposed radioactive substances only due to limited early failures of engineered barriers, due to e.g. fabrication defects. Disposal shall be so designed that as a consequence of expected evolutions: 1. The annual dose to the most exposed members of the public shall remain below 0.1 mSv. 2. The average annual doses to other members of the public shall remain insignificantly low. STUK provides guidance for the different elements of the safety assessment including potential exposure pathways, potential changes in the environment to be considered, assumption on climate change and human habits, as well as the reference conditions for the most exposed individual and people living in the surroundings. Era of Extreme Climate Changes: Beyond about 10 000 years, great climatic changes, such as permafrost and glaciation, will occur and a conservative approach is followed. For this time period, the radiation protection criteria are based on release rates of radionuclides from the geosphere to biosphere (geo-bio flux constraints). The STUK guide specifies the nuclide specific constraints for the activity release to the environment for individual radionuclides. The selected approach by STUK implies that the implementer need not to consider the biosphere scenarios when preparing his safety case for the time period discussed as the regulator

A Safe Supervisory Flight Control Scheme in the Presence of Constraints and Anomalies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franzè Giuseppe

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper the hybrid supervisory control architecture developed by Famularo et al. (2011 for constrained control systems is adopted with the aim to improve safety in aircraft operations when critical events like command saturations or unpredicted anomalies occur. The capabilities of a low-computational demanding predictive scheme for the supervision of non-linear dynamical systems subject to sudden switchings amongst operating conditions and time-varying constraints are exploited in the flight control systems framework. The strategy is based on command governor ideas and is tailored to jointly take into account time-varying set-points/constraints. Unpredictable anomalies in the nominal plant behaviour, whose models fall in the category of time-varying constraints, can also be tolerated by the control scheme. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, simulations both on a high altitude performance demonstrator unmanned aircraft with redundant control surfaces and the P92 general aviation aircraft are discussed.

Occupational dose constraints for the lens of the eye for interventional radiologists and interventional cardiologists in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Mairs, William DA

2016-06-01

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has recommended a 20 mSv year(-1) dose limit for the lens of the eye, which has been adopted in the European Union Basic Safety Standards. Interventional radiologists (IRs) and interventional cardiologists (ICs) are likely to be affected by this. The effects of radiation in the lens are somewhat uncertain, and the ICRP explicitly recommend optimization. Occupational dose constraints are part of the optimization process and define a level of dose which ought to be achievable in a well-managed practice. This commentary calls on the professional bodies to review a need for national constraints to guide local decisions. Consideration is given to developing such constraints using maximum expected doses in high-workload facilities with good radiation protection practices and application of a factor allowing for attenuation by lead glasses (LG). Doses are based on a Public Health England survey of eye dose in the UK. Maximum expected doses for ICs are approximately 21 mSv year(-1), neglecting LG. However, the extent of IR exposure is not yet fully known, and further evidence is required before conclusions are drawn. A Health and Safety Laboratory review of LG established a conservative dose reduction factor of 3 for models available in 2012. Application of this factor provides a dose constraint of 7 mSv year(-1) to the eye for ICs. To achieve this constraint, those employers with the most exposed ICs will have to provide and ensure the correct use of a ceiling-suspended eye shield and LG.

Finite-time stabilisation of a class of switched nonlinear systems with state constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shipei; Xiang, Zhengrong

2018-06-01

This paper investigates the finite-time stabilisation for a class of switched nonlinear systems with state constraints. Some power orders of the system are allowed to be ratios of positive even integers over odd integers. A Barrier Lyapunov function is introduced to guarantee that the state constraint is not violated at any time. Using the convex combination method and a recursive design approach, a state-dependent switching law and state feedback controllers of individual subsystems are constructed such that the closed-loop system is finite-time stable without violation of the state constraint. Two examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Fixed-Point Approximations of Bandwidth-Sharing Networks with Rate Constraints

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. Frolkova (Masha); J. Reed (Josh); A.P. Zwart (Bert)

2011-01-01

htmlabstractBandwidth-sharing networks are important flow level models of communication networks. We focus on the fact that it takes a signicant number of users to saturate a link, necessitating the inclusion of individual rate constraints. In particular we extend work of Reed & Zwart on fluid

Promotion of nuclear safety culture in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eun, Youngsoo

1996-01-01

The term 'nuclear safety culture' was first introduced by the IAEA after the Chernobyl accident in the former USSR and subsequently defined in the IAEA's Safety Series No. 75-IMSAG-4 'Safety Culture' as follows : 'Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establish that establish that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance.' INSAG-4 deals with the concept of 'Safety Culture' as it relates to organizations and individuals engaged in nuclear power activities, and is intended for use by governmental authorities and by the nuclear industry and its supporting organizations. The IAEA's Assessment of Safety Culture in Organizations Team (ASCOT) developed ASCOT Guidelines that can be used in the assessment of the safety culture level of the organizations and their individual workers concerned, with a view to the tangible manifestations of safety culture that has intangible characteristics in nature. The IAEA provides the nuclear safety culture assessment service on the request of the Member States. Safety culture can not be achieved by the effort of the nuclear industry and its involved individuals alone. Rather, it requires a well concerted effort among various organizations engaged in nuclear activities including regulatory organizations

Management of safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kavsek, D.

2004-01-01

The strengthening of safety culture in an organization has become an increasingly important issue for nuclear industry. A high level of safety performance is essential for business success in intensely competitive global environment. This presentation offers a discussion of some principles and activities used in enhancing safety performance and appropriate safety behaviour at the Krsko NPP. Over the years a number of events have occurred in nuclear industry that have involved problems in human performance. A review of these and other significant events has identified recurring weaknesses in plant safety culture and policy. Focusing attention on the strengthening of relevant processes can help plants avoid similar undesirable events. The policy of the Krsko NPP is that all employees concerned shall constantly be alert to opportunities to reduce risks to the lowest practicable level and to achieve excellence in plant safety. The most important objective is to protect individuals, society and the environment by establishing and maintaining an effective defense against radiological hazard in the nuclear power plant. It is achieved through the use of reliable structures, components, systems, and procedures, as well as plant personnel committed to a strong safety culture. The elements of safety culture include both organizational and individual aspects. Elements commonly included at the organizational level are senior management commitment to safety, organizational effectiveness, effective communication, organizational learning, and a culture that encourages identification and resolution of safety issues. Elements identified at the individual level include personal accountability, a questioning attitude, communication, procedural adherence, etc.(author)

Learning from Science and Sport - How we, Safety, "Engage with Rigor"

Science.gov (United States)

Herd, A.

2012-01-01

As the world of spaceflight safety is relatively small and potentially inward-looking, we need to be aware of the "outside world". We should then try to remind ourselves to be open to the possibility that data, knowledge or experience from outside of the spaceflight community may provide some constructive alternate perspectives. This paper will assess aspects from two seemingly tangential fields, science and sport, and align these with the world of safety. In doing so some useful insights will be given to the challenges we face and may provide solutions relevant in our everyday (of safety engineering). Sport, particularly a contact sport such as rugby union, requires direct interaction between members of two (opposing) teams. Professional, accurately timed and positioned interaction for a desired outcome. These interactions, whilst an essential part of the game, are however not without their constraints. The rugby scrum has constraints as to the formation and engagement of the two teams. The controlled engagement provides for an interaction between the two teams in a safe manner. The constraints arising from the reality that an incorrect engagement could cause serious injury to members of either team. In academia, scientific rigor is applied to assure that the arguments provided and the conclusions drawn in academic papers presented for publication are valid, legitimate and credible. The scientific goal of the need for rigor may be expressed in the example of achieving a statistically relevant sample size, n, in order to assure analysis validity of the data pool. A failure to apply rigor could then place the entire study at risk of failing to have the respective paper published. This paper will consider the merits of these two different aspects, scientific rigor and sports engagement, and offer a reflective look at how this may provide a "modus operandi" for safety engineers at any level whether at their desks (creating or reviewing safety assessments) or in a

The use of safety indicators in the assessment of radioactive waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wingefors, S.; Westerlind, M.; Gera, F.

1999-01-01

The most widely used criteria for disposal are limits or constraints on individual dose or risk, and these have been introduced in most national legal frameworks. There is general agreement that future generations have the right to the same level of protection as the current generation. Even if quantitative criteria corresponding to the required level of protection can be (and have been) defined, it is a great challenge to demonstrate compliance with these criteria. The difficulties are to large extent due to the long time-scales needed to be considered in radioactive waste disposal. The future cannot be predicted in detail but instead different scenarios, with different probabilities of occurrence, must be assessed. Some parts of a disposal system can be predicted or analysed with high confidence for very long periods of time, e.g. geological formations, while for example the evolution of the biosphere, and in particular the society, become quite uncertain within less than one thousand years. Thus, there may be considerable uncertainty in doses (or risks) derived from the safety assessment of a repository. Due to these unavoidable uncertainties it is believed advantageous to use multiple approaches in the safety assessment and to identify different indicators for the repository safety ('multiple-lines-of-reasoning'). The most fundamental safety indicators are dose/risk but complementary indicators have been suggested, in particular flux and environmental concentration of radionuclides. This presentation is focussed on fluxes and concentrations as complementary safety indicators. Other safety indicators, e.g. transfer times, are mentioned only briefly

The Aging Mover: A Preliminary Report on Constraints to Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Kathleen; Bird, Michael

1992-01-01

Examined constraints that might result in locomotion declines in older adults. Videotaped movements of healthy, active females between 20 and 80 years. Those over 60 walked at significantly slower speeds, particularly climbing stairs and used smaller range of speeds than younger individuals. Despite slowing, pattern of coordination between limbs…

Selecting an Architecture for a Safety-Critical Distributed Computer System with Power, Weight and Cost Considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo

2014-01-01

This report presents an example of the application of multi-criteria decision analysis to the selection of an architecture for a safety-critical distributed computer system. The design problem includes constraints on minimum system availability and integrity, and the decision is based on the optimal balance of power, weight and cost. The analysis process includes the generation of alternative architectures, evaluation of individual decision criteria, and the selection of an alternative based on overall value. In this example presented here, iterative application of the quantitative evaluation process made it possible to deliberately generate an alternative architecture that is superior to all others regardless of the relative importance of cost.

Constrained State Estimation for Individual Localization in Wireless Body Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoxue Feng

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Wireless body sensor networks based on ultra-wideband radio have recently received much research attention due to its wide applications in health-care, security, sports and entertainment. Accurate localization is a fundamental problem to realize the development of effective location-aware applications above. In this paper the problem of constrained state estimation for individual localization in wireless body sensor networks is addressed. Priori knowledge about geometry among the on-body nodes as additional constraint is incorporated into the traditional filtering system. The analytical expression of state estimation with linear constraint to exploit the additional information is derived. Furthermore, for nonlinear constraint, first-order and second-order linearizations via Taylor series expansion are proposed to transform the nonlinear constraint to the linear case. Examples between the first-order and second-order nonlinear constrained filters based on interacting multiple model extended kalman filter (IMM-EKF show that the second-order solution for higher order nonlinearity as present in this paper outperforms the first-order solution, and constrained IMM-EKF obtains superior estimation than IMM-EKF without constraint. Another brownian motion individual localization example also illustrates the effectiveness of constrained nonlinear iterative least square (NILS, which gets better filtering performance than NILS without constraint.

Constrained State Estimation for Individual Localization in Wireless Body Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Xiaoxue; Snoussi, Hichem; Liang, Yan; Jiao, Lianmeng

2014-01-01

Wireless body sensor networks based on ultra-wideband radio have recently received much research attention due to its wide applications in health-care, security, sports and entertainment. Accurate localization is a fundamental problem to realize the development of effective location-aware applications above. In this paper the problem of constrained state estimation for individual localization in wireless body sensor networks is addressed. Priori knowledge about geometry among the on-body nodes as additional constraint is incorporated into the traditional filtering system. The analytical expression of state estimation with linear constraint to exploit the additional information is derived. Furthermore, for nonlinear constraint, first-order and second-order linearizations via Taylor series expansion are proposed to transform the nonlinear constraint to the linear case. Examples between the first-order and second-order nonlinear constrained filters based on interacting multiple model extended kalman filter (IMM-EKF) show that the second-order solution for higher order nonlinearity as present in this paper outperforms the first-order solution, and constrained IMM-EKF obtains superior estimation than IMM-EKF without constraint. Another brownian motion individual localization example also illustrates the effectiveness of constrained nonlinear iterative least square (NILS), which gets better filtering performance than NILS without constraint. PMID:25390408

Constrained state estimation for individual localization in wireless body sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Xiaoxue; Snoussi, Hichem; Liang, Yan; Jiao, Lianmeng

2014-11-10

Wireless body sensor networks based on ultra-wideband radio have recently received much research attention due to its wide applications in health-care, security, sports and entertainment. Accurate localization is a fundamental problem to realize the development of effective location-aware applications above. In this paper the problem of constrained state estimation for individual localization in wireless body sensor networks is addressed. Priori knowledge about geometry among the on-body nodes as additional constraint is incorporated into the traditional filtering system. The analytical expression of state estimation with linear constraint to exploit the additional information is derived. Furthermore, for nonlinear constraint, first-order and second-order linearizations via Taylor series expansion are proposed to transform the nonlinear constraint to the linear case. Examples between the first-order and second-order nonlinear constrained filters based on interacting multiple model extended kalman filter (IMM-EKF) show that the second-order solution for higher order nonlinearity as present in this paper outperforms the first-order solution, and constrained IMM-EKF obtains superior estimation than IMM-EKF without constraint. Another brownian motion individual localization example also illustrates the effectiveness of constrained nonlinear iterative least square (NILS), which gets better filtering performance than NILS without constraint.

Nuclear Safety Culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

Ethics is caring about people and Safety is caring that no physical harm comes to people.Therefore Safety is a type of Ethical Behavior. Culture: is The Way We Do Things Here.Safety Culture is mixture of organization traditions, values, attitudes and behaviors modeled by Its leaders and internalized by its members that serve to make nuclear safety the overriding priority. Safety Culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in Organisations and individuals which established that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance

Heat exchanger networks design with constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amidpur, M.; Zoghi, A.; Nasiri, N.

2000-01-01

So far there have been two approaches to the problem of heat recovery system design where stream matching constraints exist. The first approach involves mathematical techniques for solving the combinational problem taking due recognition of the constraints. These methodologies are now efficient, still suffer from the problem of taking a significant amount of control and direction away from the designer. The second approach based upon so called pinch technology and involves the use of adaptation of standard problem table algorithm. Unfortunately, the proposed methodologies are not very easy to understand, therefore they fail to provide the insight and generally associated with these approaches. Here, a new pinch based methodology is presented. In this method, we modified the traditional numerical targeting procedure-problem table algorithm which is stream cascade table. Unconstrained groups are established by using of artificial intelligence method such that they have minimum utility consumption among different alternatives. Each group is an individual network, therefore, traditional optimization, used in pinch technology, should be employed. By transferring energy between groups heat recovery can be maximized, then each group designs individually and finally networks combine together. One of the advantages of using this method is simple targeting and easy networks-design. Besides the approach has the potential using of new network design methods such as dual temperature approach, flexible pinch design, pseudo pinch design. It is hoped that this methodology provides insight easy network design

Individuals with severely impaired vision can learn useful orientation and mobility skills in virtual streets and can use them to improve real street safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, Ellen Lambert; Liu, Lei

2017-01-01

Virtual reality has great potential in training road safety skills to individuals with low vision but the feasibility of such training has not been demonstrated. We tested the hypotheses that low vision individuals could learn useful skills in virtual streets and could apply them to improve real street safety. Twelve participants, whose vision was too poor to use the pedestrian signals were taught by a certified orientation and mobility specialist to determine the safest time to cross the street using the visual and auditory signals made by the start of previously stopped cars at a traffic-light controlled street intersection. Four participants were trained in real streets and eight in virtual streets presented on 3 projection screens. The crossing timing of all participants was evaluated in real streets before and after training. The participants were instructed to say "GO" at the time when they felt the safest to cross the street. A safety score was derived to quantify the GO calls based on its occurrence in the pedestrian phase (when the pedestrian sign did not show DON'T WALK). Before training, > 50% of the GO calls from all participants fell in the DON'T WALK phase of the traffic cycle and thus were totally unsafe. 20% of the GO calls fell in the latter half of the pedestrian phase. These calls were unsafe because one initiated crossing this late might not have sufficient time to walk across the street. After training, 90% of the GO calls fell in the early half of the pedestrian phase. These calls were safer because one initiated crossing in the pedestrian phase and had at least half of the pedestrian phase for walking across. Similar safety changes occurred in both virtual street and real street trained participants. An ANOVA showed a significant increase of the safety scores after training and there was no difference in this safety improvement between the virtual street and real street trained participants. This study demonstrated that virtual reality

Participation Constraints in the Stock Market

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Steffen; Meisner Nielsen, Kasper

2011-01-01

We use a natural experiment to investigate the impact of participation constraints on individuals' decisions to invest in the stock market. Unexpected inheritance due to sudden deaths results in exogenous variation in financial wealth, and allows us to examine whether fixed entry and ongoing...... participation costs cause non-participation. We have three key findings. First, windfall wealth has a positive effect on participation. Second, the majority of households do not react to sizeable windfalls by entering the stock market, but hold on to substantial safe assets—even over longer horizons. Third...

Safety handbook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

The purpose of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization's Safety Handbook is to outline simply the fundamental procedures and safety precautions which provide an appropriate framework for safe working with any potential hazards, such as fire and explosion, welding, cutting, brazing and soldering, compressed gases, cryogenic liquids, chemicals, ionizing radiations, non-ionising radiations, sound and vibration, as well as safety in the office. It also specifies the organisation for safety at the Lucas Heights Research Laboratories and the responsibilities of individuals and committees. It also defines the procedures for the scrutiny and review of all operations and the resultant setting of safety rules for them. ills

Multi-objective demand side scheduling considering the operational safety of appliances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, Y.F.; Jiang, L.; Li, Y.Z.; Counsell, J.; Smith, J.S.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Operational safety of appliances is introduced in multi-objective scheduling. • Relationships between operational safety and other objectives are investigated. • Adopted Pareto approach is compared with Weigh and Constraint approaches. • Decision making of Pareto approach is proposed for final appliances’ scheduling. - Abstract: The safe operation of appliances is of great concern to users. The safety risk increases when the appliances are in operation during periods when users are not at home or when they are asleep. In this paper, multi-objective demand side scheduling is investigated with consideration to the appliances’ operational safety together with the electricity cost and the operational delay. The formulation of appliances’ operational safety is proposed based on users’ at-home status and awake status. Then the relationships between the operational safety and the other two objectives are investigated through the approach of finding the Pareto-optimal front. Moreover, this approach is compared with the Weigh and Constraint approaches. As the Pareto-optimal front consists of a set of optimal solutions, this paper proposes a method to make the final scheduling decision based on the relationships among the multiple objectives. Simulation results demonstrate that the operational safety is improved with the sacrifice of the electricity cost and the operational delay, and that the approach of finding the Pareto-optimal front is effective in presenting comprehensive optimal solutions of the multi-objective demand side scheduling.

Differentiating the threat of radiological/nuclear terrorism: Motivations and constraints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Post, J M [Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, DC (United States)

2001-07-01

Full text: Reviewing the spectrum of terrorist groups in terms of motivation, incentives and constraints, for nearly all groups, nuclear terrorism could be highly counter-productive. The constraints are particularly severe for large-scale mass casualty terrorism for groups that are concerned with their constituents--social revolutionary and nationalist separatist terrorists--although discriminate low level attacks are possible. Right-wing extremists, including individuals who are members of the right-wing virtual community of hatred, represent a distinct danger for low level discriminate attacks against their targets. Religious fundamentalist terrorist groups represent a particular threat, because they are not trying to influence the West but to expel Western modernizing influences. Moreover, they believe that their acts of violence are given sacred significance. The severe constraints against catastrophic terrorism for most groups argues for continuing to protect against the greatest danger - conventional terrorism - and to devote significantly increased resources to monitoring more closely the groups at greatest risk for nuclear terrorism. (author)

Prospects for nuclear terrorism: psychological motivations and constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Post, J.M.

1987-01-01

In considering the implications of psychological understandings to the specific case of nuclear terrorism, it is emphasized that distorted decision making does not equate to totally irrational decision making. In certain circumstances, however, the distorted individual and group decision-making psychology could influence the group toward a high-risk option such as nuclear terrorism. For terrorists operating within their own national boundaries, a terrorist act producing mass casualties would generally be counterproductive. For groups acting across national boundaries, however, this constraint does not apply to nearly the same degree. Although the opprobrium of the West will be a constraint for some, it will not be equally so for all terrorist groups. The degree of disincentive will relate in particular to the major audience of influence. Also, there are the terrorist losers who are being shunted aside and losing the recognition they seek. Such a group could justify a terrorist spectacular in order to regain influence on the basis of a what have we got to lose rationale. In thinking about the possibility of nuclear terrorism, it is important to distinguish between the actual detonation of a device and the use of a device for extortion and influence. The constraints against the latter are significantly reduced in contrast to acts producing mass casualties. The constraints are even more reduced in the case of the plausible nuclear hoax, an option that can be expected to become more frequent

Crack-tip constraint analyses and constraint-dependent LBB curves for circumferential through-wall cracked pipes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Y.L.; Wang, G.Z., E-mail: gzwang@ecust.edu.cn; Xuan, F.Z.; Tu, S.T.

2015-04-15

Highlights: • Solution of constraint parameter τ* for through-wall cracked pipes has been obtained. • Constraint increases with increasing crack length and radius–thickness ratio of pipes. • Constraint-dependent LBB curve for through-wall cracked pipes has been constructed. • For increasing accuracy of LBB assessments, constraint effect should be considered. - Abstract: The leak-before-break (LBB) concept has been widely applied in the structural integrity assessments of pressured pipes in nuclear power plants. However, the crack-tip constraint effects in LBB analyses and designs cannot be incorporated. In this paper, by using three-dimensional finite element calculations, the modified load-independent T-stress constraint parameter τ* for circumferential through-wall cracked pipes with different geometries and crack sizes has been analyzed under different loading conditions, and the solutions of the crack-tip constraint parameter τ* have been obtained. Based on the τ* solutions and constraint-dependent J–R curves of a steel, the constraint-dependent LBB (leak-before-break) curves have been constructed. The results show that the constraint τ* increases with increasing crack length θ, mean radius R{sub m} and radius–thickness ratio R{sub m}/t of the pipes. In LBB analyses, the critical crack length calculated by the J–R curve of the standard high constraint specimen for pipes with shorter cracks is over-conservative, and the degree of conservatism increases with decreasing crack length θ, R{sub m} and R{sub m}/t. Therefore, the constraint-dependent LBB curves should be constructed to modify the over-conservatism and increase accuracy of LBB assessments.

Probabilistic approaches to LCO's and surveillance requirements for standby safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lofgren, E.V.; Varcolik, F.

1982-11-01

Results are presented for a comprehensive analysis of risk-based methods for establishing Limiting Conditions for Operation (LCO) and surveillance requirements for on-line test and repair of nuclear power plant safety system components. Limiting Conditions for Operation refers to the legal constraint on safety system component outage times that are imposed by the NRC as part of the reactor operating license. Generally, when a safety system component is removed for repair or test for a period of time there is a period of increased vulnerability concerning the probability that the affected safety system will be available to mitigate an accident. This period of increased vulnerability exists until the component is restored to service. The constraint on the duration of this period, the allowed outage time (AOT), is the aspect of LCOs that is of interest here. In particular, methods are reviewed and developed that relate measures of risk to the AOT. Only by explicitly relating risk to AOT can outage times be constrained by placing limits on risk. Methods developed for relating risk measures to outage times are presented. The review and analysis of risk related methods for establishing LCOs are described

Wheeled mobility device transportation safety in fixed route and demand-responsive public transit vehicles within the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Karen L; van Roosmalen, Linda; Bertocci, Gina; Cross, Douglas J

2012-01-01

An overview of the current status of wheelchair transportation safety in fixed route and demand-responsive, non-rail, public transportation vehicles within the US is presented. A description of each mode of transportation is provided, followed by a discussion of the primary issues affecting safety, accessibility, and usability. Technologies such as lifts, ramps, securement systems, and occupant restraint systems, along with regulations and voluntary industry standards have been implemented with the intent of improving safety and accessibility for individuals who travel while seated in their wheeled mobility device (e.g., wheelchair or scooter). However, across both fixed route and demand-responsive transit systems a myriad of factors such as nonuse and misuse of safety systems, oversized wheeled mobility devices, vehicle space constraints, and inadequate vehicle operator training may place wheeled mobility device (WhMD) users at risk of injury even under non-impact driving conditions. Since WhMD-related incidents also often occur during the boarding and alighting process, the frequency of these events, along with factors associated with these events are described for each transit mode. Recommendations for improving WhMD transportation are discussed given the current state of

Misconceptions and constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitten, M.; Mahon, R.

2005-01-01

In theory, the sterile insect technique (SIT) is applicable to a wide variety of invertebrate pests. However, in practice, the approach has been successfully applied to only a few major pests. Chapters in this volume address possible reasons for this discrepancy, e.g. Klassen, Lance and McInnis, and Robinson and Hendrichs. The shortfall between theory and practice is partly due to the persistence of some common misconceptions, but it is mainly due to one constraint, or a combination of constraints, that are biological, financial, social or political in nature. This chapter's goal is to dispel some major misconceptions, and view the constraints as challenges to overcome, seeing them as opportunities to exploit. Some of the common misconceptions include: (1) released insects retain residual radiation, (2) females must be monogamous, (3) released males must be fully sterile, (4) eradication is the only goal, (5) the SIT is too sophisticated for developing countries, and (6) the SIT is not a component of an area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) strategy. The more obvious constraints are the perceived high costs of the SIT, and the low competitiveness of released sterile males. The perceived high up-front costs of the SIT, their visibility, and the lack of private investment (compared with alternative suppression measures) emerge as serious constraints. Failure to appreciate the true nature of genetic approaches, such as the SIT, may pose a significant constraint to the wider adoption of the SIT and other genetically-based tactics, e.g. transgenic genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Lack of support for the necessary underpinning strategic research also appears to be an important constraint. Hence the case for extensive strategic research in ecology, population dynamics, genetics, and insect behaviour and nutrition is a compelling one. Raising the competitiveness of released sterile males remains the major research objective of the SIT. (author)

Optimisation and constraints - a view from ICRP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunster, H.J.

1994-01-01

The optimisation of protection has been the major policy underlying the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection for more than 20 years. In earlier forms, the concept can be traced back to 1951. Constraints are more recent, appearing in their present form only in the 1990 recommendations of the Commission. The requirement to keep all exposures as low as reasonably achievable applies to both normal and potential exposures. The policy and the techniques are well established for normal exposures, i.e. exposures that are certain to occur. The application to potential exposures, i.e. exposures that have a probability of occurring that is less than unity, is more difficult and is still under international discussion. Constraints are needed to limit the inequity associated with the use of collective dose in cost-benefit analysis and to provide a margin to protect individuals who may be exposed to more than one source. (author)

Behavior based safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudhikumaran, T.V.; Mehta, S.C.; Goyal, D.K.

2009-01-01

Behaviour Based Safety (popularly known as BBS) is a new methodology for achieving injury free work place and total Safety Culture. BBS is successfully being implemented and is being practiced as a work methodology for achieving a loss and injury free work environment and work practice. Through BBS, it was brought out that the root causes of all Industrial accidents some how originate from the 'at risk' behaviour of some individual or group of individuals at some level. The policy of NPCIL is to excel in the field of Industrial and Fire Safety in comparison to international standards. This article indents to bring out the various parameters helping in installing BBS programme at any plant. (author)

Defining safety culture and the nexus between safety goals and safety culture. 4. Enhancing Safety Culture Through the Establishment of Safety Goals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tateiwa, Kenji; Miyata, Koichi; Yahagi, Kimitoshi

2001-01-01

Safety culture is the perception of each individual and organization of a nuclear power plant that safety is the first priority, and at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), we have been practicing it in everyday activities. On the other hand, with the demand for competitiveness of nuclear power becoming even more intense these days, we need to pursue efficient management while maintaining the safety level at the same time. Below, we discuss how to achieve compatibility between safety culture and efficient management as well as enhance safety culture. Discussion at Tepco: safety culture-nurturing activities such as the following are being implemented: 1. informing the employees of the 'Declaration of Safety Promotion' by handing out brochures and posting it on the intranet home page; 2. publishing safety culture reports covering stories on safety culture of other industry sectors, recent movements on safety culture, etc.; 3. conducting periodic questionnaires to employees to grasp how deeply safety culture is being established; 4. carrying out educational programs to learn from past cases inside and outside the nuclear industry; 5. committing to common ownership of information with the public. The current status of safety culture in Japan sometimes seems to be biased to the quest of ultimate safety; rephrasing it, there have been few discussions regarding the sufficiency of the quantitative safety level in conjunction with the safety culture. Safety culture is one of the most crucial foundations guaranteeing the plant's safety, and for example, the plant safety level evaluated by probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) could be said to be valid only on the ground that a sound and sufficient safety culture exists. Although there is no doubt that the safety culture is a fundamental and important attitude of an individual and organization that keeps safety the first priority, the safety culture in itself should not be considered an obstruction to efforts to implement

Safety and functional outcome of thrombolysis in dissection-related ischemic stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data.

Science.gov (United States)

Zinkstok, Sanne M; Vergouwen, Mervyn D I; Engelter, Stefan T; Lyrer, Philippe A; Bonati, Leo H; Arnold, Marcel; Mattle, Heinrich P; Fischer, Urs; Sarikaya, Hakan; Baumgartner, Ralf W; Georgiadis, Dimitrios; Odier, Céline; Michel, Patrik; Putaala, Jukka; Griebe, Martin; Wahlgren, Nils; Ahmed, Niaz; van Geloven, Nan; de Haan, Rob J; Nederkoorn, Paul J

2011-09-01

The safety and efficacy of thrombolysis in cervical artery dissection (CAD) are controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis was to pool all individual patient data and provide a valid estimate of safety and outcome of thrombolysis in CAD. We performed a systematic literature search on intravenous and intra-arterial thrombolysis in CAD. We calculated the rates of pooled symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and mortality and indirectly compared them with matched controls from the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-International Stroke Thrombolysis Register. We applied multivariate regression models to identify predictors of excellent (modified Rankin Scale=0 to 1) and favorable (modified Rankin Scale=0 to 2) outcome. We obtained individual patient data of 180 patients from 14 retrospective series and 22 case reports. Patients were predominantly female (68%), with a mean±SD age of 46±11 years. Most patients presented with severe stroke (median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score=16). Treatment was intravenous thrombolysis in 67% and intra-arterial thrombolysis in 33%. Median follow-up was 3 months. The pooled symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage rate was 3.1% (95% CI, 1.3 to 7.2). Overall mortality was 8.1% (95% CI, 4.9 to 13.2), and 41.0% (95% CI, 31.4 to 51.4) had an excellent outcome. Stroke severity was a strong predictor of outcome. Overlapping confidence intervals of end points indicated no relevant differences with matched controls from the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-International Stroke Thrombolysis Register. Safety and outcome of thrombolysis in patients with CAD-related stroke appear similar to those for stroke from all causes. Based on our findings, thrombolysis should not be withheld in patients with CAD.

Constraints and Creativity in NPD - Testing the Impact of 'Late Constraints'

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Onarheim, Balder; Valgeirsdóttir, Dagný

experiment was conducted, involving 12 teams of industrial designers from three different countries, each team working on two 30 minutes design tasks. In one condition all constraints were given at the start, and in the other one new radical constraint was added after 12 minutes. The output from all 24 tasks......The aim of the presented work is to investigate how the timing of project constraints can influence the creativity of the output in New Product Development (NPD) projects. When seeking to produce a creative output, is it beneficial to know all constraints when initiating a project...... was assessed for creativity using the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT), and a comparative within-subjects analysis found no significant different between the two conditions. Controlling for task and assessor a small but non-significant effect was found, in favor of the ‘late constraint’ condition. Thus...

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO Safety Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jongsup; Han, Geeyang; Kim, Iksoo

2008-01-01

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which the management system is based. The IAEA INSAG(International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of the safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safety. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30 MW multi-purpose research reactor and achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementations have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation like the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops, the development of safety culture indicators, the survey on the attitude of safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of an e-Learning program for safety education. (author)

Advanced parallel strategy for strongly coupled fast transient fluid-structure dynamics with dual management of kinematic constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faucher, Vincent

2014-01-01

Simulating fast transient phenomena involving fluids and structures in interaction for safety purposes requires both accurate and robust algorithms, and parallel computing to reduce the calculation time for industrial models. Managing kinematic constraints linking fluid and structural entities is thus a key issue and this contribution promotes a dual approach over the classical penalty approach, introducing arbitrary coefficients in the solution. This choice however severely increases the complexity of the problem, mainly due to non-permanent kinematic constraints. An innovative parallel strategy is therefore described, whose performances are demonstrated on significant examples exhibiting the full complexity of the target industrial simulations. (authors)

Safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The response to a previous publication by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG), indicated a broad international interest in expansion of the concept of Safety Culture, in such a way that its effectiveness in particular cases may be judged. This report responds to that need. In its manifestation, Safety Culture has two major components: the framework determined by organizational policy and by managerial action, and the response of individuals in working within and benefiting by the framework. 1 fig

Individual employee's perceptions of " Group-level Safety Climate" (supervisor referenced) versus " Organization-level Safety Climate" (top management referenced): Associations with safety outcomes for lone workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Lee, Jin; McFadden, Anna C; Rineer, Jennifer; Robertson, Michelle M

2017-01-01

Research has shown that safety climate is among the strongest predictors of safety behavior and safety outcomes in a variety of settings. Previous studies have established that safety climate is a multi-faceted construct referencing multiple levels of management within a company, most generally: the organization level (employee perceptions of top management's commitment to and prioritization of safety) and group level (employee perceptions of direct supervisor's commitment to and prioritization of safety). Yet, no research to date has examined the potential interaction between employees' organization-level safety climate (OSC) and group-level safety climate (GSC) perceptions. Furthermore, prior research has mainly focused on traditional work environments in which supervisors and workers interact in the same location throughout the day. Little research has been done to examine safety climate with regard to lone workers. The present study aims to address these gaps by examining the relationships between truck drivers' (as an example of lone workers) perceptions of OSC and GSC, both potential linear and non-linear relationships, and how these predict important safety outcomes. Participants were 8095 truck drivers from eight trucking companies in the United States with an average response rate of 44.8%. Results showed that employees' OSC and GSC perceptions are highly correlated (r= 0.78), but notable gaps between the two were observed for some truck drivers. Uniquely, both OSC and GSC scores were found to have curvilinear relationships with safe driving behavior, and both scores were equally predictive of safe driving behavior. Results also showed the two levels of climate significantly interacted with one another to predict safety behavior such that if either the OSC or GSC scores were low, the other's contribution to safety behavior became stronger. These findings suggest that OSC and GSC may function in a compensatory manner and promote safe driving behavior even

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO safety management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Jongsup; Han, Geeyang; Kim, Iksoo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2008-11-15

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which a management system is based. The IAEA INSAG (International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of a safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams, so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safely. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of a safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized for more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30MW multi-purpose research reactor that achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementations have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation such as the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops and the development of safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of a e-learning program for a safety education purpose.

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO safety management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jongsup; Han, Geeyang; Kim, Iksoo

2008-01-01

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which a management system is based. The IAEA INSAG (International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of a safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams, so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safely. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of a safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized for more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30MW multi-purpose research reactor that achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementations have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation such as the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops and the development of safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of a e-learning program for a safety education purpose

Epidemics on adaptive networks with geometric constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Leah; Schwartz, Ira

2008-03-01

When a population is faced with an epidemic outbreak, individuals may modify their social behavior to avoid exposure to the disease. Recent work has considered models in which the contact network is rewired dynamically so that susceptibles avoid contact with infectives. We consider extensions in which the rewiring is subject to constraints that preserve key properties of the social network structure. Constraining to a fixed degree distribution destroys previously observed bistable behavior. The most effective rewiring strategy is found to depend on the spreading rate.

Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography. Specific Safety Guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This Safety Guide provides recommendations for ensuring radiation safety in industrial radiography used in non-destructive testing. This includes industrial radiography work that utilizes X ray and gamma sources, both in shielded facilities that have effective engineering controls and in outside shielded facilities using mobile sources. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Duties and responsibilities; 3. Safety assessment; 4. Radiation protection programme; 5. Training and qualification; 6. Individual monitoring of workers; 7. Workplace monitoring; 8. Control of radioactive sources; 9. Safety of industrial radiography sources and exposure devices; 10. Radiography in shielded enclosures; 11. Site radiography; 12. Transport of radioactive sources; 13. Emergency preparedness and response; Appendix: IAEA categorization of radioactive sources; Annex I: Example safety assessment; Annex II: Overview of industrial radiography sources and equipment; Annex III: Examples of accidents in industrial radiography.

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO safety management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Jong Sup; Han, Gee Yang; Kim, Ik Soo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2008-11-15

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which a management system is based. The IAEA INSAG(International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of a safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams, so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safety. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of a safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized for more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30 MW multi purpose research reactor that achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementation have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation such as the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops and the development of safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of an e Learning program for a safety education purpose.

Implementation of the safety culture for HANARO safety management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jong Sup; Han, Gee Yang; Kim, Ik Soo

2008-01-01

Safety is the fundamental principal upon which a management system is based. The IAEA INSAG(International Nuclear Safety Group) states the general aims of a safety management system. One of which is to foster and support a strong safety culture through the development and reinforcement of good safety attitudes and behavior in individuals and teams, so as to allow them to carry out their tasks safety. The safety culture activities have been implemented and the importance of a safety management in nuclear activities for a reactor application and utilization has also been emphasized for more than 10 years in HANARO which is a 30 MW multi purpose research reactor that achieved its first criticality in February 1995. The safety culture activities and implementation have been conducted continuously to enhance its safe operation such as the seminars and lectures related to safety matters, participation in international workshops and the development of safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture indicators, a survey on the attitude of HANARO staff toward the safety culture, the development of operational safety performance indicators (SPIs), the preparation of a safety text book and the development of an e Learning program for a safety education purpose

Financing Constraints and Entrepreneurship

OpenAIRE

William R. Kerr; Ramana Nanda

2009-01-01

Financing constraints are one of the biggest concerns impacting potential entrepreneurs around the world. Given the important role that entrepreneurship is believed to play in the process of economic growth, alleviating financing constraints for would-be entrepreneurs is also an important goal for policymakers worldwide. We review two major streams of research examining the relevance of financing constraints for entrepreneurship. We then introduce a framework that provides a unified perspecti...

Constraints on Primordial Non-Gaussianity from 800 000 Photometric Quasars.

Science.gov (United States)

Leistedt, Boris; Peiris, Hiranya V; Roth, Nina

2014-11-28

We derive robust constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG) using the clustering of 800 000 photometric quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in the redshift range 0.5quasar halo bias at the largest scales, while discarding as little as possible of the data. The standard local-type PNG parameters f_{NL} and g_{NL} both imprint a k^{-2} scale-dependent effect in the bias. Constraining these individually, we obtain -49quasar clustering to the underlying dark matter. These are the strongest constraints obtained to date on PNG using a single population of large-scale structure tracers, and are already at the level of pre-Planck constraints from the cosmic microwave background. A conservative forecast for a Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)-like survey incorporating mode projection yields σ(f_{NL})∼5-competitive with the Planck result-highlighting the power of upcoming large scale structure surveys to probe the initial conditions of the Universe.

A joint-constraint model for human joints using signed distance-fields

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engell-Nørregård, Morten Pol; Abel, Sarah Maria Niebe; Erleben, Kenny

2012-01-01

We present a local joint-constraint model for a single joint which is based on distance fields. Our model is fast, general, and well suited for modeling human joints. In this work, we take a geometric approach and model the geometry of the boundary of the feasible region, i.e., the boundary of all...... allowed poses. A region of feasible poses can be built by embedding motion captured data points in a signed distance field. The only assumption is that the feasible poses form a single connected set of angular values. We show how signed distance fields can be used to generate fast and general joint......-joint dependencies, or joints with more than three degrees of freedom. The resolution of the joint-constraints can be tweaked individually for each degree of freedom, which can be used to optimize memory usage. We perform a comparative study of the key-properties of various joint-constraint models, as well...

Creativity from Constraints in Engineering Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Onarheim, Balder

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the role of constraints in limiting and enhancing creativity in engineering design. Based on a review of literature relating constraints to creativity, the paper presents a longitudinal participatory study from Coloplast A/S, a major international producer of disposable...... and ownership of formal constraints played a crucial role in defining their influence on creativity – along with the tacit constraints held by the designers. The designers were found to be highly constraint focused, and four main creative strategies for constraint manipulation were observed: blackboxing...

Is Safety in Danger?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broncano-Berrocal, Fernando

2014-01-01

In “Knowledge Under Threat” (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 2012), Tomas Bogardus proposes a counterexample to the safety condition for knowledge. Bogardus argues that the case demonstrates that unsafe knowledge is possible. I argue that the case just corroborates the well-known require......In “Knowledge Under Threat” (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 2012), Tomas Bogardus proposes a counterexample to the safety condition for knowledge. Bogardus argues that the case demonstrates that unsafe knowledge is possible. I argue that the case just corroborates the well......-known requirement that modal conditions like safety must be relativized to methods of belief formation. I explore several ways of relativizing safety to belief-forming methods and I argue that none is adequate: if methods were individuated in those ways, safety would fail to explain several much-discussed cases. I...... then propose a plausible externalist principle of method individuation. On the one hand, relativizing safety to belief-forming methods in the way suggested allows the defender of safety to account for the cases. On the other hand, it shows that the target known belief of Bogardus’s example is safe. Finally, I...

Physics design of fast reactor safety test facilities for in-pile experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Travelli, A.; Matos, J.E.; Snelgrove, J.L.; Shaftman, D.H.; Tzanos, C.P.; Lam, S.K.; Pennington, E.M.; Woodruff, W.L.

1976-01-01

A determined effort to identify and resolve current Fast Breeder Reactor safety testing needs has recently resulted in a number of conceptual designs for FBR safety test facilities which are very complex and diverse both in their features and in their purpose. The paper discusses the physics foundations common to most fast reactor safety test facilities and the constraints which they impose on the design. The logical evolution, features, and capabilities of several major conceptual designs are discussed on the basis of this common background

Risk allocation approach to reactor safety design and evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gokcek, O.; Temme, M.I.; Derby, S.L.

1978-01-01

This paper describes a risk allocation technique used for determining nuclear power plant design reliability requirements. The concept of risk allocation-optimum choice of safety function reliabilities under a maximum risk constraint - is described. An example of risk allocation is presented to demonstrate the application of the methodology

Vocalist - an international programme for the validation of constraint based methodology in structural integrity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lidbury, D.; Bass, R.; Gilles, Ph.; Connors, D.; Eisele, U.; Keim, E.; Keinanen, H.; Marie, St.; Nagel, G.; Taylor, N.; Wadier, Y.

2001-01-01

The pattern of crack-tip stresses and strains causing plastic flow and fracture in components is different to that in test specimens. This gives rise to the so-called constraint effect. Crack-tip constraint in components is generally lower than in test specimens. Effective toughness is correspondingly higher. The fracture toughness measured on test specimens is thus likely to underestimate that exhibited by cracks in components. A 36-month programme was initiated in October 2000 as part of the Fifth Framework of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), with the objective of achieving (i) an improved defect assessment methodology for predicting safety margins; (ii) improved lifetime management arguments. The programme VOCALIST (Validation of Constraint Based Methodology in Structural Integrity) is one of a 'cluster' of Fifth Framework projects in the area of Plant Life Management (Nuclear Fission). VOCALIST is also an associated project of NESC (Network for Evaluating Steel Components). The present paper describes the aims and objectives of VOCALIST, its interactions with NESC, and gives details of its various Work Packages. (authors)

Vocalist - an international programme for the validation of constraint based methodology in structural integrity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lidbury, D. [AEA Technology, Consulting (United Kingdom); Bass, R. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Gilles, Ph. [FRAMATOME, 92 - Paris-La-Defence (France); Connors, D. [BNFL Magnox Generation (United Kingdom); Eisele, U. [Multiphoton Absorption, MPA, Stuttgart (Germany); Keim, E. [Framatome ANP GmbH (Germany); Keinanen, H. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland); Marie, St. [CEA Saclay, Dept. de Mecanique et de Technologie, 91 - Gif sur Yvette (France); Nagel, G. [E.ON Kernraft (Germany); Taylor, N. [Joint Research Center, JRC-IAM (Netherlands); Wadier, Y. [Electricite de France (EDF), 93 - Saint-Denis (France). Dept. de Radioprotection

2001-07-01

The pattern of crack-tip stresses and strains causing plastic flow and fracture in components is different to that in test specimens. This gives rise to the so-called constraint effect. Crack-tip constraint in components is generally lower than in test specimens. Effective toughness is correspondingly higher. The fracture toughness measured on test specimens is thus likely to underestimate that exhibited by cracks in components. A 36-month programme was initiated in October 2000 as part of the Fifth Framework of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), with the objective of achieving (i) an improved defect assessment methodology for predicting safety margins; (ii) improved lifetime management arguments. The programme VOCALIST (Validation of Constraint Based Methodology in Structural Integrity) is one of a 'cluster' of Fifth Framework projects in the area of Plant Life Management (Nuclear Fission). VOCALIST is also an associated project of NESC (Network for Evaluating Steel Components). The present paper describes the aims and objectives of VOCALIST, its interactions with NESC, and gives details of its various Work Packages. (authors)

Agrifood systems and the microbial safety of fresh produce: Trade-offs in the wake of increased sustainability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen-the, Christophe; Bardin, Marc; Berard, Annette; Berge, Odile; Brillard, Julien; Broussolle, Véronique

2016-01-01

Fresh produce has been a growing cause of food borne outbreaks world-wide prompting the need for safer production practices. Yet fresh produce agrifood systems are diverse and under constraints for more sustainability. We analyze how measures taken to guarantee safety interact with other objectives for sustainability, in light of the diversity of fresh produce agrifood systems. The review is based on the publications at the interface between fresh produce safety and sustainability, with sustainability defined by low environmental impacts, food and nutrition security and healthy life. The paths for more sustainable fresh produce are diverse. They include an increased use of ecosystem services to e.g. favor predators of pests, or to reduce impact of floods, to reduce soil erosion, or to purify run-off waters. In contrast, they also include production systems isolated from the environment. From a socio-economical view, sustainability may imply maintaining small tenures with a higher risk of pathogen contamination. We analyzed the consequences for produce safety by focusing on risks of contamination by water, soil, environment and live stocks. Climate change may increase the constraints and recent knowledge on interactions between produce and human pathogens may bring new solutions. Existing technologies may suffice to resolve some conflicts between ensuring safety of fresh produce and moving towards more sustainability. However, socio-economic constraints of some agri-food systems may prevent their implementation. In addition, current strategies to preserve produce safety are not adapted to systems relying on ecological principles and knowledge is lacking to develop the new risk management approaches that would be needed. - Highlights: • Measures taken to improve safety were assessed for their impact on sustainability. • Fresh produce safety improvements may come at the expense of sustainability. • Environment, food security and human health constituted the

Agrifood systems and the microbial safety of fresh produce: Trade-offs in the wake of increased sustainability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen-the, Christophe, E-mail: christophe.nguyen-the@avignon.inra.fr [UMR408 SQPOV «Sécurité et Qualité des Produits d' Origine Végétale», INRA, Avignon Université, 84000 Avignon (France); Bardin, Marc, E-mail: marc.bardin@avignon.inra.fr [INRA, UR0407 Plant Pathology, F-84143 Montfavet (France); Berard, Annette, E-mail: annette.berard@avignon.inra.fr [EMMAH, INRA, Avignon Université, 84000 Avignon (France); Berge, Odile, E-mail: odile.berge@avignon.inra.fr [INRA, UR0407 Plant Pathology, F-84143 Montfavet (France); Brillard, Julien, E-mail: julien.brillard@univ-montp2.fr [UMR408 SQPOV «Sécurité et Qualité des Produits d' Origine Végétale», INRA, Avignon Université, 84000 Avignon (France); Broussolle, Véronique, E-mail: veronique.broussolle@avignon.inra.fr [UMR408 SQPOV «Sécurité et Qualité des Produits d' Origine Végétale», INRA, Avignon Université, 84000 Avignon (France); and others

2016-08-15

Fresh produce has been a growing cause of food borne outbreaks world-wide prompting the need for safer production practices. Yet fresh produce agrifood systems are diverse and under constraints for more sustainability. We analyze how measures taken to guarantee safety interact with other objectives for sustainability, in light of the diversity of fresh produce agrifood systems. The review is based on the publications at the interface between fresh produce safety and sustainability, with sustainability defined by low environmental impacts, food and nutrition security and healthy life. The paths for more sustainable fresh produce are diverse. They include an increased use of ecosystem services to e.g. favor predators of pests, or to reduce impact of floods, to reduce soil erosion, or to purify run-off waters. In contrast, they also include production systems isolated from the environment. From a socio-economical view, sustainability may imply maintaining small tenures with a higher risk of pathogen contamination. We analyzed the consequences for produce safety by focusing on risks of contamination by water, soil, environment and live stocks. Climate change may increase the constraints and recent knowledge on interactions between produce and human pathogens may bring new solutions. Existing technologies may suffice to resolve some conflicts between ensuring safety of fresh produce and moving towards more sustainability. However, socio-economic constraints of some agri-food systems may prevent their implementation. In addition, current strategies to preserve produce safety are not adapted to systems relying on ecological principles and knowledge is lacking to develop the new risk management approaches that would be needed. - Highlights: • Measures taken to improve safety were assessed for their impact on sustainability. • Fresh produce safety improvements may come at the expense of sustainability. • Environment, food security and human health constituted the

Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Liraglutide 3.0 mg in Individuals with BMI above and below 35 kg/m²: A Post-hoc Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

le Roux, Carel; Aroda, Vanita; Hemmingsson, Joanna; Cancino, Ana Paula; Christensen, Rune; Pi-Sunyer, Xavier

2018-01-01

Objective To investigate whether the efficacy and safety of liraglutide 3.0 mg differed between two subgroups, BMI 27 to 3.0 mg were evaluated by testing the interaction between treatment group and baseline BMI subgroup. Results Significantly greater weight loss (0–56 weeks) was observed with liraglutide 3.0 mg versus placebo in all patient groups while on treatment. There was no evidence that the weight-lowering effect of liraglutide 3.0 mg differed between BMI subgroups (interaction p > 0.05). Similarly, for most secondary endpoints significantly greater improvements were observed with liraglutide 3.0 mg versus placebo, with no indication treatment effects differing between subgroups. The safety profile of liraglutide 3.0 mg was broadly similar across BMI subgroups. Conclusion This post-hoc analysis did not indicate any differences in the treatment effects, or safety profile, of liraglutide 3.0 mg for individuals with BMI 27 to 3.0 mg can therefore be considered for individuals with a BMI of ≥35 as well as for those with a BMI of 27 to <35 kg/m². PMID:29145215

Deepening Contractions and Collateral Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Henrik; Ravn, Søren Hove; Santoro, Emiliano

and occasionally non-binding credit constraints. Easier credit access increases the likelihood that constraints become slack in the face of expansionary shocks, while contractionary shocks are further amplified due to tighter constraints. As a result, busts gradually become deeper than booms. Based...

Management of nanomaterials safety in research environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riediker Michael

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Despite numerous discussions, workshops, reviews and reports about responsible development of nanotechnology, information describing health and environmental risk of engineered nanoparticles or nanomaterials is severely lacking and thus insufficient for completing rigorous risk assessment on their use. However, since preliminary scientific evaluations indicate that there are reasonable suspicions that activities involving nanomaterials might have damaging effects on human health; the precautionary principle must be applied. Public and private institutions as well as industries have the duty to adopt preventive and protective measures proportionate to the risk intensity and the desired level of protection. In this work, we present a practical, 'user-friendly' procedure for a university-wide safety and health management of nanomaterials, developed as a multi-stakeholder effort (government, accident insurance, researchers and experts for occupational safety and health. The process starts using a schematic decision tree that allows classifying the nano laboratory into three hazard classes similar to a control banding approach (from Nano 3 - highest hazard to Nano1 - lowest hazard. Classifying laboratories into risk classes would require considering actual or potential exposure to the nanomaterial as well as statistical data on health effects of exposure. Due to the fact that these data (as well as exposure limits for each individual material are not available, risk classes could not be determined. For each hazard level we then provide a list of required risk mitigation measures (technical, organizational and personal. The target 'users' of this safety and health methodology are researchers and safety officers. They can rapidly access the precautionary hazard class of their activities and the corresponding adequate safety and health measures. We succeed in convincing scientist dealing with nano-activities that adequate safety measures and

Management of nanomaterials safety in research environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Groso, Amela; Petri-Fink, Alke; Magrez, Arnaud; Riediker, Michael; Meyer, Thierry

2010-12-10

Despite numerous discussions, workshops, reviews and reports about responsible development of nanotechnology, information describing health and environmental risk of engineered nanoparticles or nanomaterials is severely lacking and thus insufficient for completing rigorous risk assessment on their use. However, since preliminary scientific evaluations indicate that there are reasonable suspicions that activities involving nanomaterials might have damaging effects on human health; the precautionary principle must be applied. Public and private institutions as well as industries have the duty to adopt preventive and protective measures proportionate to the risk intensity and the desired level of protection. In this work, we present a practical, 'user-friendly' procedure for a university-wide safety and health management of nanomaterials, developed as a multi-stakeholder effort (government, accident insurance, researchers and experts for occupational safety and health). The process starts using a schematic decision tree that allows classifying the nano laboratory into three hazard classes similar to a control banding approach (from Nano 3--highest hazard to Nano1--lowest hazard). Classifying laboratories into risk classes would require considering actual or potential exposure to the nanomaterial as well as statistical data on health effects of exposure. Due to the fact that these data (as well as exposure limits for each individual material) are not available, risk classes could not be determined. For each hazard level we then provide a list of required risk mitigation measures (technical, organizational and personal). The target 'users' of this safety and health methodology are researchers and safety officers. They can rapidly access the precautionary hazard class of their activities and the corresponding adequate safety and health measures. We succeed in convincing scientist dealing with nano-activities that adequate safety measures and management are promoting

Fairness compatibility constraints and collective actions%公平相容约束与集体行动

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

皮建才

2007-01-01

基于公平相容约束扩展了朱宪辰和李玉连(2007)的模型,扩展后的模型更具有现实解释力.集体行动能不能实现,除了要考虑组织者和参与者的个体理性约束以外,还必须考虑组织者和参与者的公平相容约束.符合组织者的个体理性约束但不符合其公平相容约束的集体行动照样不能实现.而且,搭便车者的破坏性作用是不容小视的.%This paper extends the work of Zhu Xianchen and Li Yulian (2007) by introducing the fairness compatibility constraint. Our work strengthens the explanatory power of their model. Whether a collective action can be realized depends not only on the organizer and followers' individual rationality constraints,but also on their fairness compatibility constraints. Collective actions that meet the organizer's individual rationality constraint but do not meet his fairness compatibility constraints cannot be realized. Furthermore, free-riders play a destructive role, which should not be ignored.

Specifying structural constraints of architectural patterns in the ARCHERY language

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, Alejandro; Barbosa, Luis S.; Riesco, Daniel

2015-01-01

ARCHERY is an architectural description language for modelling and reasoning about distributed, heterogeneous and dynamically reconfigurable systems in terms of architectural patterns. The language supports the specification of architectures and their reconfiguration. This paper introduces a language extension for precisely describing the structural design decisions that pattern instances must respect in their (re)configurations. The extension is a propositional modal logic with recursion and nominals referencing components, i.e., a hybrid µ-calculus. Its expressiveness allows specifying safety and liveness constraints, as well as paths and cycles over structures. Refinements of classic architectural patterns are specified

Specifying structural constraints of architectural patterns in the ARCHERY language

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanchez, Alejandro [Departamento de Informática, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ejército de los Andes 950, D5700HHW San Luis (Argentina); HASLab INESC TEC and Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga (Portugal); Barbosa, Luis S. [HASLab INESC TEC and Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga (Portugal); Riesco, Daniel [Departamento de Informática, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ejército de los Andes 950, D5700HHW San Luis (Argentina)

2015-03-10

ARCHERY is an architectural description language for modelling and reasoning about distributed, heterogeneous and dynamically reconfigurable systems in terms of architectural patterns. The language supports the specification of architectures and their reconfiguration. This paper introduces a language extension for precisely describing the structural design decisions that pattern instances must respect in their (re)configurations. The extension is a propositional modal logic with recursion and nominals referencing components, i.e., a hybrid µ-calculus. Its expressiveness allows specifying safety and liveness constraints, as well as paths and cycles over structures. Refinements of classic architectural patterns are specified.

Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool: An Innovative Way to Test Food Safety Skills among Individuals with Special Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Carbone, Elena T.; Scarpati, Stanley E.; Pivarnik, Lori F.

2013-01-01

This article describes an innovative assessment tool designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a food safety skills curriculum for learners receiving special education services. As schools respond to the increased demand for training students with special needs about food safety, the need for effective curricula and tools is also increasing. A…

A Hybrid Method for Modeling and Solving Supply Chain Optimization Problems with Soft and Logical Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł Sitek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a hybrid method for modeling and solving supply chain optimization problems with soft, hard, and logical constraints. Ability to implement soft and logical constraints is a very important functionality for supply chain optimization models. Such constraints are particularly useful for modeling problems resulting from commercial agreements, contracts, competition, technology, safety, and environmental conditions. Two programming and solving environments, mathematical programming (MP and constraint logic programming (CLP, were combined in the hybrid method. This integration, hybridization, and the adequate multidimensional transformation of the problem (as a presolving method helped to substantially reduce the search space of combinatorial models for supply chain optimization problems. The operation research MP and declarative CLP, where constraints are modeled in different ways and different solving procedures are implemented, were linked together to use the strengths of both. This approach is particularly important for the decision and combinatorial optimization models with the objective function and constraints, there are many decision variables, and these are summed (common in manufacturing, supply chain management, project management, and logistic problems. The ECLiPSe system with Eplex library was proposed to implement a hybrid method. Additionally, the proposed hybrid transformed model is compared with the MILP-Mixed Integer Linear Programming model on the same data instances. For illustrative models, its use allowed finding optimal solutions eight to one hundred times faster and reducing the size of the combinatorial problem to a significant extent.

Fundamental Safety Principles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelmalik, W.E.Y.

2011-01-01

This work presents a summary of the IAEA Safety Standards Series publication No. SF-1 entitled F UDAMENTAL Safety PRINCIPLES p ublished on 2006. This publication states the fundamental safety objective and ten associated safety principles, and briefly describes their intent and purposes. Safety measures and security measures have in common the aim of protecting human life and health and the environment. These safety principles are: 1) Responsibility for safety, 2) Role of the government, 3) Leadership and management for safety, 4) Justification of facilities and activities, 5) Optimization of protection, 6) Limitation of risks to individuals, 7) Protection of present and future generations, 8) Prevention of accidents, 9)Emergency preparedness and response and 10) Protective action to reduce existing or unregulated radiation risks. The safety principles concern the security of facilities and activities to the extent that they apply to measures that contribute to both safety and security. Safety measures and security measures must be designed and implemented in an integrated manner so that security measures do not compromise safety and safety measures do not compromise security.

The influence of end constraints on smooth pipe bends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomson, G.; Spence, J.

1981-01-01

With present trends in the power industries towards higher operating temperatures and pressures, problems associated with the design and safety assessment of pipework systems have become increasingly complex. Within such systems, the importance of smooth pipe bends is well established. The work which will be presented will attempt to clarify the situation and unify the results. An analytical solution of the problem of a linear elastic smooth pipe bend with end constraints under in-plane bending will be presented. The analysis will deal with constraints in the form of flanged tangents of any length. The analysis employs the theorem of minimum total potential energy with suitable kinematically admissible displacements in the form of Fourier series. The integrations and minimisation were performed numerically, thereby permitting the removal of several of the assumptions made by previous authors. Typical results for flexibilities will be given along with comparisons with other works. The differences in some earlier theory are clarified and other more recent work using different solution techniques is substantiated. The bend behaviour is shown to be strongly influenced by the pipe bend parameter, the bend angle, the tangent pipe length and the bend/cross-sectional radius ratio. (orig./GL)

Non-standard constraints within In-Core Fuel Management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maldonado, G.I. [University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210072, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0072 (United States); Torres, C. [Comision Federal de Electricidad, Gestion de Combustible, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Marrote, G.N.; Ruiz U, V. [Global Nuclear Fuel, Americas, LLC, PO Box 780, M/C A16, Wilmington, NC28402 (United States)]. e-mail: Ivan.Maldonado@uc.edu

2004-07-01

Recent advancements in the area of nuclear fuel management optimization have been considerable and widespread. Therefore, it is not surprising that the design of today's nuclear fuel reloads can be a highly automated process that is often accompanied by sophisticated optimization software and graphical user interfaces to assist core designers. Most typically, among other objectives, optimization software seeks to maximize the energy efficiency of a fuel cycle while satisfying a variety of safety, operational, and regulatory constraints. Concurrently, the general industry trend continues to be one of pursuing higher generating capacity (i.e., power up-rates) alongside cycle length extensions. As these increasingly invaluable software tools and ambitious performance goals are pursued in unison, more aggressive core designs ultimately emerge that effectively minimize the margins to limits and, in some cases, may turn out less forgiving or accommodating to changes in underlying key assumptions. The purpose of this article is to highlight a few 'non-standard', though common constraints that can affect a BWR core design but which are often difficult, if not impossible, to implement into an automated setting. In a way, this article indirectly emphasizes the unique and irreplaceable role of the experienced designer in light of 'real life' situations. (Author)

Non-standard constraints within In-Core Fuel Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maldonado, G.I.; Torres, C.; Marrote, G.N.; Ruiz U, V.

2004-01-01

Recent advancements in the area of nuclear fuel management optimization have been considerable and widespread. Therefore, it is not surprising that the design of today's nuclear fuel reloads can be a highly automated process that is often accompanied by sophisticated optimization software and graphical user interfaces to assist core designers. Most typically, among other objectives, optimization software seeks to maximize the energy efficiency of a fuel cycle while satisfying a variety of safety, operational, and regulatory constraints. Concurrently, the general industry trend continues to be one of pursuing higher generating capacity (i.e., power up-rates) alongside cycle length extensions. As these increasingly invaluable software tools and ambitious performance goals are pursued in unison, more aggressive core designs ultimately emerge that effectively minimize the margins to limits and, in some cases, may turn out less forgiving or accommodating to changes in underlying key assumptions. The purpose of this article is to highlight a few 'non-standard', though common constraints that can affect a BWR core design but which are often difficult, if not impossible, to implement into an automated setting. In a way, this article indirectly emphasizes the unique and irreplaceable role of the experienced designer in light of 'real life' situations. (Author)

Structure Optimization of Safety Investment of Petrochemical Port Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiqiang Hou

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Safety investment is an essential guarantee to identify and manage potential security problems in petrochemical port enterprises. The reasonability of safety investment structure determines overall security risks in an enterprise. Based on the definition of risks, combining Cobb-Douglas production function with FTA probability model, and taking Gompertz curve model as the constraint condition, structure optimization model of safety investment is built in order to minimize risks and work out the safety investment structure of petrochemical port enterprises. According to the case study, the calculations indicate that safety investment in corporate management presents a larger growth rate than past years and that unsafe act of human being is the main factor accounting for the greatest probability of occurrence, which is consistent with previous accident investigation results as well as enterprise reality. This testifies that the model is effective and that the results can guide the allocation of safety investment of petrochemical port enterprises scientifically.

Solar constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Provost, J.

1984-01-01

Accurate tests of the theory of stellar structure and evolution are available from the Sun's observations. The solar constraints are reviewed, with a special attention to the recent progress in observing global solar oscillations. Each constraint is sensitive to a given region of the Sun. The present solar models (standard, low Z, mixed) are discussed with respect to neutrino flux, low and high degree five-minute oscillations and low degree internal gravity modes. It appears that actually there do not exist solar models able to fully account for all the observed quantities. (Auth.)

Comparing safety climate in naval aviation and hospitals: implications for improving patient safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Singer, Sara J; Rosen, Amy; Zhao, Shibei; Ciavarelli, Anthony P; Gaba, David M

2010-01-01

Evidence of variation in safety climate suggests the need for improvement among at least some hospitals. However, comparisons only among hospitals may underestimate the improvement required. Comparison of hospitals with analogous industries may provide a broader perspective on the safety status of our nation's hospitals. The purpose of this study was to compare safety climate among hospital workers with personnel from naval aviation, an organization that operates with high reliability despite intrinsically hazardous conditions. We surveyed a random sample of health care workers in 67 U.S. hospitals and, for generalizability, 30 veterans affairs hospitals using questions comparable with those posed at approximately the same time (2007) to a census of personnel from 35 squadrons of U.S. naval aviators. We received 13,841 (41%) completed surveys in U.S. hospitals, 5,511 (50%) in veterans affairs hospitals, and 14,854 (82%) among naval aviators. We examined differences in respondents' perceptions of safety climate at their institution overall and for 16 individual items. Safety climate was three times better on average among naval aviators than among hospital personnel. Naval aviators perceived a safer climate (up to seven times safer) than hospital personnel with respect to each of the 16 survey items. Compared with hospital managers, naval commanders perceived climate more like frontline personnel did. When contrasting naval aviators with hospital personnel working in comparably hazardous areas, safety climate discrepancies increased rather than decreased. One individual hospital performed as well as naval aviation on average, and at least one hospital outperformed the Navy benchmark for all but three individual survey items. Results suggest that hospitals have not sufficiently created a uniform priority of safety. However, if each hospital performed as well as the top-performing hospital in each area measured, hospitals could achieve safety climate levels comparable

Cause-specific cardiovascular risk associated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs among healthy individuals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fosbøl, Emil Loldrup; Folke, Fredrik; Jacobsen, Søren

2010-01-01

Studies have raised concern on the cardiovascular safety of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). We studied safety of NSAID therapy in a nationwide cohort of healthy individuals.......Studies have raised concern on the cardiovascular safety of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). We studied safety of NSAID therapy in a nationwide cohort of healthy individuals....

An integrative model of organizational safety behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Lin; Fan, Di; Fu, Gui; Zhu, Cherrie Jiuhua

2013-06-01

This study develops an integrative model of safety management based on social cognitive theory and the total safety culture triadic framework. The purpose of the model is to reveal the causal linkages between a hazardous environment, safety climate, and individual safety behaviors. Based on primary survey data from 209 front-line workers in one of the largest state-owned coal mining corporations in China, the model is tested using structural equation modeling techniques. An employee's perception of a hazardous environment is found to have a statistically significant impact on employee safety behaviors through a psychological process mediated by the perception of management commitment to safety and individual beliefs about safety. The integrative model developed here leads to a comprehensive solution that takes into consideration the environmental, organizational and employees' psychological and behavioral aspects of safety management. Copyright © 2013 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Theory of Constraints (TOC)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michelsen, Aage U.

2004-01-01

Tankegangen bag Theory of Constraints samt planlægningsprincippet Drum-Buffer-Rope. Endvidere skitse af The Thinking Process.......Tankegangen bag Theory of Constraints samt planlægningsprincippet Drum-Buffer-Rope. Endvidere skitse af The Thinking Process....

Safety Needs Mediate Stressful Events Induced Mental Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Simeng; Lei, Yu; Lu, Shanshan

2016-01-01

“Safety first,” we say these words almost every day, but we all take this for granted for what Maslow proposed in his famous theory of Hierarchy of Needs: safety needs come second to physiological needs. Here we propose that safety needs come before physiological needs. Safety needs are personal security, financial security, and health and well-being, which are more fundamental than physiological needs. Safety worrying is the major reason for mental disorders, such as anxiety, phobia, depression, and PTSD. The neural basis for safety is amygdala, LC/NE system, and corticotrophin-releasing hormone system, which can be regarded as a “safety circuitry,” whose major behavior function is “fight or flight” and “fear and anger” emotions. This is similar to the Appraisal theory for emotions: fear is due to the primary appraisal, which is related to safety of individual, while anger is due to secondary appraisal, which is related to coping with the unsafe situations. If coping is good, the individual will be happy; if coping failed, the individual will be sad or depressed. PMID:27738527

Safety Needs Mediate Stressful Events Induced Mental Disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Zheng; Gu, Simeng; Lei, Yu; Lu, Shanshan; Wang, Wei; Li, Yang; Wang, Fushun

2016-01-01

"Safety first," we say these words almost every day, but we all take this for granted for what Maslow proposed in his famous theory of Hierarchy of Needs : safety needs come second to physiological needs. Here we propose that safety needs come before physiological needs. Safety needs are personal security, financial security, and health and well-being, which are more fundamental than physiological needs. Safety worrying is the major reason for mental disorders, such as anxiety, phobia, depression, and PTSD. The neural basis for safety is amygdala, LC/NE system, and corticotrophin-releasing hormone system, which can be regarded as a "safety circuitry," whose major behavior function is "fight or flight" and "fear and anger" emotions. This is similar to the Appraisal theory for emotions: fear is due to the primary appraisal, which is related to safety of individual, while anger is due to secondary appraisal, which is related to coping with the unsafe situations. If coping is good, the individual will be happy; if coping failed, the individual will be sad or depressed.

Safety Needs Mediate Stressful Events Induced Mental Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zheng Zheng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available “Safety first,” we say these words almost every day, but we all take this for granted for what Maslow proposed in his famous theory of Hierarchy of Needs: safety needs come second to physiological needs. Here we propose that safety needs come before physiological needs. Safety needs are personal security, financial security, and health and well-being, which are more fundamental than physiological needs. Safety worrying is the major reason for mental disorders, such as anxiety, phobia, depression, and PTSD. The neural basis for safety is amygdala, LC/NE system, and corticotrophin-releasing hormone system, which can be regarded as a “safety circuitry,” whose major behavior function is “fight or flight” and “fear and anger” emotions. This is similar to the Appraisal theory for emotions: fear is due to the primary appraisal, which is related to safety of individual, while anger is due to secondary appraisal, which is related to coping with the unsafe situations. If coping is good, the individual will be happy; if coping failed, the individual will be sad or depressed.

Constraint Embedding for Multibody System Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Abhinandan

2009-01-01

This paper describes a constraint embedding approach for the handling of local closure constraints in multibody system dynamics. The approach uses spatial operator techniques to eliminate local-loop constraints from the system and effectively convert the system into tree-topology systems. This approach allows the direct derivation of recursive O(N) techniques for solving the system dynamics and avoiding the expensive steps that would otherwise be required for handling the closedchain dynamics. The approach is very effective for systems where the constraints are confined to small-subgraphs within the system topology. The paper provides background on the spatial operator O(N) algorithms, the extensions for handling embedded constraints, and concludes with some examples of such constraints.

The Nirex safety assessment research programme: annual report for 1985/86

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodgkinson, D.P.; Cooper, M.J.; Atkinson, A.

1987-01-01

The report describes progress of the Nirex Safety Assessment Research Programme in 1985/86. In addition, some background information is given on the overall programme and on the individual research projects, and likely future work is outlined. Research into the disposal of low-level waste (LLW) and intermediate-level waste (ILW) into underground repositories and onto the sea bed is reported. A large part of the programme is concerned with the effectiveness of near-field barriers to water-borne leakage of radionuclides from cementitious repositories. Considerable progress has been made with quantifying the longevity of steel containers and concrete structures, and the effectiveness of chemical constraints in limiting near-field concentrations. A range of techniques for measuring and modelling far-field phenomena has been developed and tested. Some initial studies have been performed to assess the durability of sea disposal packages and the behaviour of polythene in sea water. (author)

The Health and Safety Executive's strategy for nuclear safety research 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

This brochure illustrates HSE's nuclear safety research strategy for 1996. It is divided into two parts. The first part presents HSE's overall strategy. The second contains short strategy statements for the individual areas detailed above, providing a rationale and objectives for the particular safety issues in the NRI, where greater detail can be found. (author)

Individual monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

This Practical Radiation Technical Manual is one of a series which has been designed to provide guidance on radiological protection for employers, Radiation Protection Officers, managers and other technically competent persons who have a responsibility to ensure the safety of employees working with ionizing radiation. The Manual may be used together with the appropriate IAEA Practical Radiation Safety Manual to provide adequate training, instruction or information on individual monitoring for all employees engaged in work with ionizing radiations. Sources of ionizing radiation have a large number of applications in the workplace. The exposures of the individual workers involved may need to be routinely monitored and records kept of their cumulative radiation doses. There are also occasions when it is necessary to retrospectively determine a dose which may have been received by a worker. This Manual explains the basic terminology associated with individual monitoring and describes the principal types of dosimeters and other related techniques and their application in the workplace. The Manual will be of most benefit if it forms part of more comprehensive training or is supplemented by the advice of a qualified expert in radiation protection. Most of the dosimeters and techniques described in this Manual can only be provided by qualified experts

Safety standards for near surface disposal and the safety case and supporting safety assessment for demonstrating compliance with the standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metcalf, P.

2003-01-01

The report presents the safety standards for near surface disposal (ICRP guidance and IAEA standards) and the safety case and supporting safety assessment for demonstrating compliance with the standards. Special attention is paid to the recommendations for disposal of long-lived solid radioactive waste. The requirements are based on the principle for the same level of protection of future individuals as for the current generation. Two types of exposure are considered: human intrusion and natural processes and protection measures are discussed. Safety requirements for near surface disposal are discussed including requirements for protection of human health and environment, requirements or safety assessments, waste acceptance and requirements etc

Minimal Flavor Constraints for Technicolor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sakuma, Hidenori; Sannino, Francesco

2010-01-01

We analyze the constraints on the the vacuum polarization of the standard model gauge bosons from a minimal set of flavor observables valid for a general class of models of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking. We will show that the constraints have a strong impact on the self-coupling and mas......We analyze the constraints on the the vacuum polarization of the standard model gauge bosons from a minimal set of flavor observables valid for a general class of models of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking. We will show that the constraints have a strong impact on the self...

Temporal Concurrent Constraint Programming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Mogens; Palamidessi, Catuscia; Valencia, Frank Dan

2002-01-01

The ntcc calculus is a model of non-deterministic temporal concurrent constraint programming. In this paper we study behavioral notions for this calculus. In the underlying computational model, concurrent constraint processes are executed in discrete time intervals. The behavioral notions studied...

Comparison of Efficacy and Safety of Liraglutide 3.0 mg in Individuals with BMI above and below 35 kg/m²: A Post-hoc Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

le Roux, Carel; Aroda, Vanita; Hemmingsson, Joanna; Cancino, Ana Paula; Christensen, Rune; Pi-Sunyer, Xavier

2017-01-01

To investigate whether the efficacy and safety of liraglutide 3.0 mg differed between two subgroups, BMI 27 to 3.0 mg were evaluated by testing the interaction between treatment group and baseline BMI subgroup. Significantly greater weight loss (0-56 weeks) was observed with liraglutide 3.0 mg versus placebo in all patient groups while on treatment. There was no evidence that the weight-lowering effect of liraglutide 3.0 mg differed between BMI subgroups (interaction p > 0.05). Similarly, for most secondary endpoints significantly greater improvements were observed with liraglutide 3.0 mg versus placebo, with no indication treatment effects differing between subgroups. The safety profile of liraglutide 3.0 mg was broadly similar across BMI subgroups. This post-hoc analysis did not indicate any differences in the treatment effects, or safety profile, of liraglutide 3.0 mg for individuals with BMI 27 to 3.0 mg can therefore be considered for individuals with a BMI of ≥35 as well as for those with a BMI of 27 to <35 kg/m². © 2017 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

Energetic and ecological constraints on population density of reef fishes.

Science.gov (United States)

Barneche, D R; Kulbicki, M; Floeter, S R; Friedlander, A M; Allen, A P

2016-01-27

Population ecology has classically focused on pairwise species interactions, hindering the description of general patterns and processes of population abundance at large spatial scales. Here we use the metabolic theory of ecology as a framework to formulate and test a model that yields predictions linking population density to the physiological constraints of body size and temperature on individual metabolism, and the ecological constraints of trophic structure and species richness on energy partitioning among species. Our model was tested by applying Bayesian quantile regression to a comprehensive reef-fish community database, from which we extracted density data for 5609 populations spread across 49 sites around the world. Our results indicate that population density declines markedly with increases in community species richness and that, after accounting for richness, energetic constraints are manifested most strongly for the most abundant species, which generally are of small body size and occupy lower trophic groups. Overall, our findings suggest that, at the global scale, factors associated with community species richness are the major drivers of variation in population density. Given that populations of species-rich tropical systems exhibit markedly lower maximum densities, they may be particularly susceptible to stochastic extinction. © 2016 The Author(s).

Efficient Searching with Linear Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agarwal, Pankaj K.; Arge, Lars Allan; Erickson, Jeff

2000-01-01

We show how to preprocess a set S of points in d into an external memory data structure that efficiently supports linear-constraint queries. Each query is in the form of a linear constraint xd a0+∑d−1i=1 aixi; the data structure must report all the points of S that satisfy the constraint. This pr...

Constraint qualifications and optimality conditions for optimization problems with cardinality constraints

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Červinka, Michal; Kanzow, Ch.; Schwartz, A.

2016-01-01

Roč. 160, č. 1 (2016), s. 353-377 ISSN 0025-5610 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP402/12/1309; GA ČR GA15-00735S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Cardinality constraints * Constraint qualifications * Optimality conditions * KKT conditions * Strongly stationary points Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 2.446, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2016/MTR/cervinka-0461165.pdf

Survey of Safety Climate in a Petrochemical Industry in Mahshahr

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Shokoohi

2012-07-01

Results and Discussion: Average score of the industry's safety climate was obtained 5.9. Of 17 studied dimensions, 9 dimensions were weak (score less than 6. Lowest score were related to Event & Accident and Change management dimensions. Highest score were related to Individual priorities and need for safety (8.65. Generally relationship between individual variables (ages, work experience, education and safety climate were not significant (P>0.05. Conclusion: Generally one can conclude that individual variables such as age, education and experience have not significant effect on safety climate. It seems that top management forms the organizational climate and consequently safety climate. It reaffirms the basic principle of senior management commitment to safety and its role in preventing accidents. Thus safety climate can be used as a good method for assessing Occupational Health and Safety Management Performance.

Constraint Specialisation in Horn Clause Verification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kafle, Bishoksan; Gallagher, John Patrick

2015-01-01

We present a method for specialising the constraints in constrained Horn clauses with respect to a goal. We use abstract interpretation to compute a model of a query-answer transformation of a given set of clauses and a goal. The effect is to propagate the constraints from the goal top......-down and propagate answer constraints bottom-up. Our approach does not unfold the clauses at all; we use the constraints from the model to compute a specialised version of each clause in the program. The approach is independent of the abstract domain and the constraints theory underlying the clauses. Experimental...

Constraint specialisation in Horn clause verification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kafle, Bishoksan; Gallagher, John Patrick

2017-01-01

We present a method for specialising the constraints in constrained Horn clauses with respect to a goal. We use abstract interpretation to compute a model of a query–answer transformed version of a given set of clauses and a goal. The constraints from the model are then used to compute...... a specialised version of each clause. The effect is to propagate the constraints from the goal top-down and propagate answer constraints bottom-up. The specialisation procedure can be repeated to yield further specialisation. The approach is independent of the abstract domain and the constraint theory...

Ergonomics, safety, and resilience in the helicopter offshore transportation system of Campos Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, José Orlando; Huber, Gilbert J; Borges, Marcos R S; de Carvalho, Paulo Victor R

2015-01-01

Air transportation of personnel to offshore oil platforms is one of the major hazards of this kind of endeavor. Pilot performance is a key factor in the safety of the transportation system. This study seeks to identify the ergonomic factors present in pilots' activities that may in some way compromise or enhance their performance, the constraints and affordances which they are subject to; and where possible to link these to their associated risk factors. Methodology adopted in this project studies work in its context. It is a merging of Activity Analysis (Guerin et al. 2001) of European tradition with Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA - www.ctaresource.com) articulated with the recent approaches to cognitive systems engineering developed by Professors David Woods and Erik Hollnagel. Fifty-five hours of field interviews provided the input for analysis. Sixteen ergonomic constraints were identified, some cognitive, some physical, all considered relevant by the research subjects and expert advisers. Although the safety record of the personnel transportation system studied is considered acceptable, there is low hanging fruit to be picked which can help improve the system's safety.

Individual Variation in the Late Positive Complex to Semantic Anomalies

Science.gov (United States)

Kos, Miriam; van den Brink, Danielle; Hagoort, Peter

2012-01-01

It is well-known that, within ERP paradigms of sentence processing, semantically anomalous words elicit N400 effects. Less clear, however, is what happens after the N400. In some cases N400 effects are followed by Late Positive Complexes (LPC), whereas in other cases such effects are lacking. We investigated several factors which could affect the LPC, such as contextual constraint, inter-individual variation, and working memory. Seventy-two participants read sentences containing a semantic manipulation (Whipped cream tastes sweet/anxious and creamy). Neither contextual constraint nor working memory correlated with the LPC. Inter-individual variation played a substantial role in the elicitation of the LPC with about half of the participants showing a negative response and the other half showing an LPC. This individual variation correlated with a syntactic ERP as well as an alternative semantic manipulation. In conclusion, our results show that inter-individual variation plays a large role in the elicitation of the LPC and this may account for the diversity in LPC findings in language research. PMID:22973249

The role of individual and collective mindfulness in promoting occupational safety in health care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dierynck, Bart; Leroy, Hannes; Savage, Grant T; Choi, Ellen

Although the importance of safety regulations is highly emphasized in hospitals, nurses frequently work around, or intentionally bypass, safety regulations. We argue that work-arounds occur because adhering to safety regulations usually requires more time and work process design often lacks

Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography. Specific Safety Guide (Spanish Edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

This Safety Guide provides recommendations for ensuring radiation safety in industrial radiography used in non-destructive testing. This includes industrial radiography work that utilizes X ray and gamma sources, both in shielded facilities that have effective engineering controls and in outside shielded facilities using mobile sources. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Duties and responsibilities; 3. Safety assessment; 4. Radiation protection programme; 5. Training and qualification; 6. Individual monitoring of workers; 7. Workplace monitoring; 8. Control of radioactive sources; 9. Safety of industrial radiography sources and exposure devices; 10. Radiography in shielded enclosures; 11. Site radiography; 12. Transport of radioactive sources; 13. Emergency preparedness and response; Appendix: IAEA categorization of radioactive sources; Annex I: Example safety assessment; Annex II: Overview of industrial radiography sources and equipment; Annex III: Examples of accidents in industrial radiography

Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography. Specific Safety Guide (French Edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

This Safety Guide provides recommendations for ensuring radiation safety in industrial radiography used in non-destructive testing. This includes industrial radiography work that utilizes X ray and gamma sources, both in … shielded facilities that have effective engineering controls and in outside shielded facilities using mobile sources. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Duties and responsibilities; 3. Safety assessment; 4. Radiation protection programme; 5. Training and qualification; 6. Individual monitoring of workers; 7. Workplace monitoring; 8. Control of radioactive sources; 9. Safety of industrial radiography sources and exposure devices; 10. Radiography in shielded enclosures; 11. Site radiography; 12. Transport of radioactive sources; 13. Emergency preparedness and response; Appendix: IAEA categorization of radioactive sources; Annex I: Example safety assessment; Annex II: Overview of industrial radiography sources and equipment; Annex III: Examples of accidents in industrial radiography

Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography. Specific Safety Guide (Arabic Edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

This Safety Guide provides recommendations for ensuring radiation safety in industrial radiography used in non-destructive testing. This includes industrial radiography work that utilizes X ray and gamma sources, both in shielded facilities that have effective engineering controls and outside shielded facilities using mobile sources. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Duties and responsibilities; 3. Safety assessment; 4. Radiation protection programme; 5. Training and qualification; 6. Individual monitoring of workers; 7. Workplace monitoring; 8. Control of radioactive sources; 9. Safety of industrial radiography sources and exposure devices; 10. Radiography in shielded enclosures; 11. Site radiography; 12. Transport of radioactive sources; 13. Emergency preparedness and response; Appendix: IAEA categorization of radioactive sources; Annex I: Example safety assessment; Annex II: Overview of industrial radiography sources and equipment; Annex III: Examples of accidents in industrial radiography.

Reduction Of Constraints For Coupled Operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raszewski, F.; Edwards, T.

2009-01-01

The homogeneity constraint was implemented in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Product Composition Control System (PCCS) to help ensure that the current durability models would be applicable to the glass compositions being processed during DWPF operations. While the homogeneity constraint is typically an issue at lower waste loadings (WLs), it may impact the operating windows for DWPF operations, where the glass forming systems may be limited to lower waste loadings based on fissile or heat load limits. In the sludge batch 1b (SB1b) variability study, application of the homogeneity constraint at the measurement acceptability region (MAR) limit eliminated much of the potential operating window for DWPF. As a result, Edwards and Brown developed criteria that allowed DWPF to relax the homogeneity constraint from the MAR to the property acceptance region (PAR) criterion, which opened up the operating window for DWPF operations. These criteria are defined as: (1) use the alumina constraint as currently implemented in PCCS (Al 2 O 3 (ge) 3 wt%) and add a sum of alkali constraint with an upper limit of 19.3 wt% (ΣM 2 O 2 O 3 constraint to 4 wt% (Al 2 O 3 (ge) 4 wt%). Herman et al. previously demonstrated that these criteria could be used to replace the homogeneity constraint for future sludge-only batches. The compositional region encompassing coupled operations flowsheets could not be bounded as these flowsheets were unknown at the time. With the initiation of coupled operations at DWPF in 2008, the need to revisit the homogeneity constraint was realized. This constraint was specifically addressed through the variability study for SB5 where it was shown that the homogeneity constraint could be ignored if the alumina and alkali constraints were imposed. Additional benefit could be gained if the homogeneity constraint could be replaced by the Al 2 O 3 and sum of alkali constraint for future coupled operations processing based on projections from Revision 14 of

Inequality in Human Capital and Endogenous Credit Constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Hai, Rong; Heckman, James J

2017-04-01

This paper investigates the determinants of inequality in human capital with an emphasis on the role of the credit constraints. We develop and estimate a model in which individuals face uninsured human capital risks and invest in education, acquire work experience, accumulate assets and smooth consumption. Agents can borrow from the private lending market and from government student loan programs. The private market credit limit is explicitly derived by extending the natural borrowing limit of Aiyagari (1994) to incorporate endogenous labor supply, human capital accumulation, psychic costs of working, and age. We quantify the effects of cognitive ability, noncognitive ability, parental education, and parental wealth on educational attainment, wages, and consumption. We conduct counterfactual experiments with respect to tuition subsidies and enhanced student loan limits and evaluate their effects on educational attainment and inequality. We compare the performance of our model with an influential ad hoc model in the literature with education-specific fixed loan limits. We find evidence of substantial life cycle credit constraints that affect human capital accumulation and inequality. The constrained fall into two groups: those who are permanently poor over their lifetimes and a group of well-endowed individuals with rising high levels of acquired skills who are constrained early in their life cycles. Equalizing cognitive and noncognitive ability has dramatic effects on inequality. Equalizing parental backgrounds has much weaker effects. Tuition costs have weak effects on inequality.

International conference on safety culture in nuclear installations. Contributed papers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-07-01

Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organisation and individuals which establishes that as an overriding priority nuclear plant safety issues receives the attention warranted by their significance. This definition of safety culture brings out two major components in its manifestation. The framework within which individuals within the organisation works.The attitude and response of individual towards the safety issues over productivity and economics in the organisational work practices. The industry literature provides a great deal of insight at the artefact and espoused value levels, although as yet it remains somewhat disorganized. There is, however, an overall lack of understanding of the assumption level of safety culture. The IAEA has organised the conference on safety culture for better understanding of the safety culture issues on the international level.

International conference on safety culture in nuclear installations. Contributed papers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organisation and individuals which establishes that as an overriding priority nuclear plant safety issues receives the attention warranted by their significance. This definition of safety culture brings out two major components in its manifestation. The framework within which individuals within the organisation works.The attitude and response of individual towards the safety issues over productivity and economics in the organisational work practices. The industry literature provides a great deal of insight at the artefact and espoused value levels, although as yet it remains somewhat disorganized. There is, however, an overall lack of understanding of the assumption level of safety culture. The IAEA has organised the conference on safety culture for better understanding of the safety culture issues on the international level

Transmission and capacity pricing and constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fusco, M.

1999-01-01

A series of overhead viewgraphs accompanied this presentation which discussed the following issues regarding the North American electric power industry: (1) capacity pricing transmission constraints, (2) nature of transmission constraints, (3) consequences of transmission constraints, and (4) prices as market evidence. Some solutions suggested for pricing constraints included the development of contingent contracts, back-up power in supply regions, and new line capacity construction. 8 tabs., 20 figs

Using fuzzy self-organising maps for safety critical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurd, Zeshan; Kelly, Tim P.

2007-01-01

This paper defines a type of constrained artificial neural network (ANN) that enables analytical certification arguments whilst retaining valuable performance characteristics. Previous work has defined a safety lifecycle for ANNs without detailing a specific neural model. Building on this previous work, the underpinning of the devised model is based upon an existing neuro-fuzzy system called the fuzzy self-organising map (FSOM). The FSOM is type of 'hybrid' ANN which allows behaviour to be described qualitatively and quantitatively using meaningful expressions. Safety of the FSOM is argued through adherence to safety requirements-derived from hazard analysis and expressed using safety constraints. The approach enables the construction of compelling (product-based) arguments for mitigation of potential failure modes associated with the FSOM. The constrained FSOM has been termed a 'safety critical artificial neural network' (SCANN). The SCANN can be used for non-linear function approximation and allows certified learning and generalisation for high criticality roles. A discussion of benefits for real-world applications is also presented

Determination of Safety Performance Grade of NPP Using Integrated Safety Performance Assessment (ISPA) Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Dae Wook

2011-01-01

Since the beginning of 2000, the safety regulation of nuclear power plant (NPP) has been challenged to be conducted more reasonable, effective and efficient way using risk and performance information. In the United States, USNRC established Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) in 2000 for improving the effectiveness of safety regulation of operating NPPs. The main idea of ROP is to classify the NPPs into 5 categories based on the results of safety performance assessment and to conduct graded regulatory programs according to categorization, which might be interpreted as 'Graded Regulation'. However, the classification of safety performance categories is highly comprehensive and sensitive process so that safety performance assessment program should be prepared in integrated, objective and quantitative manner. Furthermore, the results of assessment should characterize and categorize the actual level of safety performance of specific NPP, integrating all the substantial elements for assessing the safety performance. In consideration of particular regulatory environment in Korea, the integrated safety performance assessment (ISPA) program is being under development for the use in the determination of safety performance grade (SPG) of a NPP. The ISPA program consists of 6 individual assessment programs (4 quantitative and 2 qualitative) which cover the overall safety performance of NPP. Some of the assessment programs which are already implemented are used directly or modified for incorporating risk aspects. The others which are not existing regulatory programs are newly developed. Eventually, all the assessment results from individual assessment programs are produced and integrated to determine the safety performance grade of a specific NPP

Evaluating Distributed Timing Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, C.H.; Drejer, N.

1994-01-01

In this paper we describe a solution to the problem of implementing time-optimal evaluation of timing constraints in distributed real-time systems.......In this paper we describe a solution to the problem of implementing time-optimal evaluation of timing constraints in distributed real-time systems....

Thermomechanical constraints and constitutive formulations in thermoelasticity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baek S.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available We investigate three classes of constraints in a thermoelastic body: (i a deformation-temperature constraint, (ii a deformation-entropy constraint, and (iii a deformation-energy constraint. These constraints are obtained as limits of unconstrained thermoelastic materials and we show that constraints (ii and (iii are equivalent. By using a limiting procedure, we show that for the constraint (i, the entropy plays the role of a Lagrange multiplier while for (ii and (iii, the absolute temperature plays the role of Lagrange multiplier. We further demonstrate that the governing equations for materials subject to constraint (i are identical to those of an unconstrained material whose internal energy is an affine function of the entropy, while those for materials subject to constraints (ii and (iii are identical to those of an unstrained material whose Helmholtz potential is affine in the absolute temperature. Finally, we model the thermoelastic response of a peroxide-cured vulcanizate of natural rubber and show that imposing the constraint in which the volume change depends only on the internal energy leads to very good predictions (compared to experimental results of the stress and temperature response under isothermal and isentropic conditions.

Guidelines for nuclear power plant safety issue prioritization information development. Supplement 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrews, W.B.; Gallucci, R.H.V.; Konzek, G.J.; Heaberlin, S.W.; Fecht, B.A.; Allen, C.H.; Allen, R.D.; Bickford, W.E.; Carbaugh, E.H.; Lewis, J.R.

1983-12-01

This is the third in a series of reports to document the use of a methodology developed by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory to calculate, for prioritization purposes, the risk, dose and cost impacts of implementing resolutions to reactor safety issues (NUREG/CR-2800, Andrews et al. 1983). This report contains results of issue-specific analyses for 31 issues. Each issue was considered within the constraints of available information as of summer 1983, and two staff-weeks of labor. The results are referenced, as one consideration in setting priorities for reactor safety issues, in NUREG-0933, A Prioritization of Generic Safety Issues

Emerging carbon constraints for corporate risk management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Busch, Timo; Hoffmann, Volker H.

2007-01-01

While discussions about global sustainability challenges abound, the financial risks that they incur, albeit important, have received less attention. We suggest that corporate risk assessments should include sustainability-related aspects, especially with relation to the natural environment, and encompass the flux of critical materials within a company's value chain. Such a comprehensive risk assessment takes into account input- as well as output-related factors. With this paper, we focus on the flux of carbon and define carbon constraints that emerge due to the disposition of fossil fuels in the input dimension and due to direct and indirect climate change effects in the output dimension. We review the literature regarding the financial consequences of carbon constraints on the macroeconomic, sector, and company level. We conclude that: a) financial consequences seem to be asymmetrically distributed between and within sectors, b) the individual risk exposure of companies depends on the intensity of and dependency on carbon-based materials and energy, and c) financial markets have only started to incorporate these aspects in their valuations. This paper ends with recommendations on how to incorporate our results in an integrated carbon risk management framework. (author)

Synchronization of impacting mechanical systems with a single constraint

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, Michael; Biemond, J. J. Benjamin; Leine, Remco I.; van de Wouw, Nathan

2018-01-01

This paper addresses the synchronization problem of mechanical systems subjected to a single geometric unilateral constraint. The impacts of the individual systems, induced by the unilateral constraint, generally do not coincide even if the solutions are arbitrarily 'close' to each other. The mismatch in the impact time instants demands a careful choice of the distance function to allow for an intuitively correct comparison of the discontinuous solutions resulting from the impacts. We propose a distance function induced by the quotient metric, which is based on an equivalence relation using the impact map. The distance function obtained in this way is continuous in time when evaluated along jumping solutions. The property of maximal monotonicity, which is fulfilled by most commonly used impact laws, is used to significantly reduce the complexity of the distance function. Based on the simplified distance function, a Lyapunov function is constructed to investigate the synchronization problem for two identical one-dimensional mechanical systems. Sufficient conditions for the uncoupled individual systems are provided under which local synchronization is guaranteed. Furthermore, we present an interaction law which ensures global synchronization, also in the presence of grazing trajectories and accumulation points (Zeno behavior). The results are illustrated using numerical examples of a 1-DOF mechanical impact oscillator which serves as stepping stone in the direction of more general systems.

OPERATIONAL RESTRICTIONS FOR REDUCING NOISE AND THE SAFETY OF AIR OPERATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna KWASIBORSKA

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Many European airports are located in close proximity to residential or protected areas. Aircraft noise emissions caused by the landing and taking off of aircraft are a big problem in these areas. From an operational point of view, the method for reducing noise is to reduce traffic volume or change its organization, especially during the night. Some procedures and tools have been developed to support air traffic management in the implementation of operational constraints necessary to maintain noise at an acceptable level. The objective of this paper is to analyse the effectiveness of these tools. For this purpose, we have analysed existing methods of operational noise reduction, taking into account their influence on the structure, smoothness, punctuality and, especially, the safety of air traffic. As a result, existing risks have been identified, while methods have been proposed to combine two important air traffic service tasks: ensuring safety, while taking into account the environmental constraints, especially in relation to the acoustic climate.

Machine tongues. X. Constraint languages

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levitt, D.

Constraint languages and programming environments will help the designer produce a lucid description of a problem domain, and then of particular situations and problems in it. Early versions of these languages were given descriptions of real world domain constraints, like the operation of electrical and mechanical parts. More recently, the author has automated a vocabulary for describing musical jazz phrases, using constraint language as a jazz improviser. General constraint languages will handle all of these domains. Once the model is in place, the system will connect built-in code fragments and algorithms to answer questions about situations; that is, to help solve problems. Bugs will surface not in code, but in designs themselves. 15 references.

Safety assessment in plant layout design using indexing approach: implementing inherent safety perspective. Part 1 - guideword applicability and method description.

Science.gov (United States)

Tugnoli, Alessandro; Khan, Faisal; Amyotte, Paul; Cozzani, Valerio

2008-12-15

Layout planning plays a key role in the inherent safety performance of process plants since this design feature controls the possibility of accidental chain-events and the magnitude of possible consequences. A lack of suitable methods to promote the effective implementation of inherent safety in layout design calls for the development of new techniques and methods. In the present paper, a safety assessment approach suitable for layout design in the critical early phase is proposed. The concept of inherent safety is implemented within this safety assessment; the approach is based on an integrated assessment of inherent safety guideword applicability within the constraints typically present in layout design. Application of these guidewords is evaluated along with unit hazards and control devices to quantitatively map the safety performance of different layout options. Moreover, the economic aspects related to safety and inherent safety are evaluated by the method. Specific sub-indices are developed within the integrated safety assessment system to analyze and quantify the hazard related to domino effects. The proposed approach is quick in application, auditable and shares a common framework applicable in other phases of the design lifecycle (e.g. process design). The present work is divided in two parts: Part 1 (current paper) presents the application of inherent safety guidelines in layout design and the index method for safety assessment; Part 2 (accompanying paper) describes the domino hazard sub-index and demonstrates the proposed approach with a case study, thus evidencing the introduction of inherent safety features in layout design.

Study of industry safety management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Pil Su

1987-06-01

This book deals with general remarks, industrial accidents, statistics of industrial accidents, unsafe actions, making machinery and facilities safe, safe activities, having working environment safe, survey of industrial accidents and analysis of causes, system of safety management and operations, safety management planning, safety education, human engineering such as human-machines system, system safety, and costs of disaster losses. It lastly adds individual protective equipment and working clothes including protect equipment for eyes, face, hands, arms and feet.

Nuclear Safety Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-11-01

The 13th semi-annual report 1/78 is a description of work within the Nuclear Safety Project performed in the first six months of 1978 in the nuclear safety field by KFK institutes and departments and by external institutions on behalf of KfK. It includes for each individual research activity short summaries on - work completed, - essential results, - plans for the near future. (orig./RW) [de

Ant colony optimization and constraint programming

CERN Document Server

Solnon, Christine

2013-01-01

Ant colony optimization is a metaheuristic which has been successfully applied to a wide range of combinatorial optimization problems. The author describes this metaheuristic and studies its efficiency for solving some hard combinatorial problems, with a specific focus on constraint programming. The text is organized into three parts. The first part introduces constraint programming, which provides high level features to declaratively model problems by means of constraints. It describes the main existing approaches for solving constraint satisfaction problems, including complete tree search

System Coordination of Survivability and Safety of Complex Engineering Objects Operation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nataliya Pankratova

2014-11-01

Full Text Available A system strategy to estimation the guaranteed survivability and safety of complex engineering objects (CEO operation is proposed. The principles that underlie the strategy of the guaranteed safety of CEO operation provide a flexible approach to timely detection, recognition, forecast, and system diagnostics of risk factors and situations, to formulation and implementation of a rational decision in a practicable time within an unremovable time constraint. Implementation of the proposed strategy is shown on example of diagnostics of electromobile-refrigerator functioning in real mode.

Economic consideration of nuclear safety and cost benefit analysis in nuclear safety regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Y. S.; Choi, K. S.; Choi, K. W.; Song, I. J.; Park, D. K.

2001-01-01

For the optimization of nuclear safety regulation, understanding of economic aspects of it becomes increasingly important together with the technical approach used so far to secure nuclear safety. Relevant economic theories on private and public goods were reviewed to re-illuminate nuclear safety from the economic perspective. The characteristics of nuclear safety as a public good was reviewed and discussed in comparison with the car safety as a private safety good. It was shown that the change of social welfare resulted from the policy change induced can be calculated by the summation of compensating variation(CV) of individuals. It was shown that the value of nuclear safety could be determined in monetary term by this approach. The theoretical background and history of cost benefit analysis of nuclear safety regulation were presented and topics for future study were suggested

Radiation safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Riessen, A.

2002-01-01

Full text: Experience has shown that modem, fully enclosed, XRF and XRD units are generally safe. This experience may lead to complacency and ultimately a lowering of standards which may lead to accidents. Maintaining awareness of radiation safety issues is thus an important role for all radiation safety officers. With the ongoing progress in technology, a greater number of radiation workers are more likely to use a range of instruments/techniques - eg portable XRF, neutron beam analysis, and synchrotron radiation analysis. The source for each of these types of analyses is different and necessitates an understanding of the associated dangers as well as use of specific radiation badges. The trend of 'suitcase science' is resulting in scientists receiving doses from a range of instruments and facilities with no coordinated approach to obtain an integrated dose reading for an individual. This aspect of radiation safety needs urgent attention. Within Australia a divide is springing up between those who work on Commonwealth property and those who work on State property. For example a university staff member may operate irradiating equipment on a University campus and then go to a CSIRO laboratory to operate similar equipment. While at the University State regulations apply and while at CSIRO Commonwealth regulations apply. Does this individual require two badges? Is there a need to obtain two licences? The application of two sets of regulations causes unnecessary confusion and increases the workload of radiation safety officers. Radiation safety officers need to introduce risk management strategies to ensure that both existing and new procedures result in risk minimisation. A component of this strategy includes ongoing education and revising of regulations. AXAA may choose to contribute to both of these activities as a service to its members as well as raising the level of radiation safety for all radiation workers. Copyright (2002) Australian X-ray Analytical

Causality Constraints in Conformal Field Theory

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

Causality places nontrivial constraints on QFT in Lorentzian signature, for example fixing the signs of certain terms in the low energy Lagrangian. In d-dimensional conformal field theory, we show how such constraints are encoded in crossing symmetry of Euclidean correlators, and derive analogous constraints directly from the conformal bootstrap (analytically). The bootstrap setup is a Lorentzian four-point function corresponding to propagation through a shockwave. Crossing symmetry fixes the signs of certain log terms that appear in the conformal block expansion, which constrains the interactions of low-lying operators. As an application, we use the bootstrap to rederive the well known sign constraint on the (∂φ)4 coupling in effective field theory, from a dual CFT. We also find constraints on theories with higher spin conserved currents. Our analysis is restricted to scalar correlators, but we argue that similar methods should also impose nontrivial constraints on the interactions of spinni...

Causality constraints in conformal field theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartman, Thomas; Jain, Sachin; Kundu, Sandipan [Department of Physics, Cornell University,Ithaca, New York (United States)

2016-05-17

Causality places nontrivial constraints on QFT in Lorentzian signature, for example fixing the signs of certain terms in the low energy Lagrangian. In d dimensional conformal field theory, we show how such constraints are encoded in crossing symmetry of Euclidean correlators, and derive analogous constraints directly from the conformal bootstrap (analytically). The bootstrap setup is a Lorentzian four-point function corresponding to propagation through a shockwave. Crossing symmetry fixes the signs of certain log terms that appear in the conformal block expansion, which constrains the interactions of low-lying operators. As an application, we use the bootstrap to rederive the well known sign constraint on the (∂ϕ){sup 4} coupling in effective field theory, from a dual CFT. We also find constraints on theories with higher spin conserved currents. Our analysis is restricted to scalar correlators, but we argue that similar methods should also impose nontrivial constraints on the interactions of spinning operators.

Biaxial loading and shallow-flaw effects on crack-tip constraint and fracture toughness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bass, B.R.; Bryson, J.W.; Theiss, T.J.; Rao, M.C.

1994-01-01

A program to develop and evaluate fracture methodologies for the assessment of crack-tip constraint effects on fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels has been initiated in the Heavy-Section Steel Technology (HSST) Program. Crack-tip constraint is an issue that significantly impacts fracture mechanics technologies employed in safety assessment procedures for commercially licensed nuclear RPVs. The focus of studies described herein is on the evaluation of two stressed-based methodologies for quantifying crack-tip constraint (i.e., J-Q theory and a micromechanical scaling model based on critical stressed volumes) through applications to experimental and fractographic data. Data were utilized from single-edge notch bend (SENB) specimens and HSST-developed cruciform beam specimens that were tested in HSST shallow-crack and biaxial testing programs. Results from applications indicate that both the J-Q methodology and the micromechanical scaling model can be used successfully to interpret experimental data from the shallow- and deep-crack SENB specimen tests. When applied to the uniaxially and biaxially loaded cruciform specimens, the two methodologies showed some promising features, but also raised several questions concerning the interpretation of constraint conditions in the specimen based on near-tip stress fields. Fractographic data taken from the fracture surfaces of the SENB and cruciform specimens are used to assess the relevance of stress-based fracture characterizations to conditions at cleavage initiation sites. Unresolved issues identified from these analyses require resolution as part of a validation process for biaxial loading applications. This report is designated as HSST Report No. 142

Tensions between Individual Use and Network Adoption of Social Media Platforms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Srinivasan, Nikhil; Damsgaard, Jan

2013-01-01

Social media have diffused into the everyday lives of many but still pose challenges to individuals regarding use of these platforms. This paper explores the multiple manners in which social media platforms gets employed by individuals based on an examination of 4 vignettes generated...... by interviewing individuals within a university context. An analysis of the vignettes and individual use behaviors highlights the tension between network-based adoption of social media platforms and the constraints that the network places on individual use of the platform....

Nuclear criticality safety program at the Fuel Cycle Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lell, R.M.; Fujita, E.K.; Tracy, D.B.; Klann, R.T.; Imel, G.R.; Benedict, R.W.; Rigg, R.H.

1994-01-01

The Fuel Cycle Facility (FCF) is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel commercial-scale remote pyrometallurgical process for metallic fuels from liquid metal-cooled reactors and to show closure of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) fuel cycle. Requirements for nuclear criticality safety impose the most restrictive of the various constraints on the operation of FCF. The upper limits on batch sizes and other important process parameters are determined principally by criticality safety considerations. To maintain an efficient operation within appropriate safety limits, it is necessary to formulate a nuclear criticality safety program that integrates equipment design, process development, process modeling, conduct of operations, a measurement program, adequate material control procedures, and nuclear criticality analysis. The nuclear criticality safety program for FCF reflects this integration, ensuring that the facility can be operated efficiently without compromising safety. The experience gained from the conduct of this program in the Fuel cycle Facility will be used to design and safely operate IFR facilities on a commercial scale. The key features of the nuclear criticality safety program are described. The relationship of these features to normal facility operation is also described

Safety in the c-suite: How chief executive officers influence organizational safety climate and employee injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Sean; Ogunfowora, Babatunde; Ehr, Dayle

2016-09-01

According to social learning theory, powerful and high status individuals can significantly influence the behaviors of others. In this paper, we propose that chief executive officers (CEOs) indirectly impact frontline injuries through the collective social learning experiences and effort of different groups of organizational actors-including members of the top management team (TMT), organizational supervisors, and frontline employees. We found support for our collective social learning model using data from 2,714 frontline employees, 1,398 supervisors, and 229 members of TMTs in 54 organizations. TMT members' experiences within a CEO-driven TMT safety climate was positively related to organizational supervisors' reports of the broader organizational safety climate and their subsequent collective support for safety (reported by frontline employees). In turn, supervisory support for safety was associated with fewer employee injuries at the individual level. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for workplace safety research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Learning and Parallelization Boost Constraint Search

Science.gov (United States)

Yun, Xi

2013-01-01

Constraint satisfaction problems are a powerful way to abstract and represent academic and real-world problems from both artificial intelligence and operations research. A constraint satisfaction problem is typically addressed by a sequential constraint solver running on a single processor. Rather than construct a new, parallel solver, this work…

Safety, Liveness and Run-time Refinement for Modular Process-Aware Information Systems with Dynamic Sub Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Debois, Søren; Hildebrandt, Thomas; Slaats, Tijs

2015-01-01

and verification of flexible, run-time adaptable process-aware information systems, moved into practice via the Dynamic Condition Response (DCR) Graphs notation co-developed with our industrial partner. Our key contributions are: (1) A formal theory of dynamic sub-process instantiation for declarative, event......We study modularity, run-time adaptation and refinement under safety and liveness constraints in event-based process models with dynamic sub-process instantiation. The study is part of a larger programme to provide semantically well-founded technologies for modelling, implementation......-based processes under safety and liveness constraints, given as the DCR* process language, equipped with a compositional operational semantics and conservatively extending the DCR Graphs notation; (2) an expressiveness analysis revealing that the DCR* process language is Turing-complete, while the fragment cor...

Fuzzy Constraint-Based Agent Negotiation

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Menq-Wen Lin; K. Robert Lai; Ting-Jung Yu

2005-01-01

Conflicts between two or more parties arise for various reasons and perspectives. Thus, resolution of conflicts frequently relies on some form of negotiation. This paper presents a general problem-solving framework for modeling multi-issue multilateral negotiation using fuzzy constraints. Agent negotiation is formulated as a distributed fuzzy constraint satisfaction problem (DFCSP). Fuzzy constrains are thus used to naturally represent each agent's desires involving imprecision and human conceptualization, particularly when lexical imprecision and subjective matters are concerned. On the other hand, based on fuzzy constraint-based problem-solving, our approach enables an agent not only to systematically relax fuzzy constraints to generate a proposal, but also to employ fuzzy similarity to select the alternative that is subject to its acceptability by the opponents. This task of problem-solving is to reach an agreement that benefits all agents with a high satisfaction degree of fuzzy constraints, and move towards the deal more quickly since their search focuses only on the feasible solution space. An application to multilateral negotiation of a travel planning is provided to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of our framework.

Constraint-based scheduling

Science.gov (United States)

Zweben, Monte

1993-01-01

The GERRY scheduling system developed by NASA Ames with assistance from the Lockheed Space Operations Company, and the Lockheed Artificial Intelligence Center, uses a method called constraint-based iterative repair. Using this technique, one encodes both hard rules and preference criteria into data structures called constraints. GERRY repeatedly attempts to improve schedules by seeking repairs for violated constraints. The system provides a general scheduling framework which is being tested on two NASA applications. The larger of the two is the Space Shuttle Ground Processing problem which entails the scheduling of all the inspection, repair, and maintenance tasks required to prepare the orbiter for flight. The other application involves power allocation for the NASA Ames wind tunnels. Here the system will be used to schedule wind tunnel tests with the goal of minimizing power costs. In this paper, we describe the GERRY system and its application to the Space Shuttle problem. We also speculate as to how the system would be used for manufacturing, transportation, and military problems.

Stepping Up Occupational Safety and Health Through Employee Participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughan, Gary R.

1986-01-01

The effectiveness of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is examined, and it is suggested that employee participation could help improve occupational safety and health in the future, through safety committees, safety circles, safety teams, and individual participation. (MSE)

Modeling patient safety incidents knowledge with the Categorial Structure method.

Science.gov (United States)

Souvignet, Julien; Bousquet, Cédric; Lewalle, Pierre; Trombert-Paviot, Béatrice; Rodrigues, Jean Marie

2011-01-01

Following the WHO initiative named World Alliance for Patient Safety (PS) launched in 2004 a conceptual framework developed by PS national reporting experts has summarized the knowledge available. As a second step, the Department of Public Health of the University of Saint Etienne team elaborated a Categorial Structure (a semi formal structure not related to an upper level ontology) identifying the elements of the semantic structure underpinning the broad concepts contained in the framework for patient safety. This knowledge engineering method has been developed to enable modeling patient safety information as a prerequisite for subsequent full ontology development. The present article describes the semantic dissection of the concepts, the elicitation of the ontology requirements and the domain constraints of the conceptual framework. This ontology includes 134 concepts and 25 distinct relations and will serve as basis for an Information Model for Patient Safety.

Serious Leisure and People with Orthopedic Impairment: Benefits and Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manolya AKSATAN

2017-12-01

Full Text Available There are many people around the world who have different types of disabilities. Understanding their needs is the first step of developing policies to increase their quality of life and satisfaction. Leisure is an essential need of disabled people and it plays an important role in disabled people’s lives. The purpose of this study is to gain a deep understanding on the serious leisure activities of people with orthopedic impairment, and also both benefits and constraints involved with serious leisure. Therefore, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 people who have orthopedic impairment. The data collected through interviews was analyzed by using a coding process. Findings of the study indicate that people with orthopedic impairment pursue many leisure activities. The research revealed that the participants were aware of significant individual and community benefits of serious leisure activities. Although the benefits of leisure for private and community life are obvious for people with orthopedic impairment, it is not always easy for them to pursue serious leisure activities. Disabled people recognize that there are many constraints involved with serious leisure. Based on the findings, these constraints are explained as psychological factors, family support, level of orthopedic impairment, community awareness and environmental factors, work and income.

Application of the DOE Nuclear Safety Policy goal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coles, G.A.; Hey, B.E.; Leach, D.S.; Muhlestein, L.D.

1992-08-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued their Nuclear Safety Policy for implementation on September 9, 1991. The statement noted that it was the DOE's policy that the general public should be protected such that no individual would bear significant additional risk to health and safety from operation of their nuclear facilities above the risks to which members of the general population were normally exposed. The intent is that from the nuclear safety policy will follow specific safety rules, orders, standards and other requirements. The DOE Nuclear Safety Policy provides general statements in the areas of management involvement and accountability, providing technically competent personnel, oversight and self-assessment, promoting a safety culture, and quantitative safety goals as aiming points for performance. In general, most DOE Management and Operating Contractors should have programs in place which address the general statements noted above. Thus, compliance with the general statements of the DOE Nuclear Safety Policy should present no significant difficulty. Consequently, the focus of this paper will be the two quantitative safety goals reproduced below from the DOE Nuclear Safety Policy. ''The risk to an average individual in the vicinity of a DOE facility for prompt fatalities that might result from accidents should not exceed one tenth of one percent (0.1 %) of the sum of prompt fatalities resulting from other accidents to which members of the population are generally exposed. For evaluation purposes, individuals are assumed to be located within one mile of the site boundary.'' ''The risk to the population in the area of a DOE nuclear facility for cancer fatalities that might result from operations should not exceed one tenth of one percent (0.1 %) of the sum of all cancer fatality risks resulting from all other causes. For evaluation purposes, individuals are assumed to be located within 10 miles of the site boundary.''

Social cognition on the Internet: testing constraints on social network size.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, R I M

2012-08-05

The social brain hypothesis (an explanation for the evolution of brain size in primates) predicts that humans typically cannot maintain more than 150 relationships at any one time. The constraint is partly cognitive (ultimately determined by some aspect of brain volume) and partly one of time. Friendships (but not necessarily kin relationships) are maintained by investing time in them, and failure to do so results in an inexorable deterioration in the quality of a relationship. The Internet, and in particular the rise of social networking sites (SNSs), raises the possibility that digital media might allow us to circumvent some or all of these constraints. This allows us to test the importance of these constraints in limiting human sociality. Although the recency of SNSs means that there have been relatively few studies, those that are available suggest that, in general, the ability to broadcast to many individuals at once, and the possibilities this provides in terms of continuously updating our understanding of network members' behaviour and thoughts, do not allow larger networks to be maintained. This may be because only relatively weak quality relationships can be maintained without face-to-face interaction.

Opinion of the IRSN on French electronuclear stock safety and radioprotection in 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

In its first part, this annual report presents the main trends which emerge after a global examination of nuclear safety and radioprotection of the operated nuclear power plants in France during 2009. The second part reports, comments and discusses events which occurred in 2009 and are considered as important as far as safety is concerned. The third part deals with generic anomalies, i.e. those affecting several nuclear plants. The fourth part discusses significant evolutions implemented or planned by EDF, whether they are modifications or arrangements in plant operation aimed at treating safety issues, but also economic constraints

Notes on Timed Concurrent Constraint Programming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Mogens; Valencia, Frank D.

2004-01-01

and program reactive systems. This note provides a comprehensive introduction to the background for and central notions from the theory of tccp. Furthermore, it surveys recent results on a particular tccp calculus, ntcc, and it provides a classification of the expressive power of various tccp languages.......A constraint is a piece of (partial) information on the values of the variables of a system. Concurrent constraint programming (ccp) is a model of concurrency in which agents (also called processes) interact by telling and asking information (constraints) to and from a shared store (a constraint...

Closing the gap between behavior and models in route choice: The role of spatiotemporal constraints and latent traits in choice set formation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaplan, Sigal; Prato, Carlo Giacomo

2012-01-01

not account for individual-related spatiotemporal constraints. This paper reduces the gap by proposing a route choice model incorporating spatiotemporal constraints and latent traits. The proposed approach combines stochastic route generation with a latent variable semi-compensatory model representing......A considerable gap exists between the behavioral paradigm of choice set formation in route choice and its representation in route choice modeling. While travelers form their viable choice set by retaining routes that satisfy spatiotemporal constraints, existing route generation techniques do...

The association between EMS workplace safety culture and safety outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Matthew D; Wang, Henry E; Fairbanks, Rollin J; Patterson, Daniel

2012-01-01

Prior studies have highlighted wide variation in emergency medical services (EMS) workplace safety culture across agencies. To determine the association between EMS workplace safety culture scores and patient or provider safety outcomes. We administered a cross-sectional survey to EMS workers affiliated with a convenience sample of agencies. We recruited these agencies from a national EMS management organization. We used the EMS Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (EMS-SAQ) to measure workplace safety culture and the EMS Safety Inventory (EMS-SI), a tool developed to capture self-reported safety outcomes from EMS workers. The EMS-SAQ provides reliable and valid measures of six domains: safety climate, teamwork climate, perceptions of management, working conditions, stress recognition, and job satisfaction. A panel of medical directors, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, and occupational epidemiologists developed the EMS-SI to measure self-reported injury, medical errors and adverse events, and safety-compromising behaviors. We used hierarchical linear models to evaluate the association between EMS-SAQ scores and EMS-SI safety outcome measures. Sixteen percent of all respondents reported experiencing an injury in the past three months, four of every 10 respondents reported an error or adverse event (AE), and 89% reported safety-compromising behaviors. Respondents reporting injury scored lower on five of the six domains of safety culture. Respondents reporting an error or AE scored lower for four of the six domains, while respondents reporting safety-compromising behavior had lower safety culture scores for five of the six domains. Individual EMS worker perceptions of workplace safety culture are associated with composite measures of patient and provider safety outcomes. This study is preliminary evidence of the association between safety culture and patient or provider safety outcomes.

Twenty-third water reactor safety information meeting: Volume 2, Human factors research; Advanced I and C hardware and software; Severe accident research; Probabilistic risk assessment topics; Individual plant examination: Proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monteleone, S. [comp.] [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)

1996-03-01

This three-volume report contains papers presented at the Twenty- Third Water Reactor Safety Information Meeting held at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel, Bethesda, Maryland, October 23-25, 1995. The papers are printed in the order of their presentation in each session and describe progress and results of programs in nuclear safety research conducted in this country and abroad. Foreign participation in the meeting included papers presented by researchers from France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland. This document, Volume 2, present topics in human factors research, advanced instrumentation and control hardware and software, severe accident research, probabilistic risk assessment, and individual plant examination. Individual papers have been cataloged separately.

New Nuclear Safety Regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novosel, N.; Prah, M.; Cizmek, A.

2008-01-01

Beside new Ordinance on the control of nuclear material and special equipment (Official Gazette No. 15/08), from 2006 State Office for Nuclear Safety (SONS) adopted Ordinance on performing nuclear activities (Official Gazette No. 74/06) and Ordinance on special conditions for individual activities to be performed by expert organizations which perform activities in the area of nuclear safety (Official Gazette No. 74/06), based on Nuclear Safety Act (Official Gazette No. 173/03). The Ordinance on performing nuclear activities regulates the procedure of announcing the intention to perform nuclear activity, submitting an application for the issue of a license to perform nuclear activity, and the procedure for adoption a decision on issuing a nuclear activity license. The Ordinance also regulates the contents of the application form for the announcement of the intention to perform nuclear activity, as well as of the application for the issue of a nuclear activity license and the method of keeping a nuclear activity register. The Ordinance on special conditions for individual activities to be performed by expert organizations which perform activities in the area of nuclear safety regulates these mentioned conditions, whereas compliance is established by a decision passed by the SONS. Special conditions for individual activities to be performed by expert organizations which perform activities in the area of nuclear safety are organizational, technical, technological conditions and established system of quality assurance. In 2007, SONS finalized the text of new Ordinance on nuclear safety and protection conditions for location, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of facility in which nuclear activity is performed. This Ordinance regulates nuclear safety and protection conditions for location, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of facility in which nuclear activity is performed. This Ordinance defines facilities in which nuclear activity is

Consensus achievement of leadership, organisational and individual factors that influence safety climate: Implications for nursing management.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Shelly A; Jones, Jacqueline; Verran, Joyce A

2018-01-01

To validate a framework of factors that influence the relationship of transformational leadership and safety climate, and to enable testing of safety chain factors by generating hypotheses regarding their mediating and moderating effects. Understanding the patient safety chain and mechanisms by which leaders affect a strong climate of safety is essential to transformational leadership practice, education, and research. A systematic review of leadership and safety literature was used to develop an organising framework of factors proposed to influence the climate of safety. A panel of 25 international experts in leadership and safety engaged a three-round modified Delphi study with Likert-scored surveys. Eighty per cent of participating experts from six countries were retained to the final survey round. Consensus (>66% agreement) was achieved on 40 factors believed to influence safety climate in the acute care setting. Consensus regarding specific factors that play important roles in an organisation's climate of safety can be reached. Generally, the demonstration of leadership commitment to safety is key to cultivating a culture of patient safety. Transformational nurse leaders should consider and employ all three categories of factors in daily leadership activities and decision-making to drive a strong climate of patient safety. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What do implementers need in terms of regulatory safety criteria for the post-closure phase?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cahen, B.

2010-01-01

relies on a number of qualitative and quantitative arguments. One issue is to derive safety criteria in relation with these arguments. The assessment of the induced impact of the repository on man and the environment is one element in demonstrating safety. The corresponding criterion is usually dose or risk. Specific aspects are important in the safety assessment in order to increase the confidence in the safety case. The safety assessment should be based on the detailed understanding, description and modelling of the processes governing the migration of individual radionuclides. Different components and functions of the repository system will be brought forward depending on the type of radionuclide. Scientific knowledge leads to reliable quantitative information on the repository evolution resulting in a transparent safety case. The detailed understanding of the system allows identification of intermediate safety indicators bringing confidence on the overall evolution of the system, the dose being the ultimate safety indicator. In the framework of a stepwise approach an optimisation process comes into play and all the elements of the safety case should be adequately weighted. It is based on the assessment of the performance of a series of indicators linked with the properties of individual components of the repository system and would certainly contribute to confidence and help uncertainty management. It appears more and more important to carefully balance long-term safety and operational safety. The IGSC feels that international developments, following experience feedback from implementation of ICRP-81 and ICRP-103 in national regulations, should deserve a particular attention. The IGSC has an interest in the technical implications of operational safety considerations on long-term repository performance, and in terms of design constraints needed to balance operational safety and long-term safety requirements. A stepwise approach to explore this issue was initiated

Facing new safety-challenges in a large particle accelerator experiment at CERN

CERN Document Server

Schmidt, Reiner

1999-01-01

An upgraded safety concept for CMS has been adapted to the size of the project and its organisational challenges under today's budgetary constraints, as well as to the increasing levels of risk. Strong magnetic fields and high radiation levels, including neutrons, pose additional hazards to materials, to operators, to maintenance and to ultimate deposit of activated materials. CMS also fits the insurer's risk-description for modern facilities, i.e. characterised by "higher energy density, more combustible materials and unattended operation". The regulatory environment, consisting essentially of CERN's autonomous regulations as well as of those of its host countries, also need to be satisfied with much attention. To face this challenge, seven distinct safety management tools have been identified, which are described in some detail, namely clear safety objectives, documented safety requirements, open items list, safety ( and design)reviews, safety risk analysis, enforcement of compliance and quality management....

The effectiveness and safety of antifibrinolytics in patients with acute intracranial haemorrhage: statistical analysis plan for an individual patient data meta-analysis

OpenAIRE

Ker, Katharine; Prieto-Merino, David; Sprigg, Nikola; Mahmood, Abda; Bath, Philip; Kang Law, Zhe; Flaherty, Katie; Roberts, Ian

2017-01-01

Introduction: The Antifibrinolytic Trialists Collaboration aims to increase knowledge about the effectiveness and safety of antifibrinolytic treatment by conducting individual patient data (IPD) meta-analyses of randomised trials. This article presents the statistical analysis plan for an IPD meta-analysis of the effects of antifibrinolytics for acute intracranial haemorrhage. Methods: The protocol for the IPD meta-analysis has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42016052155). We will conduct a...

Management commitment to safety vs. employee perceived safety training and association with future injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Verma, Santosh K; Chang, Wen-Ruey; Courtney, Theodore K; Lombardi, David A; Brennan, Melanye J; Perry, Melissa J

2012-07-01

The purpose of this study is to explore and examine, specific to the restaurant industry, two important constructs emerging from the safety climate literature: employee perceptions of safety training and management commitment to safety. Are these two separate constructs? Are there both individual- and shared group-level safety perceptions for these two constructs? What are the relationships between these two constructs and future injury outcomes? A total of 419 employees from 34 limited-service restaurants participated in a prospective cohort study. Employees' perceptions of management commitment to safety and safety training and demographic variables were collected at the baseline. The survey questions were made available in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. For the following 12 weeks, participants reported their injury experience and weekly work hours. A multivariate negative binomial generalized estimating equation model with compound symmetry covariance structure was used to assess the association between the rate of self-reported injuries and measures of safety perceptions. Even though results showed that the correlation between employees'perceived safety training and management commitment to safety was high, confirmatory factor analysis of measurement models showed that two separate factors fit the model better than as two dimensions of a single factor. Homogeneity tests showed that there was a shared perception of the factor of management commitment to safety for the restaurant workers but there was no consistent perception among them for the factor of perceived safety training. Both individual employees'perceived management commitment to safety and perceptions of safety training can predict employees' subsequent injuries above and beyond demographic variables. However, there was no significant relationship between future injury and employees' shared perception of management commitment to safety. Further, our results suggest that the

Overview of the fundamental safety principles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chishinga, Milton Mulenga

2015-02-01

The primary objective of this work was to provide an overview of the International Atomic Energy (IAEA) document; 'Fundamental Safety principles, SF.1'. The document outlines ten (10) fundamental principles which provide the basis for an effective the radiation protection framework. The document is the topmost in the hierarchy of the IAEA Safety Standards Series. These principles are the foundation of the nuclear safety put stringent obligations on Parties under the Convention on Nuclear Safety. The fundamental safety objective is to protect people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation. The fundamental Safety objective of protecting people individually and collectively and the environment has to be achieved without unduly limiting the operation of facilities or the conduct of activities that give rise to risks. The thematic areas covered are; responsibility for safety, role of government, leadership and management for safety, justification of facilities and activities, optimization of protection, limitation of risks to individuals, protection of present and future generations, prevention of accidents, emergency preparedness and response and protective actions to reduce existing or unregulated radiation risks. Appropriate recommendations have been provided for effective application of the principles by Governments, Regulatory Bodies and Operating Organizations of facilities and Nuclear Installations the give rise to radiation risks. (au)

Generalized Pauli constraints in small atoms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schilling, Christian; Altunbulak, Murat; Knecht, Stefan

2018-01-01

investigations have found evidence that these constraints are exactly saturated in several physically relevant systems, e.g., in a certain electronic state of the beryllium atom. It has been suggested that, in such cases, the constraints, rather than the details of the Hamiltonian, dictate the system......'s qualitative behavior. Here, we revisit this question with state-of-the-art numerical methods for small atoms. We find that the constraints are, in fact, not exactly saturated, but that they lie much closer to the surface defined by the constraints than the geometry of the problem would suggest. While...

Learning With Mixed Hard/Soft Pointwise Constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Gnecco, Giorgio; Gori, Marco; Melacci, Stefano; Sanguineti, Marcello

2015-09-01

A learning paradigm is proposed and investigated, in which the classical framework of learning from examples is enhanced by the introduction of hard pointwise constraints, i.e., constraints imposed on a finite set of examples that cannot be violated. Such constraints arise, e.g., when requiring coherent decisions of classifiers acting on different views of the same pattern. The classical examples of supervised learning, which can be violated at the cost of some penalization (quantified by the choice of a suitable loss function) play the role of soft pointwise constraints. Constrained variational calculus is exploited to derive a representer theorem that provides a description of the functional structure of the optimal solution to the proposed learning paradigm. It is shown that such an optimal solution can be represented in terms of a set of support constraints, which generalize the concept of support vectors and open the doors to a novel learning paradigm, called support constraint machines. The general theory is applied to derive the representation of the optimal solution to the problem of learning from hard linear pointwise constraints combined with soft pointwise constraints induced by supervised examples. In some cases, closed-form optimal solutions are obtained.

Dynamic modeling of the tradeoff between productivity and safety in critical engineering systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowing, Michelle M.; Elisabeth Pate-Cornell, M.; Glynn, Peter W.

2004-01-01

Short-term tradeoffs between productivity and safety often exist in the operation of critical facilities such as nuclear power plants, offshore oil platforms, or simply individual cars. For example, interruption of operations for maintenance on demand can decrease short-term productivity but may be needed to ensure safety. Operations are interrupted for several reasons: scheduled maintenance, maintenance on demand, response to warnings, subsystem failure, or a catastrophic accident. The choice of operational procedures (e.g. timing and extent of scheduled maintenance) generally affects the probabilities of both production interruptions and catastrophic failures. In this paper, we present and illustrate a dynamic probabilistic model designed to describe the long-term evolution of such a system through the different phases of operation, shutdown, and possibly accident. The model's parameters represent explicitly the effects of different components' performance on the system's safety and reliability through an engineering probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). In addition to PRA, a Markov model is used to track the evolution of the system and its components through different performance phases. The model parameters are then linked to different operations strategies, to allow computation of the effects of each management strategy on the system's long-term productivity and safety. Decision analysis is then used to support the management of the short-term trade-offs between productivity and safety in order to maximize long-term performance. The value function is that of plant managers, within the constraints set by local utility commissions and national (e.g. energy) agencies. This model is illustrated by the case of outages (planned and unplanned) in nuclear power plants to show how it can be used to guide policy decisions regarding outage frequency and plant lifetime, and more specifically, the choice of a reactor tripping policy as a function of the state of the

Disentangling the roles of safety climate and safety culture: Multi-level effects on the relationship between supervisor enforcement and safety compliance.

Science.gov (United States)

Petitta, Laura; Probst, Tahira M; Barbaranelli, Claudio; Ghezzi, Valerio

2017-02-01

Despite increasing attention to contextual effects on the relationship between supervisor enforcement and employee safety compliance, no study has yet explored the conjoint influence exerted simultaneously by organizational safety climate and safety culture. The present study seeks to address this literature shortcoming. We first begin by briefly discussing the theoretical distinctions between safety climate and culture and the rationale for examining these together. Next, using survey data collected from 1342 employees in 32 Italian organizations, we found that employee-level supervisor enforcement, organizational-level safety climate, and autocratic, bureaucratic, and technocratic safety culture dimensions all predicted individual-level safety compliance behaviors. However, the cross-level moderating effect of safety climate was bounded by certain safety culture dimensions, such that safety climate moderated the supervisor enforcement-compliance relationship only under the clan-patronage culture dimension. Additionally, the autocratic and bureaucratic culture dimensions attenuated the relationship between supervisor enforcement and compliance. Finally, when testing the effects of technocratic safety culture and cooperative safety culture, neither safety culture nor climate moderated the relationship between supervisor enforcement and safety compliance. The results suggest a complex relationship between organizational safety culture and safety climate, indicating that organizations with particular safety cultures may be more likely to develop more (or less) positive safety climates. Moreover, employee safety compliance is a function of supervisor safety leadership, as well as the safety climate and safety culture dimensions prevalent within the organization. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Short-sale Constraints and Credit Runs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Venter, Gyuri

), creditors with high private signals are more lenient to roll over debt, and a bank with lower asset quality remains solvent. This leads to higher allocative efficiency in the real economy. My result thus implies that the decrease in average informativeness due to short-sale constraints can be more than......This paper studies how short-sale constraints affect the informational efficiency of market prices and the link between prices and economic activity. I show that under short-sale constraints security prices contain less information. However, short-sale constraints increase the informativeness...... the price of an asset the bank holds. I show that short-selling constraints in the financial market lead to the revival of self-fulfilling beliefs about the beliefs and actions of others, and create multiple equilibria. In the equilibrium where agents rely more on public information (i.e., the price...

78 FR 9054 - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Respiratory Protection for Healthcare...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-07

... Healthcare Workers'', and ``Advances toward Improved Respirators for Healthcare Workers''. Status: The... research to design and promote the appropriate use of PPE. Compliance with appropriate respirator use.... Poor compliance has been linked to safety culture, workload issues, time constraints, risk perception...

Hamiltonian constraint in polymer parametrized field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laddha, Alok; Varadarajan, Madhavan

2011-01-01

Recently, a generally covariant reformulation of two-dimensional flat spacetime free scalar field theory known as parametrized field theory was quantized using loop quantum gravity (LQG) type ''polymer'' representations. Physical states were constructed, without intermediate regularization structures, by averaging over the group of gauge transformations generated by the constraints, the constraint algebra being a Lie algebra. We consider classically equivalent combinations of these constraints corresponding to a diffeomorphism and a Hamiltonian constraint, which, as in gravity, define a Dirac algebra. Our treatment of the quantum constraints parallels that of LQG and obtains the following results, expected to be of use in the construction of the quantum dynamics of LQG: (i) the (triangulated) Hamiltonian constraint acts only on vertices, its construction involves some of the same ambiguities as in LQG and its action on diffeomorphism invariant states admits a continuum limit, (ii) if the regulating holonomies are in representations tailored to the edge labels of the state, all previously obtained physical states lie in the kernel of the Hamiltonian constraint, (iii) the commutator of two (density weight 1) Hamiltonian constraints as well as the operator correspondent of their classical Poisson bracket converge to zero in the continuum limit defined by diffeomorphism invariant states, and vanish on the Lewandowski-Marolf habitat, (iv) the rescaled density 2 Hamiltonian constraints and their commutator are ill-defined on the Lewandowski-Marolf habitat despite the well-definedness of the operator correspondent of their classical Poisson bracket there, (v) there is a new habitat which supports a nontrivial representation of the Poisson-Lie algebra of density 2 constraints.

Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Tolerability of Melissa officinalis Extract which Contained Rosmarinic Acid in Healthy Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moeko Noguchi-Shinohara

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of single dose of Melissa officinalis extract which contained rosmarinic acid, including food-effects in healthy individuals. A total of eleven healthy individuals were randomly assigned to treatment arms in the two studies [Study 1 (fasted state and Study 2 (fed state]. Rosmarinic acid in serum was measured by a coulometric detection method using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography electrochemical detector. The serum concentration of total rosmarinic acid peaked at 1 hour after administration of Melissa officinalis extract containing 500mg rosmarinic acid in fasted state, with a maximum serum concentration 162.20 nmol/ L. The area under the curve for intact rosmarinic acid was calculated from the serum concentration-time profile to be 832.13 nmol • hour/ L. Food intake increases area under the curve and delayed time at which the maximum serum concentration. Rosmarinic acid supplementation did not affect liver, kidney, or blood cell function parameters. No adverse event was reported by any of the participants due to the study treatment. Single dose of Melissa officinalis extract containing 500 mg rosmarinic acid appears to be safe and tolerable in healthy individuals. Food intake increased the exposure of rosmarinic acid and delayed absorption of rosmarinic acid in healthy individuals.

Observational Constraints for Modeling Diffuse Molecular Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Federman, S. R.

2014-02-01

Ground-based and space-borne observations of diffuse molecular clouds suggest a number of areas where further improvements to modeling efforts is warranted. I will highlight those that have the widest applicability. The range in CO fractionation caused by selective isotope photodissociation, in particular the large 12C16O/13C16O ratios observed toward stars in Ophiuchus, is not reproduced well by current models. Our ongoing laboratory measurements of oscillator strengths and predissociation rates for Rydberg transitions in CO isotopologues may help clarify the situtation. The CH+ abundance continues to draw attention. Small scale structure seen toward ζ Per may provide additional constraints on the possible synthesis routes. The connection between results from optical transitions and those from radio and sub-millimeter wave transitions requires further effort. A study of OH+ and OH toward background stars reveals that these species favor different environments. This brings to focus the need to model each cloud along the line of sight separately, and to allow the physical conditions to vary within an individual cloud, in order to gain further insight into the chemistry. Now that an extensive set of data on molecular excitation is available, the models should seek to reproduce these data to place further constraints on the modeling results.

Nuclear safety project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-06-01

The Annual Report 1981 is a detailed description (in German language) of work within the Nuclear Safety Project performed in 1981 in the nuclear safety field by KfK institutes and departments and by external institutes on behalf of KfK. It includes for each individual research activity short summaries in English language on - work completed - results obtained - plans for future work. This report was compiled by the project management. (orig.) [de

Perinatal safety: from concept to nursing practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyndon, Audrey; Kennedy, Holly Powell

2010-01-01

Communication and teamwork problems are leading causes of documented preventable adverse outcomes in perinatal care. An essential component of perinatal safety is the organizational culture in which clinicians work. Clinicians' individual and collective authority to question the plan of care and take action to change the direction of a clinical situation in the patient's best interest can be viewed as their "agency for safety." However, collective agency for safety and commitment to support nurses in their role of advocacy is missing in many perinatal care settings. This article draws from Organizational Accident Theory, High Reliability Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism to describe the nurse's role in maintaining safety during labor and birth in acute care settings and suggests actions for supporting the perinatal nurse at individual, group, and systems levels to achieve maximum safety in perinatal care.

Perinatal Safety: From Concept to Nursing Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Holly Powell

2010-01-01

Communication and teamwork problems are leading causes of documented preventable adverse outcomes in perinatal care. An essential component of perinatal safety is the organizational culture in which clinicians work. Clinicians’ individual and collective authority to question the plan of care and take action to change the direction of a clinical situation in the patient’s best interest can be viewed as their “agency for safety.” However, collective agency for safety and commitment to support nurses in their advocacy role is missing in many perinatal care settings. This paper draws from Organizational Accident Theory, High Reliability Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism to describe the nurse’s role in maintaining safety during labor and birth in acute care settings, and suggests actions for supporting the perinatal nurse at individual, group, and systems levels to achieve maximum safety in perinatal care. PMID:20147827

When clusters collide: constraints on antimatter on the largest scales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steigman, Gary

2008-01-01

Observations have ruled out the presence of significant amounts of antimatter in the Universe on scales ranging from the solar system, to the Galaxy, to groups and clusters of galaxies, and even to distances comparable to the scale of the present horizon. Except for the model-dependent constraints on the largest scales, the most significant upper limits to diffuse antimatter in the Universe are those on the ∼Mpc scale of clusters of galaxies provided by the EGRET upper bounds to annihilation gamma rays from galaxy clusters whose intracluster gas is revealed through its x-ray emission. On the scale of individual clusters of galaxies the upper bounds to the fraction of mixed matter and antimatter for the 55 clusters from a flux-limited x-ray survey range from 5 × 10 −9 to −6 , strongly suggesting that individual clusters of galaxies are made entirely of matter or of antimatter. X-ray and gamma-ray observations of colliding clusters of galaxies, such as the Bullet Cluster, permit these constraints to be extended to even larger scales. If the observations of the Bullet Cluster, where the upper bound to the antimatter fraction is found to be −6 , can be generalized to other colliding clusters of galaxies, cosmologically significant amounts of antimatter will be excluded on scales of order ∼20 Mpc (M∼5×10 15 M sun )

Constraint-based Word Segmentation for Chinese

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Henning; Bo, Li

2014-01-01

-hoc and statistically based methods. In this paper, we show experiments of implementing different approaches to CWSP in the framework of CHR Grammars [Christiansen, 2005] that provides a constraint solving approach to language analysis. CHR Grammars are based upon Constraint Handling Rules, CHR [Frühwirth, 1998, 2009......], which is a declarative, high-level programming language for specification and implementation of constraint solvers....

Laboratory safety and the WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety.

Science.gov (United States)

McCay, Layla; Lemer, Claire; Wu, Albert W

2009-06-01

Laboratory medicine has been a pioneer in the field of patient safety; indeed, the College of American Pathology first called attention to the issue in 1946. Delivering reliable laboratory results has long been considered a priority, as the data produced in laboratory medicine have the potential to critically influence individual patients' diagnosis and management. Until recently, most attention on laboratory safety has focused on the analytic stage of laboratory medicine. Addressing this stage has led to significant and impressive improvements in the areas over which laboratories have direct control. However, recent data demonstrate that pre- and post-analytical phases are at least as vulnerable to errors; to further improve patient safety in laboratory medicine, attention must now be focused on the pre- and post-analytic phases, and the concept of patient safety as a multi-disciplinary, multi-stage and multi-system concept better understood. The World Alliance for Patient Safety (WAPS) supports improvement of patient safety globally and provides a potential framework for considering the total testing process.

Understanding and treating lateral ankle sprains and their consequences: a constraints-based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Wikstrom, Erik A; Hubbard-Turner, Tricia; McKeon, Patrick O

2013-06-01

Lateral ankle sprains are a common consequence of physical activity. If not managed appropriately, a cascade of negative alterations to both the joint structure and a person's movement patterns continue to stress the injured ligaments. These alterations result in an individual entering a continuum of disability as evidenced by the ~30 % of ankle sprains that develop into chronic ankle instability (CAI) and up to 78 % of CAI cases that develop into post-traumatic ankle osteoarthritis (OA). Despite this knowledge, no significant improvements in treatment efficacy have been made using traditional treatment paradigms. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to (1) provide an overview of the consequences associated with acute lateral ankle sprains, CAI and post-traumatic ankle OA; (2) introduce the patient-, clinician-, laboratory (PCL)-oriented) model that addresses the lateral ankle sprains and their consequences from a constraints perspective; and (3) introduce the dynamic systems theory as the framework to illustrate how multiple post-injury adaptations create a singular pathology that predisposes individuals with lateral ankle sprains to fall into a continuum of disability. The consequences associated with lateral ankle sprains, CAI and ankle OA are similar and encompass alterations to the structure of the ankle joint (e.g. ligament laxity, positional faults, etc.) and the sensorimotor function responsible for proper ankle joint function (e.g. postural control, gait, etc.). Further, the impairments have been quantified across a range of patient-oriented (e.g. self-report questionnaires), clinician-oriented (e.g. bedside measures of range of motion and postural control), and laboratory-oriented (e.g. arthrometry, gait analysis) outcome measures. The interaction of PCL-oriented outcomes is critically important for understanding the phenomenon of CAI across the continuum of disability. Through the integration of all three sources of evidence, we can clearly see that

Safety culture in transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decobert, V.

1998-01-01

'Safety culture' is a wording that appeared first in 1986, during the evaluation of what happened during the Tchernobyl accident. Safety culture is defined in the IAEA 75-INSAG-4 document as the characteristics and attitude which, in organizations and in men behaviours, make that questions related to safety of nuclear power plants benefits, in priority, of the attention that they need in function of their importance. The INSAG-4 document identifies three different elements necessary to the development of the safety culture: commitment of the policy makers, commitment of the managers of the industry, and commitment of individuals. This paper gives examples to show how safety culture is existing in the way Transnucleaire performs the activities in the field of transport of nuclear materials. (author)

Prescribing safety, negotiating expertise. Building of nuclear safety human factors expertise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rolina, Gregory

2008-01-01

This Ph.D thesis is dedicated to a specific type of expertise, the safety of nuclear installations in the field of human and organisational factors. Empirical work is at the foundation of this thesis: the monitoring of experts 'in action', allowed a detailed reconstruction of three cases they were examining. The analysis, at the core of which lies the definition of what an efficient expertise can be, emphasizes the incompleteness of the knowledge that links together the nuclear facilities' organisational characteristics and their safety. This leads us to identify the expert's three ranges of actions (rhetorical, cognitive, operative). Defined from objectives and constraints likely to influence the expert's behaviour, those three ranges each require specific skills. A conception of expertise based on these ranges seems adaptable to other sectors and allows an enrichment of models of expertise cited in literature. Historical elements from French institutions of nuclear safety are also called upon to take into consideration some of the determinants of the expertise; its efficiency relies on the upholding of a continuous dialogue between the regulators (the experts and the control authority) and the regulated (the operators). This type of historically inherited regulation makes up a specificity of the French system of external control of nuclear risks. (author) [fr

Seeking a safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, T.

1993-01-01

Human organisational failure has been shown to play a significant role in major accidents world-wide in both the nuclear and non-nuclear industries. A recent report called Organising for Safety, published by The Health and Safety Commission, suggests that the nuclear industry should give organisational factors the same emphasis as it does the reduction of equipment failures and individual error. (Author)

Safety of primed repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and modified constraint-induced movement therapy in a randomized controlled trial in pediatric hemiparesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillick, Bernadette T; Krach, Linda E; Feyma, Tim; Rich, Tonya L; Moberg, Kelli; Menk, Jeremiah; Cassidy, Jessica; Kimberley, Teresa; Carey, James R

2015-04-01

To investigate the safety of combining a 6-Hz primed low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) intervention in the contralesional hemisphere with a modified constraint-induced movement therapy (mCIMT) program in children with congenital hemiparesis. Phase 1 randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled pretest/posttest trial. University academic facility and pediatric specialty hospital. Subjects (N = 19; age range, 8-17 y) with congenital hemiparesis caused by ischemic stroke or periventricular leukomalacia. No subject withdrew because of adverse events. All subjects included completed the study. Subjects were randomized to 1 of 2 groups: either real rTMS plus mCIMT (n = 10) or sham rTMS plus mCIMT (n = 9). Adverse events, physician assessment, ipsilateral hand function, stereognosis, cognitive function, subject report of symptoms assessment, and subject questionnaire. No major adverse events occurred. Minor adverse events were found in both groups. The most common events were headaches (real: 50%, sham: 89%; P = .14) and cast irritation (real: 30%, sham: 44%; P = .65). No differences between groups in secondary cognitive and unaffected hand motor measures were found. Primed rTMS can be used safely with mCIMT in congenital hemiparesis. We provide new information on the use of rTMS in combination with mCIMT in children. These findings could be useful in research and future clinical applications in advancing function in congenital hemiparesis. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Generalized Pauli constraints in small atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Schilling, Christian; Altunbulak, Murat; Knecht, Stefan; Lopes, Alexandre; Whitfield, James D.; Christandl, Matthias; Gross, David; Reiher, Markus

2018-05-01

The natural occupation numbers of fermionic systems are subject to nontrivial constraints, which include and extend the original Pauli principle. A recent mathematical breakthrough has clarified their mathematical structure and has opened up the possibility of a systematic analysis. Early investigations have found evidence that these constraints are exactly saturated in several physically relevant systems, e.g., in a certain electronic state of the beryllium atom. It has been suggested that, in such cases, the constraints, rather than the details of the Hamiltonian, dictate the system's qualitative behavior. Here, we revisit this question with state-of-the-art numerical methods for small atoms. We find that the constraints are, in fact, not exactly saturated, but that they lie much closer to the surface defined by the constraints than the geometry of the problem would suggest. While the results seem incompatible with the statement that the generalized Pauli constraints drive the behavior of these systems, they suggest that the qualitatively correct wave-function expansions can in some systems already be obtained on the basis of a limited number of Slater determinants, which is in line with numerical evidence from quantum chemistry.

University Course Timetabling using Constraint Programming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hadi Shahmoradi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available University course timetabling problem is a challenging and time-consuming task on the overall structure of timetable in every academic environment. The problem deals with many factors such as the number of lessons, classes, teachers, students and working time, and these are influenced by some hard and soft constraints. The aim of solving this problem is to assign courses and classes to teachers and students, so that the restrictions are held. In this paper, a constraint programming method is proposed to satisfy maximum constraints and expectation, in order to address university timetabling problem. For minimizing the penalty of soft constraints, a cost function is introduced and AHP method is used for calculating its coefficients. The proposed model is tested on department of management, University of Isfahan dataset using OPL on the IBM ILOG CPLEX Optimization Studio platform. A statistical analysis has been conducted and shows the performance of the proposed approach in satisfying all hard constraints and also the satisfying degree of the soft constraints is on maximum desirable level. The running time of the model is less than 20 minutes that is significantly better than the non-automated ones.

Developing glovebox robotics to meet the national robot safety standard and nuclear safety criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMahon, T.T.; Sievers, R.H.

1991-09-01

Development of a glove box based robotic system by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is reported. Safety issues addressed include planning to meet the special constraints of operations within a hazardous material glove box and with hostile environments, compliance with the current and draft national robotic system safety standards, and eventual satisfaction of nuclear material handling requirements. Special attention has been required for the revision to the robot and control system models which antedate adoption of the present national safety standard. A robotic test bed, using non-radioactive surrogates is being activated at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to develop the material handling system and the process interfaces for future special nuclear material processing applications. Part of this effort is to define, test, and revise adequate safety controls to ensure success when the system is eventually deployed at a DOE site. The current system is primarily for demonstration and testing, but will evolve into the baseline configuration from which the production system is to be derived. This results in special hazards associated with research activities which may not be present on a production line. Nuclear safety is of paramount importance and has been successfully addressed for 50 years in the DOE weapons production complex. It carries its particular requirements for robot systems and manual operations, as summarized below: Criticality must be avoided (materials cannot consolidate or accumulate to approach a critical mass). Radioactive materials must be confined. The public and workers must be protected from accountable radiation exposure. Nuclear material must be readily retrievable. Nuclear safety must be conclusively demonstrated through hazards analysis. 7 refs

Psychological constraints on egalitarianism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kasperbauer, Tyler Joshua

2015-01-01

processes motivating people to resist various aspects of egalitarianism. I argue for two theses, one normative and one descriptive. The normative thesis holds that egalitarians must take psychological constraints into account when constructing egalitarian ideals. I draw from non-ideal theories in political...... philosophy, which aim to construct moral goals with current social and political constraints in mind, to argue that human psychology must be part of a non-ideal theory of egalitarianism. The descriptive thesis holds that the most fundamental psychological challenge to egalitarian ideals comes from what......Debates over egalitarianism for the most part are not concerned with constraints on achieving an egalitarian society, beyond discussions of the deficiencies of egalitarian theory itself. This paper looks beyond objections to egalitarianism as such and investigates the relevant psychological...

Constraint Programming for Context Comprehension

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Henning

2014-01-01

A close similarity is demonstrated between context comprehension, such as discourse analysis, and constraint programming. The constraint store takes the role of a growing knowledge base learned throughout the discourse, and a suitable con- straint solver does the job of incorporating new pieces...

Taking ownership of safety. What are the active ingredients of safety coaching and how do they impact safety outcomes in critical offshore working environments?

Science.gov (United States)

Krauesslar, Victoria; Avery, Rachel E; Passmore, Jonathan

2015-01-01

Safety coaching interventions have become a common feature in the safety critical offshore working environments of the North Sea. Whilst the beneficial impact of coaching as an organizational tool has been evidenced, there remains a question specifically over the use of safety coaching and its impact on behavioural change and producing safe working practices. A series of 24 semi-structured interviews were conducted with three groups of experts in the offshore industry: safety coaches, offshore managers and HSE directors. Using a thematic analysis approach, several significant themes were identified across the three expert groups including connecting with and creating safety ownership in the individual, personal significance and humanisation, ingraining safety and assessing and measuring a safety coach's competence. Results suggest clear utility of safety coaching when applied by safety coaches with appropriate coach training and understanding of safety issues in an offshore environment. The current work has found that the use of safety coaching in the safety critical offshore oil and gas industry is a powerful tool in managing and promoting a culture of safety and care.

Rational Adaptation under Task and Processing Constraints: Implications for Testing Theories of Cognition and Action

Science.gov (United States)

Howes, Andrew; Lewis, Richard L.; Vera, Alonso

2009-01-01

The authors assume that individuals adapt rationally to a utility function given constraints imposed by their cognitive architecture and the local task environment. This assumption underlies a new approach to modeling and understanding cognition--cognitively bounded rational analysis--that sharpens the predictive acuity of general, integrated…

Disease-induced resource constraints can trigger explosive epidemics

Science.gov (United States)

Böttcher, L.; Woolley-Meza, O.; Araújo, N. A. M.; Herrmann, H. J.; Helbing, D.

2015-11-01

Advances in mathematical epidemiology have led to a better understanding of the risks posed by epidemic spreading and informed strategies to contain disease spread. However, a challenge that has been overlooked is that, as a disease becomes more prevalent, it can limit the availability of the capital needed to effectively treat those who have fallen ill. Here we use a simple mathematical model to gain insight into the dynamics of an epidemic when the recovery of sick individuals depends on the availability of healing resources that are generated by the healthy population. We find that epidemics spiral out of control into “explosive” spread if the cost of recovery is above a critical cost. This can occur even when the disease would die out without the resource constraint. The onset of explosive epidemics is very sudden, exhibiting a discontinuous transition under very general assumptions. We find analytical expressions for the critical cost and the size of the explosive jump in infection levels in terms of the parameters that characterize the spreading process. Our model and results apply beyond epidemics to contagion dynamics that self-induce constraints on recovery, thereby amplifying the spreading process.

Immigration, borrowing constraints and housing market volatility in general equilibrium

OpenAIRE

Onshuus, Helene

2016-01-01

A loan-to-value borrowing constraint is a significant restriction on household behavior. All policy intervention seeks to steer agents' behavior away from what individual agents would consider optimal in the absence of restrictions. In the wake of the financial crisis in 2007-09 many regulators have turned to macroprudential tools to manage excessive risk-taking on an economy-wide level. In Norway a strict loan-to-value policy was imposed in June 2015, restricting the amount a household can b...

Some cosmological constraints on gauge theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, D.N.

1983-01-01

In these lectures, a review is made of various constraints cosmology may place on gauge theories. Particular emphasis is placed on those constraints obtainable from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, with only brief mention made of Big Bang Baryosynthesis. There is also a considerable discussion of astrophysical constraints on masses and lifetimes of neutrinos with specific mention of the 'missing mass (light)' problem of galactic dynamics. (orig./HSI)

Methods for safety culture improvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivintsev, Yu.V.

1998-01-01

New IAEA publication concerning the problems of safety assurance covering different aspects beginning from terminology applied and up to concrete examples of well and poor safety culture development at nuclear facilities is discussed. The safety culture is defined as such set of characteristics and specific activities of institutions and individual persons which states that safety problems of a nuclear facility are given the attention determined by their importance as being of highest priority. The statements of the new document have recommended, not mandatory character. It is emphasized that the process of safety culture improvement at nuclear facilities should be integral component of management procedure, not a bolt on extra

Investigation of nuclear power safety objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-09-01

It is a report of ground and concept of nuclear safety objects and future issues in Japan, which has investigated by the Committee of Experts on Investigation of Nuclear Safety Objects in the Nuclear Safety Research Association. The report consisted of member of committee, main conclusions and five chapters. The first chapter contains construction of safety objects and range of object, the second chapter qualitative safety objects, the third chapter quantitative safety objects, the forth subsiding objects and the fifth other items under consideration. The qualitative safety objects on individual and society, the quantitative one on effects on health and social cost, aspect of safety objects, relation between radiation protection and safety objects, practical objective values and earthquake are stated. (S.Y.)

HERBE final safety report; HERBE Finalni sigurnosni izvestaj

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1991-07-01

The Final safety report of HERBE system constructed at the RB reactor consists of 13 chapters, as follows. Chapter 0 includes a summary and the contents of the Final safety report, fundamental characteristics of the system and conclusion remarks, with the license agreement of the Safety Committee of the Boris Kidric Institute. Chapter 1 describes and analyzes the site of the HERBE system, including demography, topography, meteorology, hydrology, geology, seismicity, ecology. Chapter 3 covers technical characteristics of the system, Chapter 4 deals with safety analysis, Chapter 5 describes organisation of construction and preliminary operational testing of the system. Chapter 6 deals with organisation and program of test and regular operation, relevant procedures. Chapter 7 defines operational conditions and constraints, Chapter 8 and describe methods and means of radiation protection and radioactive materials management respectively. Chapter 10 contains a review of emergency plans, measures and procedures for nuclear accident protection. Chapters 11 and 12 are concerned with quality assurance program and physical protection of the HERBE system and related nuclear material.

Dynamics and causality constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sousa, Manoelito M. de

2001-04-01

The physical meaning and the geometrical interpretation of causality implementation in classical field theories are discussed. Causality in field theory are kinematical constraints dynamically implemented via solutions of the field equation, but in a limit of zero-distance from the field sources part of these constraints carries a dynamical content that explains old problems of classical electrodynamics away with deep implications to the nature of physicals interactions. (author)

Data assimilation with inequality constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Thacker, W. C.

If values of variables in a numerical model are limited to specified ranges, these restrictions should be enforced when data are assimilated. The simplest option is to assimilate without regard for constraints and then to correct any violations without worrying about additional corrections implied by correlated errors. This paper addresses the incorporation of inequality constraints into the standard variational framework of optimal interpolation with emphasis on our limited knowledge of the underlying probability distributions. Simple examples involving only two or three variables are used to illustrate graphically how active constraints can be treated as error-free data when background errors obey a truncated multi-normal distribution. Using Lagrange multipliers, the formalism is expanded to encompass the active constraints. Two algorithms are presented, both relying on a solution ignoring the inequality constraints to discover violations to be enforced. While explicitly enforcing a subset can, via correlations, correct the others, pragmatism based on our poor knowledge of the underlying probability distributions suggests the expedient of enforcing them all explicitly to avoid the computationally expensive task of determining the minimum active set. If additional violations are encountered with these solutions, the process can be repeated. Simple examples are used to illustrate the algorithms and to examine the nature of the corrections implied by correlated errors.

20 CFR 401.160 - Health or safety.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Health or safety. 401.160 Section 401.160... INFORMATION Disclosure of Official Records and Information § 401.160 Health or safety. The Privacy Act allows us to disclose information in compelling circumstances where an individual's health or safety is...

Multiparty Evolutionary Game Model in Coal Mine Safety Management and Its Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rongwu Lu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Coal mine safety management involves many interested parties and there are complex relationships between them. According to game theory, a multiparty evolutionary game model is established to analyze the selection of strategies. Then, a simplified three-party model is taken as an example to carry out detailed analysis and solution. Based on stability theory of dynamics system and phase diagram analysis, this article studies replicator dynamics of the evolutionary model to make an optimization analysis of the behaviors of those interested parties and the adjustment mechanism of safety management policies and decisions. The results show how the charge of supervision of government department and inspection of coal mine enterprise impact the efficiency of safety management and the effect of constraint measures and incentive and other measures in safety management.

Energetic constraints, size gradients, and size limits in benthic marine invertebrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Sebens, Kenneth P

2002-08-01

Populations of marine benthic organisms occupy habitats with a range of physical and biological characteristics. In the intertidal zone, energetic costs increase with temperature and aerial exposure, and prey intake increases with immersion time, generating size gradients with small individuals often found at upper limits of distribution. Wave action can have similar effects, limiting feeding time or success, although certain species benefit from wave dislodgment of their prey; this also results in gradients of size and morphology. The difference between energy intake and metabolic (and/or behavioral) costs can be used to determine an energetic optimal size for individuals in such populations. Comparisons of the energetic optimal size to the maximum predicted size based on mechanical constraints, and the ensuing mortality schedule, provides a mechanism to study and explain organism size gradients in intertidal and subtidal habitats. For species where the energetic optimal size is well below the maximum size that could persist under a certain set of wave/flow conditions, it is probable that energetic constraints dominate. When the opposite is true, populations of small individuals can dominate habitats with strong dislodgment or damage probability. When the maximum size of individuals is far below either energetic optima or mechanical limits, other sources of mortality (e.g., predation) may favor energy allocation to early reproduction rather than to continued growth. Predictions based on optimal size models have been tested for a variety of intertidal and subtidal invertebrates including sea anemones, corals, and octocorals. This paper provides a review of the optimal size concept, and employs a combination of the optimal energetic size model and life history modeling approach to explore energy allocation to growth or reproduction as the optimal size is approached.

A literature review of safety culture.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cole, Kerstan Suzanne; Stevens-Adams, Susan Marie; Wenner, Caren A.

2013-03-01

Workplace safety has been historically neglected by organizations in order to enhance profitability. Over the past 30 years, safety concerns and attention to safety have increased due to a series of disastrous events occurring across many different industries (e.g., Chernobyl, Upper Big-Branch Mine, Davis-Besse etc.). Many organizations have focused on promoting a healthy safety culture as a way to understand past incidents, and to prevent future disasters. There is an extensive academic literature devoted to safety culture, and the Department of Energy has also published a significant number of documents related to safety culture. The purpose of the current endeavor was to conduct a review of the safety culture literature in order to understand definitions, methodologies, models, and successful interventions for improving safety culture. After reviewing the literature, we observed four emerging themes. First, it was apparent that although safety culture is a valuable construct, it has some inherent weaknesses. For example, there is no common definition of safety culture and no standard way for assessing the construct. Second, it is apparent that researchers know how to measure particular components of safety culture, with specific focus on individual and organizational factors. Such existing methodologies can be leveraged for future assessments. Third, based on the published literature, the relationship between safety culture and performance is tenuous at best. There are few empirical studies that examine the relationship between safety culture and safety performance metrics. Further, most of these studies do not include a description of the implementation of interventions to improve safety culture, or do not measure the effect of these interventions on safety culture or performance. Fourth, safety culture is best viewed as a dynamic, multi-faceted overall system composed of individual, engineered and organizational models. By addressing all three components of

A review on the benchmarking concept in Malaysian construction safety performance

Science.gov (United States)

Ishak, Nurfadzillah; Azizan, Muhammad Azizi

2018-02-01

Construction industry is one of the major industries that propels Malaysia's economy in highly contributes to our nation's GDP growth, yet the high fatality rates on construction sites have caused concern among safety practitioners and the stakeholders. Hence, there is a need of benchmarking in performance of Malaysia's construction industry especially in terms of safety. This concept can create a fertile ground for ideas, but only in a receptive environment, organization that share good practices and compare their safety performance against other benefit most to establish improvement in safety culture. This research was conducted to study the awareness important, evaluate current practice and improvement, and also identify the constraint in implement of benchmarking on safety performance in our industry. Additionally, interviews with construction professionals were come out with different views on this concept. Comparison has been done to show the different understanding of benchmarking approach and how safety performance can be benchmarked. But, it's viewed as one mission, which to evaluate objectives identified through benchmarking that will improve the organization's safety performance. Finally, the expected result from this research is to help Malaysia's construction industry implement best practice in safety performance management through the concept of benchmarking.

Correlation between safety climate and contractor safety assessment programs in construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Sparer, Emily H; Murphy, Lauren A; Taylor, Kathryn M; Dennerlein, Jack T

2013-12-01

Contractor safety assessment programs (CSAPs) measure safety performance by integrating multiple data sources together; however, the relationship between these measures of safety performance and safety climate within the construction industry is unknown. Four hundred and one construction workers employed by 68 companies on 26 sites and 11 safety managers employed by 11 companies completed brief surveys containing a nine-item safety climate scale developed for the construction industry. CSAP scores from ConstructSecure, Inc., an online CSAP database, classified these 68 companies as high or low scorers, with the median score of the sample population as the threshold. Spearman rank correlations evaluated the association between the CSAP score and the safety climate score at the individual level, as well as with various grouping methodologies. In addition, Spearman correlations evaluated the comparison between manager-assessed safety climate and worker-assessed safety climate. There were no statistically significant differences between safety climate scores reported by workers in the high and low CSAP groups. There were, at best, weak correlations between workers' safety climate scores and the company CSAP scores, with marginal statistical significance with two groupings of the data. There were also no significant differences between the manager-assessed safety climate and the worker-assessed safety climate scores. A CSAP safety performance score does not appear to capture safety climate, as measured in this study. The nature of safety climate in construction is complex, which may be reflective of the challenges in measuring safety climate within this industry. Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:1463-1472, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An Evaluation Method for Team Competencies to Enhance Nuclear Safety Culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hang, S. M.; Seong, P. H.; Kim, A. R.

2016-01-01

Safety culture has received attention in safety-critical industries, including nuclear power plants (NPPs), due to various prominent accidents such as concealment of a Station Blackout (SBO) of Kori NPP unit 1 in 2012, the Sewol ferry accident in 2014, and the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Analysis reports have pointed out that one of the major contributors to the cause of the accidents is ‘the lack of safety culture’. The term, nuclear safety culture, was firstly defined after the Chernobyl accident by the IAEA in INSAG report no. 4, as follows “Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted their significance.” Afterwards, a wide consensus grew among researchers and nuclear-related organizations, that safety culture should be evaluated and managed in a certain manner. Consequently, each nuclear-related organization defined and developed their own safety culture definitions and assessment methods. However, none of these methods provides a way for an individual or a team to enhance the safety culture of an organization. Especially for a team, which is the smallest working unit in NPPs, team members easily overlook their required practices to improve nuclear safety culture. Therefore in this study, we suggested a method to estimate nuclear safety culture of a team, by approaching with the ‘competency’ point of view. The competency is commonly focused on individuals, and defined as, “underlying characteristics of an individual that are causally related to effective or superior performance in a job.” Similar to safety culture, the definition of competency focuses on characteristics and attitudes of individuals. Thus, we defined ‘safety culture competency’ as “underlying characteristics and outward attitudes of individuals that are causally related to a healthy and strong nuclear safety

BDDC Algorithms with deluxe scaling and adaptive selection of primal constraints for Raviart-Thomas vector fields

KAUST Repository

Oh, Duk-Soon; Widlund, Olof B.; Zampini, Stefano; Dohrmann, Clark R.

2017-01-01

A BDDC domain decomposition preconditioner is defined by a coarse component, expressed in terms of primal constraints, a weighted average across the interface between the subdomains, and local components given in terms of solvers of local subdomain problems. BDDC methods for vector field problems discretized with Raviart-Thomas finite elements are introduced. The methods are based on a deluxe type of weighted average and an adaptive selection of primal constraints developed to deal with coefficients with high contrast even inside individual subdomains. For problems with very many subdomains, a third level of the preconditioner is introduced.

BDDC Algorithms with deluxe scaling and adaptive selection of primal constraints for Raviart-Thomas vector fields

KAUST Repository

Oh, Duk-Soon

2017-06-13

A BDDC domain decomposition preconditioner is defined by a coarse component, expressed in terms of primal constraints, a weighted average across the interface between the subdomains, and local components given in terms of solvers of local subdomain problems. BDDC methods for vector field problems discretized with Raviart-Thomas finite elements are introduced. The methods are based on a deluxe type of weighted average and an adaptive selection of primal constraints developed to deal with coefficients with high contrast even inside individual subdomains. For problems with very many subdomains, a third level of the preconditioner is introduced.

Preferences, constraints or schemas of devotion? Exploring Norwegian mothers' withdrawals from high-commitment careers.

Science.gov (United States)

Halrynjo, Sigtona; Lyng, Selma Therese

2009-06-01

Despite decades of focus on gender equality and work-family balance, parenthood still affects mothers' and fathers' careers differently. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Norwegian mothers who are relinquishing high-commitment careers of law and consultancy, this paper questions the adequacy of established explanations emphasizing constraints vs. individual preferences. Our sample of female professionals living in a well-developed welfare state is particularly apt to explore the processes and mechanisms upholding the statistically gendered pattern of women reducing their work commitment after childbirth. These doubly privileged mothers might be considered to have the best odds for combining career and work commitment with motherhood. Thus, we argue that the approach emphasizing practical constraints does not sufficiently account for the withdrawal from high-commitment careers among these female professionals. Nevertheless, we are not content with the claim of Preference Theory that this shift in commitment is merely a matter of 'not-so-dedicated' women discovering their 'genuine' preferences. Rather, in order to understand why and how this shift occurs, we explore the culturally constructed rationalities and schemas of both work and family devotions. We specifically examine the circumstances, mechanisms and steps in a seemingly individual process of making the shift in commitment from a promising career to a family-friendly job. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates how generous parental leave arrangements designed to enhance gender equality and work-family balance by simply reducing practical constraints may have limited--or even counterproductive--impact within high-commitment occupations where the 'irreplaceability' of workers is taken for granted. Our findings indicate that unless the culturally (re)produced discourses, demands and expectations of both work and family are exposed and challenged, even intentionally gender neutral work-family policies will

A general treatment of dynamic integrity constraints

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Brock, EO

This paper introduces a general, set-theoretic model for expressing dynamic integrity constraints, i.e., integrity constraints on the state changes that are allowed in a given state space. In a managerial context, such dynamic integrity constraints can be seen as representations of "real world"

Resolving conflicting safety cultures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slider, J.E.; Patterson, M.

1993-01-01

Several nuclear power plant sites have been wounded in the crossfire between two distinct corporate cultures. The traditional utility culture lies on one side and that of the nuclear navy on the other. The two corporate cultures lead to different perceptions of open-quotes safety culture.close quotes This clash of safety cultures obscures a very important point about nuclear plant operations: Safety depends on organizational learning. Organizational learning provides the foundation for a perception of safety culture that transcends the conflict between utility and nuclear navy cultures. Corporate culture may be defined as the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs shared by employees of a given company. Safety culture is the part of corporate culture concerning shared attitudes and beliefs affecting individual or public safety. If the safety culture promotes behaviors that lead to greater safety, employees will tend to open-quotes do the right thingclose quotes even when circumstances and formal guidance alone do not ensure that actions will be correct. Safety culture has become particularly important to nuclear plant owners and regulators as they have sought to establish and maintain a high level of safety in today's plants

Safety culture' is integrating 'human' into risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, Taiji

2014-01-01

Significance of Fukushima nuclear power accident requested reconsideration of safety standards, of which we had usually no doubt. Risk assessment standard (JIS B 9702), Which was used for repetition of database preparation and cumulative assessment, defined allowable risk and residual risk. However, work site and immediate assessment was indispensable beside such assessment so as to ensure safety. Risk of casualties was absolutely not acceptable in principle and judgments to approve allowable risk needed accountability, which was reminded by safety culture proposed by IAEA and also identified by investigation of organizational cause of Columbia accident. Actor of safety culture would be organization and individual, and mainly individual. Realization of safety culture was conducted by personnel having moral consciousness and firm sense of mission in the course of jobs and working daily with sweat pouring. Safety engineering/technology should have framework integrating human as such totality. (T. Tanaka)

An Introduction to 'Creativity Constraints'

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Onarheim, Balder; Biskjær, Michael Mose

2013-01-01

Constraints play a vital role as both restrainers and enablers in innovation processes by governing what the creative agent/s can and cannot do, and what the output can and cannot be. Notions of constraints are common in creativity research, but current contributions are highly dispersed due to n...

Market segmentation using perceived constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Jinhee Jun; Gerard Kyle; Andrew Mowen

2008-01-01

We examined the practical utility of segmenting potential visitors to Cleveland Metroparks using their constraint profiles. Our analysis identified three segments based on their scores on the dimensions of constraints: Other priorities--visitors who scored the highest on 'other priorities' dimension; Highly Constrained--visitors who scored relatively high on...

Fourteen-Month-Olds Adapt Their Imitative Behavior in Light of a Model’s Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kata Gellén

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Rather than reenacting every action they observe, preverbal infants adapt their imitative behavior. Although previous studies have revealed the capability of preverbal infants to imitate selectively, the question about the adaptability of this behavior on an individual level did not attract considerable scientific attention until now. In the current study, we investigated whether 14-month-old infants flexibly alternate their imitative response in accordance with a model’s changing physical constraints in a body-part imitation paradigm. Participants were presented with two novel actions whereby a model illuminated a light-box and turned on a sound-box, either by using her forehead (head touch or by sitting on the apparatus (sit-touch. Each participant observed these tasks in two conditions: once where the model’s hands were occupied and once where her hands were free while executing the head or sit-touch. Participants were more likely to reenact the observed novel behavior when the model had freely chosen to perform it than when she had to do so due to physical constraints. Not only did we replicate a number of previous findings, we show here that preverbal infants adapt their imitative behavior across conditions based on the physical constraints of the model. These results point towards the adaptable nature of imitative behavior also on an individual level. This ability might be one of the building blocks for children for learning their social group’s specific action repertoire.

Constraint Handling Rules with Binders, Patterns and Generic Quantification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Serrano, Alejandro; Hage, J.

2017-01-01

Constraint Handling Rules provide descriptions for constraint solvers. However, they fall short when those constraints specify some binding structure, like higher-rank types in a constraint-based type inference algorithm. In this paper, the term syntax of constraints is replaced by λ-tree syntax, in

Safety strategy and safety analysis of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franzen, L.F.

1976-01-01

The safety strategy for nuclear power plants is characterized by the fact that the high level of safety was attained not as a result of experience, but on the basis of preventive accident analyses and the finding derived from such analyses. Although, in these accident analyses, the deterministic approach is predominant, it is supplemented by reliability analyses. The accidents analyzed in nuclear licensing procedures cover a wide spectrum from minor incidents to the design basis accidents which determine the design of the safety devices. The initial and boundary conditions, which are essentail for accident analyses, and the determination of the loads occurring in various states during regular operation and in accidents flow into the design of the individual systems and components. The inevitable residual risk and its origins are discussed. (orig.) [de

Discretionary Time of Chinese College Students: Activities and Impact of SARS-Induced Constraints on Choices

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, He; Hutchinson, Susan; Zinn, Harry; Watson, Alan

2011-01-01

How people make choices about activity engagement during discretionary time is a topic of increasing interest to those studying quality of life issues. Assuming choices are made to maximize individual welfare, several factors are believed to influence these choices. Constraints theory from the leisure research literature suggests these choices are…

Toward an automaton Constraint for Local Search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun He

2009-10-01

Full Text Available We explore the idea of using finite automata to implement new constraints for local search (this is already a successful technique in constraint-based global search. We show how it is possible to maintain incrementally the violations of a constraint and its decision variables from an automaton that describes a ground checker for that constraint. We establish the practicality of our approach idea on real-life personnel rostering problems, and show that it is competitive with the approach of [Pralong, 2007].

Constraint-based Attribute and Interval Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Jonsson, Ari; Frank, Jeremy

2013-01-01

In this paper we describe Constraint-based Attribute and Interval Planning (CAIP), a paradigm for representing and reasoning about plans. The paradigm enables the description of planning domains with time, resources, concurrent activities, mutual exclusions among sets of activities, disjunctive preconditions and conditional effects. We provide a theoretical foundation for the paradigm, based on temporal intervals and attributes. We then show how the plans are naturally expressed by networks of constraints, and show that the process of planning maps directly to dynamic constraint reasoning. In addition, we de ne compatibilities, a compact mechanism for describing planning domains. We describe how this framework can incorporate the use of constraint reasoning technology to improve planning. Finally, we describe EUROPA, an implementation of the CAIP framework.

Establishment and cultivation of the radiation safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhigang; Fan Yumao

2010-01-01

Safety culture is the cure of the corporate culture for nuclear technology application unit's. This article introduces the definition, connotation and levels of safety culture, and discusses the requirements of safety culture for organization and individuals in the area of technology application. Finally, key practical issues for the cultivation of safety culture are explained and some ideas about the construction of safety culture are proposed. (authors)

Constraints on stress-energy perturbations in general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Traschen, J.

1985-01-01

Conditions are found for the existence of integral constraints on stress-energy perturbations in general relativity. The integral constraints can be thought of as a general-relativistic generalization of the conservation of energy and momentum of matter perturbations in special relativity. The constraints are stated in terms of a vector field V, and the Robertson-Walker spacetimes are shown to have such constraint vectors. Although in general V is not a Killing vector, in a vacuum spacetime the constraint vectors are precisely the Killing vectors

On Lifecycle Constraints of Artifact-Centric Workflows

Science.gov (United States)

Kucukoguz, Esra; Su, Jianwen

Data plays a fundamental role in modeling and management of business processes and workflows. Among the recent "data-aware" workflow models, artifact-centric models are particularly interesting. (Business) artifacts are the key data entities that are used in workflows and can reflect both the business logic and the execution states of a running workflow. The notion of artifacts succinctly captures the fluidity aspect of data during workflow executions. However, much of the technical dimension concerning artifacts in workflows is not well understood. In this paper, we study a key concept of an artifact "lifecycle". In particular, we allow declarative specifications/constraints of artifact lifecycle in the spirit of DecSerFlow, and formulate the notion of lifecycle as the set of all possible paths an artifact can navigate through. We investigate two technical problems: (Compliance) does a given workflow (schema) contain only lifecycle allowed by a constraint? And (automated construction) from a given lifecycle specification (constraint), is it possible to construct a "compliant" workflow? The study is based on a new formal variant of artifact-centric workflow model called "ArtiNets" and two classes of lifecycle constraints named "regular" and "counting" constraints. We present a range of technical results concerning compliance and automated construction, including: (1) compliance is decidable when workflow is atomic or constraints are regular, (2) for each constraint, we can always construct a workflow that satisfies the constraint, and (3) sufficient conditions where atomic workflows can be constructed.

Consideration of future safety consequences: a new predictor of employee safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Probst, Tahira M; Graso, Maja; Estrada, Armando X; Greer, Sarah

2013-06-01

Compliance with safety behaviors is often associated with longer term benefits, but may require some short-term sacrifices. This study examines the extent to which consideration of future safety consequences (CFSC) predicts employee safety outcomes. Two field studies were conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the newly developed Consideration of Future Safety Consequences (CFSC) scale. Surveys containing the CFSC scale and other measures of safety attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes were administered during working hours to a sample of 128 pulp and paper mill employees; after revising the CFSC scale based on these initial results, follow-up survey data were collected in a second sample of 212 copper miners. In Study I, CFSC was predictive of employee safety knowledge and motivation, compliance, safety citizenship behaviors, accident reporting attitudes and behaviors, and workplace injuries - even after accounting for conscientiousness and demographic variables. Moreover, the effects of CFSC on the variables generally appear to be direct, as opposed to mediated by safety knowledge or motivation. These findings were largely replicated in Study II. CFSC appears to be an important personality construct that may predict those individuals who are more likely to comply with safety rules and have more positive safety outcomes. Future research should examine the longitudinal stability of CFSC to determine the extent to which this construct is a stable trait, rather than a safety attitude amenable to change over time or following an intervention. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reentry safety for the Topaz II Space Reactor: Issues and analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Connell, L.W.; Trost, L.C.

1994-03-01

This report documents the reentry safety analyses conducted for the TOPAZ II Nuclear Electric Propulsion Space Test Program (NEPSTP). Scoping calculations were performed on the reentry aerothermal breakup and ground footprint of reactor core debris. The calculations were used to assess the risks associated with radiologically cold reentry accidents and to determine if constraints should be placed on the core configuration for such accidents. Three risk factors were considered: inadvertent criticality upon reentry impact, atmospheric dispersal of U-235 fuel, and the Special Nuclear Material Safeguards risks. Results indicate that the risks associated with cold reentry are very low regardless of the core configuration. Core configuration constraints were therefore not established for radiologically cold reentry accidents

Do Performance-Safety Tradeoffs Cause Hypometric Metabolic Scaling in Animals?

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Jon F

2017-09-01

Hypometric scaling of aerobic metabolism in animals has been widely attributed to constraints on oxygen (O 2 ) supply in larger animals, but recent findings demonstrate that O 2 supply balances with need regardless of size. Larger animals also do not exhibit evidence of compensation for O 2 supply limitation. Because declining metabolic rates (MRs) are tightly linked to fitness, this provides significant evidence against the hypothesis that constraints on supply drive hypometric scaling. As an alternative, ATP demand might decline in larger animals because of performance-safety tradeoffs. Larger animals, which typically reproduce later, exhibit risk-reducing strategies that lower MR. Conversely, smaller animals are more strongly selected for growth and costly neurolocomotory performance, elevating metabolism. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Block Pickard Models for Two-Dimensional Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forchhammer, Søren; Justesen, Jørn

2009-01-01

In Pickard random fields (PRF), the probabilities of finite configurations and the entropy of the field can be calculated explicitly, but only very simple structures can be incorporated into such a field. Given two Markov chains describing a boundary, an algorithm is presented which determines...... for the domino tiling constraint represented by a quaternary alphabet. PRF models are also presented for higher order constraints, including the no isolated bits (n.i.b.) constraint, and a minimum distance 3 constraint by defining super symbols on blocks of binary symbols....

Translating Health Services Research into Practice in the Safety Net.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Susan L; Fischer, Ilana; Havranek, Edward P

2016-02-01

To summarize research relating to health services research translation in the safety net through analysis of the literature and case study of a safety net system. Literature review and key informant interviews at an integrated safety net hospital. This paper describes the results of a comprehensive literature review of translational science literature as applied to health care paired with qualitative analysis of five key informant interviews conducted with senior-level management at Denver Health and Hospital Authority. Results from the literature suggest that implementing innovation may be more difficult in the safety net due to multiple factors, including financial and organizational constraints. Results from key informant interviews confirmed the reality of financial barriers to innovation implementation but also implied that factors, including institutional respect for data, organizational attitudes, and leadership support, could compensate for disadvantages. Translating research into practice is of critical importance to safety net providers, which are under increased pressure to improve patient care and satisfaction. Results suggest that translational research done in the safety net can better illuminate the special challenges of this setting; more such research is needed. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Operating procedures and safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnino, A.

1993-01-01

The development of new technologies in recent years has led to a tremendous increase in the information to be mastered by operators in industrial processes. The information at operators disposal both in routine situations and accidental ones needs to be well prepared and organized to ensure reliability and safety. The man-machine interface should give operators all the necessary and clear indications on the process status and evolution so that the operators can operate the installation through adequate procedures. Procedures represent the real interface and mode of action of the operators on the machine, and they are of prime importance. Although they are by essence quite different, the routine, accident, and emergency procedures have in common one attribute: They all require a good safety culture both in their development and their implementation. From the definition given by the members of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG), open-quotes Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance,close quotes one can see that two aspects are embedded, a collective attitude that in fact is reflected in the managerial framework and an individual one that is linked to personnel behavior and work practices

Topology optimization for simplified structural fire safety

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Søren; Lange, Nis P.; Giuliani, Luisa

2016-01-01

Topology optimization is applied in an idealized structural fire safety model, where the minimum compliance problem is constrained by temperature-controlled structural degradation. The constraint ensures a certain structural stiffness after a prescribed time. As this time period is extended......, resulting optimized topologies tend to become thicker or introduce redundant members that can take over when structural parts near the origin of the fire lose their load carrying capability. Hence, the structural degradation model acts as an erosion operator on the topology and indirectly enforces a minimum...

Occupational safety training and practices in selected vocational training institutions and workplaces in Kampala, Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Kintu, Denis; Kyakula, Michael; Kikomeko, Joseph

2015-01-01

Several industrial accidents, some of them fatal, have been reported in Uganda. Causes could include training gaps in vocational training institutions (VTIs) and workplaces. This study investigated how occupational safety training in VTIs and workplaces is implemented. The study was carried out in five selected VTIs and workplaces in Kampala. Data were collected from instructors, workshop technicians, students, workshop managers, production supervisors, machine operators and new technicians in the workplaces. A total of 35 respondents participated in the study. The results revealed that all curricula in VTIs include a component of safety but little is practiced in VTI workshops; in workplaces no specific training content was followed and there were no regular consultations between VTIs and industry on safety skills requirements, resulting in a mismatch in safety skills training. The major constraints to safety training include inadequate funds to purchase safety equipment and inadequate literature on safety.

Discretionary time of Chinese college students: Activities and impact of SARS-induced constraints on choices

Science.gov (United States)

He Yang; Susan Hutchinson; Harry Zinn; Alan Watson

2011-01-01

How people make choices about activity engagement during discretionary time is a topic of increasing interest to those studying quality of life issues. Assuming choices are made to maximize individual welfare, several factors are believed to influence these choices. Constraints theory from the leisure research literature suggests these choices are heavily influenced by...

The Ambiguous Role of Constraints in Creativity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Biskjær, Michael Mose; Onarheim, Balder; Wiltschnig, Stefan

2011-01-01

The relationship between creativity and constraints is often described in the literature either in rather imprecise, general concepts or in relation to very specific domains. Cross-domain and cross-disciplinary takes on how the handling of constraints influences creative activities are rare. In t......-disciplinary research into the ambiguous role of constraints in creativity....

Measurement invariance within and between individuals: a distinct problem in testing the equivalence of intra- and inter-individual model structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Adolf, Janne; Schuurman, Noémi K; Borkenau, Peter; Borsboom, Denny; Dolan, Conor V

2014-01-01

We address the question of equivalence between modeling results obtained on intra-individual and inter-individual levels of psychometric analysis. Our focus is on the concept of measurement invariance and the role it may play in this context. We discuss this in general against the background of the latent variable paradigm, complemented by an operational demonstration in terms of a linear state-space model, i.e., a time series model with latent variables. Implemented in a multiple-occasion and multiple-subject setting, the model simultaneously accounts for intra-individual and inter-individual differences. We consider the conditions-in terms of invariance constraints-under which modeling results are generalizable (a) over time within subjects, (b) over subjects within occasions, and (c) over time and subjects simultaneously thus implying an equivalence-relationship between both dimensions. Since we distinguish the measurement model from the structural model governing relations between the latent variables of interest, we decompose the invariance constraints into those that involve structural parameters and those that involve measurement parameters and relate to measurement invariance. Within the resulting taxonomy of models, we show that, under the condition of measurement invariance over time and subjects, there exists a form of structural equivalence between levels of analysis that is distinct from full structural equivalence, i.e., ergodicity. We demonstrate how measurement invariance between and within subjects can be tested in the context of high-frequency repeated measures in personality research. Finally, we relate problems of measurement variance to problems of non-ergodicity as currently discussed and approached in the literature.

Safety Culture in Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamchik, S. A.

2016-01-01

The paper presents Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation (hereinafter “Rosatom”) current activity in safety culture enhancement. After the Chernobyl accident individual commitment to safety, organizational factors influencing on safety were put under more significant attention. Safety culture (hereinafter “SC”) should be considered like a resource to provide safety in nuclear facilities. The resource potential is in minimisation of breaches by development and existing that patterns of human performance and organizational behavior which form attitude to safety as an overriding.

E-bike safety: Individual-level factors and incident characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haustein, Sonja; Møller, Mette

2016-01-01

safety critical incident that they believed would not have happened on a conventional bike. The most frequent explanation offered for these situations was that other road users had underestimated the speed of the e-bike, followed by rider problems regulating e-bike speed. Older cyclists were more likely...... to report problems maintaining balance due to the weight of the e-bike. Preventive measures discussed include awareness campaigns and making it easier to distinguish e-bikes from conventional bicycles to address the problem of underestimation of speed. We also identified a need to familiarise with the e...

Fixed Costs and Hours Constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, William R.

2011-01-01

Hours constraints are typically identified by worker responses to questions asking whether they would prefer a job with more hours and more pay or fewer hours and less pay. Because jobs with different hours but the same rate of pay may be infeasible when there are fixed costs of employment or mandatory overtime premia, the constraint in those…

Rigorous constraints on the matrix elements of the energy–momentum tensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Lowdon

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The structure of the matrix elements of the energy–momentum tensor play an important role in determining the properties of the form factors A(q2, B(q2 and C(q2 which appear in the Lorentz covariant decomposition of the matrix elements. In this paper we apply a rigorous frame-independent distributional-matching approach to the matrix elements of the Poincaré generators in order to derive constraints on these form factors as q→0. In contrast to the literature, we explicitly demonstrate that the vanishing of the anomalous gravitomagnetic moment B(0 and the condition A(0=1 are independent of one another, and that these constraints are not related to the specific properties or conservation of the individual Poincaré generators themselves, but are in fact a consequence of the physical on-shell requirement of the states in the matrix elements and the manner in which these states transform under Poincaré transformations.

49 CFR 385.313 - Who will conduct the safety audit?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... FITNESS PROCEDURES New Entrant Safety Assurance Program § 385.313 Who will conduct the safety audit? An individual certified under the FMCSA regulations to perform safety audits will conduct the safety audit. ... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Who will conduct the safety audit? 385.313 Section...

Challenges in promoting radiation safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mod Ali, Noriah

2008-01-01

Safety has quickly become an industry performance measure, and the emphasis on its reliability has always been part of a strategic commitment. This paper presents an approach taken by Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) and authority to develop and implement safety culture for industries that uses radioactive material and radiation sources. Maintaining and improving safety culture is a continuous process. There is a need to establish a program to measure, review and audit health and safety performance against predetermined standards. Proper safety audit will help to identify the non-compliance of safety culture as well as the deviation of management, individual and policy level commitment; review of radiation protection program and activities should be preceded. (author)

National Space Agencies vs. Commercial Space: Towards Improved Space Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Pelton, J.

2013-09-01

assume that thiscondition will not change. This seems particularly true for high profile, multi-billion dollar programs.The second part of the paper focuses on new commercial space programs that appear to be undertaken in a less restrictive manner; i.e. outside the constraints of politically-driven national space policies. Here the drivers—even within international consortia—seem to be on reliable performance and commercial return. Since sustained accident-free performance is critical to commercial programs very existence and profitability, the inherent role of safety in commercial space industry would seem clear. The question of prime interest for this paper is whether or not it might be possible for smaller and more focused commercial space entities, free from the constraints of space agency organizational and political constraints, to be more "risk adverse" and thus be more nimble in designing "safe" vehicles? If so how can this "safety first" corporate philosophy and management practice be detected and even objectively measured? Could, in the future, risk reduction at the level of design, quality verification, etc., be objectively measured?

Future Cosmological Constraints From Fast Radio Bursts

Science.gov (United States)

Walters, Anthony; Weltman, Amanda; Gaensler, B. M.; Ma, Yin-Zhe; Witzemann, Amadeus

2018-03-01

We consider the possible observation of fast radio bursts (FRBs) with planned future radio telescopes, and investigate how well the dispersions and redshifts of these signals might constrain cosmological parameters. We construct mock catalogs of FRB dispersion measure (DM) data and employ Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis, with which we forecast and compare with existing constraints in the flat ΛCDM model, as well as some popular extensions that include dark energy equation of state and curvature parameters. We find that the scatter in DM observations caused by inhomogeneities in the intergalactic medium (IGM) poses a big challenge to the utility of FRBs as a cosmic probe. Only in the most optimistic case, with a high number of events and low IGM variance, do FRBs aid in improving current constraints. In particular, when FRBs are combined with CMB+BAO+SNe+H 0 data, we find the biggest improvement comes in the {{{Ω }}}{{b}}{h}2 constraint. Also, we find that the dark energy equation of state is poorly constrained, while the constraint on the curvature parameter, Ω k , shows some improvement when combined with current constraints. When FRBs are combined with future baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data from 21 cm Intensity Mapping, we find little improvement over the constraints from BAOs alone. However, the inclusion of FRBs introduces an additional parameter constraint, {{{Ω }}}{{b}}{h}2, which turns out to be comparable to existing constraints. This suggests that FRBs provide valuable information about the cosmological baryon density in the intermediate redshift universe, independent of high-redshift CMB data.

Energy recovery from municipal solid waste, an environmental and safety mini-overview survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, R.L.

1976-06-01

The environmental and safety aspects of processing municipal solid wastes to recover energy and materials are reviewed in some detail. The state of the art in energy recovery, energy potential for the near and long-term, and constraints to commercialization are discussed. Under the environmental and safety aspects the state of the art, need for research and development, and need for coordination among federal agencies and private industry are considered. Eleven principal types of refuse-to-energy processes are described and a projected energy balance is derived for each process. (JSR)

The IAEA safety standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karbassioun, Ahmad

1995-01-01

During the development of the NUSS standards, wide consultation was carried out with all the Member States to obtain a consensus and the programme was supervised by a Senior Advisory Group consisting of senior safety experts from 13 countries. This group of senior regulators later became what is now known as the Nuclear Safety Standards Advisory Group (NUSSAG) and comprises of senior regulatory experts from 16 countries. The standards that were developed comprise of four types of documents: safety fundamentals; codes of practice; safety guides; and safety practices. The safety fundamentals set out the basic objectives, concepts and principles for nuclear safety in nuclear power plants. The codes of practice, are of a legislative nature, and establish the general objectives that must be fulfilled to ensure adequate nuclear power plant safety. They cover five areas: governmental organization; siting, design, operation and quality assurance. The safety guides, administrative in character, recommend procedures and acceptable technical solutions to implement the codes and guides by presenting further details gained from Member States, on the application and interpretation of individual concepts in the NUSS codes and guides. In total in the NUSS series there is currently one Fundamentals document, five Codes of Practice and fifty-six Safety Guides

Faddeev-Jackiw quantization and constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barcelos-Neto, J.; Wotzasek, C.

1992-01-01

In a recent Letter, Faddeev and Jackiw have shown that the reduction of constrained systems into its canonical, first-order form, can bring some new insight into the research of this field. For sympletic manifolds the geometrical structure, called Dirac or generalized bracket, is obtained directly from the inverse of the nonsingular sympletic two-form matrix. In the cases of nonsympletic manifolds, this two-form is degenerated and cannot be inverted to provide the generalized brackets. This singular behavior of the sympletic matrix is indicative of the presence of constraints that have to be carefully considered to yield to consistent results. One has two possible routes to treat this problem: Dirac has taught us how to implement the constraints into the potential part (Hamiltonian) of the canonical Lagrangian, leading to the well-known Dirac brackets, which are consistent with the constraints and can be mapped into quantum commutators (modulo ordering terms). The second route, suggested by Faddeev and Jackiw, and followed in this paper, is to implement the constraints directly into the canonical part of the first order Lagrangian, using the fact that the consistence condition for the stability of the constrained manifold is linear in the time derivative. This algorithm may lead to an invertible two-form sympletic matrix from where the Dirac brackets are readily obtained. This algorithm is used in this paper to investigate some aspects of the quantization of constrained systems with first- and second-class constraints in the sympletic approach

Safety Management Practices in Small and Medium Enterprises in India

Science.gov (United States)

Unnikrishnan, Seema; Iqbal, Rauf; Singh, Anju; Nimkar, Indrayani M.

2014-01-01

Background Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often the main pillar of an economy. Minor accidents, ergonomics problems, old and outdated machinery, and lack of awareness have created a need for implementation of safety practices in SMEs. Implementation of healthy working conditions creates positive impacts on economic and social development. Methods In this study, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 30 randomly chosen SMEs in and around Mumbai, Maharashtra, and other states in India to evaluate safety practices implemented in their facilities. The study also looked into the barriers and drivers for technology innovation and suggestions were also received from the respondent SMEs for best practices on safety issues. Results In some SMEs, risks associated with safety issues were increased whereas risks were decreased in others. Safety management practices are inadequate in most SMEs. Market competitiveness, better efficiency, less risk, and stringent laws were found to be most significant drivers; and financial constraints, lack of awareness, resistance to change, and lack of training for employees were found to be main barriers. Conclusion Competition between SMEs was found to be major reason for implementation of safety practices in the SMEs. The major contribution of the study has been awareness building on safety issues in the SMEs that participated in the project. PMID:25830070

Liquidity Constraints and Fiscal Stabilization Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristoffersen, Mark Strøm

It is often claimed that the presence of liquidity constrained households enhances the need for and the effects of fi…scal stabilization policies. This paper studies this in a model of a small open economy with liquidity constrained households. The results show that the consequences of liquidity...... constraints are more complex than previously thought: The optimal stabilization policy in case of productivity shocks is independent of the liquidity constraints, and the presence of liquidity constraints tends to reduce the need for an active policy stabilizing productivity shocks....

Review of Minimal Flavor Constraints for Technicolor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

S. Fukano, Hidenori; Sannino, Francesco

2010-01-01

We analyze the constraints on the the vacuum polarization of the standard model gauge bosons from a minimal set of flavor observables valid for a general class of models of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking. We will show that the constraints have a strong impact on the self-coupling and mas......We analyze the constraints on the the vacuum polarization of the standard model gauge bosons from a minimal set of flavor observables valid for a general class of models of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking. We will show that the constraints have a strong impact on the self...

Relaxations of semiring constraint satisfaction problems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Leenen, L

2007-03-01

Full Text Available The Semiring Constraint Satisfaction Problem (SCSP) framework is a popular approach for the representation of partial constraint satisfaction problems. In this framework preferences can be associated with tuples of values of the variable domains...

Solar system constraints on disformal gravity theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ip, Hiu Yan; Schmidt, Fabian; Sakstein, Jeremy

2015-01-01

Disformal theories of gravity are scalar-tensor theories where the scalar couples derivatively to matter via the Jordan frame metric. These models have recently attracted interest in the cosmological context since they admit accelerating solutions. We derive the solution for a static isolated mass in generic disformal gravity theories and transform it into the parameterised post-Newtonian form. This allows us to investigate constraints placed on such theories by local tests of gravity. The tightest constraints come from preferred-frame effects due to the motion of the Solar System with respect to the evolving cosmological background field. The constraints we obtain improve upon the previous solar system constraints by two orders of magnitude, and constrain the scale of the disformal coupling for generic models to ℳ ∼> 100 eV. These constraints render all disformal effects irrelevant for cosmology

Observational constraints on interstellar chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winnewisser, G.

1984-01-01

The author points out presently existing observational constraints in the detection of interstellar molecular species and the limits they may cast on our knowledge of interstellar chemistry. The constraints which arise from the molecular side are summarised and some technical difficulties encountered in detecting new species are discussed. Some implications for our understanding of molecular formation processes are considered. (Auth.)

The Effects of Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy in Acute Subcortical Cerebral Infarction.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Changshen; Wang, Wanjun; Zhang, Yue; Wang, Yizhao; Hou, Weijia; Liu, Shoufeng; Gao, Chunlin; Wang, Chen; Mo, Lidong; Wu, Jialing

2017-01-01

Background : Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) promotes upper extremity recovery post stroke, however, it is difficult to implement clinically due to its high resource demand and safety of the restraint. Therefore, we propose that modified CIMT (mCIMT) be used to treat individuals with acute subcortical infarction. Objective : To evaluate the therapeutic effects of mCIMT in patients with acute subcortical infarction, and investigate the possible mechanisms underlying the effect. Methods : The role of mCIMT was investigated in 26 individuals experiencing subcortical infarction in the preceding 14 days. Patients were randomly assigned to either mCIMT or standard therapy. mCIMT group was treated daily for 3 h over 10 consecutive working days, using a mitt on the unaffected arm for up to 30% of waking hours. The control group was treated with an equal dose of occupational therapy and physical therapy. During the 3-month follow-up, the motor functions of the affected limb were assessed by the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) and Motor Activity Log (MAL). Altered cortical excitability was assessed via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Results : Treatment significantly improved the movement in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. The mean WMF score was significantly higher in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. Further, the appearance of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were significantly higher in the mCIMT group compared with the baseline data. A significant change in ipsilesional silent period (SP) occurred in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. However, we found no difference between two groups in motor function or electrophysiological parameters after 3 months of follow-up. Conclusions : mCIMT resulted in significant functional changes in timed movement immediately following treatment in patients with acute subcortical infarction. Further, early mCIMT improved ipsilesional cortical excitability. However, no long

The Effects of Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy in Acute Subcortical Cerebral Infarction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changshen Yu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT promotes upper extremity recovery post stroke, however, it is difficult to implement clinically due to its high resource demand and safety of the restraint. Therefore, we propose that modified CIMT (mCIMT be used to treat individuals with acute subcortical infarction.Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effects of mCIMT in patients with acute subcortical infarction, and investigate the possible mechanisms underlying the effect.Methods: The role of mCIMT was investigated in 26 individuals experiencing subcortical infarction in the preceding 14 days. Patients were randomly assigned to either mCIMT or standard therapy. mCIMT group was treated daily for 3 h over 10 consecutive working days, using a mitt on the unaffected arm for up to 30% of waking hours. The control group was treated with an equal dose of occupational therapy and physical therapy. During the 3-month follow-up, the motor functions of the affected limb were assessed by the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT and Motor Activity Log (MAL. Altered cortical excitability was assessed via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS.Results: Treatment significantly improved the movement in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. The mean WMF score was significantly higher in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. Further, the appearance of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs were significantly higher in the mCIMT group compared with the baseline data. A significant change in ipsilesional silent period (SP occurred in the mCIMT group compared with the control group. However, we found no difference between two groups in motor function or electrophysiological parameters after 3 months of follow-up.Conclusions: mCIMT resulted in significant functional changes in timed movement immediately following treatment in patients with acute subcortical infarction. Further, early mCIMT improved ipsilesional cortical excitability. However, no long

Expressing Model Constraints Visually with VMQL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Störrle, Harald

2011-01-01

) for specifying constraints on UML models. We examine VMQL's usability by controlled experiments and its expressiveness by a representative sample. We conclude that VMQL is less expressive than OCL, although expressive enough for most of the constraints in the sample. In terms of usability, however, VMQL......OCL is the de facto standard language for expressing constraints and queries on UML models. However, OCL expressions are very difficult to create, understand, and maintain, even with the sophisticated tool support now available. In this paper, we propose to use the Visual Model Query Language (VMQL...

Definitive closure of nuclear power plants. Aspects concerning physical safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, C.; Puntarulo, L.; Canibano, J.

1988-01-01

This paper analyzes the various safety requirements that must be fulfilled by nuclear power plants for their operation without restrictions, such as safeguards, nuclear safety and physical protection. Physical protection, the subject most extensively dealt by the authors, is defined as safety measures aimed at providing protection against deliberate hostile deeds, such as robberies or non-authorized transport of radioactive materials or sabotage in nuclear facilities, performed either by individuals or by groups of individuals. (Author)

Evolution of Safety Basis Documentation for the Fernald Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, T.; Kohler, S.; Fisk, P.; Krach, F.; Klein, B.

2004-01-01

The objective of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Fernald Closure Project (FCP), in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, is to safely complete the environmental restoration of the Fernald site by 2006. Over 200 out of 220 total structures, at this DOE plant site which processed uranium ore concentrates into high-purity uranium metal products, have been safely demolished, including eight of the nine major production plants. Documented Safety Analyses (DSAs) for these facilities have gone through a process of simplification, from individual operating Safety Analysis Reports (SARs) to a single site-wide Authorization Basis containing nuclear facility Bases for Interim Operations (BIOs) to individual project Auditable Safety Records (ASRs). The final stage in DSA simplification consists of project-specific Integrated Health and Safety Plans (I-HASPs) and Nuclear Health and Safety Plans (N-HASPs) that address all aspects of safety, from the worker in the field to the safety basis requirements preserving the facility/activity hazard categorization. This paper addresses the evolution of Safety Basis Documentation (SBD), as DSAs, from production through site closure

Implicit Motives and Men's Perceived Constraint in Fatherhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruppen, Jessica; Waldvogel, Patricia; Ehlert, Ulrike

2016-01-01

Research shows that implicit motives influence social relationships. However, little is known about their role in fatherhood and, particularly, how men experience their paternal role. Therefore, this study examined the association of implicit motives and fathers' perceived constraint due to fatherhood. Furthermore, we explored their relation to fathers' life satisfaction. Participants were fathers with biological children ( N = 276). They were asked to write picture stories, which were then coded for implicit affiliation and power motives. Perceived constraint and life satisfaction were assessed on a visual analog scale. A higher implicit need for affiliation was significantly associated with lower perceived constraint, whereas the implicit need for power had the opposite effect. Perceived constraint had a negative influence on life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling revealed significant indirect effects of implicit affiliation and power motives on life satisfaction mediated by perceived constraint. Our findings indicate that men with a higher implicit need for affiliation experience less constraint due to fatherhood, resulting in higher life satisfaction. The implicit need for power, however, results in more perceived constraint and is related to decreased life satisfaction.

On relaxing the Mangasarian-Fromovitz constraint qualification

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kruger, A.Y.; Minchenko, L.; Outrata, Jiří

2014-01-01

Roč. 18, č. 1 (2014), s. 171-189 ISSN 1385-1292 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP402/12/1309 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Nonlinear programming * Regularity conditions * Constraint qualifications * Lagrange multipliers * Mangasarian–Fromovitz constraint qualification * Constant rank constraint qualification Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.679, year: 2014 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2014/MTR/outrata-0426110.pdf

Constraint programming for modelling and solving modal satisfiability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brand, S.; Gennari, R.; de Rijke, M.

2003-01-01

We explore to what extent and how efficiently constraint programmingcan be used in the context of automated reasoning for modal logics. We encode modal satisfiability problems as constraint satisfactionproblems with non-boolean domains, together with suitable constraints.Experiments show that the

Variations in task constraints shape emergent performance outcomes and complexity levels in balancing.

Science.gov (United States)

Caballero Sánchez, Carla; Barbado Murillo, David; Davids, Keith; Moreno Hernández, Francisco J

2016-06-01

This study investigated the extent to which specific interacting constraints of performance might increase or decrease the emergent complexity in a movement system, and whether this could affect the relationship between observed movement variability and the central nervous system's capacity to adapt to perturbations during balancing. Fifty-two healthy volunteers performed eight trials where different performance constraints were manipulated: task difficulty (three levels) and visual biofeedback conditions (with and without the center of pressure (COP) displacement and a target displayed). Balance performance was assessed using COP-based measures: mean velocity magnitude (MVM) and bivariate variable error (BVE). To assess the complexity of COP, fuzzy entropy (FE) and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) were computed. ANOVAs showed that MVM and BVE increased when task difficulty increased. During biofeedback conditions, individuals showed higher MVM but lower BVE at the easiest level of task difficulty. Overall, higher FE and lower DFA values were observed when biofeedback was available. On the other hand, FE reduced and DFA increased as difficulty level increased, in the presence of biofeedback. However, when biofeedback was not available, the opposite trend in FE and DFA values was observed. Regardless of changes to task constraints and the variable investigated, balance performance was positively related to complexity in every condition. Data revealed how specificity of task constraints can result in an increase or decrease in complexity emerging in a neurobiological system during balance performance.

Reduced scale PWR passive safety system designing by genetic algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunha, Joao J. da; Alvim, Antonio Carlos M.; Lapa, Celso Marcelo Franklin

2007-01-01

This paper presents the concept of 'Design by Genetic Algorithms (DbyGA)', applied to a new reduced scale system problem. The design problem of a passive thermal-hydraulic safety system, considering dimensional and operational constraints, has been solved. Taking into account the passive safety characteristics of the last nuclear reactor generation, a PWR core under natural circulation is used in order to demonstrate the methodology applicability. The results revealed that some solutions (reduced scale system DbyGA) are capable of reproducing, both accurately and simultaneously, much of the physical phenomena that occur in real scale and operating conditions. However, some aspects, revealed by studies of cases, pointed important possibilities to DbyGA methodological performance improvement

SpinlineTM, Benefits of a nuclear specific safety-critical digital I/C platform - 15102

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duthou, A.; Mouly, P.; Jegou, H.

2015-01-01

Spinline TM is Rolls-Royce modular and digital solution dedicated to developing and/or upgrading safety I/C used in nuclear reactors. From the start, Spinline TM was specifically designed for Nuclear applications. Therefore, its architecture and components satisfy, from design, the most stringent safety standards required by the local Safety authorities, while they can be adapted to various types of reactors. This is a significant advantage over suppliers who tried to adapt industrial systems to the Nuclear constraints and faced unexpected delays and costs to meet Safety authorities requirements. Spinline TM was specifically designed to implement any Class 1E and category A IEC-61226 safety I/C functions. It is qualified according to European and French nuclear standard and more recently by the US NRC, notably thanks to its Fail-safe features, deterministic behavior and Physical and Functional Separation. In 2011 EDF chose Spinline TM as its safety I/C systems technology for the modernization of 20 units of its 1300 MW PWR fleet

Cosmological constraints on Brans-Dicke theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Avilez, A; Skordis, C

2014-07-04

We report strong cosmological constraints on the Brans-Dicke (BD) theory of gravity using cosmic microwave background data from Planck. We consider two types of models. First, the initial condition of the scalar field is fixed to give the same effective gravitational strength Geff today as the one measured on Earth, GN. In this case, the BD parameter ω is constrained to ω>692 at the 99% confidence level, an order of magnitude improvement over previous constraints. In the second type, the initial condition for the scalar is a free parameter leading to a somewhat stronger constraint of ω>890, while Geff is constrained to 0.981theory and are valid for any Horndeski theory, the most general second-order scalar-tensor theory, which approximates the BD theory on cosmological scales. In this sense, our constraints place strong limits on possible modifications of gravity that might explain cosmic acceleration.

Safety and performance indicators for the assessment of long-term safety of deep geological disposal of radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hugi, M.; Schneider, J.W.; Dorp, F. van; Zuidema, P.

2005-01-01

The evaluation of the ability to isolate radioactive waste and the assessment of the long-term safety of a deep geological repository is usually done in terms of the calculated dose and/or risk for an average individual of the population which is potentially most affected by the potential impacts of the repository. At present, various countries and international organisations are developing so-called complementary indicators to supplement such calculations. These indicators are called ''safety indicators'' if they refer to the safety of the whole repository system; if they address the isolation capability of individual system components or the whole system from a more technical perspective, they are called ''performance indicators''. The need for complementary indicators follows from the long time frames which characterise the safety assessment of a geological repository, and the corresponding uncertainty of the calculated radiation dose. The main reason for these uncertainties is associated with the uncertain long-term prognosis of the surface environment and the related human behaviour. (orig.)

Issues of construction health and safety in developing countries: a case of Jordan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suhair Zaid Alkilani

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The construction industry is widely regarded as one of the most significant interms of its impact on health and safety (H&S. Recent findings suggestthat in developing countries H&S awareness and performance is low. In this paper,the current state of H&S on construction sites in Jordan was explored usinga two-part investigation. The first part introduces the area of research in aliterature based study of on-site safety. The second part is a case study onthe Jordanian construction industry and its current H&S practices. Primary datawas collected from field visits, expert interviews and semi-structuredquestionnaires. Supporting secondary data was collected from archival studiesand related research literature. The research findings highlight a lack of governmentcommitment exemplified by regulations, policies and legal constraints thatlimit the operational efficiency of those government departments responsiblefor H&S management, and hindering the development of good H&S practice.Research results also highlight the key constraints of good H&S practice fromthe perspective of construction contractors.The study concludes with discussion ofpotential solutions toimprove H&S performance on construction sites in Jordan.

Safety Assurance for Irradiating Experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

T. A. Tomberlin; S. B. Grover

2004-11-01

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), was specifically designed to provide a high neutron flux test environment for conducting a variety of experiments. This paper addresses the safety assurance process for two general types of experiments conducted in the ATR facility and how the safety analyses for experiments are related to the ATR safety basis. One type of experiment is more routine and generally represents greater risks; therefore, this type of experiment is addressed in more detail in the ATR safety basis. This allows the individual safety analysis for this type of experiment to be more standardized. The second type of experiment is defined in more general terms in the ATR safety basis and is permitted under more general controls. Therefore, the individual safety analysis for the second type of experiment tends to be more unique and is tailored to each experiment.

Safety Assurance for Irradiating Experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

T. A. Tomberlin; S. B. Grover

2004-01-01

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), located at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), was specifically designed to provide a high neutron flux test environment for conducting a variety of experiments. This paper addresses the safety assurance process for two general types of experiments conducted in the ATR facility and how the safety analyses for experiments are related to the ATR safety basis. One type of experiment is more routine and generally represents greater risks; therefore, this type of experiment is addressed in more detail in the ATR safety basis. This allows the individual safety analysis for this type of experiment to be more standardized. The second type of experiment is defined in more general terms in the ATR safety basis and is permitted under more general controls. Therefore, the individual safety analysis for the second type of experiment tends to be more unique and is tailored to each experiment

Safety aspect of long-life small safe power reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaki, S.; Sekimoto, H.

1995-01-01

Safety aspects of several design options of long-life small safe fast power reactors using nitride fuel and lead-bismuth as coolant are discussed. In the present study hypothetical accidents are simulated for these reactors, i.e., unprotected simultaneous ULOF (total loss of primary pumping system) and UTOP (rod run out transient over power) accidents, caused by the simultaneous withdrawal of all control rods. The proposed designs have some important safety characteristics as low reactivity swing (only 0.2-0.25$), and negative coolant void coefficient over whole burnup period. Effectively negative value of all components of reactivity during an accident is observed. The safety performances of the balance, pancake, and tall slender type of core, each of them satisfy reactivity and negative coolant void coefficient constraint, against the above accident are compared. The simulation results show that all of the design options can survive the above accidents without the help of reactor scram and without the need of operator actions. (author)

A Temporal Concurrent Constraint Programming Calculus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palamidessi, Catuscia; Valencia Posso, Frank Darwin

2001-01-01

The tcc model is a formalism for reactive concurrent constraint programming. In this paper we propose a model of temporal concurrent constraint programming which adds to tcc the capability of modeling asynchronous and non-deterministic timed behavior. We call this tcc extension the ntcc calculus...

Toward making the constraint hypersurface an attractor in free evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiske, David R.

2004-01-01

When constructing numerical solutions to systems of evolution equations subject to a constraint, one must decide what role the constraint equations will play in the evolution system. In one popular choice, known as free evolution, a simulation is treated as a Cauchy problem, with the initial data constructed to satisfy the constraint equations. This initial data are then evolved via the evolution equations with no further enforcement of the constraint equations. The evolution, however, via the discretized evolution equations introduce constraint violating modes at the level of truncation error, and these constraint violating modes will behave in a formalism dependent way. This paper presents a generic method for incorporating the constraint equations into the evolution equations so that the off-constraint dynamics are biased toward the constraint satisfying solutions

Organizational safety climate and supervisor safety enforcement: Multilevel explorations of the causes of accident underreporting.

Science.gov (United States)

Probst, Tahira M

2015-11-01

According to national surveillance statistics, over 3 million employees are injured each year; yet, research indicates that these may be substantial underestimates of the true prevalence. The purpose of the current project was to empirically test the hypothesis that organizational safety climate and transactional supervisor safety leadership would predict the extent to which accidents go unreported by employees. Using hierarchical linear modeling and survey data collected from 1,238 employees in 33 organizations, employee-level supervisor safety enforcement behaviors (and to a less consistent extent, organizational-level safety climate) predicted employee accident underreporting. There was also a significant cross-level interaction, such that the effect of supervisor enforcement on underreporting was attenuated in organizations with a positive safety climate. These results may benefit human resources and safety professionals by pinpointing methods of increasing the accuracy of accident reporting, reducing actual safety incidents, and reducing the costs to individuals and organizations that result from underreporting. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Judgement of Design Scheme Based on Flexible Constraint in ICAD

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2000-01-01

The conception of flexible constraint is proposed in the paper. The solution of flexible constraint is in special range, and maybe different in different instances of same design scheme. The paper emphasis on how to evaluate and optimize a design scheme with flexible constraints based on the satisfaction degree function defined on flexible constraints. The conception of flexible constraint is used to solve constraint conflict and design optimization in complicated constraint-based assembly design by the PFM parametrization assembly design system. An instance of gear-box design is used for verifying optimization method.

A comparison of debt and primary-deficit constraints

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ribeiro, M.P.; Beetsma, R.; Schabert, A.

2008-01-01

This paper compares constraints on the public debt with constraints on the primary deficit. The analysis takes into account how an optimizing government reacts to the different constraints when deciding on a spending and borrowing plan. We find that the economy behaves similarly under both

A Test Suite for Safety-Critical Java using JML

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravn, Anders Peter; Søndergaard, Hans

2013-01-01

Development techniques are presented for a test suite for the draft specification of the Java profile for Safety-Critical Systems. Distinguishing features are: specification of conformance constraints in the Java Modeling Language, encoding of infrastructure concepts without implementation bias......, and corresponding specifications of implicitly stated behavioral and real-time properties. The test programs are auto-generated from the specification, while concrete values for test parameters are selected manually. The suite is open source and publicly accessible....

Integral constraints on perturbations of Robertson-Walker cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, G.F.R.; Jaklitsch, M.J.

1989-01-01

Integral constraints occur in the case of spherically symmetric inhomogeneities in Robertson-Walker universes, and (according to Traschen) in the case of general perturbations of these models. It is shown that these constraints are the same in the case of spherical symmetry, and they are interpreted as 'fitting conditions', that is, as constraints on the background Robertson-Walker model rather than on the nature of inhomogeneities. These integral constraints significantly affect the interpretation of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation. 22 refs

Fluid convection, constraint and causation

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Robert C.

2012-01-01

Complexity—nonlinear dynamics for my purposes in this essay—is rich with metaphysical and epistemological implications but is receiving sustained philosophical analysis only recently. I will explore some of the subtleties of causation and constraint in Rayleigh–Bénard convection as an example of a complex phenomenon, and extract some lessons for further philosophical reflection on top-down constraint and causation particularly with respect to causal foundationalism. PMID:23386955

Freedom and constraint analysis and optimization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brouwer, Dannis Michel; Boer, Steven; Aarts, Ronald G.K.M.; Meijaard, Jacob Philippus; Jonker, Jan B.

2011-01-01

Many mathematical and intuitive methods for constraint analysis of mechanisms have been proposed. In this article we compare three methods. Method one is based on Grüblers equation. Method two uses an intuitive analysis method based on opening kinematic loops and evaluating the constraints at the

Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography. Specific Safety Guide (French Edition); Surete radiologique en radiographie industrielle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-05-15

This Safety Guide provides recommendations for ensuring radiation safety in industrial radiography used in non-destructive testing. This includes industrial radiography work that utilizes X ray and gamma sources, both in Horizontal-Ellipsis shielded facilities that have effective engineering controls and in outside shielded facilities using mobile sources. Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Duties and responsibilities; 3. Safety assessment; 4. Radiation protection programme; 5. Training and qualification; 6. Individual monitoring of workers; 7. Workplace monitoring; 8. Control of radioactive sources; 9. Safety of industrial radiography sources and exposure devices; 10. Radiography in shielded enclosures; 11. Site radiography; 12. Transport of radioactive sources; 13. Emergency preparedness and response; Appendix: IAEA categorization of radioactive sources; Annex I: Example safety assessment; Annex II: Overview of industrial radiography sources and equipment; Annex III: Examples of accidents in industrial radiography.

The disposal of high level radioactive waste in argillaceous host rocks identification of parameters, constraints and geological assessment priorities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horseman, S.T.

1994-01-01

The purpose of this report, commissioned by ENRESA, is to examine the characteristics, properties and responses of argillaceous media (clays and more indurated mudrocks) in some detail in order to identify the main parameters that will influence the radiological safety of a deep underground facility for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes (HLW) and to highlight possible constraints and other important issues relating to the construction, operation and performance of such a facility

Assessment of safety culture in isfahan hospitals (2010).

Science.gov (United States)

Raeisi, Ahmed Reza; Nazari, Maryam; Bahmanziari, Najme

2013-01-01

Many internal and external risk factors in health care organizations make safety important and it has caused the management to consider safety in their mission statement. One of the most important tools is to establish the appropriate organizational structure and safety culture. The goal of this research is to inform managers and staff about current safety culture status in hospitals in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health services. This is a descriptive-survey research. The research population was selected hospitals of Isfahan, Iran. Research tool was a questionnaire (Cronbach alpha 0.75). The questionnaire including 93 questions (Likert scale) classified in 12 categories: Demographic questions, Individual attitude, management attitude, Safety Training, Induced stress, pressure and emotional conditions during work, Consultation and participation, Communications, Monitoring and control, work environment, Reporting, safety Rules, procedures and work instructions that distributed among 45 technicians, 208 Nurses and 62 Physicians. All data collected from the serve was analysis with statistical package of social science (SPSS). In this survey Friedman test, Spearman correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and factor analysis have been used for data analyzing. The score of safety culture dimensions was 2.90 for Individual attitude, 3.12 for management attitude, 3.32 for Safety Training, 3.14 for Induced stress, pressure and emotional conditions during work, 3.31 for Consultation and participation, 2.93 for Communications, 3.28 for Monitoring and control, 3.19 for work environment, 3.36 for Reporting, 3.59 safety Rules, procedures and work instructions that Communication and individual attitude were in bad condition. Safety culture among different hospitals: governmental and educational, governmental and non-educational and non-governmental and different functional groups (physicians, nurses, diagnostic) of studied hospitals showed no

Constraint theory multidimensional mathematical model management

CERN Document Server

Friedman, George J

2017-01-01

Packed with new material and research, this second edition of George Friedman’s bestselling Constraint Theory remains an invaluable reference for all engineers, mathematicians, and managers concerned with modeling. As in the first edition, this text analyzes the way Constraint Theory employs bipartite graphs and presents the process of locating the “kernel of constraint” trillions of times faster than brute-force approaches, determining model consistency and computational allowability. Unique in its abundance of topological pictures of the material, this book balances left- and right-brain perceptions to provide a thorough explanation of multidimensional mathematical models. Much of the extended material in this new edition also comes from Phan Phan’s PhD dissertation in 2011, titled “Expanding Constraint Theory to Determine Well-Posedness of Large Mathematical Models.” Praise for the first edition: "Dr. George Friedman is indisputably the father of the very powerful methods of constraint theory...

Domain general constraints on statistical learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiessen, Erik D

2011-01-01

All theories of language development suggest that learning is constrained. However, theories differ on whether these constraints arise from language-specific processes or have domain-general origins such as the characteristics of human perception and information processing. The current experiments explored constraints on statistical learning of patterns, such as the phonotactic patterns of an infants' native language. Infants in these experiments were presented with a visual analog of a phonotactic learning task used by J. R. Saffran and E. D. Thiessen (2003). Saffran and Thiessen found that infants' phonotactic learning was constrained such that some patterns were learned more easily than other patterns. The current results indicate that infants' learning of visual patterns shows the same constraints as infants' learning of phonotactic patterns. This is consistent with theories suggesting that constraints arise from domain-general sources and, as such, should operate over many kinds of stimuli in addition to linguistic stimuli. © 2011 The Author. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Quality and safety of nuclear installations: the role of administration, and, nuclear safety and regulatory procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Queniart, D.

1979-12-01

In the first paper the author defines the concepts of safety and quality and describes the means of intervention by the Public Authorities in safety matters of nuclear installations. These include individual authorisations, definition and application of technical rules and surveillance of installations. In the second paper he defines the distinction between radiation protection and safety and presents the legislative and regulatory plan for nuclear safety in France. A central safety service for nuclear installations was created in March 1973 within the Ministry of Industrial and Scientific Development, where, amongst other tasks, it draws up regulatory procedures and organizes inspections of the installations. The main American regulations for light water reactors are outlined and the French regulatory system for different types of reactors discussed

Simulating non-holonomic constraints within the LCP-based simulation framework

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ellekilde, Lars-Peter; Petersen, Henrik Gordon

2006-01-01

be incorporated directly, and derive formalism for how the non-holonomic contact constraints can be modelled as a combination of non-holonomic equality constraints and ordinary contacts constraints. For each of these three we are able to guarantee solvability, when using Lemke's algorithm. A number of examples......In this paper, we will extend the linear complementarity problem-based rigid-body simulation framework with non-holonomic constraints. We consider three different types of such, namely equality, inequality and contact constraints. We show how non-holonomic equality and inequality constraints can...... are included to demonstrate the non-holonomic constraints. Udgivelsesdato: Marts...

Development methodology for the software life cycle process of the safety software

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, D. H.; Lee, S. S. [BNF Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Cha, K. H.; Lee, C. S.; Kwon, K. C.; Han, H. B. [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

2002-05-01

A methodology for developing software life cycle processes (SLCP) is proposed to develop the digital safety-critical Engineered Safety Features - Component Control System (ESF-CCS) successfully. A software life cycle model is selected as the hybrid model mixed with waterfall, prototyping, and spiral models and is composed of two stages , development stages of prototype of ESF-CCS and ESF-CCS. To produce the software life cycle (SLC) for the Development of the Digital Reactor Safety System, the Activities referenced in IEEE Std. 1074-1997 are mapped onto the hybrid model. The SLCP is established after the available OPAs (Organizational Process Asset) are applied to the SLC Activities, and the known constraints are reconciled. The established SLCP describes well the software life cycle activities with which the Regulatory Authority provides.

Development methodology for the software life cycle process of the safety software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, D. H.; Lee, S. S.; Cha, K. H.; Lee, C. S.; Kwon, K. C.; Han, H. B.

2002-01-01

A methodology for developing software life cycle processes (SLCP) is proposed to develop the digital safety-critical Engineered Safety Features - Component Control System (ESF-CCS) successfully. A software life cycle model is selected as the hybrid model mixed with waterfall, prototyping, and spiral models and is composed of two stages , development stages of prototype of ESF-CCS and ESF-CCS. To produce the software life cycle (SLC) for the Development of the Digital Reactor Safety System, the Activities referenced in IEEE Std. 1074-1997 are mapped onto the hybrid model. The SLCP is established after the available OPAs (Organizational Process Asset) are applied to the SLC Activities, and the known constraints are reconciled. The established SLCP describes well the software life cycle activities with which the Regulatory Authority provides

DELPHI ANALYSIS OF CONSTRAINTS TO MAIZE PRODUCTION IN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A descriptive Delphi study was conducted to: identify constraints to maize production on SNL from the perspectives of crop researchers, extension officers and farmers; categorise the constraints; rank them in order of importance; and identify ways of addressing them. A total of 33 constraint items were identified and ...

Sorting Through the Safety Data Haystack: Using Machine Learning to Identify Individual Case Safety Reports in Social-Digital Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Comfort, Shaun; Perera, Sujan; Hudson, Zoe; Dorrell, Darren; Meireis, Shawman; Nagarajan, Meenakshi; Ramakrishnan, Cartic; Fine, Jennifer

2018-06-01

There is increasing interest in social digital media (SDM) as a data source for pharmacovigilance activities; however, SDM is considered a low information content data source for safety data. Given that pharmacovigilance itself operates in a high-noise, lower-validity environment without objective 'gold standards' beyond process definitions, the introduction of large volumes of SDM into the pharmacovigilance workflow has the potential to exacerbate issues with limited manual resources to perform adverse event identification and processing. Recent advances in medical informatics have resulted in methods for developing programs which can assist human experts in the detection of valid individual case safety reports (ICSRs) within SDM. In this study, we developed rule-based and machine learning (ML) models for classifying ICSRs from SDM and compared their performance with that of human pharmacovigilance experts. We used a random sampling from a collection of 311,189 SDM posts that mentioned Roche products and brands in combination with common medical and scientific terms sourced from Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and a spectrum of news media blogs to develop and evaluate three iterations of an automated ICSR classifier. The ICSR classifier models consisted of sub-components to annotate the relevant ICSR elements and a component to make the final decision on the validity of the ICSR. Agreement with human pharmacovigilance experts was chosen as the preferred performance metric and was evaluated by calculating the Gwet AC1 statistic (gKappa). The best performing model was tested against the Roche global pharmacovigilance expert using a blind dataset and put through a time test of the full 311,189-post dataset. During this effort, the initial strict rule-based approach to ICSR classification resulted in a model with an accuracy of 65% and a gKappa of 46%. Adding an ML-based adverse event annotator improved the accuracy to 74% and gKappa to 60%. This was further improved by

Employee direct participation in organisational decisions and workplace safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Widerszal-Bazyl, Maria; Warszewska-Makuch, Magdalena

2008-01-01

Managers from 192 companies filled out the Employee Direct Participation in Organisational Change questionnaire measuring employees' direct participation (DP) in organisational decisions. Four main forms of DP were identified: individual and group consultations, and individual and group delegation. Workplace safety was measured with the number of accidents, the number of employees working in hazardous conditions, accident absenteeism and sickness absence. Results showed that the 2 latter indicators were significantly related to some parameters of DP. Thus, companies that used face-to-face individual consultation had lower accident absenteeism than ones that did not. The same effect was true for group consultation with temporary groups, and individual and group delegation. Workplaces with high scores for scope for group consultation had lower accident absenteeism, and those with high scores for scope for group delegation had lower sickness absence. It was concluded that employee DP had a positive influence on workplace safety, even if involvement was not directly related to safety.

Industrial constraints in the selection of radionuclides and the development of new radiopharmaceuticals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmermann, Richard G.

2008-01-01

During the past twenty years, the number of new radiolabeled molecules that have been published weekly in specialized nuclear medicine journals is quite amazing. On the other hand, one can only be astonished when it is compared to the number of new radiopharmaceuticals that came on the market during the same period. A good science is not sufficient to transform a molecule in a marketed drug. The budget required to demonstrate with a larger number of patients the value of the molecule linked to a limited market potential discourages investors to enter in this area. In fact, there are a series of other limitations and constraints that have to be taken into account before deciding to start clinical trials. This paper tries to identify all the difficulties that are encountered by radiopharmaceutical industries. They include the choice of the best but not necessary ideal radionuclide, the analysis of the market viability in the frame of the overall competition, the increasing safety constraints when working with multi-doses, the investment in usually non existing manufacturing tools for a worldwide access to the new drug, as well as the limiting regulatory aspects with yearly increasing constraints. Unfortunately it must be noted that each of these criteria is mainly driven by financial parameters and an expectation of a certain return on investment. This analysis can help research centers to better control and orient their programs and to explain the reasons of the lack of interest by industry for some even a priori interesting molecules, targets, radionuclides or indications. (author)

Coverage-based constraints for IMRT optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Mescher, H.; Ulrich, S.; Bangert, M.

2017-09-01

Radiation therapy treatment planning requires an incorporation of uncertainties in order to guarantee an adequate irradiation of the tumor volumes. In current clinical practice, uncertainties are accounted for implicitly with an expansion of the target volume according to generic margin recipes. Alternatively, it is possible to account for uncertainties by explicit minimization of objectives that describe worst-case treatment scenarios, the expectation value of the treatment or the coverage probability of the target volumes during treatment planning. In this note we show that approaches relying on objectives to induce a specific coverage of the clinical target volumes are inevitably sensitive to variation of the relative weighting of the objectives. To address this issue, we introduce coverage-based constraints for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning. Our implementation follows the concept of coverage-optimized planning that considers explicit error scenarios to calculate and optimize patient-specific probabilities q(\\hat{d}, \\hat{v}) of covering a specific target volume fraction \\hat{v} with a certain dose \\hat{d} . Using a constraint-based reformulation of coverage-based objectives we eliminate the trade-off between coverage and competing objectives during treatment planning. In-depth convergence tests including 324 treatment plan optimizations demonstrate the reliability of coverage-based constraints for varying levels of probability, dose and volume. General clinical applicability of coverage-based constraints is demonstrated for two cases. A sensitivity analysis regarding penalty variations within this planing study based on IMRT treatment planning using (1) coverage-based constraints, (2) coverage-based objectives, (3) probabilistic optimization, (4) robust optimization and (5) conventional margins illustrates the potential benefit of coverage-based constraints that do not require tedious adjustment of target volume objectives.

First-year engineering students' use of their mathematics textbook - opportunities and constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Randahl, Mira

2012-09-01

The role of the mathematics textbook at tertiary level has received limited exposure in previous research although it is likely that students work individually and that some of this work depends on the use of the textbook. The aim of this study was to investigate the process of approaching the textbook from epistemological, cognitive, and didactical perspectives. The focus was on identifying and discussing the opportunities and constraints in the process. The study was an explorative case study and the participants were first-year engineering students taking a basic calculus course. The data were collected through questionnaires, observations, and interviews. Results showed that the textbook was used to a very low degree and mainly perceived as a source of tasks. Different opportunities and constraints are pointed out and some didactical implications are suggested. The results and discussion indicate that a need for greater awareness about the use of mathematical textbooks in meaningful ways at tertiary level.

Pairwise Constraint-Guided Sparse Learning for Feature Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Mingxia; Zhang, Daoqiang

2016-01-01

Feature selection aims to identify the most informative features for a compact and accurate data representation. As typical supervised feature selection methods, Lasso and its variants using L1-norm-based regularization terms have received much attention in recent studies, most of which use class labels as supervised information. Besides class labels, there are other types of supervised information, e.g., pairwise constraints that specify whether a pair of data samples belong to the same class (must-link constraint) or different classes (cannot-link constraint). However, most of existing L1-norm-based sparse learning methods do not take advantage of the pairwise constraints that provide us weak and more general supervised information. For addressing that problem, we propose a pairwise constraint-guided sparse (CGS) learning method for feature selection, where the must-link and the cannot-link constraints are used as discriminative regularization terms that directly concentrate on the local discriminative structure of data. Furthermore, we develop two variants of CGS, including: 1) semi-supervised CGS that utilizes labeled data, pairwise constraints, and unlabeled data and 2) ensemble CGS that uses the ensemble of pairwise constraint sets. We conduct a series of experiments on a number of data sets from University of California-Irvine machine learning repository, a gene expression data set, two real-world neuroimaging-based classification tasks, and two large-scale attribute classification tasks. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed methods, compared with several established feature selection methods.

Nordic studies in reactor safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pershagen, N.

1993-01-01

The Nordic Nuclear Safety Research Programme SIK programme in reactor safety is part of a major joint Nordic research effort in nuclear safety. The report summarizes the achievements of the SIK programme, which was carried out during 1990-1993 in collaboration between Nordic nuclear utilities, safety authorities, and research institutes. Three main projects were successfully completed dealing with: 1) development and application of a living PSA concept for monitoring the risk of core damage, and of safety indicators for early warning of possible safety problems; 2) review and intercomparison of severe accident codes, case studies of potential core melt accidents in nordic reactors, development of chemical models for the MAAP code, and outline of a system for computerized accident management support; 3) compilation of information about design and safety features of neighbouring reactors in Germany, Lithuania and Russia, and for naval reactors and nuclear submarines. The report reviews the state-of-the-art in each subject matter as an introduction to the individual project summaries. The main findings of each project are highlighted. The report also contains an overview of reactor safety research in the Nordic countries and a summary of fundamental reactor safety principles. (au) (69 refs.)

Independent assessment for new nuclear reactor safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D'Auria Francesco

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A rigorous framework for safety assessment is established in all countries where nuclear technology is used for the production of electricity. On the one side, industry, i.e. reactor designers, vendors and utilities perform safety analysis and demonstrate consistency between results of safety analyses and requirements. On the other side, regulatory authorities perform independent assessment of safety and confirm the acceptability of safety of individual reactor units. The process of comparing results from analyses by reactor utilities and regulators is very complex. The process is also highly dependent upon mandatory approaches pursued for the analysis and from very many details which required the knowledge of sensitive proprietary data (e.g. spacer designs. Furthermore, all data available for the design, construction and operation of reactors produced by the nuclear industry are available to regulators. Two areas for improving the process of safety assessment for individual Nuclear Power Plant Units are identified: New details introduced by industry are not always and systematically requested by regulators for the independent assessment; New analytical techniques and capabilities are not necessarily used in the analyses by regulators (and by the industry. The established concept of independent assessment constitutes the way for improving the process of safety assessment. This is possible, or is largely facilitated, by the recent availability of the so-called Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty approach.

Independent assessment for new nuclear reactor safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Auria, F.; Glaeser, H.; Debrecin, N.

2017-01-01

A rigorous framework for safety assessment is established in all countries where nuclear technology is used for the production of electricity. On one side, industry, i.e. reactor designers, vendors and utilities perform safety analysis and demonstrate consistency between results of safety analyses and requirements. On the other side, regulatory authorities perform independent assessment of safety and confirm the acceptability of safety of individual reactor units. The process of comparing results from analyses by reactor utilities and regulators is very complex. The process is also highly dependent upon mandatory approaches pursued for the analysis and from very many details which required the knowledge of sensitive proprietary data (e.g. spacer designs). Furthermore, all data available for the design, construction and operation of reactors produced by the nuclear industry are available to regulators. Two areas for improving the process of safety assessment for individual Nuclear Power Plant Units are identified: New details introduced by industry are not always and systematically requested by regulators for the independent assessment; New analytical techniques and capabilities are not necessarily used in the analyses by regulators (and by the industry). The established concept of independent assessment constitutes the way for improving the process of safety assessment. This is possible, or is largely facilitated, by the recent availability of the so-called Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty (BEPU) approach. (authors)

Chance-Constrained Guidance With Non-Convex Constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Ono, Masahiro

2011-01-01

Missions to small bodies, such as comets or asteroids, require autonomous guidance for descent to these small bodies. Such guidance is made challenging by uncertainty in the position and velocity of the spacecraft, as well as the uncertainty in the gravitational field around the small body. In addition, the requirement to avoid collision with the asteroid represents a non-convex constraint that means finding the optimal guidance trajectory, in general, is intractable. In this innovation, a new approach is proposed for chance-constrained optimal guidance with non-convex constraints. Chance-constrained guidance takes into account uncertainty so that the probability of collision is below a specified threshold. In this approach, a new bounding method has been developed to obtain a set of decomposed chance constraints that is a sufficient condition of the original chance constraint. The decomposition of the chance constraint enables its efficient evaluation, as well as the application of the branch and bound method. Branch and bound enables non-convex problems to be solved efficiently to global optimality. Considering the problem of finite-horizon robust optimal control of dynamic systems under Gaussian-distributed stochastic uncertainty, with state and control constraints, a discrete-time, continuous-state linear dynamics model is assumed. Gaussian-distributed stochastic uncertainty is a more natural model for exogenous disturbances such as wind gusts and turbulence than the previously studied set-bounded models. However, with stochastic uncertainty, it is often impossible to guarantee that state constraints are satisfied, because there is typically a non-zero probability of having a disturbance that is large enough to push the state out of the feasible region. An effective framework to address robustness with stochastic uncertainty is optimization with chance constraints. These require that the probability of violating the state constraints (i.e., the probability of

Defining safety culture and the nexus between safety goals and safety culture. 1. An Investigation Study on Practical Points of Safety Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, Naoko; Takano, Kenichi; Hirose, Ayako

2001-01-01

among those of existing questionnaires about safety culture, organizational climate, and individual safety consciousness. From the results of investigations, it was supposed that the establishment of a safety management system to which the whole organization is committed and that has top-down and bottom-up cycles is necessary to enhance organization safety. For example, it was clarified that employee safety consciousness is relevant to 'the action of safety management section' and to two kinds of organization climate, i.e., 'good human relationship' and 'frequent discussion on safety'. As for worker motivation for safety, it was clarified that commitment to safety activities was directly influenced by 'safety activities adhering to actual work sites', 'advance check', and 'frequent discussion on safety' as a result of correlation analysis among traits of safety activity, attitude during daily work, and organizational climate (Fig. 1). In addition, it was also supposed that the commitment was influenced by 'good human relationship', 'pride in work', and 'communication between head office and work sites' indirectly according to the result of the same analysis. Thus, it is supposed that ideas to make safety activities adhere to actual work sites and good human relationships are necessary for organization safety as well as for the establishment of the safety management system. The state of the organization and work sites before the safety system and activities are enforced must also be assessed. According to the results, the construction, chemical, and manufacturing industries differed in types of safety systems and activities conducted because the system types and activities to be conducted depended on the type of work or work site. Hence, to diagnose an organization and to provide an appropriate safety system and activities that reflect the diagnosis are important to enforce safety culture from the viewpoint of usability and interface of the safety management system

Safety of pulmonary function testing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roberts, Cara; Ward, Simon; Walsted, Emil

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is a key investigation in the evaluation of individuals with respiratory symptoms; however, the safety of routine and specialised PFT testing has not been reported in a large data set. Using patient safety incident (PSI) records, we aimed to assess risk...... was rated using the NHS National Patient Safety Agency and any hospital admission reported. RESULTS: There were 119 PSIs reported from 186 000 PFT; that is, 0.6 PSIs per 1000 tests. Cardiopulmonary PSIs were 3.3 times more likely to occur than non-cardiopulmonary (95% CI 2.17 to 5.12). Syncope was the most...

Specifying Dynamic and Deontic Integrity Constraints

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wieringa, Roelf J.; Meyer, John-Jules; Weigand, Hans

In the dominant view of knowledge bases (KB's), a KB is a set of facts (atomic sentences) and integrity constraints (IC's). An IC is then a sentence which must at least be consistent with the other sentences in the KB, This view obliterates the distinction between, for example, the constraint that

Stability Constraints for Robust Model Predictive Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda G. S. Ottoni

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an approach for the robust stabilization of systems controlled by MPC strategies. Uncertain SISO linear systems with box-bounded parametric uncertainties are considered. The proposed approach delivers some constraints on the control inputs which impose sufficient conditions for the convergence of the system output. These stability constraints can be included in the set of constraints dealt with by existing MPC design strategies, in this way leading to the “robustification” of the MPC.

Parallel Execution of Multi Set Constraint Rewrite Rules

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sulzmann, Martin; Lam, Edmund Soon Lee

2008-01-01

that the underlying constraint rewrite implementation executes rewrite steps in parallel on increasingly popular becoming multi-core architectures. We design and implement efficient algorithms which allow for the parallel execution of multi-set constraint rewrite rules. Our experiments show that we obtain some......Multi-set constraint rewriting allows for a highly parallel computational model and has been used in a multitude of application domains such as constraint solving, agent specification etc. Rewriting steps can be applied simultaneously as long as they do not interfere with each other.We wish...

[The Nature and Issues of Drug Addiction Treatment under Constraint].

Science.gov (United States)

Quirion, Bastien

This article is exploring different forms of constraint that are exerted in the field of drug addiction treatment. The objective of this article is to establish benchmarks and to stimulate reflection about the ethical and clinical implications of those constraints in the field of drug addiction treatment. This article is presenting a critical review of different forms of constraint that can be exerted in Canada in regard to the treatment of drug addiction. In the first section of the article, a definition of therapeutic intervention is proposed, that includes the dimension of power, which justifies the importance of considering the coercive aspects of treatment. The second section, which represents the core section of the paper, is devoted to the presentation of different levels of constraint that can be distinguished in regard to drug addicts who are under treatment. Three levels of constraint are exposed: judicial constraint, institutional constraint and relational constraint. The coercive aspect of treatment can then be recognized as a combination of all tree levels of constraint. Judicial constraint refers to any form of constraint in which the court or the judge is imposing or recommending treatment. This particular level of constraint can take different forms, such as therapeutic remands, conditions of a probation order, conditions of a conditional sentence of imprisonment, and coercive treatment such as the ones provided through drug courts. Institutional constraint refers to any form of constraint exerted within any institutional setting, such as correctional facilities and programs offered in community. Correctional facilities being limited by their own specific mission, it might have a major impact on the way the objectives of treatment are defined. Those limitations can then be considered as a form of constraint, in which drug users don't have much space to express their personal needs. Finally, relational constraint refers to any form of constraint in

Understanding of safety monitoring in clinical trials by individuals with CF or their parents: A qualitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kern-Goldberger, Andrew S; Hessels, Amanda J; Saiman, Lisa; Quittell, Lynne M

2018-03-14

Recruiting both pediatric and adult participants for clinical trials in CF is currently of paramount importance as numerous new therapies are being developed. However, recruitment is challenging as parents of children with CF and adults with CF cite safety concerns as a principal barrier to enrollment. In conjunction with the CF Foundation (CFF) Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), a pilot brochure was developed to inform patients and parents of the multiple levels of safety monitoring; the CFF simultaneously created an infographic representing the safety monitoring process. This study explores the attitudes and beliefs of CF patients and families regarding safety monitoring and clinical trial participation, and elicits feedback regarding the educational materials. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a pre-tested interview guide and audio-recorded during routine CF clinic visits. Participants included 5 parents of children with CF quotations: attitudes toward clinical trials, safety values, conceptualizing the safety monitoring process, and priorities for delivery of patient education. Participant feedback was used to revise the pilot brochure; text was shortened, unfamiliar words clarified (e.g., "pipeline"), abbreviations eliminated, and redundancy avoided. Qualitative analysis of CF patient and family interviews provided insights into barriers to participation in clinical trials, safety concerns, perspectives on safety monitoring and educational priorities. We plan a multicenter study to determine if the revised brochure reduces knowledge, attitude and practice barriers regarding participation in CF clinical trials. Copyright © 2018 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.