Security and Privacy in Fog Computing: Challenges

OpenAIRE

Mukherjee, Mithun; Matam, Rakesh; Shu, Lei; Maglaras, Leandros; Ferrag, Mohamed Amine; Choudhry, Nikumani; Kumar, Vikas

2017-01-01

open access article Fog computing paradigm extends the storage, networking, and computing facilities of the cloud computing toward the edge of the networks while offloading the cloud data centers and reducing service latency to the end users. However, the characteristics of fog computing arise new security and privacy challenges. The existing security and privacy measurements for cloud computing cannot be directly applied to the fog computing due to its features, such as mobility, heteroge...

Toward the Language-Ready Brain: Biological Evolution and Primate Comparisons.

Science.gov (United States)

Arbib, Michael A

2017-02-01

The approach to language evolution suggested here focuses on three questions: How did the human brain evolve so that humans can develop, use, and acquire languages? How can the evolutionary quest be informed by studying brain, behavior, and social interaction in monkeys, apes, and humans? How can computational modeling advance these studies? I hypothesize that the brain is language ready in that the earliest humans had protolanguages but not languages (i.e., communication systems endowed with rich and open-ended lexicons and grammars supporting a compositional semantics), and that it took cultural evolution to yield societies (a cultural constructed niche) in which language-ready brains could become language-using brains. The mirror system hypothesis is a well-developed example of this approach, but I offer it here not as a closed theory but as an evolving framework for the development and analysis of conflicting subhypotheses in the hope of their eventual integration. I also stress that computational modeling helps us understand the evolving role of mirror neurons, not in and of themselves, but only in their interaction with systems "beyond the mirror." Because a theory of evolution needs a clear characterization of what it is that evolved, I also outline ideas for research in neurolinguistics to complement studies of the evolution of the language-ready brain. A clear challenge is to go beyond models of speech comprehension to include sign language and models of production, and to link language to visuomotor interaction with the physical and social world.

The computational challenges of Earth-system science.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, Alan; Steenman-Clark, Lois

2002-06-15

The Earth system--comprising atmosphere, ocean, land, cryosphere and biosphere--is an immensely complex system, involving processes and interactions on a wide range of space- and time-scales. To understand and predict the evolution of the Earth system is one of the greatest challenges of modern science, with success likely to bring enormous societal benefits. High-performance computing, along with the wealth of new observational data, is revolutionizing our ability to simulate the Earth system with computer models that link the different components of the system together. There are, however, considerable scientific and technical challenges to be overcome. This paper will consider four of them: complexity, spatial resolution, inherent uncertainty and time-scales. Meeting these challenges requires a significant increase in the power of high-performance computers. The benefits of being able to make reliable predictions about the evolution of the Earth system should, on their own, amply repay this investment.

Effects of Home and School Computer Use on School Readiness and Cognitive Development among Head Start Children: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoming; Atkins, Melissa S.; Stanton, Bonita

2006-01-01

Data from 122 Head Start children were analyzed to examine the impact of computer use on school readiness and psychomotor skills. Children in the experimental group were given the opportunity to work on a computer for 15-20 minutes per day with their choice of developmentally appropriate educational software, while the control group received a…

Microbiological challenge testing for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food: a practical approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Spanu

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Food business operators (FBOs are the primary responsible for the safety of food they place on the market. The definition and validation of the product’s shelf-life is an essential part for ensuring microbiological safety of food and health of consumers. In the frame of the Regulation (EC No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, FBOs shall conduct shelf-life studies in order to assure that their food does not exceed the food safety criteria throughout the defined shelf-life. In particular this is required for ready-to-eat (RTE food that supports the growth of Listeria monocytogenes. Among other studies, FBOs can rely on the conclusion drawn by microbiological challenge tests. A microbiological challenge test consists in the artificial contamination of a food with a pathogen microorganism and aims at simulating its behaviour during processing and distribution under the foreseen storage and handling conditions. A number of documents published by international health authorities and research institutions describes how to conduct challenge studies. The authors reviewed the existing literature and described the methodology for implementing such laboratory studies. All the main aspects for the conduction of L. monocytogenes microbiological challenge tests were considered, from the selection of the strains, preparation and choice of the inoculum level and method of contamination, to the experimental design and data interpretation. The objective of the present document is to provide an exhaustive and practical guideline for laboratories that want to implement L. monocytogenes challenge testing on RTE food.

Computer graphics visions and challenges: a European perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Encarnação, José L

2006-01-01

I have briefly described important visions and challenges in computer graphics. They are a personal and therefore subjective selection. But most of these issues have to be addressed and solved--no matter if we call them visions or challenges or something else--if we want to make and further develop computer graphics into a key enabling technology for our IT-based society.

Assessing self-efficacy and college readiness level among new undergraduate students in computer science using metacognitive awareness inventory (MAI)

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, Wan Nor Afiqah Wan; Abdullah, Aziman

2018-04-01

This preliminary study was conducted to address the issue of academic planning skills among new university student. Due to lack of proper measurement mechanism for awareness and readiness among students, this study proposes Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) to assess the connection between student self-efficacy and college readiness. Qualitative and quantitative approach were used by provide an online self-assessment for new student of Faculty of Computer Systems & Software Engineering (FSKKP) and analyse the data respectively. The possible relationships between MAI and College Readiness Item (CRI) in self-assessment has been evaluated. The sample size of 368 respondents from UMP are responding to the online self-assessment. The initial finding shows most student (71%) of the respondent lack of skills in planning. We manage to use Pearson Product-moment correlation coefficient to find the significant relationship between MAI and CRI. Thus, we found that College Readiness provide sufficient evidence that there is a significant correlation with most of MAI items. The findings also indicated not much difference was found between gender in terms of self-efficacy level. This paper suggests the MAI and CRI is a reliable and valid scale to respond the planning skills issues among new university students.

GIS Readiness Survey 2014

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrøder, Lise; Hvingel, Line Træholt; Hansen, Henning Sten

2014-01-01

The GIS Readiness Survey 2014 is a follow-up to the corresponding survey that was carried out among public institutions in Denmark in 2009. The present survey thus provides an updated image of status and challenges in relation to the use of spatial information, the construction of the com- mon...

The challenge of computer mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Barendregt, Henk; Wiedijk, Freek

2005-10-15

Progress in the foundations of mathematics has made it possible to formulate all thinkable mathematical concepts, algorithms and proofs in one language and in an impeccable way. This is not in spite of, but partially based on the famous results of Gödel and Turing. In this way statements are about mathematical objects and algorithms, proofs show the correctness of statements and computations, and computations are dealing with objects and proofs. Interactive computer systems for a full integration of defining, computing and proving are based on this. The human defines concepts, constructs algorithms and provides proofs, while the machine checks that the definitions are well formed and the proofs and computations are correct. Results formalized so far demonstrate the feasibility of this 'computer mathematics'. Also there are very good applications. The challenge is to make the systems more mathematician-friendly, by building libraries and tools. The eventual goal is to help humans to learn, develop, communicate, referee and apply mathematics.

Computing challenges of the CMS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krammer, N.; Liko, D.

2017-01-01

The success of the LHC experiments is due to the magnificent performance of the detector systems and the excellent operating computing systems. The CMS offline software and computing system is successfully fulfilling the LHC Run 2 requirements. For the increased data rate of future LHC operation, together with high pileup interactions, improvements of the usage of the current computing facilities and new technologies became necessary. Especially for the challenge of the future HL-LHC a more flexible and sophisticated computing model is needed. In this presentation, I will discuss the current computing system used in the LHC Run 2 and future computing facilities for the HL-LHC runs using flexible computing technologies like commercial and academic computing clouds. The cloud resources are highly virtualized and can be deployed for a variety of computing tasks providing the capacities for the increasing needs of large scale scientific computing.

Editorial: Modelling and computational challenges in granular materials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weinhart, Thomas; Thornton, Anthony Richard; Einav, Itai

2015-01-01

This is the editorial for the special issue on “Modelling and computational challenges in granular materials” in the journal on Computational Particle Mechanics (CPM). The issue aims to provide an opportunity for physicists, engineers, applied mathematicians and computational scientists to discuss

Homogeneous Buchberger algorithms and Sullivant's computational commutative algebra challenge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauritzen, Niels

2005-01-01

We give a variant of the homogeneous Buchberger algorithm for positively graded lattice ideals. Using this algorithm we solve the Sullivant computational commutative algebra challenge.......We give a variant of the homogeneous Buchberger algorithm for positively graded lattice ideals. Using this algorithm we solve the Sullivant computational commutative algebra challenge....

Taking the Challenge at Singer Village. A Cold Climate Zero Energy Ready Home

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Puttagunta, S. [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings, Norwalk, CT (United States); Faakye, O. [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings, Norwalk, CT (United States)

2014-10-01

After progressively incorporating ENERGY STAR® for Homes Versions 1, 2, and 3 into its standard practices over the years, this builder, Brookside Development, was seeking to build an even more sustainable product that would further increase energy efficiency, while also addressing indoor air quality, water conservation, renewable-ready, and resiliency. These objectives align with the framework of the DOE Challenge Home program, which "builds upon the comprehensive building science requirements of ENERGY STAR for Homes Version 3, along with proven Building America innovations and best practices. Other special attribute programs are incorporated to help builders reach unparalleled levels of performance with homes designed to last hundreds of years." Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) partnered with Brookside Development on the design optimization and construction of the first home in a small development of seven planned new homes being built on the old Singer Estate in Derby, CT.

Taking the Challenge at Singer Village--A Cold Climate Zero Energy Ready Home

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Puttagunta, S.; Gaakye, O.

2014-10-01

After progressively incorporating ENERGY STAR(R) for Homes Versions 1, 2, and 3 into its standard practices over the years, this builder, Brookside Development, was seeking to build an even more sustainable product that would further increase energy efficiency, while also addressing indoor air quality, water conservation, renewable-ready, and resiliency. These objectives align with the framework of the DOE Challenge Home program, which 'builds upon the comprehensive building science requirements of ENERGY STAR for Homes Version 3, along with proven Building America innovations and best practices. Other special attribute programs are incorporated to help builders reach unparalleled levels of performance with homes designed to last hundreds of years.' CARB partnered with Brookside Development on the design optimization and construction of the first home in a small development of seven planned new homes being built on the old Singer Estate in Derby, CT.

CLOUD COMPUTING OVERVIEW AND CHALLENGES: A REVIEW PAPER

OpenAIRE

Satish Kumar*, Vishal Thakur, Payal Thakur, Ashok Kumar Kashyap

2017-01-01

Cloud computing era is the most resourceful, elastic, utilized and scalable period for internet technology to use the computing resources over the internet successfully. Cloud computing did not provide only the speed, accuracy, storage capacity and efficiency for computing but it also lead to propagate the green computing and resource utilization. In this research paper, a brief description of cloud computing, cloud services and cloud security challenges is given. Also the literature review o...

Cloud computing challenges, limitations and R&D solutions

CERN Document Server

Mahmood, Zaigham

2014-01-01

This important text/reference reviews the challenging issues that present barriers to greater implementation of the cloud computing paradigm, together with the latest research into developing potential solutions. Exploring the strengths and vulnerabilities of cloud provision and cloud environments, Cloud Computing: Challenges, Limitations and R&D Solutions provides case studies from a diverse selection of researchers and practitioners of international repute. The implications of emerging cloud technologies are also analyzed from the perspective of consumers. Topics and features: presents

Computational challenges in modeling gene regulatory events.

Science.gov (United States)

Pataskar, Abhijeet; Tiwari, Vijay K

2016-10-19

Cellular transcriptional programs driven by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms could be better understood by integrating "omics" data and subsequently modeling the gene-regulatory events. Toward this end, computational biology should keep pace with evolving experimental procedures and data availability. This article gives an exemplified account of the current computational challenges in molecular biology.

Molecular Science Computing Facility Scientific Challenges: Linking Across Scales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Jong, Wibe A.; Windus, Theresa L.

2005-07-01

The purpose of this document is to define the evolving science drivers for performing environmental molecular research at the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) and to provide guidance associated with the next-generation high-performance computing center that must be developed at EMSL's Molecular Science Computing Facility (MSCF) in order to address this critical research. The MSCF is the pre-eminent computing facility?supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER)?tailored to provide the fastest time-to-solution for current computational challenges in chemistry and biology, as well as providing the means for broad research in the molecular and environmental sciences. The MSCF provides integral resources and expertise to emerging EMSL Scientific Grand Challenges and Collaborative Access Teams that are designed to leverage the multiple integrated research capabilities of EMSL, thereby creating a synergy between computation and experiment to address environmental molecular science challenges critical to DOE and the nation.

The ATLAS computing challenge for HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Campana, Simone; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

The ATLAS experiment successfully commissioned a software and computing infrastructure to support the physics program during LHC Run 2. The next phases of the accelerator upgrade will present new challenges in the offline area. In particular, at High Luminosity LHC (also known as Run 4) the data taking conditions will be very demanding in terms of computing resources: between 5 and 10 KHz of event rate from the HLT to be reconstructed (and possibly further reprocessed) with an average pile-up of up to 200 events per collision and an equivalent number of simulated samples to be produced. The same parameters for the current run are lower by up to an order of magnitude. While processing and storage resources would need to scale accordingly, the funding situation allows one at best to consider a flat budget over the next few years for offline computing needs. In this paper we present a study quantifying the challenge in terms of computing resources for HL-LHC and present ideas about the possible evolution of the ...

A Proposed for Assessing Hotel E-Readiness for Tourism in Southern Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piman Sirot

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article only focuses on an overview of the Hotel E-readiness model and model design for tourism in Southern Thailand. “The convergence of information technology (IT and communications technology (CT” will be an important part of these technological innovations. The global economy has been turbulent during the last several years, and governments and enterprises are doing everything possible to inject momentum and effectuate sustainable growth. All member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, aims to be ASEAN Economic Community (AEC by December 2015, have come to realize that an integrated ICT technology will enhance the competitiveness and creativity of their economies and fuel the sustainable growth of the global economy. The role that information and communication technologies (ICTs can play to support economic growth, especially on tourism, has never drawn so much attention and research. According to Networked Readiness Index (NRI, Thailand has made improvement in NRI, edging up from 77th to 74th place in 2013 and from 74th to 67th place to the latest measurement released by the World Economic Forum in2014 and ranked 3 out of 10 countries of ASEAN members. Although we still face serious challenges the impact of ICTs on tourism has become more far reaching as its transformational effects spread to several sectors of the economy and society via innovations. On this research we focus on only the hotels division in Southern of Thailand due to tourism’s economic on this area benefits very high income from oversea and ASEAN. We give an overview of the Hotel E-readiness Model that impact to tourism economic with computer networking infrastructures and communication technologies in Southern of Thailand. Our model is described on four majors - business environment, network readiness, network usage and network impacts. It aims to explore the problems and obstacles for improvement on computer networking infrastructure and

Multimodal Challenge: Analytics Beyond User-computer Interaction Data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Di Mitri, Daniele; Schneider, Jan; Specht, Marcus; Drachsler, Hendrik

2018-01-01

This contribution describes one the challenges explored in the Fourth LAK Hackathon. This challenge aims at shifting the focus from learning situations which can be easily traced through user-computer interactions data and concentrate more on user-world interactions events, typical of co-located and

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

M. Kasemann

Introduction A large fraction of the effort was focused during the last period into the preparation and monitoring of the February tests of Common VO Computing Readiness Challenge 08. CCRC08 is being run by the WLCG collaboration in two phases, between the centres and all experiments. The February test is dedicated to functionality tests, while the May challenge will consist of running at all centres and with full workflows. For this first period, a number of functionality checks of the computing power, data repositories and archives as well as network links are planned. This will help assess the reliability of the systems under a variety of loads, and identifying possible bottlenecks. Many tests are scheduled together with other VOs, allowing the full scale stress test. The data rates (writing, accessing and transfer¬ring) are being checked under a variety of loads and operating conditions, as well as the reliability and transfer rates of the links between Tier-0 and Tier-1s. In addition, the capa...

Editorial: Modelling and computational challenges in granular materials

OpenAIRE

Weinhart, Thomas; Thornton, Anthony Richard; Einav, Itai

2015-01-01

This is the editorial for the special issue on “Modelling and computational challenges in granular materials” in the journal on Computational Particle Mechanics (CPM). The issue aims to provide an opportunity for physicists, engineers, applied mathematicians and computational scientists to discuss the current progress and latest advancements in the field of advanced numerical methods and modelling of granular materials. The focus will be on computational methods, improved algorithms and the m...

Mobile Computing and Ubiquitous Networking: Concepts, Technologies and Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierre, Samuel

2001-01-01

Analyzes concepts, technologies and challenges related to mobile computing and networking. Defines basic concepts of cellular systems. Describes the evolution of wireless technologies that constitute the foundations of mobile computing and ubiquitous networking. Presents characterization and issues of mobile computing. Analyzes economical and…

Readiness for Solving Story Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlap, William F.

1982-01-01

Readiness activities are described which are designed to help learning disabled (LD) students learn to perform computations in story problems. Activities proceed from concrete objects to numbers and involve the students in devising story problems. The language experience approach is incorporated with the enactive, iconic, and symbolic levels of…

Using Puppet to contextualize computing resources for ATLAS analysis on Google Compute Engine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Öhman, Henrik; Panitkin, Sergey; Hendrix, Valerie

2014-01-01

With the advent of commercial as well as institutional and national clouds, new opportunities for on-demand computing resources for the HEP community become available. The new cloud technologies also come with new challenges, and one such is the contextualization of computing resources with regard to requirements of the user and his experiment. In particular on Google's new cloud platform Google Compute Engine (GCE) upload of user's virtual machine images is not possible. This precludes application of ready to use technologies like CernVM and forces users to build and contextualize their own VM images from scratch. We investigate the use of Puppet to facilitate contextualization of cloud resources on GCE, with particular regard to ease of configuration and dynamic resource scaling.

Salt as a public health challenge in continental European convenience and ready meals.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanzler, Sonja; Hartmann, Christina; Gruber, Anita; Lammer, Guido; Wagner, Karl-Heinz

2014-11-01

To assess the salt content of continental European convenience and ready meals. A multistage study in which, after laboratory analysis of the products' salt contents (n 32), new salt-reduced meals were developed through food reformulation. Additionally, a comprehensive survey of convenience meals from the Austrian market (n 572) was conducted to evaluate the salt contents of a wider product range. Six continental European countries participated. No subjects enrolled. The salt contents of continental European convenience and ready meals mostly exceeded 1·8 g/100 g, which is 30 % of the targeted daily intake level; some contained even more than the recommended daily intake of 6 g. The highest salt contents were found in pizzas and pasta dishes, the lowest ones in sweet meals. Large variations in salt levels were found not only between and within meal type categories, but also between similar meals from different producers. In addition, our approach to develop new salt-reduced meals showed that a stepwise reduction of the ready meals' salt contents is possible without compromising the sensory quality. To address the problem of hypertension and increased risk for CVD through high salt intake, a reduction of the salt levels in continental European convenience and ready meals is urgently needed, since they are providing a major part of the daily salt intake. Successful national-wide salt reduction strategies in the UK or Finland have already demonstrated the public health impact of this setting.

Readiness of healthcare providers for eHealth: the case from primary healthcare centers in Lebanon.

Science.gov (United States)

Saleh, Shadi; Khodor, Rawya; Alameddine, Mohamad; Baroud, Maysa

2016-11-10

eHealth can positively impact the efficiency and quality of healthcare services. Its potential benefits extend to the patient, healthcare provider, and organization. Primary healthcare (PHC) settings may particularly benefit from eHealth. In these settings, healthcare provider readiness is key to successful eHealth implementation. Accordingly, it is necessary to explore the potential readiness of providers to use eHealth tools. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the readiness of healthcare providers working in PHC centers in Lebanon to use eHealth tools. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess participants' socio-demographics, computer use, literacy, and access, and participants' readiness for eHealth implementation (appropriateness, management support, change efficacy, personal beneficence). The study included primary healthcare providers (physicians, nurses, other providers) working in 22 PHC centers distributed across Lebanon. Descriptive and bivariate analyses (ANOVA, independent t-test, Kruskal Wallis, Tamhane's T2) were used to compare participant characteristics to the level of readiness for the implementation of eHealth. Of the 541 questionnaires, 213 were completed (response rate: 39.4 %). The majority of participants were physicians (46.9 %), and nurses (26.8 %). Most physicians (54.0 %), nurses (61.4 %), and other providers (50.9 %) felt comfortable using computers, and had access to computers at their PHC center (physicians: 77.0 %, nurses: 87.7 %, others: 92.5 %). Frequency of computer use varied. The study found a significant difference for personal beneficence, management support, and change efficacy among different healthcare providers, and relative to participants' level of comfort using computers. There was a significant difference by level of comfort using computers and appropriateness. A significant difference was also found between those with access to computers in relation to personal beneficence and

High-End Computing Challenges in Aerospace Design and Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, F. Ronald

2004-01-01

High-End Computing (HEC) has had significant impact on aerospace design and engineering and is poised to make even more in the future. In this paper we describe four aerospace design and engineering challenges: Digital Flight, Launch Simulation, Rocket Fuel System and Digital Astronaut. The paper discusses modeling capabilities needed for each challenge and presents projections of future near and far-term HEC computing requirements. NASA's HEC Project Columbia is described and programming strategies presented that are necessary to achieve high real performance.

Female challenges in acquiring computer education at the federal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Computer education and application of Computer skills in the knowledge-based society is ever increasing. It is in recognition of this that this study determined the challenges of female students in acquisition of Computer education using the Federal Polytechnic, Idah as a case study. The data were obtained from 72 female ...

Academic Training: QCD: are we ready for the LHC

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

2006-2007 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 4, 5, 6, 7 December, from 11:00 to 12:00 4, 5, 6 December - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500, 7 December - TH Auditorium, bldg. 4 - 3-006 QCD: are we ready for the LHC S. FRIXIONE / INFN, Genoa, Italy The LHC energy regime poses a serious challenge to our capability of predicting QCD reactions to the level of accuracy necessary for a successful programme of searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. In these lectures, I'll introduce basic concepts in QCD, and present techniques based on perturbation theory, such as fixed-order and resummed computations, and Monte Carlo simulations. I'll discuss applications of these techniques to hadron-hadron processes, concentrating on recent trends in perturbative QCD aimed at improving our understanding of LHC phenomenology.

A practical implementation science heuristic for organizational readiness: R = MC2

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Brittany S.; Lamont, Andrea; Wandersman, Abraham; Castellow, Jennifer; Katz, Jason; Beidas, Rinad S.

2015-01-01

There are many challenges when an innovation (i.e., a program, process, or policy that is new to an organization) is actively introduced into an organization. One critical component for successful implementation is the organization’s readiness for the innovation. In this article, we propose a practical implementation science heuristic, abbreviated as R= MC2. We propose that organizational readiness involves: 1) the motivation to implement an innovation, 2) the general capacities of an organization, and 3) the innovation-specific capacities needed for a particular innovation. Each of these components can be assessed independently and be used formatively. The heuristic can be used by organizations to assess readiness to implement and by training and technical assistance providers to help build organizational readiness. We present an illustration of the heuristic by showing how behavioral health organizations differ in readiness to implement a peer specialist initiative. Implications for research and practice of organizational readiness are discussed. PMID:26668443

What are the characteristics of 'sexually ready' adolescents? Exploring the sexual readiness of youth in urban poor Accra.

Science.gov (United States)

Biney, Adriana A E; Dodoo, F Nii-Amoo

2016-01-05

Adolescent sexual activity, especially among the urban poor, remains a challenge. Despite numerous interventions and programs to address the negative consequences arising from early and frequent sexual activity among youth in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, only slight progress has been made. A plausible explanation is that our understanding of what adolescents think about sex and about their own sexuality is poor. In that sense, examining how adolescents in urban poor communities think about their sexual readiness, and identifying characteristics associated with that sexual self-concept dimension, should deepen our understanding of this topical issue. A total of 196 male and female adolescents, ages 12 to 19, were surveyed in the 2011 RIPS Urban Health and Poverty Project in Accra, Ghana. The youth responded to three statements which determined their levels of sexual readiness. Other background characteristics were also obtained enabling the assessment of the correlates of their preparedness to engage in sex. The data were analyzed using ordered logistic regression models. Overall, the majority of respondents did not consider themselves ready for sex. Multivariate analyses indicated that sexual experience, exposure to pornographic movies, gender, ethnicity and household wealth were significantly linked to their readiness for sex. Sexual readiness is related to sexual activity as well as other characteristics of the adolescents, suggesting the need to consider these factors in the design of programs and interventions to curb early sex. The subject of sexual readiness has to be investigated further to ensure adolescents do not identify with any negative effects of this sexual self-view.

New challenges in computational collective intelligence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, Ngoc Thanh; Katarzyniak, Radoslaw Piotr [Wroclaw Univ. of Technology (Poland). Inst. of Informatics; Janiak, Adam (eds.) [Wroclaw Univ. of Technology (Poland). Inst. of Computer Engineering, Control and Robotics

2009-07-01

The book consists of 29 chapters which have been selected and invited from the submissions to the 1{sup st} International Conference on Collective Intelligence - Semantic Web, Social Networks and Multiagent Systems (ICCCI 2009). All chapters in the book discuss various examples of applications of computational collective intelligence and related technologies to such fields as semantic web, information systems ontologies, social networks, agent and multiagent systems. The editors hope that the book can be useful for graduate and Ph.D. students in Computer Science, in particular participants to courses on Soft Computing, Multi-Agent Systems and Robotics. This book can also be useful for researchers working on the concept of computational collective intelligence in artificial populations. It is the hope of the editors that readers of this volume can find many inspiring ideas and use them to create new cases intelligent collectives. Many such challenges are suggested by particular approaches and models presented in particular chapters of this book. (orig.)

Process operational readiness and operational readiness follow-on

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nertney, R.J.

1992-11-01

The first document in the System Safety Development Center (SSDC) series deals with the subject of Occupancy-Use Readiness. The material included in that manual provided the basis for development of the SSDC workshop in Operational Readiness. The original Occupancy Readiness Manual, however, deals only generally with the subject of process safety; i.e., the safety of overall ''processes'' such as solar collection systems, nuclear reactors, and coal fired electrical plants. The manual also fails to detail the considerations involved in maintaining the state of readiness on a continuing basis. Both of the latter subjects are dealt with in some detail in the SSDC's Operational Readiness Workshop. The purpose of this document is to provide additional documentary material dealing with subjects introduced in SSDC-1 Occupancy-Use Readiness Manual, and SSDC-12, Safety Considerations in Evaluation of Maintenance Programs. In augmenting SSDC-1, Part I of this manual provides additional material related to process safety; in the case of SSDC-12, the subject of safety considerations in evaluation of maintenance programs is broadened in Part II to include maintenance of personnel systems and procedural systems as well as hardware. ''Maintenance'' is related more directly to the concept of operational readiness and an alternative analytical tree is provided for hardware maintenance program evaluation

Scientific Grand Challenges: Challenges in Climate Change Science and the Role of Computing at the Extreme Scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khaleel, Mohammad A.; Johnson, Gary M.; Washington, Warren M.

2009-07-02

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) in partnership with the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) held a workshop on the challenges in climate change science and the role of computing at the extreme scale, November 6-7, 2008, in Bethesda, Maryland. At the workshop, participants identified the scientific challenges facing the field of climate science and outlined the research directions of highest priority that should be pursued to meet these challenges. Representatives from the national and international climate change research community as well as representatives from the high-performance computing community attended the workshop. This group represented a broad mix of expertise. Of the 99 participants, 6 were from international institutions. Before the workshop, each of the four panels prepared a white paper, which provided the starting place for the workshop discussions. These four panels of workshop attendees devoted to their efforts the following themes: Model Development and Integrated Assessment; Algorithms and Computational Environment; Decadal Predictability and Prediction; Data, Visualization, and Computing Productivity. The recommendations of the panels are summarized in the body of this report.

Computational Psychiatry and the Challenge of Schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, John D.; Chekroud, Adam M.; Corlett, Philip R.; Yang, Genevieve; Wang, Xiao-Jing; Anticevic, Alan

2017-01-01

Abstract Schizophrenia research is plagued by enormous challenges in integrating and analyzing large datasets and difficulties developing formal theories related to the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of this disorder. Computational psychiatry provides a path to enhance analyses of these large and complex datasets and to promote the development and refinement of formal models for features of this disorder. This presentation introduces the reader to the notion of computational psychiatry and describes discovery-oriented and theory-driven applications to schizophrenia involving machine learning, reinforcement learning theory, and biophysically-informed neural circuit models. PMID:28338845

Policy, Institutional and Programme Readiness for Solar Energy ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

South Africa has been facing challenges in terms of electricity supply. The increase in population and a growing economy have exacerbated electricity supply constraints. In response, policies and institutions have emerged to promote solar energy. This study investigates policy, institutional and programme readiness to ...

Chips challenging champions games, computers and artificial intelligence

CERN Document Server

Schaeffer, J

2002-01-01

One of the earliest dreams of the fledgling field of artificial intelligence (AI) was to build computer programs that could play games as well as or better than the best human players. Despite early optimism in the field, the challenge proved to be surprisingly difficult. However, the 1990s saw amazing progress. Computers are now better than humans in checkers, Othello and Scrabble; are at least as good as the best humans in backgammon and chess; and are rapidly improving at hex, go, poker, and shogi. This book documents the progress made in computers playing games and puzzles. The book is the

PENGARUH TECHNOLOGY READINESS TERHADAP PENERIMAAN TEKNOLOGI KOMPUTER PADA UMKM DI YOGYAKARTA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mimin Nur Aisyah

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Abstrak: Pengaruh Technology Readiness terhadap Penerimaan Teknologi Komputer pada UMKM di Yogyakarta. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengekplorasi pengaruh kesiapan teknologi terhadap persepsi kemanfaatan sistem dan persepsi kemudahan penggunaan sistem serta pengaruh kedua persepsi terhadap teknologi tersebut terhadap minat menggunakan teknologi komputer dalam membantu proses bisnis pada UMKM di Yogyakarta.  Sampel penelitian ini sejumlah 498 UMKM yang terdaftar di Disperindagkop Yogyakarta. Teknik pengambilan sampel menggunakan teknik simple random sampling. Data diperoleh menggunakan kuesioner. Analisis data dan uji hipotesis menggunakan model Partial-Least-Square (PLS. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa terdapat pengaruh kesiapan teknologi terhadap persepsi kemanfaatan sistem dan persepsi kemudahan penggunaan sistem, serta terdapat pengaruh persepsi kemanfaatan teknologi dan persepsi kemudahan penggunaan teknologi terhadap minat menggunakan teknologi komputer dalam membantu proses bisnis pada UMKM di Yogyakarta.   Kata kunci: kesiapan teknologi, persepsi kemanfaatan, persepsi kemudahan penggunaan, minat menggunakan, UMKM Abstract: The Effect of Technology Readiness toward Acceptance of Computer Technology on SMEs in Yogyakarta. This research aims to explore the effect of technology readiness to the perceived of usefulness of system and perceived ease of use of the system and the influence of both perceptions of these technologies to the behavioral intention of computer technology in business processes in SMEs in Yogyakarta. The research sample number of 498 SMEs were registered in Disperindagkop Yogyakarta. The sampling technique using simple random sampling technique. The data were obtained using a questionnaire. Data analysis and hypothesis testing using a model of the Partial-Least-Square (PLS. The research found that there are significant technology readiness to the perception of the benefit system and perceived ease of use of the system

3rd International Symposium on Big Data and Cloud Computing Challenges

CERN Document Server

Neelanarayanan, V

2016-01-01

This proceedings volume contains selected papers that were presented in the 3rd International Symposium on Big data and Cloud Computing Challenges, 2016 held at VIT University, India on March 10 and 11. New research issues, challenges and opportunities shaping the future agenda in the field of Big Data and Cloud Computing are identified and presented throughout the book, which is intended for researchers, scholars, students, software developers and practitioners working at the forefront in their field. This book acts as a platform for exchanging ideas, setting questions for discussion, and sharing the experience in Big Data and Cloud Computing domain.

A heterogeneous computing environment to solve the 768-bit RSA challenge

OpenAIRE

Kleinjung, Thorsten; Bos, Joppe Willem; Lenstra, Arjen K.; Osvik, Dag Arne; Aoki, Kazumaro; Contini, Scott; Franke, Jens; Thomé, Emmanuel; Jermini, Pascal; Thiémard, Michela; Leyland, Paul; Montgomery, Peter L.; Timofeev, Andrey; Stockinger, Heinz

2010-01-01

In December 2009 the 768-bit, 232-digit number RSA-768 was factored using the number field sieve. Overall, the computational challenge would take more than 1700 years on a single, standard core. In the article we present the heterogeneous computing approach, involving different compute clusters and Grid computing environments, used to solve this problem.

The development of an online decision support tool for organizational readiness for change.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Sobia; Timmings, Caitlyn; Moore, Julia E; Marquez, Christine; Pyka, Kasha; Gheihman, Galina; Straus, Sharon E

2014-05-10

Much importance has been placed on assessing readiness for change as one of the earliest steps of implementation, but measuring it can be a complex and daunting task. Organizations and individuals struggle with how to reliably and accurately measure readiness for change. Several measures have been developed to help organizations assess readiness, but these are often underused due to the difficulty of selecting the right measure. In response to this challenge, we will develop and test a prototype of a decision support tool that is designed to guide individuals interested in implementation in the selection of an appropriate readiness assessment measure for their setting. A multi-phase approach will be used to develop the decision support tool. First, we will identify key measures for assessing organizational readiness for change from a recently completed systematic review. Included measures will be those developed for healthcare settings (e.g., acute care, public health, mental health) and that have been deemed valid and reliable. Second, study investigators and field experts will engage in a mapping exercise to categorize individual items of included measures according to key readiness constructs from an existing framework. Third, a stakeholder panel will be recruited and consulted to determine the feasibility and relevance of the selected measures using a modified Delphi process. Fourth, findings from the mapping exercise and stakeholder consultation will inform the development of a decision support tool that will guide users in appropriately selecting change readiness measures. Fifth, the tool will undergo usability testing. Our proposed decision support tool will address current challenges in the field of organizational change readiness by aiding individuals in selecting a valid and reliable assessment measure that is relevant to user needs and practice settings. We anticipate that implementers and researchers who use our tool will be more likely to conduct

Organizational readiness in specialty mental health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Alison B; Cohen, Amy N; Young, Alexander S

2010-01-01

Implementing quality improvement efforts in clinics is challenging. Assessment of organizational "readiness" for change can set the stage for implementation by providing information regarding existing strengths and deficiencies, thereby increasing the chance of a successful improvement effort. This paper discusses organizational assessment in specialty mental health, in preparation for improving care for individuals with schizophrenia. To assess organizational readiness for change in specialty mental health in order to facilitate locally tailored implementation strategies. EQUIP-2 is a site-level controlled trial at nine VA medical centers (four intervention, five control). Providers at all sites completed an organizational readiness for change (ORC) measure, and key stakeholders at the intervention sites completed a semi-structured interview at baseline. At the four intervention sites, 16 administrators and 43 clinical staff completed the ORC, and 38 key stakeholders were interviewed. The readiness domains of training needs, communication, and change were the domains with lower mean scores (i.e., potential deficiencies) ranging from a low of 23.8 to a high of 36.2 on a scale of 10-50, while staff attributes of growth and adaptability had higher mean scores (i.e., potential strengths) ranging from a low of 35.4 to a high of 41.1. Semi-structured interviews revealed that staff perceptions and experiences of change and decision-making are affected by larger structural factors such as change mandates from VA headquarters. Motivation for change, organizational climate, staff perceptions and beliefs, and prior experience with change efforts contribute to readiness for change in specialty mental health. Sites with less readiness for change may require more flexibility in the implementation of a quality improvement intervention. We suggest that uptake of evidence-based practices can be enhanced by tailoring implementation efforts to the strengths and deficiencies of the

Undergraduate students’ challenges with computational modelling in physics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simen A. Sørby

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In later years, computational perspectives have become essential parts in several of the University of Oslo’s natural science studies. In this paper we discuss some main findings from a qualitative study of the computational perspectives’ impact on the students’ work with their first course in physics– mechanics – and their learning and meaning making of its contents. Discussions of the students’ learning of physics are based on sociocultural theory, which originates in Vygotsky and Bakhtin, and subsequent physics education research. Results imply that the greatest challenge for students when working with computational assignments is to combine knowledge from previously known, but separate contexts. Integrating knowledge of informatics, numerical and analytical mathematics and conceptual understanding of physics appears as a clear challenge for the students. We also observe alack of awareness concerning the limitations of physical modelling. The students need help with identifying the appropriate knowledge system or “tool set”, for the different tasks at hand; they need helpto create a plan for their modelling and to become aware of its limits. In light of this, we propose thatan instructive and dialogic text as basis for the exercises, in which the emphasis is on specification, clarification and elaboration, would be of potential great aid for students who are new to computational modelling.

New Challenges for Computing in High Energy Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoro, Alberto

2003-01-01

In view of the new scientific programs established for the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) era, the way to face the technological challenges in computing was develop a new concept of GRID computing. We show some examples and, in particular, a proposal for high energy physicists in countries like Brazil. Due to the big amount of data and the need of close collaboration it will be impossible to work in research centers and universities very far from Fermilab or CERN unless a GRID architecture is built. An important effort is being made by the international community to up to date their computing infrastructure and networks

Computational Challenges in the Analysis of Petrophysics Using Microtomography and Upscaling

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, J.; Pereira, G.; Freij-Ayoub, R.; Regenauer-Lieb, K.

2014-12-01

Microtomography provides detailed 3D internal structures of rocks in micro- to tens of nano-meter resolution and is quickly turning into a new technology for studying petrophysical properties of materials. An important step is the upscaling of these properties as micron or sub-micron resolution can only be done on the sample-scale of millimeters or even less than a millimeter. We present here a recently developed computational workflow for the analysis of microstructures including the upscaling of material properties. Computations of properties are first performed using conventional material science simulations at micro to nano-scale. The subsequent upscaling of these properties is done by a novel renormalization procedure based on percolation theory. We have tested the workflow using different rock samples, biological and food science materials. We have also applied the technique on high-resolution time-lapse synchrotron CT scans. In this contribution we focus on the computational challenges that arise from the big data problem of analyzing petrophysical properties and its subsequent upscaling. We discuss the following challenges: 1) Characterization of microtomography for extremely large data sets - our current capability. 2) Computational fluid dynamics simulations at pore-scale for permeability estimation - methods, computing cost and accuracy. 3) Solid mechanical computations at pore-scale for estimating elasto-plastic properties - computational stability, cost, and efficiency. 4) Extracting critical exponents from derivative models for scaling laws - models, finite element meshing, and accuracy. Significant progress in each of these challenges is necessary to transform microtomography from the current research problem into a robust computational big data tool for multi-scale scientific and engineering problems.

Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Migliore, Donna E.

2006-01-01

"Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators" presents a set of baseline measurements that gauge how well a statewide system of school readiness supports is addressing issues that affect Arizona children's readiness for school. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) measure the system, rather…

Addressing Cloud Computing in Enterprise Architecture: Issues and Challenges

OpenAIRE

Khan, Khaled; Gangavarapu, Narendra

2009-01-01

This article discusses how the characteristics of cloud computing affect the enterprise architecture in four domains: business, data, application and technology. The ownership and control of architectural components are shifted from organisational perimeters to cloud providers. It argues that although cloud computing promises numerous benefits to enterprises, the shifting control from enterprises to cloud providers on architectural components introduces several architectural challenges. The d...

Achieving Business Excellence by Optimizing Corporate Forensic Readiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gojko Grubor

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In order to improve their business excellence, all organizations, despite their size (small, medium or large one should manage their risk of fraud. Fraud, in today’s world, is often committed by using computers and can only be revealed by digital forensic investigator. Not even small or medium-sized companies are secure from fraud. In the light of recent financial scandals that literary demolished not just economies of specific countries but entire world economy, we propose in this paper an optimal model of corporative computer incident digital forensic investigation (CCIDFI by using adopted mathematic model of the greed MCDM – multi-criteria decision-making method and the Expert Choice software tool for multi-criteria optimization of the CCIDFI readiness. Proposed model can, first of all, help managers of small and medium-sized companies to justify their decisions to employ digital forensic investigators and include them in their information security teams in order to choose the optimal CCIDFI model and improve forensic readiness in the computer incident management process that will result with minimization of potential losses of company in the future and improve its business quality.

Computer usage among nurses in rural health-care facilities in South Africa: obstacles and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Asah, Flora

2013-04-01

This study discusses factors inhibiting computer usage for work-related tasks among computer-literate professional nurses within rural healthcare facilities in South Africa. In the past two decades computer literacy courses have not been part of the nursing curricula. Computer courses are offered by the State Information Technology Agency. Despite this, there seems to be limited use of computers by professional nurses in the rural context. Focus group interviews held with 40 professional nurses from three government hospitals in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Contributing factors were found to be lack of information technology infrastructure, restricted access to computers and deficits in regard to the technical and nursing management support. The physical location of computers within the health-care facilities and lack of relevant software emerged as specific obstacles to usage. Provision of continuous and active support from nursing management could positively influence computer usage among professional nurses. A closer integration of information technology and computer literacy skills into existing nursing curricula would foster a positive attitude towards computer usage through early exposure. Responses indicated that change of mindset may be needed on the part of nursing management so that they begin to actively promote ready access to computers as a means of creating greater professionalism and collegiality. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Measuring Africa's E-Readiness in the Global Networked Economy: A Nine-Country Data Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ifinedo, Princely

2005-01-01

This paper assesses the integration of Africa into the global economy by computing the e-readiness for nine African countries. The measuring tool used is simple and incorporates a variety of indicators used by comparable tools. Overall, the mean e-readiness of Africa is poor in comparison to other economies. Particularly, Sub-Saharan Africa…

Challenges When Using Jurimetrics in Brazil—A Survey of Courts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruna Armonas Colombo

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Jurimetrics is the application of quantitative methods, usually statistics, to law. An important step to implement a jurimetric analysis is to extract raw data from courts and organize that data in a way that can be processed. Most of the raw data is unstructured and written in natural language, which stands as a challenge to Computer Science experts. As it requires expertise in law, statistics, and computer science, jurimetrics is a multidisciplinary field. When trying to implement a jurimetric system in Brazil, additional challenges were identified due to the heterogeneity of the different court systems, the lack of standards, and how the open data laws in Brazil are interpreted and implemented. In this article, we present a survey of Brazilian courts in terms of readiness to implement a jurimetric system. Analyzing a sample of data, we have found, in light of Brazil’s open data regulation, privacy issues and technical issues. Finally, we propose a roadmap that encompasses both technology and public policy to meet those challenges.

Scenario-Based Digital Forensics Challenges in Cloud Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik Miranda Lopez

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of digital forensics is to extract information to answer the 5Ws (Why, When, Where, What, and Who from the data extracted from the evidence. In order to achieve this, most digital forensic processes assume absolute control of digital evidence. However, in a cloud environment forensic investigation, this is not always possible. Additionally, the unique characteristics of cloud computing create new technical, legal and architectural challenges when conducting a forensic investigation. We propose a hypothetical scenario to uncover and explain the challenges forensic practitioners face during cloud investigations. Additionally, we also provide solutions to address the challenges. Our hypothetical case scenario has shown that, in the long run, better live forensic tools, development of new methods tailored for cloud investigations and new procedures and standards are indeed needed. Furthermore, we have come to the conclusion that forensic investigations biggest challenge is not technical but legal.

Mobile Computing: The Emerging Technology, Sensing, Challenges and Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezboruah, T.

2010-12-01

The mobile computing is a computing system in which a computer and all necessary accessories like files and software are taken out to the field. It is a system of computing through which it is being able to use a computing device even when someone being mobile and therefore changing location. The portability is one of the important aspects of mobile computing. The mobile phones are being used to gather scientific data from remote and isolated places that could not be possible to retrieve by other means. The scientists are initiating to use mobile devices and web-based applications to systematically explore interesting scientific aspects of their surroundings, ranging from climate change, environmental pollution to earthquake monitoring. This mobile revolution enables new ideas and innovations to spread out more quickly and efficiently. Here we will discuss in brief about the mobile computing technology, its sensing, challenges and the applications. (author)

Academic training: QCD: are we ready for the LHC

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

2006-2007 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 4, 5, 6, 7 December, from 11:00 to 12:00 4, 5, 6 December - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500, 7 December - TH Auditorium, bldg. 4 - 3-006 QCD: are we ready for the LHC S. FRIXIONE / INFN, Genoa, Italy The LHC energy regime poses a serious challenge to our capability of predicting QCD reactions to the level of accuracy necessary for a successful programme of searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. In these lectures, I'll introduce basic concepts in QCD, and present techniques based on perturbation theory, such as fixed-order and resummed computations, and Monte Carlo simulations. I'll discuss applications of these techniques to hadron-hadron processes, concentrating on recent trends in perturbative QCD aimed at improving our understanding of LHC phenomenology. ENSEIGNEMENT ACADEMIQUE ACADEMIC TRAINING Françoise Benz 73127 academic.training@cern.ch If you wish to participate in one of the following courses, please tell to your supervisor and apply ...

Data Challenges

CERN Multimedia

McCubbin, N A

Some two years ago we planned a series of Data Challenges starting at the end of 2001. At the time, that seemed to be comfortingly far in the future... Well, as the saying goes, doesn't time fly when you are having fun! ATLAS Computing is now deep in the throes of getting the first Data Challenge (DC0) up and running. One of the main aims of DC0 is to have a software 'release' in which we can generate full physics events, track all particles through the detector, simulate the detector response, reconstruct the event, and study it, with appropriate data storage en route. As all software is "always 95% ready" (!), we have been able to do most of this, more or less, for some time. But DC0 forces us to have everything working, together, at the same time: a reality check. DC0 should finish early next year, and it will be followed almost immediately afterwards by DC1 (DC0 was foreseen as the 'check' for DC1). DC1 will last into the middle of 2002, and has two major goals. The first is generation, simulation, and r...

Computer Network Security- The Challenges of Securing a Computer Network

Science.gov (United States)

Scotti, Vincent, Jr.

2011-01-01

This article is intended to give the reader an overall perspective on what it takes to design, implement, enforce and secure a computer network in the federal and corporate world to insure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. While we will be giving you an overview of network design and security, this article will concentrate on the technology and human factors of securing a network and the challenges faced by those doing so. It will cover the large number of policies and the limits of technology and physical efforts to enforce such policies.

Computer based training for oil spill management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodman, R.

1993-01-01

Large oil spills are infrequent occurrences, which poses a particular problem for training oil spill response staff and for maintaining a high level of response readiness. Conventional training methods involve table-top simulations to develop tactical and strategic response skills and boom-deployment exercises to maintain operational readiness. Both forms of training are quite effective, but they are very time-consuming to organize, are expensive to conduct, and tend to become repetitious. To provide a variety of response experiences, a computer-based system of oil spill response training has been developed which can supplement a table-top training program. Using a graphic interface, a realistic and challenging computerized oil spill response simulation has been produced. Integral to the system is a program editing tool which allows the teacher to develop a custom training exercise for the area of interest to the student. 1 ref

Ready or Not...? Teen Sexuality and the Troubling Discourse of Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Ashcraft, Catherine

2006-01-01

In this article, I explore how talk about being "ready" or "not ready" for sex shapes teen and adult understandings of sexuality. I argue that this "discourse of readiness" poses serious threats to teens' identity development, sexual decision making, and educators efforts to help them through these processes. To illustrate, I draw from my…

Teachers' Knowledge and Readiness towards Implementation of School Based Assessment in Secondary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Veloo, Arsaythamby; Krishnasamy, Hariharan N.; Md-Ali, Ruzlan

2015-01-01

School-Based Assessment (SBA) was implemented in Malaysian secondary schools in 2012. Since its implementation, teachers have faced several challenges to meet the aims and objectives of the School-Based Assessment. Based on these challenges this study aims to find the level of teachers' knowledge and readiness towards the implementation of…

The Awareness and Challenges of Cloud Computing Adoption on Tertiary Education in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Hazreeni Hamzah, Nor; Mahmud, Maziah; Zukri, Shamsunarnie Mohamed; Yaacob, Wan Fairos Wan; Yacob, Jusoh

2017-09-01

This preliminary study aims to investigate the awareness of the adoption of cloud computing among the academicians in tertiary education in Malaysia. Besides, this study also want to explore the possible challenges faced by the academician while adopting this new technology. The pilot study was done on 40 lecturers in Universiti Teknologi MARA Kampus Kota Bharu (UiTMKB) by using self administered questionnaire. The results found that almost half (40 percent) were not aware on the existing of cloud computing in teaching and learning (T&L) process. The challenges confronting the adoption of cloud computing are data insecurity, data insecurity, unsolicited advertisement, lock-in, reluctance to eliminate staff positions, privacy concerns, reliability challenge, regulatory compliance concerns/user control and institutional culture/resistance to change in technology. This possible challenges can be factorized in two major factors which were security and dependency factor and user control and mentality factor.

Identifying the readiness of patients in implementing telemedicine in northern Louisiana for an oncology practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurupur, Varadraj; Shettian, Kruparaj; Xu, Peixin; Hines, Scott; Desselles, Mitzi; Dhawan, Manish; Wan, Thomas Th; Raffenaud, Amanda; Anderson, Lindsey

2017-09-01

This study identified the readiness factors that may create challenges in the use of telemedicine among patients in northern Louisiana with cancer. To identify these readiness factors, the team of investigators developed 19 survey questions that were provided to the patients or to their caregivers. The team collected responses from 147 respondents from rural and urban residential backgrounds. These responses were used to identify the individuals' readiness for utilising telemedicine through factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha reliability test, analysis of variance and ordinary least squares regression. The analysis results indicated that the favourable factor (positive readiness item) had a mean value of 3.47, whereas the unfavourable factor (negative readiness item) had a mean value of 2.76. Cronbach's alpha reliability test provided an alpha value of 0.79. Overall, our study indicated a positive attitude towards the use of telemedicine in northern Louisiana.

Promoting community readiness for physical activity among older adults in Germany--protocol of the ready to change intervention trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Tilman; Gansefort, Dirk; Rothgang, Heinz; Röseler, Sabine; Meyer, Jochen; Zeeb, Hajo

2016-02-01

Healthy ageing is an important concern for many societies facing the challenge of an ageing population. Physical activity (PA) is a major contributor to healthy ageing; however insufficient PA levels are prevalent in old age in Germany. Community capacity building and community involvement are often recommended as key strategies to improve equitable access to prevention and health promotion. However, evidence for the effectiveness of these strategies is scarce. This study aims to assess the community readiness for PA promotion in local environments and to analyse the utility of strategies to increase community readiness for reaching vulnerable groups. We designed a mixed method intervention trial comprising three study modules. The first module includes an assessment of community readiness for PA interventions in older adults. The assessment is carried out in a sample of 24 municipalities in the Northwest of Germany using structured key informant interviews. In the second module, eight municipalities with the low community readiness are selected from the sample and randomly assigned to one of two study groups: active enhancement of community readiness (intervention) versus no enhancement (control). After enhancing community readiness in the active enhancement group, older adults in both study groups will be recruited for participation in a PA intervention. Participation rates are compared between the study groups to evaluate the effects of the intervention. In addition, a cost-effectiveness analysis is carried out calculating recruitment costs per person reached in the two study groups. In the third module, qualitative interviews are conducted with participants and non-participants of the PA intervention exploring reasons for participation or non-participation. This study offers the potential to contribute to the evidence base of reaching vulnerable older adults for PA interventions and provide ideas on how to reduce participation barriers. Its findings will inform

The clients’ readiness to use mental health care services: Experiences and perceptions from Iranian context

Science.gov (United States)

Alavi, Mousa; Irajpour, Alireza

2013-01-01

Background: Underutilization of mental health care services has been a challenge for the health care providers for many years. This challenge could be met in part by improving the clients’ readiness to use such services. This study aimed to introduce the important aspects of the clients’ readiness to use mental health services in the Iranian context. Materials and Methods: A thematic analysis of in-depth interviews was undertaken using a constant comparative approach. Participants (11 health professionals consisting of 3 physicians, 7 nurses, 1 psychologist, and 5 patients/their family members) were recruited from educational hospitals affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The credibility and trustworthiness was grounded on four aspects: factual value, applicability, consistency, and neutrality. Results: The study findings uncovered two important aspects of the clients’ readiness for utilizing mental health care services. These are described through two themes and related sub-themes: “The clients’ awareness” implies the cognitive aspect of readiness and “the clients’ attitudes” implies the psychological aspect of readiness, both of which have perceived to cultivate a fertile context through which the clients could access and use the mental health services more easily. Conclusions: For the health care system in Isfahan, Iran to be successful in delivering mental health services, training programs directed to prepare service users should be considered. Improving the clients’ favorable attitudes and awareness should be considered. PMID:24554948

The clients' readiness to use mental health care services: Experiences and perceptions from Iranian context.

Science.gov (United States)

Alavi, Mousa; Irajpour, Alireza

2013-11-01

Underutilization of mental health care services has been a challenge for the health care providers for many years. This challenge could be met in part by improving the clients' readiness to use such services. This study aimed to introduce the important aspects of the clients' readiness to use mental health services in the Iranian context. A thematic analysis of in-depth interviews was undertaken using a constant comparative approach. Participants (11 health professionals consisting of 3 physicians, 7 nurses, 1 psychologist, and 5 patients/their family members) were recruited from educational hospitals affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The credibility and trustworthiness was grounded on four aspects: factual value, applicability, consistency, and neutrality. The study findings uncovered two important aspects of the clients' readiness for utilizing mental health care services. These are described through two themes and related sub-themes: "The clients' awareness" implies the cognitive aspect of readiness and "the clients' attitudes" implies the psychological aspect of readiness, both of which have perceived to cultivate a fertile context through which the clients could access and use the mental health services more easily. For the health care system in Isfahan, Iran to be successful in delivering mental health services, training programs directed to prepare service users should be considered. Improving the clients' favorable attitudes and awareness should be considered.

Organizational factors associated with readiness for change in residential aged care settings.

Science.gov (United States)

von Treuer, Kathryn; Karantzas, Gery; McCabe, Marita; Mellor, David; Konis, Anastasia; Davison, Tanya E; O'Connor, Daniel

2018-02-01

Organizational change is inevitable in any workplace. Previous research has shown that leadership and a number of organizational climate and contextual variables can affect the adoption of change initiatives. The effect of these workplace variables is particularly important in stressful work sectors such as aged care where employees work with challenging older clients who frequently exhibit dementia and depression. This study sought to examine the effect of organizational climate and leadership variables on organizational readiness for change across 21 residential aged care facilities. Staff from each facility (N = 255) completed a self-report measure assessing organizational factors including organizational climate, leadership and readiness for change. A hierarchical regression model revealed that the organizational climate variables of work pressure, innovation, and transformational leadership were predictive of employee perceptions of organizational readiness for change. These findings suggest that within aged care facilities an organization's capacity to change their organizational climate and leadership practices may enhance an organization's readiness for change.

The LHC Computing Grid in the starting blocks

CERN Multimedia

Danielle Amy Venton

2010-01-01

As the Large Hadron Collider ramps up operations and breaks world records, it is an exciting time for everyone at CERN. To get the computing perspective, the Bulletin this week caught up with Ian Bird, leader of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). He is confident that everything is ready for the first data.   The metallic globe illustrating the Worldwide LHC Computing GRID (WLCG) in the CERN Computing Centre. The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) collaboration has been in place since 2001 and for the past several years it has continually run the workloads for the experiments as part of their preparations for LHC data taking. So far, the numerous and massive simulations of the full chain of reconstruction and analysis software could only be carried out using Monte Carlo simulated data. Now, for the first time, the system is starting to work with real data and with many simultaneous users accessing them from all around the world. “During the 2009 large-scale computing challenge (...

Achievements and Challenges in Computational Protein Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Samish, Ilan

2017-01-01

Computational protein design (CPD), a yet evolving field, includes computer-aided engineering for partial or full de novo designs of proteins of interest. Designs are defined by a requested structure, function, or working environment. This chapter describes the birth and maturation of the field by presenting 101 CPD examples in a chronological order emphasizing achievements and pending challenges. Integrating these aspects presents the plethora of CPD approaches with the hope of providing a "CPD 101". These reflect on the broader structural bioinformatics and computational biophysics field and include: (1) integration of knowledge-based and energy-based methods, (2) hierarchical designated approach towards local, regional, and global motifs and the integration of high- and low-resolution design schemes that fit each such region, (3) systematic differential approaches towards different protein regions, (4) identification of key hot-spot residues and the relative effect of remote regions, (5) assessment of shape-complementarity, electrostatics and solvation effects, (6) integration of thermal plasticity and functional dynamics, (7) negative design, (8) systematic integration of experimental approaches, (9) objective cross-assessment of methods, and (10) successful ranking of potential designs. Future challenges also include dissemination of CPD software to the general use of life-sciences researchers and the emphasis of success within an in vivo milieu. CPD increases our understanding of protein structure and function and the relationships between the two along with the application of such know-how for the benefit of mankind. Applied aspects range from biological drugs, via healthier and tastier food products to nanotechnology and environmentally friendly enzymes replacing toxic chemicals utilized in the industry.

Operational readiness review phase-1 final report for WRAP-1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowen, W., Westinghouse Hanford

1996-12-27

This report documents the Operational Readiness Review for WRAP-1 Phase-1 operations. The report includes all criteria, lines of inquiry with resulting Findings and Observations. The review included assessing operational capability of the organization and the computer controlled process and facility systems.

Reviews on Security Issues and Challenges in Cloud Computing

Science.gov (United States)

An, Y. Z.; Zaaba, Z. F.; Samsudin, N. F.

2016-11-01

Cloud computing is an Internet-based computing service provided by the third party allowing share of resources and data among devices. It is widely used in many organizations nowadays and becoming more popular because it changes the way of how the Information Technology (IT) of an organization is organized and managed. It provides lots of benefits such as simplicity and lower costs, almost unlimited storage, least maintenance, easy utilization, backup and recovery, continuous availability, quality of service, automated software integration, scalability, flexibility and reliability, easy access to information, elasticity, quick deployment and lower barrier to entry. While there is increasing use of cloud computing service in this new era, the security issues of the cloud computing become a challenges. Cloud computing must be safe and secure enough to ensure the privacy of the users. This paper firstly lists out the architecture of the cloud computing, then discuss the most common security issues of using cloud and some solutions to the security issues since security is one of the most critical aspect in cloud computing due to the sensitivity of user's data.

Computational challenges in atomic, molecular and optical physics.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Kenneth T

2002-06-15

Six challenges are discussed. These are the laser-driven helium atom; the laser-driven hydrogen molecule and hydrogen molecular ion; electron scattering (with ionization) from one-electron atoms; the vibrational and rotational structure of molecules such as H(3)(+) and water at their dissociation limits; laser-heated clusters; and quantum degeneracy and Bose-Einstein condensation. The first four concern fundamental few-body systems where use of high-performance computing (HPC) is currently making possible accurate modelling from first principles. This leads to reliable predictions and support for laboratory experiment as well as true understanding of the dynamics. Important aspects of these challenges addressable only via a terascale facility are set out. Such a facility makes the last two challenges in the above list meaningfully accessible for the first time, and the scientific interest together with the prospective role for HPC in these is emphasized.

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

M. Kasemann

Introduction During the past six months, Computing participated in the STEP09 exercise, had a major involvement in the October exercise and has been working with CMS sites on improving open issues relevant for data taking. At the same time operations for MC production, real data reconstruction and re-reconstructions and data transfers at large scales were performed. STEP09 was successfully conducted in June as a joint exercise with ATLAS and the other experiments. It gave good indication about the readiness of the WLCG infrastructure with the two major LHC experiments stressing the reading, writing and processing of physics data. The October Exercise, in contrast, was conducted as an all-CMS exercise, where Physics, Computing and Offline worked on a common plan to exercise all steps to efficiently access and analyze data. As one of the major results, the CMS Tier-2s demonstrated to be fully capable for performing data analysis. In recent weeks, efforts were devoted to CMS Computing readiness. All th...

Scientific Grand Challenges: Crosscutting Technologies for Computing at the Exascale - February 2-4, 2010, Washington, D.C.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khaleel, Mohammad A.

2011-02-06

The goal of the "Scientific Grand Challenges - Crosscutting Technologies for Computing at the Exascale" workshop in February 2010, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research and the National Nuclear Security Administration, was to identify the elements of a research and development agenda that will address these challenges and create a comprehensive exascale computing environment. This exascale computing environment will enable the science applications identified in the eight previously held Scientific Grand Challenges Workshop Series.

Predicting implementation from organizational readiness for change: a study protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelly P Adam

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is widespread interest in measuring organizational readiness to implement evidence-based practices in clinical care. However, there are a number of challenges to validating organizational measures, including inferential bias arising from the halo effect and method bias - two threats to validity that, while well-documented by organizational scholars, are often ignored in health services research. We describe a protocol to comprehensively assess the psychometric properties of a previously developed survey, the Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment. Objectives Our objective is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the psychometric properties of the Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment incorporating methods specifically to address threats from halo effect and method bias. Methods and Design We will conduct three sets of analyses using longitudinal, secondary data from four partner projects, each testing interventions to improve the implementation of an evidence-based clinical practice. Partner projects field the Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment at baseline (n = 208 respondents; 53 facilities, and prospectively assesses the degree to which the evidence-based practice is implemented. We will conduct predictive and concurrent validities using hierarchical linear modeling and multivariate regression, respectively. For predictive validity, the outcome is the change from baseline to follow-up in the use of the evidence-based practice. We will use intra-class correlations derived from hierarchical linear models to assess inter-rater reliability. Two partner projects will also field measures of job satisfaction for convergent and discriminant validity analyses, and will field Organizational Readiness to Change Assessment measures at follow-up for concurrent validity (n = 158 respondents; 33 facilities. Convergent and discriminant validities will test associations between organizational readiness and

Achievements and challenges in structural bioinformatics and computational biophysics.

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Samish, Ilan; Bourne, Philip E; Najmanovich, Rafael J

2015-01-01

The field of structural bioinformatics and computational biophysics has undergone a revolution in the last 10 years. Developments that are captured annually through the 3DSIG meeting, upon which this article reflects. An increase in the accessible data, computational resources and methodology has resulted in an increase in the size and resolution of studied systems and the complexity of the questions amenable to research. Concomitantly, the parameterization and efficiency of the methods have markedly improved along with their cross-validation with other computational and experimental results. The field exhibits an ever-increasing integration with biochemistry, biophysics and other disciplines. In this article, we discuss recent achievements along with current challenges within the field. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

A qualitative readiness-requirements assessment model for enterprise big-data infrastructure investment

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Olama, Mohammed M.; McNair, Allen W.; Sukumar, Sreenivas R.; Nutaro, James J.

2014-05-01

In the last three decades, there has been an exponential growth in the area of information technology providing the information processing needs of data-driven businesses in government, science, and private industry in the form of capturing, staging, integrating, conveying, analyzing, and transferring data that will help knowledge workers and decision makers make sound business decisions. Data integration across enterprise warehouses is one of the most challenging steps in the big data analytics strategy. Several levels of data integration have been identified across enterprise warehouses: data accessibility, common data platform, and consolidated data model. Each level of integration has its own set of complexities that requires a certain amount of time, budget, and resources to implement. Such levels of integration are designed to address the technical challenges inherent in consolidating the disparate data sources. In this paper, we present a methodology based on industry best practices to measure the readiness of an organization and its data sets against the different levels of data integration. We introduce a new Integration Level Model (ILM) tool, which is used for quantifying an organization and data system's readiness to share data at a certain level of data integration. It is based largely on the established and accepted framework provided in the Data Management Association (DAMADMBOK). It comprises several key data management functions and supporting activities, together with several environmental elements that describe and apply to each function. The proposed model scores the maturity of a system's data governance processes and provides a pragmatic methodology for evaluating integration risks. The higher the computed scores, the better managed the source data system and the greater the likelihood that the data system can be brought in at a higher level of integration.

Organisational readiness: exploring the preconditions for success in organisation-wide patient safety improvement programmes.

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Burnett, Susan; Benn, Jonathan; Pinto, Anna; Parand, Anam; Iskander, Sandra; Vincent, Charles

2010-08-01

Patient safety has been high on the agenda for more than a decade. Despite many national initiatives aimed at improving patient safety, the challenge remains to find coherent and sustainable organisation-wide safety-improvement programmes. In the UK, the Safer Patients' Initiative (SPI) was established to address this challenge. Important in the success of such an endeavour is understanding 'readiness' at the organisational level, identifying the preconditions for success in this type of programme. This article reports on a case study of the four NHS organisations participating in the first phase of SPI, examining the perceptions of organisational readiness and the relationship of these factors with impact by those actively involved in the initiative. A mixed-methods design was used, involving a survey and semistructured interviews with senior executive leads, the principal SPI programme coordinator and the four operational leads in each of the SPI clinical work areas in all four organisations taking part in the first phase of SPI. This preliminary work would suggest that prior to the start of organisation-wide quality- and safety-improvement programmes, organisations would benefit from an assessment of readiness with time spent in the preparation of the organisational infrastructure, processes and culture. Furthermore, a better understanding of the preconditions that mark an organisation as ready for improvement work would allow policymakers to set realistic expectations about the outcomes of safety campaigns.

Determining registered nurses' readiness for evidence-based practice.

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Thiel, Linda; Ghosh, Yashowanto

2008-01-01

As health care systems worldwide move toward instituting evidence-based practice (EBP), its implementation can be challenging. Conducting a baseline assessment to determine nurses' readiness for EBP presents opportunities to plan strategies before implementation. Although a growing body of research literature is focused on implementing EBP, little attention has been paid to assessing nurses' readiness for EBP. The purpose of this study was to assess registered nurses' readiness for EBP in a moderate-sized acute care hospital in the Midwestern United States before implementation of a hospital-wide nursing EBP initiative. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used; 121 registered nurses completed the survey. The participants (n= 121) completed the 64-item Nurses' Readiness for Evidence-Based Practice Survey that allowed measurement of information needs, knowledge and skills, culture, and attitudes. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a post hoc analysis. The majority (72.5%) of respondents indicated that when they needed information, they consulted colleagues and peers rather than using journals and books; 24% of nurses surveyed used the health database, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). The respondents perceived their EBP knowledge level as moderate. Cultural EBP scores were moderate, with unit scores being higher than organizational scores. The nurses' attitudes toward EBP were positive. The post hoc analysis showed many significant correlations. Nurses have access to technological resources and perceive that they have the ability to engage in basic information gathering but not in higher level evidence gathering. The elements important to EBP such as a workplace culture and positive attitudes are present and can be built upon. A "site-specific" baseline assessment provides direction in planning EBP initiatives. The Nurses' Readiness for EBP Survey is a streamlined tool with established reliability and

Precision Medicine and PET/Computed Tomography: Challenges and Implementation.

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Subramaniam, Rathan M

2017-01-01

Precision Medicine is about selecting the right therapy for the right patient, at the right time, specific to the molecular targets expressed by disease or tumors, in the context of patient's environment and lifestyle. Some of the challenges for delivery of precision medicine in oncology include biomarkers for patient selection for enrichment-precision diagnostics, mapping out tumor heterogeneity that contributes to therapy failures, and early therapy assessment to identify resistance to therapies. PET/computed tomography offers solutions in these important areas of challenges and facilitates implementation of precision medicine. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Computational Challenge of Fractional Differential Equations and the Potential Solutions: A Survey

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Chunye Gong

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We present a survey of fractional differential equations and in particular of the computational cost for their numerical solutions from the view of computer science. The computational complexities of time fractional, space fractional, and space-time fractional equations are O(N2M, O(NM2, and O(NM(M + N compared with O(MN for the classical partial differential equations with finite difference methods, where M, N are the number of space grid points and time steps. The potential solutions for this challenge include, but are not limited to, parallel computing, memory access optimization (fractional precomputing operator, short memory principle, fast Fourier transform (FFT based solutions, alternating direction implicit method, multigrid method, and preconditioner technology. The relationships of these solutions for both space fractional derivative and time fractional derivative are discussed. The authors pointed out that the technologies of parallel computing should be regarded as a basic method to overcome this challenge, and some attention should be paid to the fractional killer applications, high performance iteration methods, high order schemes, and Monte Carlo methods. Since the computation of fractional equations with high dimension and variable order is even heavier, the researchers from the area of mathematics and computer science have opportunity to invent cornerstones in the area of fractional calculus.

US DOE Grand Challenge in Computational Accelerator Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryne, R.; Habib, S.; Qiang, J.; Ko, K.; Li, Z.; McCandless, B.; Mi, W.; Ng, C.; Saparov, M.; Srinivas, V.; Sun, Y.; Zhan, X.; Decyk, V.; Golub, G.

1998-01-01

Particle accelerators are playing an increasingly important role in basic and applied science, and are enabling new accelerator-driven technologies. But the design of next-generation accelerators, such as linear colliders and high intensity linacs, will require a major advance in numerical modeling capability due to extremely stringent beam control and beam loss requirements, and the presence of highly complex three-dimensional accelerator components. To address this situation, the U.S. Department of Energy has approved a ''Grand Challenge'' in Computational Accelerator Physics, whose primary goal is to develop a parallel modeling capability that will enable high performance, large scale simulations for the design, optimization, and numerical validation of next-generation accelerators. In this paper we report on the status of the Grand Challenge

BigData and computing challenges in high energy and nuclear physics

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Klimentov, A.; Grigorieva, M.; Kiryanov, A.; Zarochentsev, A.

2017-06-01

In this contribution we discuss the various aspects of the computing resource needs experiments in High Energy and Nuclear Physics, in particular at the Large Hadron Collider. This will evolve in the future when moving from LHC to HL-LHC in ten years from now, when the already exascale levels of data we are processing could increase by a further order of magnitude. The distributed computing environment has been a great success and the inclusion of new super-computing facilities, cloud computing and volunteering computing for the future is a big challenge, which we are successfully mastering with a considerable contribution from many super-computing centres around the world, academic and commercial cloud providers. We also discuss R&D computing projects started recently in National Research Center ``Kurchatov Institute''

BigData and computing challenges in high energy and nuclear physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klimentov, A.; Grigorieva, M.; Kiryanov, A.; Zarochentsev, A.

2017-01-01

In this contribution we discuss the various aspects of the computing resource needs experiments in High Energy and Nuclear Physics, in particular at the Large Hadron Collider. This will evolve in the future when moving from LHC to HL-LHC in ten years from now, when the already exascale levels of data we are processing could increase by a further order of magnitude. The distributed computing environment has been a great success and the inclusion of new super-computing facilities, cloud computing and volunteering computing for the future is a big challenge, which we are successfully mastering with a considerable contribution from many super-computing centres around the world, academic and commercial cloud providers. We also discuss R and D computing projects started recently in National Research Center ''Kurchatov Institute''

The Coming Challenge: Are Community Colleges Ready for the New Wave of Contextual Learners?

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, Dan; Souders, John C., Jr.

1996-01-01

Defines contextual learning, or presenting new information to students in familiar contexts. Argues that community colleges must be ready for an anticipated increase in contextual learners due to its use in tech prep programs. Describes elements of contextual learning, its application in the classroom, and ways that colleges can prepare for…

Challenges and opportunities of cloud computing for atmospheric sciences

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Pérez Montes, Diego A.; Añel, Juan A.; Pena, Tomás F.; Wallom, David C. H.

2016-04-01

Cloud computing is an emerging technological solution widely used in many fields. Initially developed as a flexible way of managing peak demand it has began to make its way in scientific research. One of the greatest advantages of cloud computing for scientific research is independence of having access to a large cyberinfrastructure to fund or perform a research project. Cloud computing can avoid maintenance expenses for large supercomputers and has the potential to 'democratize' the access to high-performance computing, giving flexibility to funding bodies for allocating budgets for the computational costs associated with a project. Two of the most challenging problems in atmospheric sciences are computational cost and uncertainty in meteorological forecasting and climate projections. Both problems are closely related. Usually uncertainty can be reduced with the availability of computational resources to better reproduce a phenomenon or to perform a larger number of experiments. Here we expose results of the application of cloud computing resources for climate modeling using cloud computing infrastructures of three major vendors and two climate models. We show how the cloud infrastructure compares in performance to traditional supercomputers and how it provides the capability to complete experiments in shorter periods of time. The monetary cost associated is also analyzed. Finally we discuss the future potential of this technology for meteorological and climatological applications, both from the point of view of operational use and research.

Ready To Buy a Computer?

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Rourke, Martha; Rourke, Patrick

1974-01-01

The school district business manager can make sound, cost-conscious decisions in the purchase of computer equipment by developing a list of cost-justified applications for automation, considering the software, writing performance specifications for bidding or negotiating a contract, and choosing the vendor wisely prior to the purchase; and by…

Multiscale methods in turbulent combustion: strategies and computational challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Echekki, Tarek

2009-01-01

A principal challenge in modeling turbulent combustion flows is associated with their complex, multiscale nature. Traditional paradigms in the modeling of these flows have attempted to address this nature through different strategies, including exploiting the separation of turbulence and combustion scales and a reduced description of the composition space. The resulting moment-based methods often yield reasonable predictions of flow and reactive scalars' statistics under certain conditions. However, these methods must constantly evolve to address combustion at different regimes, modes or with dominant chemistries. In recent years, alternative multiscale strategies have emerged, which although in part inspired by the traditional approaches, also draw upon basic tools from computational science, applied mathematics and the increasing availability of powerful computational resources. This review presents a general overview of different strategies adopted for multiscale solutions of turbulent combustion flows. Within these strategies, some specific models are discussed or outlined to illustrate their capabilities and underlying assumptions. These strategies may be classified under four different classes, including (i) closure models for atomistic processes, (ii) multigrid and multiresolution strategies, (iii) flame-embedding strategies and (iv) hybrid large-eddy simulation-low-dimensional strategies. A combination of these strategies and models can potentially represent a robust alternative strategy to moment-based models; but a significant challenge remains in the development of computational frameworks for these approaches as well as their underlying theories. (topical review)

Assessing air medical crew real-time readiness to perform critical tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Braude, Darren; Goldsmith, Timothy; Weiss, Steven J

2011-01-01

Air medical transport has had problems with its safety record, attributed in part to human error. Flight crew members (FCMs) must be able to focus on critical safety tasks in the context of a stressful environment. Flight crew members' cognitive readiness (CR) to perform their jobs may be affected by sleep deprivation, personal problems, high workload, and use of alcohol and drugs. The current study investigated the feasibility of using a computer-based cognitive task to assess FCMs' readiness to perform their job. The FCMs completed a short questionnaire to evaluate their physiologic and psychological state at the beginning and end of each shift. The FCMs then performed 3 minutes of a computer-based cognitive task called synthetic work environment (SYNWIN test battery). Task performance was compared with the questionnaire variables using correlation and regression analysis. Differences between the beginning and end of each shift were matched and compared using a paired Students t test. SYNWIN performance was significantly worse at the end of a shift compared with the beginning of the shift (p = 0.028) primarily because of decrement in the memory component. The SYNWIN composite scores were negatively correlated to degree of irritability felt by the participant, both before (r = -0.25) and after (r = -0.34) a shift and were significantly correlated with amount of sleep (0.22), rest (0.30), and life satisfaction (0.30). Performance by FCMs on a simple, rapid, computer-based psychological test correlates well with self-reported sleep, rest, life satisfaction, and irritability. Although further studies are warranted, these findings suggest that assessment of the performance of FCMs on a simple, rapid, computer-based, multitasking battery is feasible as an approach to determine their readiness to perform critical safety tasks through the SYNWIN task battery.

Static Load Balancing Algorithms In Cloud Computing Challenges amp Solutions

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Nadeem Shah

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Cloud computing provides on-demand hosted computing resources and services over the Internet on a pay-per-use basis. It is currently becoming the favored method of communication and computation over scalable networks due to numerous attractive attributes such as high availability scalability fault tolerance simplicity of management and low cost of ownership. Due to the huge demand of cloud computing efficient load balancing becomes critical to ensure that computational tasks are evenly distributed across servers to prevent bottlenecks. The aim of this review paper is to understand the current challenges in cloud computing primarily in cloud load balancing using static algorithms and finding gaps to bridge for more efficient static cloud load balancing in the future. We believe the ideas suggested as new solution will allow researchers to redesign better algorithms for better functionalities and improved user experiences in simple cloud systems. This could assist small businesses that cannot afford infrastructure that supports complex amp dynamic load balancing algorithms.

Welding. Module 8 of the Vocational Education Readiness Test (VERT).

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Edward L., Comp.

Focusing on welding, this module is one of eight included in the Vocational Education Readiness Tests (VERT). The module begins by listing the objectives of the module and describing tools and equipment needed. The remainder of the module contains sections on manipulative skills, trade vocabulary, tool identification, trade computational skills,…

Differences in Readiness between Rural Hospitals and Primary Care Providers for Telemedicine Adoption and Implementation: Findings from a Statewide Telemedicine Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Amy Brock; Probst, Janice C.; Shah, Kyle; Chen, Zhimin; Garr, David

2012-01-01

Purpose: Published advantages of and challenges with telemedicine led us to examine the scope of telemedicine adoption, implementation readiness, and barriers in a southern state where adoption has been historically low. We hypothesized that rural hospitals and primary care providers (RPCPs) differ on adoption, readiness, and implementation…

The emergence of grammar in a language-ready brain. Comment on "Towards a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology: Framing the language-ready brain" by Michael A. Arbib

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, John A.

2016-03-01

Arbib makes the interesting proposal [3, §1.6] that the first Homo sapiens could have been ;language-ready;, without possessing the kind of rich lexicon, grammar and compositional semantics that we see in the world's languages today. This early language readiness would have consisted of a set of ;protolanguage; abilities, which he enumerates (1-7 in §1.6), supported by brain mechanisms unique to humans. The transition to full ;language; (properties 8-11 in §1.6 and §3) would have required no changes in the genome, he argues, but could have resulted from cultural evolution plus some measure of Baldwinian evolution favoring offspring with greater linguistic skill. The full picture is set out in [1].

The concept of readiness to change.

Science.gov (United States)

Dalton, Cindy C; Gottlieb, Laurie N

2003-04-01

Readiness is associated with change, yet there is little understanding of this construct. The purpose of this study was to examine readiness; its referents, associated factors and the resulting consequences. In the course of nursing five clients living with multiple sclerosis over a 7-month period using a Reflective Practice Model, data were systematically gathered using open-ended and then more focused questioning. Data collected during 42 client encounters (28 face-to-face encounters; 14 telephone contacts) were analysed using Chinn and Kramer's concept analysis technique. Findings. The concept of readiness was inductively derived. Readiness is both a state and a process. Before clients can create change they need to become ready to change. A number of factors trigger readiness. These include when: (a) clients perceive that a health concern is not going to resolve, (b) a change in a client's physical condition takes on new significance, (c) clients feel better able to manage their stress, (d) clients have sufficient energy, (e) clients perceive that they have adequate support in undertaking change. When one or more of these factors is present clients become ready to consider change. The process of readiness involves recognizing the need to change, weighing the costs and benefits and, when benefits outweigh costs, planning for change. The desire to change and to take action determines clients' degree of readiness. When they experience a high degree of readiness they report less anger, less depression, and view their condition in a more positive light. In contrast, when they experience a low degree of readiness they report feeling depressed, afraid and vulnerable in the face of change. Nursing has an important role to play in creating conditions to support change. To fulfil this role, nurses need to be able to assess readiness for change and the factors that enable it and then to intervene in ways that facilitate readiness.

The Readiness of Sorsogon State College Faculty for Teaching with ICT: Basis for a Faculty Training Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine A. De Castro

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Information and communication technologies (ICT such as computers, multimedia systems, productivity software, and the Internet have greatly improved the performance of different organizations and influenced higher learning institutions like Sorsogon State College (SSC to develop and implement innovative teaching and learning methods. However, despite the many benefits of ICT when used in education, there are still faculty members who do not use these technologies for teaching. Hence, this research was conducted to assess their readiness for teaching with ICT. Findings revealed that most of the surveyed respondents were above forty-five years old, have 1-10 years of government service, and have specialization in the field of education. In terms of readiness to teach with ICT, the results disclosed that they were fairly ready along human-resource readiness, ready along technological skill readiness, and much ready along equipment readiness. Their age was not significantly related to their human resource readiness but significantly related to their technological skill and equipment readiness. The respondents’ number of years in the government was significantly related to their readiness to teach with ICT in terms of human resource, technological skill, and equipment readiness. Their field of specialization was not significantly related to their readiness to teach with ICT. Among the most identified factors why some of them do not use ICT resources were unavailability of ICT resources, lack of knowledge and lack of familiarity to ICT. The output of this research is a faculty training program to enhance their know

Opportunities and Challenges of Cloud Computing to Improve Health Care Services

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Cloud computing is a new way of delivering computing resources and services. Many managers and experts believe that it can improve health care services, benefit health care research, and change the face of health information technology. However, as with any innovation, cloud computing should be rigorously evaluated before its widespread adoption. This paper discusses the concept and its current place in health care, and uses 4 aspects (management, technology, security, and legal) to evaluate the opportunities and challenges of this computing model. Strategic planning that could be used by a health organization to determine its direction, strategy, and resource allocation when it has decided to migrate from traditional to cloud-based health services is also discussed. PMID:21937354

Opportunities and challenges of cloud computing to improve health care services.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Alex Mu-Hsing

2011-09-21

Cloud computing is a new way of delivering computing resources and services. Many managers and experts believe that it can improve health care services, benefit health care research, and change the face of health information technology. However, as with any innovation, cloud computing should be rigorously evaluated before its widespread adoption. This paper discusses the concept and its current place in health care, and uses 4 aspects (management, technology, security, and legal) to evaluate the opportunities and challenges of this computing model. Strategic planning that could be used by a health organization to determine its direction, strategy, and resource allocation when it has decided to migrate from traditional to cloud-based health services is also discussed.

Uncovering University Students' Readiness through Their Assessment of Workplace Communication Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Magogwe, Joel M.; Nkosana, Leonard B. M.; Ntereke, Beauty B.

2014-01-01

Employers in today's competitive and challenging global world prefer employees who possess "soft skills" in addition to "hard skills" because they make an impact and create a good impression in the workplace. This study examined employment readiness of the University of Botswana (UB) students who took the Advanced Communication…

DOE Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Subcommittee (ASCAC) Report: Top Ten Exascale Research Challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lucas, Robert [University of Southern California, Information Sciences Institute; Ang, James [Sandia National Laboratories; Bergman, Keren [Columbia University; Borkar, Shekhar [Intel; Carlson, William [Institute for Defense Analyses; Carrington, Laura [University of California, San Diego; Chiu, George [IBM; Colwell, Robert [DARPA; Dally, William [NVIDIA; Dongarra, Jack [University of Tennessee; Geist, Al [Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Haring, Rud [IBM; Hittinger, Jeffrey [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Hoisie, Adolfy [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Klein, Dean Micron; Kogge, Peter [University of Notre Dame; Lethin, Richard [Reservoir Labs; Sarkar, Vivek [Rice University; Schreiber, Robert [Hewlett Packard; Shalf, John [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Sterling, Thomas [Indiana University; Stevens, Rick [Argonne National Laboratory; Bashor, Jon [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Brightwell, Ron [Sandia National Laboratories; Coteus, Paul [IBM; Debenedictus, Erik [Sandia National Laboratories; Hiller, Jon [Science and Technology Associates; Kim, K. H. [IBM; Langston, Harper [Reservoir Labs; Murphy, Richard Micron; Webster, Clayton [Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Wild, Stefan [Argonne National Laboratory; Grider, Gary [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Ross, Rob [Argonne National Laboratory; Leyffer, Sven [Argonne National Laboratory; Laros III, James [Sandia National Laboratories

2014-02-10

Exascale computing systems are essential for the scientific fields that will transform the 21st century global economy, including energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and materials science. Progress in these fields is predicated on the ability to perform advanced scientific and engineering simulations, and analyze the deluge of data. On July 29, 2013, ASCAC was charged by Patricia Dehmer, the Acting Director of the Office of Science, to assemble a subcommittee to provide advice on exascale computing. This subcommittee was directed to return a list of no more than ten technical approaches (hardware and software) that will enable the development of a system that achieves the Department's goals for exascale computing. Numerous reports over the past few years have documented the technical challenges and the non¬-viability of simply scaling existing computer designs to reach exascale. The technical challenges revolve around energy consumption, memory performance, resilience, extreme concurrency, and big data. Drawing from these reports and more recent experience, this ASCAC subcommittee has identified the top ten computing technology advancements that are critical to making a capable, economically viable, exascale system.

Are they ready? Organizational readiness for change among clinical teaching teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Bank, Lindsay; Jippes, Mariëlle; Leppink, Jimmie; Scherpbier, Albert Jja; den Rooyen, Corry; van Luijk, Scheltus J; Scheele, Fedde

2017-01-01

Curriculum change and innovation are inevitable parts of progress in postgraduate medical education (PGME). Although implementing change is known to be challenging, change management principles are rarely looked at for support. Change experts contend that organizational readiness for change (ORC) is a critical precursor for the successful implementation of change initiatives. Therefore, this study explores whether assessing ORC in clinical teaching teams could help to understand how curriculum change takes place in PGME. Clinical teaching teams in hospitals in the Netherlands were requested to complete the Specialty Training's Organizational Readiness for curriculum Change, a questionnaire to measure ORC in clinical teaching teams. In addition, change-related behavior was measured by using the "behavioral support-for-change" measure. A two-way analysis of variance was performed for all response variables of interest. In total, 836 clinical teaching team members were included in this study: 288 (34.4%) trainees, 307 (36.7%) clinical staff members, and 241 (28.8%) program directors. Overall, items regarding whether the program director has the authority to lead scored higher compared with the other items. At the other end, the subscales "management support and leadership," "project resources," and "implementation plan" had the lowest scores in all groups. The study brought to light that program directors are clearly in the lead when it comes to the implementation of educational innovation. Clinical teaching teams tend to work together as a team, sharing responsibilities in the implementation process. However, the results also reinforce the need for change management support in change processes in PGME.

Career Readiness: Has Its Time Finally Come?

Science.gov (United States)

DeWitt, Stephen

2012-01-01

In 2010, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) released a "What Is Career Ready?" definition. As the career-readiness definition explains, there is much overlap between "college readiness" and "career readiness," but academic preparedness for college alone is not enough to be truly career-ready.…

Challenges in Soft Computing: Case Study with Louisville MSD CSO Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Ormsbee, L.; Tufail, M.

2005-12-01

The principal constituents of soft computing include fuzzy logic, neural computing, evolutionary computation, machine learning, and probabilistic reasoning. There are numerous applications of these constituents (both individually and combination of two or more) in the area of water resources and environmental systems. These range from development of data driven models to optimal control strategies to assist in more informed and intelligent decision making process. Availability of data is critical to such applications and having scarce data may lead to models that do not represent the response function over the entire domain. At the same time, too much data has a tendency to lead to over-constraining of the problem. This paper will describe the application of a subset of these soft computing techniques (neural computing and genetic algorithms) to the Beargrass Creek watershed in Louisville, Kentucky. The application include development of inductive models as substitutes for more complex process-based models to predict water quality of key constituents (such as dissolved oxygen) and use them in an optimization framework for optimal load reductions. Such a process will facilitate the development of total maximum daily loads for the impaired water bodies in the watershed. Some of the challenges faced in this application include 1) uncertainty in data sets, 2) model application, and 3) development of cause-and-effect relationships between water quality constituents and watershed parameters through use of inductive models. The paper will discuss these challenges and how they affect the desired goals of the project.

Uncover the Cloud for Geospatial Sciences and Applications to Adopt Cloud Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, C.; Huang, Q.; Xia, J.; Liu, K.; Li, J.; Xu, C.; Sun, M.; Bambacus, M.; Xu, Y.; Fay, D.

2012-12-01

Cloud computing is emerging as the future infrastructure for providing computing resources to support and enable scientific research, engineering development, and application construction, as well as work force education. On the other hand, there is a lot of doubt about the readiness of cloud computing to support a variety of scientific research, development and educations. This research is a project funded by NASA SMD to investigate through holistic studies how ready is the cloud computing to support geosciences. Four applications with different computing characteristics including data, computing, concurrent, and spatiotemporal intensities are taken to test the readiness of cloud computing to support geosciences. Three popular and representative cloud platforms including Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure, and NASA Nebula as well as a traditional cluster are utilized in the study. Results illustrates that cloud is ready to some degree but more research needs to be done to fully implemented the cloud benefit as advertised by many vendors and defined by NIST. Specifically, 1) most cloud platform could help stand up new computing instances, a new computer, in a few minutes as envisioned, therefore, is ready to support most computing needs in an on demand fashion; 2) the load balance and elasticity, a defining characteristic, is ready in some cloud platforms, such as Amazon EC2, to support bigger jobs, e.g., needs response in minutes, while some are not ready to support the elasticity and load balance well. All cloud platform needs further research and development to support real time application at subminute level; 3) the user interface and functionality of cloud platforms vary a lot and some of them are very professional and well supported/documented, such as Amazon EC2, some of them needs significant improvement for the general public to adopt cloud computing without professional training or knowledge about computing infrastructure; 4) the security is a big concern in

Maintenance-Ready Web Application Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion IVAN

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The current paper tackles the subject of developing maintenance-ready web applications. Maintenance is presented as a core stage in a web application’s lifecycle. The concept of maintenance-ready is defined in the context of web application development. Web application maintenance tasks types are enunciated and suitable task types are identified for further analysis. The research hypothesis is formulated based on a direct link between tackling maintenance in the development stage and reducing overall maintenance costs. A live maintenance-ready web application is presented and maintenance related aspects are highlighted. The web application’s features, that render it maintenance-ready, are emphasize. The cost of designing and building the web-application to be maintenance-ready are disclosed. The savings in maintenance development effort facilitated by maintenance ready features are also disclosed. Maintenance data is collected from 40 projects implemented by a web development company. Homogeneity and diversity of collected data is evaluated. A data sample is presented and the size and comprehensive nature of the entire dataset is depicted. Research hypothesis are validated and conclusions are formulated on the topic of developing maintenance-ready web applications. The limits of the research process which represented the basis for the current paper are enunciated. Future research topics are submitted for debate.

CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF ONLINE LEARNING READINESS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harun CIGDEM

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to examine the relationship between certain factors of online learning readiness and learners’ end-of-course achievements. The study was conducted at a two-year post-secondary Turkish military school within the scope of the course titled Computer Literacy, which was designed and implemented in a blended way. The data were collected from 155 post-secondary military students through an online questionnaire. Three sub-scales of Hung et al.’s Online Learning Readiness Scale were used to collect the data during the first two weeks of the course. Descriptive and inferential statistics, such as Pearson correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses were performed to analyze the data. The descriptive results of the study indicated that students’ motivation for online learning was higher than both their computer/Internet self-efficacy and their orientations to self-directed learning. The inferential results revealed that the students’ end-of-course grades had significantly positive relationships with their computer/Internet self-efficacy and self-directed learning orientations. Finally, the students’ self-direction towards online learning appeared to be the strongest predictor of their achievements within the course; whereas computer/Internet self-efficacy and motivation for learning did not predict the learner achievement significantly.

Military Readiness: DODs Readiness Rebuilding Efforts May Be at Risk without a Comprehensive Plan

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-01

specific elements that are to be in strategic plans. 8Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Guide 3401D, CJCS Guide to the Chairman’s Readiness ...all its major functions and operations. DOD strategic guidance makes it clear that rebuilding readiness is a priority that supports the... readiness recovery efforts. Evaluations of the plan to monitor goals and objectives Assessments, through objective measurement and systematic

Bringing high-performance computing to the biologist's workbench: approaches, applications, and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oehmen, C S; Cannon, W R

2008-01-01

Data-intensive and high-performance computing are poised to significantly impact the future of biological research which is increasingly driven by the prevalence of high-throughput experimental methodologies for genome sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, and other areas. Large centers such as NIH's National Center for Biotechnology Information, The Institute for Genomic Research, and the DOE's Joint Genome Institute) have made extensive use of multiprocessor architectures to deal with some of the challenges of processing, storing and curating exponentially growing genomic and proteomic datasets, thus enabling users to rapidly access a growing public data source, as well as use analysis tools transparently on high-performance computing resources. Applying this computational power to single-investigator analysis, however, often relies on users to provide their own computational resources, forcing them to endure the learning curve of porting, building, and running software on multiprocessor architectures. Solving the next generation of large-scale biology challenges using multiprocessor machines-from small clusters to emerging petascale machines-can most practically be realized if this learning curve can be minimized through a combination of workflow management, data management and resource allocation as well as intuitive interfaces and compatibility with existing common data formats

Solar Ready: An Overview of Implementation Practices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watson, A.; Guidice, L.; Lisell, L.; Doris, L.; Busche, S.

2012-01-01

This report explores three mechanisms for encouraging solar ready building design and construction: solar ready legislation, certification programs for solar ready design and construction, and stakeholder education. These methods are not mutually exclusive, and all, if implemented well, could contribute to more solar ready construction. Solar ready itself does not reduce energy use or create clean energy. Nevertheless, solar ready building practices are needed to reach the full potential of solar deployment. Without forethought on incorporating solar into design, buildings may be incompatible with solar due to roof structure or excessive shading. In these cases, retrofitting the roof or removing shading elements is cost prohibitive. Furthermore, higher up-front costs due to structural adaptations and production losses caused by less than optimal roof orientation, roof equipment, or shading will lengthen payback periods, making solar more expensive. With millions of new buildings constructed each year in the United States, solar ready can remove installation barriers and increase the potential for widespread solar adoption. There are many approaches to promoting solar ready, including solar ready legislation, certification programs, and education of stakeholders. Federal, state, and local governments have the potential to implement programs that encourage solar ready and in turn reduce barriers to solar deployment. With the guidance in this document and the examples of jurisdictions and organizations already working to promote solar ready building practices, federal, state, and local governments can guide the market toward solar ready implementation.

Developing MOOCs to Narrow the College Readiness Gap: Challenges and Recommendations for a Writing Course

Science.gov (United States)

Bandi-Rao, Shoba; Devers, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have demonstrated the potential to deliver quality and cost effective course materials to large numbers of students. Approximately 60% of first-year students at community colleges are underprepared for college-level coursework. One reason for low graduation rates is the lack of the overall college readiness.…

Are we ready to accept the challenge? Addressing the shortcomings of contemporary qualitative health research.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Sofie Rosenlund; Traulsen, Janine M

Qualitative approaches represent an important contributor to health care research. However, several researchers argue that contemporary qualitative research does not live up to its full potential. By presenting a snapshot of contemporary qualitative research in the field of social and administrative pharmacy, this study challenges contributors to the field by asking: Are we ready to accept the challenge and take qualitative research one step further? The purpose of this study was to initiate a constructive dialogue on the need for increased transparency in qualitative data analysis, including explicitly reflecting upon theoretical perspectives affecting the research process. Content analysis was used to evaluate levels of theoretical visibility and analysis transparency in selected qualitative research articles published in Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy between January 2014 and January 2015. In 14 out of 21 assessed papers, the use of theory was found to be Seemingly Absent (lowest level of theory use), and the data analyses did not include any interpretive endeavors. Only two papers consistently applied theory throughout the entire study and clearly took the data analyses from a descriptive to an interpretive level. It was found that the aim of the majority of assessed papers was to change or modify a given practice, which however, resulted in a lack of both theoretical underpinnings and analysis transparency. This study takes the standpoint that theory and high-quality analysis go hand-in-hand. Based on the content analysis, articles that were deemed to be high in quality were explicit about the theoretical framework of their study and transparent in how they analyzed their data. It was found that theory contributed to the transparency of how the data were analyzed and interpreted. Two ways of improving contemporary qualitative research in the field of social and administrative pharmacy are discussed: engaging with social theory and establishing

E-health readiness assessment framework in iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Rezai-Rad, M; Vaezi, R; Nattagh, F

2012-01-01

Concept of e-readiness is used in many areas such as e-business, e-commerce, e-government, and e-banking. In terms of healthcare, e-readiness is a rather new concept, and is propounded under the title of E-healthcare. E-health readiness refers to the readiness of communities and healthcare institutions for the expected changes brought by programs related to Information and Communications Technology (lCT). The present research is conducted aiming at designing E-health Readiness Assessment Framework (EHRAF) in Iran. The e-health readiness assessment framework was designed based on reviewing literature on e-readiness assessment models and opinions of ICT and health experts. In the next step, Delphi method was used to develop and test the designed framework. Three questionnaires developed to test and modify the model while determining weights of the indices; afterward they were either sent to experts through email or delivered to them in face. The designed framework approved with 4 dimensions, 11 constituents and 58 indices. Technical readiness had the highest importance coefficient (0.256099), and the other dimensions were of the next levels of coefficient importance: core readiness (0.25520), social communication readiness (0.244658), and engagement readiness (0.244039). The framework presents the movement route and investment priorities in e-health in Iran. The proposed framework is a good instrument for measuring the e-readiness in health centers in Iran, and for identifying strengths and weaknesses of these centers to access ICT and its implementation for more effectiveness and for analyzing digital divide between them, as well.

E-Health Readiness Assessment Framework in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Rezai-Rad, M; Vaezi, R; Nattagh, F

2012-01-01

Background: Concept of e-readiness is used in many areas such as e-business, e-commerce, e-government, and e-banking. In terms of healthcare, e-readiness is a rather new concept, and is propounded under the title of E-healthcare. E-health readiness refers to the readiness of communities and healthcare institutions for the expected changes brought by programs related to Information and Communications Technology (lCT). The present research is conducted aiming at designing E-health Readiness Assessment Framework (EHRAF) in Iran. Methods: The e-health readiness assessment framework was designed based on reviewing literature on e-readiness assessment models and opinions of ICT and health experts. In the next step, Delphi method was used to develop and test the designed framework. Three questionnaires developed to test and modify the model while determining weights of the indices; afterward they were either sent to experts through email or delivered to them in face. Results: The designed framework approved with 4 dimensions, 11 constituents and 58 indices. Technical readiness had the highest importance coefficient (0.256099), and the other dimensions were of the next levels of coefficient importance: core readiness (0.25520), social communication readiness (0.244658), and engagement readiness (0.244039). Conclusion: The framework presents the movement route and investment priorities in e-health in Iran. The proposed framework is a good instrument for measuring the e-readiness in health centers in Iran, and for identifying strengths and weaknesses of these centers to access ICT and its implementation for more effectiveness and for analyzing digital divide between them, as well. PMID:23304661

Capture ready study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minchener, A.

2007-07-15

There are a large number of ways in which the capture of carbon as carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) can be integrated into fossil fuel power stations, most being applicable for both gas and coal feedstocks. To add to the choice of technology is the question of whether an existing plant should be retrofitted for capture, or whether it is more attractive to build totally new. This miscellany of choices adds considerably to the commercial risk of investing in a large power station. An intermediate stage between the non-capture and full capture state would be advantageous in helping to determine the best way forward and hence reduce those risks. In recent years the term 'carbon capture ready' or 'capture ready' has been coined to describe such an intermediate stage plant and is now widely used. However a detailed and all-encompassing definition of this term has never been published. All fossil fuel consuming plant produce a carbon dioxide gas byproduct. There is a possibility of scrubbing it with an appropriate CO{sub 2} solvent. Hence it could be said that all fossil fuel plant is in a condition for removal of its CO{sub 2} effluent and therefore already in a 'capture ready' state. Evidently, the practical reality of solvent scrubbing could cost more than the rewards offered by such as the ETS (European Trading Scheme). In which case, it can be said that although the possibility exists of capturing CO{sub 2}, it is not a commercially viable option and therefore the plant could not be described as ready for CO{sub 2} capture. The boundary between a capture ready and a non-capture ready condition using this definition cannot be determined in an objective and therefore universally acceptable way and criteria must be found which are less onerous and less potentially contentious to assess. 16 refs., 2 annexes.

The Square Kilometre Array Science Data Processor. Preliminary compute platform design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broekema, P.C.; Nieuwpoort, R.V. van; Bal, H.E.

2015-01-01

The Square Kilometre Array is a next-generation radio-telescope, to be built in South Africa and Western Australia. It is currently in its detailed design phase, with procurement and construction scheduled to start in 2017. The SKA Science Data Processor is the high-performance computing element of the instrument, responsible for producing science-ready data. This is a major IT project, with the Science Data Processor expected to challenge the computing state-of-the art even in 2020. In this paper we introduce the preliminary Science Data Processor design and the principles that guide the design process, as well as the constraints to the design. We introduce a highly scalable and flexible system architecture capable of handling the SDP workload

Challenges and considerations for the design and production of a purpose-optimized body-worn wrist-watch computer

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanaswami, Chandra; Raghunath, Mandayam T.

2004-09-01

We outline a collection of technological challenges in the design of wearable computers with a focus on one of the most desirable form-factors, the wrist watch. We describe our experience with building three generations of wrist watch computers. We built these research prototypes as platforms to investigate the fundamental limitations of wearable computing. Results of our investigations are presented in the form of challenges that have been overcome and those that still remain.

Challenges to Software/Computing for Experimentation at the LHC

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Sunanda

The demands of future high energy physics experiments towards software and computing have led the experiments to plan the related activities as a full-fledged project and to investigate new methodologies and languages to meet the challenges. The paths taken by the four LHC experiments ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb are coherently put together in an LHC-wide framework based on Grid technology. The current status and understandings have been broadly outlined.

Towards Cloud Computing SLA Risk Management: Issues and Challenges

OpenAIRE

Morin, Jean-Henry; Aubert, Jocelyn; Gateau, Benjamin

2012-01-01

Cloud Computing has become mainstream technology offering a commoditized approach to software, platform and infrastructure as a service over the Internet on a global scale. This raises important new security issues beyond traditional perimeter based approaches. This paper attempts to identify these issues and their corresponding challenges, proposing to use risk and Service Level Agreement (SLA) management as the basis for a service level framework to improve governance, risk and compliance i...

Computational Science And Engineering Software Sustainability And Productivity (CSESSP) Challenges Workshop Report

Data.gov (United States)

Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, Executive Office of the President — This report details the challenges and opportunities discussed at the NITRD sponsored multi-agency workshop on Computational Science and Engineering Software...

Readiness for Living Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peronard, Jean-Paul

2013-01-01

This paper is a comparative analysis between workers in healthcare with high and low degree of readiness for living technology such as robotics. To explore the differences among workers’ readiness for robotics in healthcare, statistical analysis was conducted in the data set obtained from 200...

Predicting ready biodegradability of premanufacture notice chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Boethling, Robert S; Lynch, David G; Thom, Gary C

2003-04-01

Chemical substances other than pesticides, drugs, and food additives are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but the United States does not require that new substances be tested automatically for such critical properties as biodegradability. The resulting lack of submitted data has fostered the development of estimation methods, and the BioWIN models for predicting biodegradability from chemical structure have played a prominent role in premanufacture notice (PMN) review. Until now, validation efforts have used only the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) test data and have not included all models. To assess BioWIN performance with PMN substances, we assembled a database of PMNs for which ready biodegradation data had been submitted over the period 1995 through 2001. The 305 PMN structures are highly varied and pose major challenges to chemical property estimation. Despite the variability of ready biodegradation tests, the use of at least six different test methods, and widely varying quality of submitted data, accuracy of four of six BioWIN models (MITI linear, MITI nonlinear, survey ultimate, survey primary) was in the 80+% range for predicting ready biodegradability. Greater accuracy (>90%) can be achieved by using model estimates only when the four models agree (true for 3/4 of the PMNs). The BioWIN linear and nonlinear probability models did not perform as well even when classification criteria were optimized. The results suggest that the MITI and survey BioWIN models are suitable for use in screening-level applications.

Evidence based practice readiness: A concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, Jessica D; Welton, John M

2018-01-15

To analyse and define the concept "evidence based practice readiness" in nurses. Evidence based practice readiness is a term commonly used in health literature, but without a clear understanding of what readiness means. Concept analysis is needed to define the meaning of evidence based practice readiness. A concept analysis was conducted using Walker and Avant's method to clarify the defining attributes of evidence based practice readiness as well as antecedents and consequences. A Boolean search of PubMed and Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature was conducted and limited to those published after the year 2000. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria for this analysis. Evidence based practice readiness incorporates personal and organisational readiness. Antecedents include the ability to recognize the need for evidence based practice, ability to access and interpret evidence based practice, and a supportive environment. The concept analysis demonstrates the complexity of the concept and its implications for nursing practice. The four pillars of evidence based practice readiness: nursing, training, equipping and leadership support are necessary to achieve evidence based practice readiness. Nurse managers are in the position to address all elements of evidence based practice readiness. Creating an environment that fosters evidence based practice can improve patient outcomes, decreased health care cost, increase nurses' job satisfaction and decrease nursing turnover. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What Are the Costs of Trauma Center Readiness? Defining and Standardizing Readiness Costs for Trauma Centers Statewide.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashley, Dennis W; Mullins, Robert F; Dente, Christopher J; Garlow, Laura; Medeiros, Regina S; Atkins, Elizabeth V; Solomon, Gina; Abston, Dena; Ferdinand, Colville H

2017-09-01

Trauma center readiness costs are incurred to maintain essential infrastructure and capacity to provide emergent services on a 24/7 basis. These costs are not captured by traditional hospital cost accounting, and no national consensus exists on appropriate definitions for each cost. Therefore, in 2010, stakeholders from all Level I and II trauma centers developed a survey tool standardizing and defining trauma center readiness costs. The survey tool underwent minor revisions to provide further clarity, and the survey was repeated in 2013. The purpose of this study was to provide a follow-up analysis of readiness costs for Georgia's Level I and Level II trauma centers. Using the American College of Surgeons Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient guidelines, four readiness cost categories were identified: Administrative, Clinical Medical Staff, Operating Room, and Education/Outreach. Through conference calls, webinars and face-to-face meetings with financial officers, trauma medical directors, and program managers from all trauma centers, standardized definitions for reporting readiness costs within each category were developed. This resulted in a survey tool for centers to report their individual readiness costs for one year. The total readiness cost for all Level I trauma centers was $34,105,318 (avg $6,821,064) and all Level II trauma centers was $20,998,019 (avg $2,333,113). Methodology to standardize and define readiness costs for all trauma centers within the state was developed. Average costs for Level I and Level II trauma centers were identified. This model may be used to help other states define and standardize their trauma readiness costs.

Computing Platforms for Big Biological Data Analytics: Perspectives and Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Zekun; Lan, Haidong; Tan, Guangming; Lu, Mian; Vasilakos, Athanasios V; Liu, Weiguo

2017-01-01

The last decade has witnessed an explosion in the amount of available biological sequence data, due to the rapid progress of high-throughput sequencing projects. However, the biological data amount is becoming so great that traditional data analysis platforms and methods can no longer meet the need to rapidly perform data analysis tasks in life sciences. As a result, both biologists and computer scientists are facing the challenge of gaining a profound insight into the deepest biological functions from big biological data. This in turn requires massive computational resources. Therefore, high performance computing (HPC) platforms are highly needed as well as efficient and scalable algorithms that can take advantage of these platforms. In this paper, we survey the state-of-the-art HPC platforms for big biological data analytics. We first list the characteristics of big biological data and popular computing platforms. Then we provide a taxonomy of different biological data analysis applications and a survey of the way they have been mapped onto various computing platforms. After that, we present a case study to compare the efficiency of different computing platforms for handling the classical biological sequence alignment problem. At last we discuss the open issues in big biological data analytics.

The challenges of developing computational physics: the case of South Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salagaram, T; Chetty, N

2013-01-01

Most modern scientific research problems are complex and interdisciplinary in nature. It is impossible to study such problems in detail without the use of computation in addition to theory and experiment. Although it is widely agreed that students should be introduced to computational methods at the undergraduate level, it remains a challenge to do this in a full traditional undergraduate curriculum. In this paper, we report on a survey that we conducted of undergraduate physics curricula in South Africa to determine the content and the approach taken in the teaching of computational physics. We also considered the pedagogy of computational physics at the postgraduate and research levels at various South African universities, research facilities and institutions. We conclude that the state of computational physics training in South Africa, especially at the undergraduate teaching level, is generally weak and needs to be given more attention at all universities. Failure to do so will impact negatively on the countrys capacity to grow its endeavours generally in the field of computational sciences, with negative impacts on research, and in commerce and industry

Ready-to-use foods for management of moderate acute malnutrition: Considerations for scaling up production and use in programs

Science.gov (United States)

Ready-to-use foods are one of the available strategies for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), but challenges remain in the use of these products in programs at scale. This paper focuses on two challenges: the need for cheaper formulations using locally available ingredients that are...

Bioprinting: an assessment based on manufacturing readiness levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Changsheng; Wang, Ben; Zhang, Chuck; Wysk, Richard A; Chen, Yi-Wen

2017-05-01

Over the last decade, bioprinting has emerged as a promising technology in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. With recent advances in additive manufacturing, bioprinting is poised to provide patient-specific therapies and new approaches for tissue and organ studies, drug discoveries and even food manufacturing. Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) is a method that has been applied to assess manufacturing maturity and to identify risks and gaps in technology-manufacturing transitions. Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is used to evaluate the maturity of a technology. This paper reviews recent advances in bioprinting following the MRL scheme and addresses corresponding MRL levels of engineering challenges and gaps associated with the translation of bioprinting from lab-bench experiments to ultimate full-scale manufacturing of tissues and organs. According to our step-by-step TRL and MRL assessment, after years of rigorous investigation by the biotechnology community, bioprinting is on the cusp of entering the translational phase where laboratory research practices can be scaled up into manufacturing products specifically designed for individual patients.

Preparing for success: Readiness models for rural telehealth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennett P

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Readiness is an integral and preliminary step in the successful implementation of telehealth services into existing health systems within rural communities. Methods and Materials: This paper details and critiques published international peer-reviewed studies that have focused on assessing telehealth readiness for rural and remote health. Background specific to readiness and change theories is provided, followed by a critique of identified telehealth readiness models, including a commentary on their readiness assessment tools. Results: Four current readiness models resulted from the search process. The four models varied across settings, such as rural outpatient practices, hospice programs, rural communities, as well as government agencies, national associations, and organizations. All models provided frameworks for readiness tools. Two specifically provided a mechanism by which communities could be categorized by their level of telehealth readiness. Discussion: Common themes across models included: an appreciation of practice context, strong leadership, and a perceived need to improve practice. Broad dissemination of these telehealth readiness models and tools is necessary to promote awareness and assessment of readiness. This will significantly aid organizations to facilitate the implementation of telehealth.

A community computational challenge to predict the activity of pairs of compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Bansal, Mukesh; Yang, Jichen; Karan, Charles; Menden, Michael P; Costello, James C; Tang, Hao; Xiao, Guanghua; Li, Yajuan; Allen, Jeffrey; Zhong, Rui; Chen, Beibei; Kim, Minsoo; Wang, Tao; Heiser, Laura M; Realubit, Ronald; Mattioli, Michela; Alvarez, Mariano J; Shen, Yao; Gallahan, Daniel; Singer, Dinah; Saez-Rodriguez, Julio; Xie, Yang; Stolovitzky, Gustavo; Califano, Andrea

2014-12-01

Recent therapeutic successes have renewed interest in drug combinations, but experimental screening approaches are costly and often identify only small numbers of synergistic combinations. The DREAM consortium launched an open challenge to foster the development of in silico methods to computationally rank 91 compound pairs, from the most synergistic to the most antagonistic, based on gene-expression profiles of human B cells treated with individual compounds at multiple time points and concentrations. Using scoring metrics based on experimental dose-response curves, we assessed 32 methods (31 community-generated approaches and SynGen), four of which performed significantly better than random guessing. We highlight similarities between the methods. Although the accuracy of predictions was not optimal, we find that computational prediction of compound-pair activity is possible, and that community challenges can be useful to advance the field of in silico compound-synergy prediction.

Public webinar: Wildland Fire Sensors Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

This multi-agency challenge seeks a field-ready prototype system capable of measuring constituents of smoke, including particulates, carbon monoxide, ozone, and carbon dioxide, over the wide range of levels expected during wildland fires. The prototype system should be accurate, ...

An Evaluation of ChalleNGe Graduates DOD Employability

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-22

initial reading and applied math TABE scores are more likely to complete ChalleNGe. In addition, those graduates who begin ChalleNGe with higher TABE...each site is given discretion in how it structures its program. As a result, the academic goals of the ChalleNGe sites vary. Some seek to have...students arrive at ChalleNGe at low levels of reading comprehension, writing, and basic math ; they simply are not ready to acquire a second language

From Readiness to Action: How Motivation Works

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kruglanski Arie W.

2014-09-01

Full Text Available We present a new theoretical construct labeled motivational readiness. It is defined as the inclination, whether or not ultimately implemented, to satisfy a desire. A general model of readiness is described which builds on the work of prior theories, including animal learning models and personality approaches, and which aims to integrate a variety of research findings across different domains of motivational research. Components of this model include the Want state (that is, an individual’s currently active desire, and the Expectancy of being able to satisfy that Want. We maintain that the Want concept is the critical ingredient in motivational readiness: without it, readiness cannot exist. In contrast, some motivational readiness can exist without Expectancy. We also discuss the role of incentive in motivational readiness. Incentive is presently conceived of in terms of a Match between a Want and a Perceived Situational Affordance. Whereas in classic models incentive was portrayed as a first order determinant of motivational readiness, here we describe it as a second order factor which affects readiness by influencing Want, Expectancy, or both. The new model’s relation to its theoretical predecessors, and its implications for future research, also are discussed.

Information Warfare: Issues Associated with the Defense of DOD Computers and Computer Networks

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Franklin, Derek

2002-01-01

... that may threaten the critical information pathways of the armed forces An analysis of the history of computer information warfare reveals that there was an embarrassing lack of readiness and defense...

The Challenge of Computers.

Science.gov (United States)

Leger, Guy

Computers may change teachers' lifestyles, teaching styles, and perhaps even their personal values. A brief survey of the history of computers demonstrates the incredible pace at which computer technology is moving ahead. The cost and size of microchips will continue to decline dramatically over the next 20 years, while the capability and variety…

Computing in the Curriculum: Challenges and Strategies from a Teacher's Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Sentance, Sue; Csizmadia, Andrew

2017-01-01

Computing is being introduced into the curriculum in many countries. Teachers' perspectives enable us to discover what challenges this presents, and also the strategies teachers claim to be using successfully in teaching the subject across primary and secondary education. The study described in this paper was carried out in the UK in 2014 where…

The Security Challenges in the IoT Enabled Cyber-Physical Systems and Opportunities for Evolutionary Computing & Other Computational Intelligence

OpenAIRE

He, H.; Maple, C.; Watson, T.; Tiwari, A.; Mehnen, J.; Jin, Y.; Gabrys, Bogdan

2016-01-01

Internet of Things (IoT) has given rise to the fourth industrial revolution (Industrie 4.0), and it brings great benefits by connecting people, processes and data. However, cybersecurity has become a critical challenge in the IoT enabled cyber physical systems, from connected supply chain, Big Data produced by huge amount of IoT devices, to industry control systems. Evolutionary computation combining with other computational intelligence will play an important role for cybersecurity, such as ...

Vogtle Unit 1 readiness review: Assessment of Georgia Power Company readiness review pilot program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, G.

1987-09-01

Georgia Power Company (GPC) performed a readiness review at Vogtle Unit 1 as a pilot program. The pilot program was a new and innovative approach for the systematic and disciplined review, with senior management involvement, of GPC's implementation of design, construction, and operational readiness processes. The program's principal objective was to increase the level of assurance that quality programs at Vogtle Unit 1 have been accomplished in accordance with regulatory requirements. This report assesses the effectiveness of the GPC's readiness review pilot program (RRPP) at Vogtle Unit 1. It includes (1) an overview of what was experienced during the program's implementation, (2) an assessment of how well program objectives were met, and (3) lessons learned on the future use of the readiness review concept. Overall, GPC and the NRC staff believe that the RRPP at Vogtle Unit 1 was a success and that the program provided significant added assurance that Vogtle Unit 1 licensing commitments and NRC regulations have been adequately implemented. Although altering the NRC licensing review process for the few plants still in the construction pipeline may not be appropriate, licensees may benefit significantly by performing readiness reviews on their own initiative as GPC did for Vogtle. (7 refs.)

Factors of children's school readiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ljubica Marjanovič Umek

2006-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of preschool on children's school readiness in connection with their intellectual abilities, language competence, and parents' education. The sample included 219 children who were 68 to 83 months old and were attending the first year of primary school. Children were differentiated by whether or not they had attended preschool before starting school. Children's intellectual ability was determined using Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM; Raven, Raven, & Court, 1999, language competence using the Lestvice splošnega govornegarazvoja–LJ (LSGR–LJ, Scales of General Language Development; Marjanovič Umek, Kranjc, Fekonja in Bajc, 2004, and school readiness with the Preizkus pripravljenosti za šolo (PPŠ, Test of School Readiness; Toličič, 1986. The results indicate that children's intellectual ability and language competence have a high predictive value for the school readiness — they explained 51% of the variance in children's scores on the PPŠ. Preschool enrollment has a positive effect on school readiness for children whose parents have a low level of education, but not for those whose parents are highly educated.

Measuring readiness for and satisfaction with a hand hygiene e-learning course among healthcare workers in a paediatric oncology centre in Guatemala City.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Miriam L; Melgar, Mario; Homsi, Maysam; Shuler, Ana; Antillon-Klussmann, Federico; Matheu, Laura; Ramirez, Marylin; Grant, Michael M; Lowther, Deborah L; Relyea, George; Caniza, Miguela A

2016-01-01

E-learning has been widely used in the infection control field and has been recommended for use in hand hygiene (HH) programs by the World Health Organization. Such strategies are effective and efficient for infection control, but factors such as learner readiness for this method should be determined to assure feasibility and suitability in low- to middle-income countries. We developed a tailored, e-learning, Spanish-language HH course based on the WHO guidelines for HH in healthcare settings for the pediatric cancer center in Guatemala City. We aimed to identify e-readiness factors that influenced HH course completion and evaluate HCWs' satisfaction. Pearson's chi-square test of independence was used to retrospectively compare e-readiness factors and course-completion status (completed, non-completed, and never-started). We surveyed 194 HCWs for e-readiness; 116 HCWs self-enrolled in the HH course, and 55 responded to the satisfaction survey. Most e-readiness factors were statistically significant between course-completion groups. Moreover, students were significantly more likely to complete the course if they had a computer with an Internet connection (P=0.001) and self-reported comfort with using a computer several times a week (p=0.001) and communicating through online technologies (p=0.001). Previous online course experience was not a significant factor (p=0.819). E-readiness score averages varied among HCWs, and mean scores for all e-readiness factors were significantly higher among medical doctors than among nurses. Nearly all respondents to the satisfaction survey agreed that e-learning was as effective as the traditional teaching method. Evaluating HCWs' e-readiness is essential while integrating technologies into educational programs in low- to middle-income countries.

Computing in research and development in Africa benefits, trends, challenges and solutions

CERN Document Server

2015-01-01

This book describes the trends, challenges and solutions in computing use for scientific research and development within different domains in Africa, such as health, agriculture, environment, economy, energy, education and engineering. The benefits expected are discussed by a number of recognized, domain-specific experts, with a common theme being computing as solution enabler. This book is the first document providing such a representative up-to-date view on this topic at the continent level.   • Discusses computing for scientific research and development on the African continent, addressing domains such as engineering, health, agriculture, environment, economy, energy, and education; • Describes the state-of-the-art in usage of computing to address problems in developing countries pertaining to health, productivity, economic growth, and renewable energy; • Offers insights applicable to all developing countries on the use of computing technologies to address a variety of societal issues.

Cognitive Readiness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Morrison, John

2002-01-01

Cognitive readiness is described as the mental preparation an individual needs to establish and sustain competent performance in the complex and unpredictable environment of modern military operations...

Vers un modele d'intervention precoce en lecture en actualisation linguistique (Towards a Model of Early Intervention in Reading Readiness).

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Marie Josee

1999-01-01

Argues that in Ontario's French-medium schools, reading is often a challenge, particularly for those in readiness classes who speak little or no French. A model for early intervention in reading is recommended, combining reading and writing to address the linguistic challenges of students in a minority-language community. (Author/MSE)

CBI students: ready for new challenges

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2015-01-01

Twenty-seven students from four universities and over ten countries gathered at IdeaSquare to start their Challenge-Based Innovation (CBI) course (see here). Labour mobility, food safety, literacy in the developing world and water safety are the four projects that the students will work on now that they are back at their home institutions. The final ideas and prototypes will be presented at CERN in December.   The CBI students enjoy some training sessions at IdeaSquare. (Image: Joona Kurikka for IdeaSquare). The intensive first week of the four-month CBI Mediterranean course took place from 14 to 18 September. The students, from four universities – ESADE, IED and UPC in Barcelona and UNIMORE in Italy – gathered at CERN to meet researchers and carry out need-finding and benchmarking studies. “The idea of CBI courses is to get multidisciplinary student teams and their instructors to collaborate with researchers at CERN to develop novel solutions that meet societal need...

CMS Computing Software and Analysis Challenge 2006

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Filippis, N. [Dipartimento interateneo di Fisica M. Merlin and INFN Bari, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari (Italy)

2007-10-15

The CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) collaboration is making a big effort to test the workflow and the dataflow associated with the data handling model. With this purpose the computing, software and analysis Challenge 2006, namely CSA06, started the 15th of September. It was a 50 million event exercise that included all the steps of the analysis chain, like the prompt reconstruction, the data streaming, calibration and alignment iterative executions, the data distribution to regional sites, up to the end-user analysis. Grid tools provided by the LCG project are also experimented to gain access to the data and the resources by providing a user friendly interface to the physicists submitting the production and the analysis jobs. An overview of the status and results of the CSA06 is presented in this work.

CMS Computing Software and Analysis Challenge 2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Filippis, N.

2007-01-01

The CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) collaboration is making a big effort to test the workflow and the dataflow associated with the data handling model. With this purpose the computing, software and analysis Challenge 2006, namely CSA06, started the 15th of September. It was a 50 million event exercise that included all the steps of the analysis chain, like the prompt reconstruction, the data streaming, calibration and alignment iterative executions, the data distribution to regional sites, up to the end-user analysis. Grid tools provided by the LCG project are also experimented to gain access to the data and the resources by providing a user friendly interface to the physicists submitting the production and the analysis jobs. An overview of the status and results of the CSA06 is presented in this work

A theory of organizational readiness for change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiner Bryan J

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Change management experts have emphasized the importance of establishing organizational readiness for change and recommended various strategies for creating it. Although the advice seems reasonable, the scientific basis for it is limited. Unlike individual readiness for change, organizational readiness for change has not been subject to extensive theoretical development or empirical study. In this article, I conceptually define organizational readiness for change and develop a theory of its determinants and outcomes. I focus on the organizational level of analysis because many promising approaches to improving healthcare delivery entail collective behavior change in the form of systems redesign--that is, multiple, simultaneous changes in staffing, work flow, decision making, communication, and reward systems. Discussion Organizational readiness for change is a multi-level, multi-faceted construct. As an organization-level construct, readiness for change refers to organizational members' shared resolve to implement a change (change commitment and shared belief in their collective capability to do so (change efficacy. Organizational readiness for change varies as a function of how much organizational members value the change and how favorably they appraise three key determinants of implementation capability: task demands, resource availability, and situational factors. When organizational readiness for change is high, organizational members are more likely to initiate change, exert greater effort, exhibit greater persistence, and display more cooperative behavior. The result is more effective implementation. Summary The theory described in this article treats organizational readiness as a shared psychological state in which organizational members feel committed to implementing an organizational change and confident in their collective abilities to do so. This way of thinking about organizational readiness is best suited for

High Performance Numerical Computing for High Energy Physics: A New Challenge for Big Data Science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pop, Florin

2014-01-01

Modern physics is based on both theoretical analysis and experimental validation. Complex scenarios like subatomic dimensions, high energy, and lower absolute temperature are frontiers for many theoretical models. Simulation with stable numerical methods represents an excellent instrument for high accuracy analysis, experimental validation, and visualization. High performance computing support offers possibility to make simulations at large scale, in parallel, but the volume of data generated by these experiments creates a new challenge for Big Data Science. This paper presents existing computational methods for high energy physics (HEP) analyzed from two perspectives: numerical methods and high performance computing. The computational methods presented are Monte Carlo methods and simulations of HEP processes, Markovian Monte Carlo, unfolding methods in particle physics, kernel estimation in HEP, and Random Matrix Theory used in analysis of particles spectrum. All of these methods produce data-intensive applications, which introduce new challenges and requirements for ICT systems architecture, programming paradigms, and storage capabilities.

Recent progress and modern challenges in applied mathematics, modeling and computational science

CERN Document Server

Makarov, Roman; Belair, Jacques

2017-01-01

This volume is an excellent resource for professionals in various areas of applications of mathematics, modeling, and computational science. It focuses on recent progress and modern challenges in these areas. The volume provides a balance between fundamental theoretical and applied developments, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of modern trends and detailing state-of-the-art achievements in Applied Mathematics, Modeling, and Computational Science.  The chapters have been authored by international experts in their respective fields, making this book ideal for researchers in academia, practitioners, and graduate students. It can also serve as a reference in the diverse selected areas of applied mathematics, modelling, and computational sciences, and is ideal for interdisciplinary collaborations.

Evaluating a multi-player brain-computer interface game: challenge versus co-experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gürkök, Hayrettin; Volpe, G; Reidsma, Dennis; Poel, Mannes; Camurri, A.; Obbink, Michel; Nijholt, Antinus

2013-01-01

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) have started to be considered as game controllers. The low level of control they provide prevents them from providing perfect control but allows the design of challenging games which can be enjoyed by players. Evaluation of enjoyment, or user experience (UX), is

German contributions to the CMS computing infrastructure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheurer, A

2010-01-01

The CMS computing model anticipates various hierarchically linked tier centres to counter the challenges provided by the enormous amounts of data which will be collected by the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, LHC, at CERN. During the past years, various computing exercises were performed to test the readiness of the computing infrastructure, the Grid middleware and the experiment's software for the startup of the LHC which took place in September 2008. In Germany, several tier sites are set up to allow for an efficient and reliable way to simulate possible physics processes as well as to reprocess, analyse and interpret the numerous stored collision events of the experiment. It will be shown that the German computing sites played an important role during the experiment's preparation phase and during data-taking of CMS and, therefore, scientific groups in Germany will be ready to compete for discoveries in this new era of particle physics. This presentation focuses on the German Tier-1 centre GridKa, located at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, the German CMS Tier-2 federation DESY/RWTH with installations at the University of Aachen and the research centre DESY. In addition, various local computing resources in Aachen, Hamburg and Karlsruhe are briefly introduced as well. It will be shown that an excellent cooperation between the different German institutions and physicists led to well established computing sites which cover all parts of the CMS computing model. Therefore, the following topics are discussed and the achieved goals and the gained knowledge are depicted: data management and distribution among the different tier sites, Grid-based Monte Carlo production at the Tier-2 as well as Grid-based and locally submitted inhomogeneous user analyses at the Tier-3s. Another important task is to ensure a proper and reliable operation 24 hours a day, especially during the time of data-taking. For this purpose, the meta-monitoring tool 'HappyFace', which was

Partnership readiness for community-based participatory research.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Jeannette O; Newman, Susan D; Meadows, Otha; Cox, Melissa J; Bunting, Shelia

2012-08-01

The use of a dyadic lens to assess and leverage academic and community partners' readiness to conduct community-based participatory research (CBPR) has not been systematically investigated. With a lack of readiness to conduct CBPR, the partnership and its products are vulnerable. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the dimensions and key indicators necessary for academic and community partnership readiness to conduct CBPR. Key informant interviews and focus groups (n = 36 participants) were conducted with academic and community participants who had experiences with CBPR partnerships. A 'framework analysis' approach was used to analyze the data and generate a new model, CBPR Partnership Readiness Model. Antecedents of CBPR partnership readiness are a catalyst and mutual interest. The major dimensions of the CBPR Partnership Readiness Model are (i) goodness of fit, (ii) capacity, and (iii) operations. Preferred outcomes are sustainable partnership and product, mutual growth, policy and social and health impact on the community. CBPR partnership readiness is an iterative and dynamic process, partnership and issue specific, influenced by a range of environmental and contextual factors, amenable to change and essential for sustainability and promotion of health and social change in the community.

Readiness to change criminal women and men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krzysztof Biel

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The readiness of offenders to social rehabilitation is a new category in our country. Meanwhile, the research conducted in many countries indicates its usefulness in the diagnosis and selection of participants of rehabilitation programmes. This entails more effective interaction with convicted persons and greater responsibility on the part of convicted people for their own social rehabilitation process. The aim of this article is to present the main assumptions and models of readiness for change and their usefulness in social rehabilitation practice and to present pilot studies of readiness for change among criminal women and men in Kraków. Application of the Polish adaptation of the CVTRQ questionnaire made it possible to determine the level of convicted persons’ readiness, taking into account deficits in particular scales of the questionnaire and variables differentiating the group of ready and not ready people. At the end, guidelines for further research will be presented.

New Challenges for Design Participation in the Era of Ubiquitous Computing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brereton, Margot; Buur, Jacob

2008-01-01

Since the event of participatory design in the work democracy projects of the 1970’s and 1980’s in Scandinavia, computing technology and people’s engagement with it have undergone fundamental changes. Although participatory design continues to be a precondition for designing computing that aligns...... with human practices, the motivations to engage in participatory design have changed, and the new era requires formats that are different from the original ones. Through the analysis of three case studies this paper seeks to explain why participatory design must be brought to bear on the field of ubiquitous...... computing, and how this challenges the original participatory design thinking. In particular we will argue that more casual, exploratory formats of engagement with people are required, and rather than planning the all-encompassing systems development project, participatory design needs to move towards...

Best Performers Announced for the NCI-CPTAC DREAM Proteogenomics Computational Challenge | Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research

Science.gov (United States)

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) is pleased to announce that teams led by Jaewoo Kang (Korea University), and Yuanfang Guan with Hongyang Li (University of Michigan) as the best performers of the NCI-CPTAC DREAM Proteogenomics Computational Challenge. Over 500 participants from 20 countries registered for the Challenge, which offered $25,000 in cash awards contributed by the NVIDIA Foundation through its Compute the Cure initiative.

Scientific and Computational Challenges of the Fusion Simulation Program (FSP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, William M.

2011-01-01

This paper highlights the scientific and computational challenges facing the Fusion Simulation Program (FSP) a major national initiative in the United States with the primary objective being to enable scientific discovery of important new plasma phenomena with associated understanding that emerges only upon integration. This requires developing a predictive integrated simulation capability for magnetically-confined fusion plasmas that are properly validated against experiments in regimes relevant for producing practical fusion energy. It is expected to provide a suite of advanced modeling tools for reliably predicting fusion device behavior with comprehensive and targeted science-based simulations of nonlinearly-coupled phenomena in the core plasma, edge plasma, and wall region on time and space scales required for fusion energy production. As such, it will strive to embody the most current theoretical and experimental understanding of magnetic fusion plasmas and to provide a living framework for the simulation of such plasmas as the associated physics understanding continues to advance over the next several decades. Substantive progress on answering the outstanding scientific questions in the field will drive the FSP toward its ultimate goal of developing the ability to predict the behavior of plasma discharges in toroidal magnetic fusion devices with high physics fidelity on all relevant time and space scales. From a computational perspective, this will demand computing resources in the petascale range and beyond together with the associated multi-core algorithmic formulation needed to address burning plasma issues relevant to ITER - a multibillion dollar collaborative experiment involving seven international partners representing over half the world's population. Even more powerful exascale platforms will be needed to meet the future challenges of designing a demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO). Analogous to other major applied physics modeling projects (e

Scientific and computational challenges of the fusion simulation program (FSP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, William M.

2011-01-01

This paper highlights the scientific and computational challenges facing the Fusion Simulation Program (FSP) - a major national initiative in the United States with the primary objective being to enable scientific discovery of important new plasma phenomena with associated understanding that emerges only upon integration. This requires developing a predictive integrated simulation capability for magnetically-confined fusion plasmas that are properly validated against experiments in regimes relevant for producing practical fusion energy. It is expected to provide a suite of advanced modeling tools for reliably predicting fusion device behavior with comprehensive and targeted science-based simulations of nonlinearly-coupled phenomena in the core plasma, edge plasma, and wall region on time and space scales required for fusion energy production. As such, it will strive to embody the most current theoretical and experimental understanding of magnetic fusion plasmas and to provide a living framework for the simulation of such plasmas as the associated physics understanding continues to advance over the next several decades. Substantive progress on answering the outstanding scientific questions in the field will drive the FSP toward its ultimate goal of developing the ability to predict the behavior of plasma discharges in toroidal magnetic fusion devices with high physics fidelity on all relevant time and space scales. From a computational perspective, this will demand computing resources in the petascale range and beyond together with the associated multi-core algorithmic formulation needed to address burning plasma issues relevant to ITER - a multibillion dollar collaborative experiment involving seven international partners representing over half the world's population. Even more powerful exascale platforms will be needed to meet the future challenges of designing a demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO). Analogous to other major applied physics modeling projects (e

Scientific and computational challenges of the fusion simulation project (FSP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, W M

2008-01-01

This paper highlights the scientific and computational challenges facing the Fusion Simulation Project (FSP). The primary objective is to develop advanced software designed to use leadership-class computers for carrying out multiscale physics simulations to provide information vital to delivering a realistic integrated fusion simulation model with unprecedented physics fidelity. This multiphysics capability will be unprecedented in that in the current FES applications domain, the largest-scale codes are used to carry out first-principles simulations of mostly individual phenomena in realistic 3D geometry while the integrated models are much smaller-scale, lower-dimensionality codes with significant empirical elements used for modeling and designing experiments. The FSP is expected to be the most up-to-date embodiment of the theoretical and experimental understanding of magnetically confined thermonuclear plasmas and to provide a living framework for the simulation of such plasmas as the associated physics understanding continues to advance over the next several decades. Substantive progress on answering the outstanding scientific questions in the field will drive the FSP toward its ultimate goal of developing a reliable ability to predict the behavior of plasma discharges in toroidal magnetic fusion devices on all relevant time and space scales. From a computational perspective, the fusion energy science application goal to produce high-fidelity, whole-device modeling capabilities will demand computing resources in the petascale range and beyond, together with the associated multicore algorithmic formulation needed to address burning plasma issues relevant to ITER - a multibillion dollar collaborative device involving seven international partners representing over half the world's population. Even more powerful exascale platforms will be needed to meet the future challenges of designing a demonstration fusion reactor (DEMO). Analogous to other major applied physics

Leaderboard Now Open: CPTAC’s DREAM Proteogenomics Computational Challenge | Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research

Science.gov (United States)

The National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) is pleased to announce the opening of the leaderboard to its Proteogenomics Computational DREAM Challenge. The leadership board remains open for submissions during September 25, 2017 through October 8, 2017, with the Challenge expected to run until November 17, 2017.

Determining transition readiness in congenital heart disease: Assessing the utility of the Transition Readiness Questionnaire

Science.gov (United States)

The Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ) is a tool commonly used to assess transition readiness in adolescents with chronic diseases. It was previously validated in youth with special health care needs (YSHCN), but no patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) were included in the ...

Computational Aspects of Dam Risk Analysis: Findings and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ignacio Escuder-Bueno

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In recent years, risk analysis techniques have proved to be a useful tool to inform dam safety management. This paper summarizes the outcomes of three themes related to dam risk analysis discussed in the Benchmark Workshops organized by the International Commission on Large Dams Technical Committee on “Computational Aspects of Analysis and Design of Dams.” In the 2011 Benchmark Workshop, estimation of the probability of failure of a gravity dam for the sliding failure mode was discussed. Next, in 2013, the discussion focused on the computational challenges of the estimation of consequences in dam risk analysis. Finally, in 2015, the probability of sliding and overtopping in an embankment was analyzed. These Benchmark Workshops have allowed a complete review of numerical aspects for dam risk analysis, showing that risk analysis methods are a very useful tool to analyze the risk of dam systems, including downstream consequence assessments and the uncertainty of structural models.

Ex Machina: Analytical platforms, Law and the Challenges of Computational Legal Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola Lettieri

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Over the years, computation has become a fundamental part of the scientific practice in several research fields that goes far beyond the boundaries of natural sciences. Data mining, machine learning, simulations and other computational methods lie today at the hearth of the scientific endeavour in a growing number of social research areas from anthropology to economics. In this scenario, an increasingly important role is played by analytical platforms: integrated environments allowing researchers to experiment cutting-edge data-driven and computation-intensive analyses. The paper discusses the appearance of such tools in the emerging field of computational legal science. After a general introduction to the impact of computational methods on both natural and social sciences, we describe the concept and the features of an analytical platform exploring innovative cross-methodological approaches to the academic and investigative study of crime. Stemming from an ongoing project involving researchers from law, computer science and bioinformatics, the initiative is presented and discussed as an opportunity to raise a debate about the future of legal scholarship and, inside of it, about the challenges of computational legal science.

Granular computing: perspectives and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, JingTao; Vasilakos, Athanasios V; Pedrycz, Witold

2013-12-01

Granular computing, as a new and rapidly growing paradigm of information processing, has attracted many researchers and practitioners. Granular computing is an umbrella term to cover any theories, methodologies, techniques, and tools that make use of information granules in complex problem solving. The aim of this paper is to review foundations and schools of research and to elaborate on current developments in granular computing research. We first review some basic notions of granular computing. Classification and descriptions of various schools of research in granular computing are given. We also present and identify some research directions in granular computing.

Quality Assurance Challenges for Motion-Adaptive Radiation Therapy: Gating, Breath Holding, and Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Steve B.; Wolfgang, John; Mageras, Gig S.

2008-01-01

Compared with conventional three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiation therapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy treatments, quality assurance (QA) for motion-adaptive radiation therapy involves various challenges because of the added temporal dimension. Here we discuss those challenges for three specific techniques related to motion-adaptive therapy: namely respiratory gating, breath holding, and four-dimensional computed tomography. Similar to the introduction of any other new technologies in clinical practice, typical QA measures should be taken for these techniques also, including initial testing of equipment and clinical procedures, as well as frequent QA examinations during the early stage of implementation. Here, rather than covering every QA aspect in depth, we focus on some major QA challenges. The biggest QA challenge for gating and breath holding is how to ensure treatment accuracy when internal target position is predicted using external surrogates. Recommended QA measures for each component of treatment, including simulation, planning, patient positioning, and treatment delivery and verification, are discussed. For four-dimensional computed tomography, some major QA challenges have also been discussed

Starting school healthy and ready to learn: using social indicators to improve school readiness in Los Angeles County.

Science.gov (United States)

Wold, Cheryl; Nicholas, Will

2007-10-01

School readiness is an important public health outcome, determined by a set of interdependent health and developmental trajectories and influenced by a child's family, school, and community environments. The same factors that influence school readiness also influence educational success and health throughout life. A California cigarette tax ballot initiative (Proposition 10) created new resources for children aged 0 to 5 years and their families statewide through county-level First 5 commissions, including First 5 LA in Los Angeles County. An opportunity to define and promote school readiness indicators was facilitated by collaborative relationships with a strong emphasis on data among First 5 LA, the Children's Planning Council, and the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, and other child-serving organizations. A workgroup developed school readiness goals and indicators based on recommendations of the National Education Goals Panel and five key domains of child well-being: 1) good health, 2) safety and survival, 3) economic well-being, 4) social and emotional well-being, and 5) education/workforce readiness. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and First 5 LA Commission adopted the school readiness indicators. First 5 LA incorporated the indicators into the results-based accountability framework for its strategic plan and developed a community-oriented report designed to educate and spur school readiness-oriented action. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a countywide consensus-building plan designed to engage key stakeholders in the use of the indicators for planning, evaluation, and community-building activities. School readiness indicators in Los Angeles County represent an important step forward for public health practice, namely, the successful blending of an expanded role for assessment with the ecological model.

The Readiness Ruler as a measure of readiness to change poly-drug use in drug abusers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hesse, Morten

2006-01-01

Readiness to change is a crucial issue in the treatment of substance use disorders. Experiences with methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has shown that continuous drug and alcohol use with all its consequences characterize most MMT programs. In a prospective study of drug abusers seeking opiate...... agonist maintenance treatment in the City of Copenhagen, subjects were administered the Addiction Severity Index, and the Readiness Ruler for each of 11 different licit and illicit drugs by research technicians. Data was collected upon admission to the program and at a 18 month follow-up. Subjects who...... indicated they wanted to quit or cut down upon admission, reported less drug use at 18 month follow-up, after controlling for severity of drug problems at intake. Subjects who expressed readiness to change their drug use upon admission decreased their drug use. It is concluded that the Readiness Ruler...

Preparing Canada's power systems for transition to the year 2000 : Y2K readiness assessment results for Canadian electric utility companies : first quarter 1999

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

The effort made by Canadian electric utilities to minimize any power disruptions during the year 2000 (Y2K) transition is discussed and the state of readiness of the electric power industry with respect to the Y2K computer challenge is outlined. Canadian utilities started addressing Y2K issues several years ago, and today, reports show that every major electric utility in Canada is either on, or ahead of schedule to meet the industry established milestones for Y2K readiness. This report includes the assessment of all of Canada's large electric utilities, plus about 95 per cent of Canada's small distribution utilities. On average, the bulk electric utilities in Canada expect to be Y2K ready by mid-June 1999. This means that equipment and systems will operate properly for all dates including Y2K, or that there will be an operating strategy in place to mitigate the effects of any improper operations of equipment or systems. In terms of overall preparations for Y2K, Canada is ahead of the North American averages. Bulk electric utilities for non-nuclear generation are now 100 per cent complete in the inventory phase, 99 per cent complete in the assessment phase, and 91 per cent complete in the remediation/testing phase. For nuclear generation, completion rates are the same except for the remediation/testing phase which is 97 per cent complete. 1 tab., 21 figs

Computational intelligence in wireless sensor networks recent advances and future challenges

CERN Document Server

Falcon, Rafael; Koeppen, Mario

2017-01-01

This book emphasizes the increasingly important role that Computational Intelligence (CI) methods are playing in solving a myriad of entangled Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) related problems. The book serves as a guide for surveying several state-of-the-art WSN scenarios in which CI approaches have been employed. The reader finds in this book how CI has contributed to solve a wide range of challenging problems, ranging from balancing the cost and accuracy of heterogeneous sensor deployments to recovering from real-time sensor failures to detecting attacks launched by malicious sensor nodes and enacting CI-based security schemes. Network managers, industry experts, academicians and practitioners alike (mostly in computer engineering, computer science or applied mathematics) benefit from the spectrum of successful applications reported in this book. Senior undergraduate or graduate students may discover in this book some problems well suited for their own research endeavors. USP: Presents recent advances and fu...

Readiness of communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives in disadvantaged areas of Victoria, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cyril, Sheila; Polonsky, Michael; Green, Julie; Agho, Kingsley; Renzaho, Andre

2017-07-01

Objective Disadvantaged communities bear a disproportionate burden of childhood obesity and show low participation in childhood obesity prevention initiatives. This study aims to examine the level of readiness of disadvantaged communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Methods Using the community readiness model, 95 semi-structured interviews were conducted among communities in four disadvantaged areas of Victoria, Australia. Community readiness analysis and paired t-tests were performed to assess the readiness levels of disadvantaged communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Results The results showed that disadvantaged communities demonstrated low levels of readiness (readiness score=4/9, 44%) to engage with the existing childhood obesity prevention initiatives, lacked knowledge of childhood obesity and its prevention, and reported facing challenges in initiating and sustaining participation in obesity prevention initiatives. Conclusion This study highlights the need to improve community readiness by addressing low obesity-related literacy levels among disadvantaged communities and by facilitating the capacity-building of bicultural workers to deliver obesity prevention messages to these communities. Integrating these needs into existing Australian health policy and practice is of paramount importance for reducing obesity-related disparities currently prevailing in Australia. What is known about the topic? Childhood obesity prevalence is plateauing in developed countries including Australia; however, obesity-related inequalities continue to exist in Australia especially among communities living in disadvantaged areas, which experience poor engagement in childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Studies in the USA have found that assessing disadvantaged communities' readiness to participate in health programs is a critical initial step in reducing the disproportionate obesity burden among these communities

Readiness to reconcile and post-traumatic distress in German survivors of wartime rapes in 1945.

Science.gov (United States)

Eichhorn, S; Stammel, N; Glaesmer, H; Klauer, T; Freyberger, H J; Knaevelsrud, C; Kuwert, P

2015-05-01

Sexual violence and wartime rapes are prevalent crimes in violent conflicts all over the world. Processes of reconciliation are growing challenges in post-conflict settings. Despite this, so far few studies have examined the psychological consequences and their mediating factors. Our study aimed at investigating the degree of longtime readiness to reconcile and its associations with post-traumatic distress within a sample of German women who experienced wartime rapes in 1945. A total of 23 wartime rape survivors were compared to age- and gender-matched controls with WWII-related non-sexual traumatic experiences. Readiness to reconcile was assessed with the Readiness to Reconcile Inventory (RRI-13). The German version of the Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) was used to assess post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. Readiness to reconcile in wartime rape survivors was higher in those women who reported less post-traumatic distress, whereas the subscale "openness to interaction" showed the strongest association with post-traumatic symptomatology. Moreover, wartime rape survivors reported fewer feelings of revenge than women who experienced other traumatization in WWII. Our results are in line with previous research, indicating that readiness to reconcile impacts healing processes in the context of conflict-related traumatic experiences. Based on the long-lasting post-traumatic symptomatology we observed that our findings highlight the need for psychological treatment of wartime rape survivors worldwide, whereas future research should continue focusing on reconciliation within the therapeutic process.

Reconciling fossil fuel power generation development and climate issues: CCS and CCS-Ready

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paelinck, Philippe; Sonnois, Louis; Leandri, Jean-Francois

2010-09-15

This paper intends to analyse how CCS can contribute to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel power plants and to describe what is its current overall status. Its potential future development is assessed, in both developed and developing countries, and an economical assessment of different investment options highlight the importance of CCS retrofit. The paper analyses then the challenges of the development of fossil fuelled power plants and details case examples to illustrate some technical challenges related to CCS and what are the technical solutions available today to ease and address them: CCS-Ready power plants.

Dimensions of community and organizational readiness for change.

Science.gov (United States)

Castañeda, Sheila F; Holscher, Jessica; Mumman, Manpreet K; Salgado, Hugo; Keir, Katherine B; Foster-Fishman, Pennie G; Talavera, Gregory A

2012-01-01

Readiness can influence whether health interventions are implemented in, and ultimately integrated into, communities. Although there is significant research interest in readiness and capacity for change, the measurement of these constructs is still in its infancy. The purpose of this review was to integrate existing assessment models of community and organizational readiness. The database PubMed was searched for articles; articles, book chapters, and practitioner guides identified as references cited in the list of core articles. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (1) Empirical research, (2) identified community or organizational readiness for innovative health programming in the study's title, purpose, research questions, or hypotheses, and (3) identified methods to measure these constructs. Duplicate articles were deleted and measures published before 1995 were excluded. The search yielded 150 studies; 13 met all criteria. This article presents the results of a critical review of 13 community and organizational readiness assessment models, stemming from articles, chapters, and practitioner's guides focusing on assessing, developing, and sustaining community and organizational readiness for innovative public health programs. Readiness is multidimensional and different models place emphasis on different components of readiness, such as (1) community and organizational climate that facilitates change, (2) attitudes and current efforts toward prevention, (3) commitment to change, and (4) capacity to implement change. When initiating the program planning process, it is essential to assess these four domains of readiness to determine how they apply to the nuances across different communities. Thus, community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships, in efforts to focus on public health problems, may consider using readiness assessments as a tool for tailoring intervention efforts to the needs of the community.

A Step Towards A Computing Grid For The LHC Experiments ATLAS Data Challenge 1

CERN Document Server

Sturrock, R; Epp, B; Ghete, V M; Kuhn, D; Mello, A G; Caron, B; Vetterli, M C; Karapetian, G V; Martens, K; Agarwal, A; Poffenberger, P R; McPherson, R A; Sobie, R J; Amstrong, S; Benekos, N C; Boisvert, V; Boonekamp, M; Brandt, S; Casado, M P; Elsing, M; Gianotti, F; Goossens, L; Grote, M; Hansen, J B; Mair, K; Nairz, A; Padilla, C; Poppleton, A; Poulard, G; Richter-Was, Elzbieta; Rosati, S; Schörner-Sadenius, T; Wengler, T; Xu, G F; Ping, J L; Chudoba, J; Kosina, J; Lokajícek, M; Svec, J; Tas, P; Hansen, J R; Lytken, E; Nielsen, J L; Wäänänen, A; Tapprogge, Stefan; Calvet, D; Albrand, S; Collot, J; Fulachier, J; Ledroit-Guillon, F; Ohlsson-Malek, F; Viret, S; Wielers, M; Bernardet, K; Corréard, S; Rozanov, A; De Vivie de Régie, J B; Arnault, C; Bourdarios, C; Hrivnác, J; Lechowski, M; Parrour, G; Perus, A; Rousseau, D; Schaffer, A; Unal, G; Derue, F; Chevalier, L; Hassani, S; Laporte, J F; Nicolaidou, R; Pomarède, D; Virchaux, M; Nesvadba, N; Baranov, S; Putzer, A; Khonich, A; Duckeck, G; Schieferdecker, P; Kiryunin, A E; Schieck, J; Lagouri, T; Duchovni, E; Levinson, L; Schrager, D; Negri, G; Bilokon, H; Spogli, L; Barberis, D; Parodi, F; Cataldi, G; Gorini, E; Primavera, M; Spagnolo, S; Cavalli, D; Heldmann, M; Lari, T; Perini, L; Rebatto, D; Resconi, S; Tatarelli, F; Vaccarossa, L; Biglietti, M; Carlino, G; Conventi, F; Doria, A; Merola, L; Polesello, G; Vercesi, V; De Salvo, A; Di Mattia, A; Luminari, L; Nisati, A; Reale, M; Testa, M; Farilla, A; Verducci, M; Cobal, M; Santi, L; Hasegawa, Y; Ishino, M; Mashimo, T; Matsumoto, H; Sakamoto, H; Tanaka, J; Ueda, I; Bentvelsen, Stanislaus Cornelius Maria; Fornaini, A; Gorfine, G; Groep, D; Templon, J; Köster, L J; Konstantinov, A; Myklebust, T; Ould-Saada, F; Bold, T; Kaczmarska, A; Malecki, P; Szymocha, T; Turala, M; Kulchitskii, Yu A; Khoreauli, G; Gromova, N; Tsulaia, V; Minaenko, A A; Rudenko, R; Slabospitskaya, E; Solodkov, A; Gavrilenko, I; Nikitine, N; Sivoklokov, S Yu; Toms, K; Zalite, A; Zalite, Yu; Kervesan, B; Bosman, M; González, S; Sánchez, J; Salt, J; Andersson, N; Nixon, L; Eerola, Paule Anna Mari; Kónya, B; Smirnova, O G; Sandgren, A; Ekelöf, T J C; Ellert, M; Gollub, N; Hellman, S; Lipniacka, A; Corso-Radu, A; Pérez-Réale, V; Lee, S C; CLin, S C; Ren, Z L; Teng, P K; Faulkner, P J W; O'Neale, S W; Watson, A; Brochu, F; Lester, C; Thompson, S; Kennedy, J; Bouhova-Thacker, E; Henderson, R; Jones, R; Kartvelishvili, V G; Smizanska, M; Washbrook, A J; Drohan, J; Konstantinidis, N P; Moyse, E; Salih, S; Loken, J; Baines, J T M; Candlin, D; Candlin, R; Clifft, R; Li, W; McCubbin, N A; George, S; Lowe, A; Buttar, C; Dawson, I; Moraes, A; Tovey, Daniel R; Gieraltowski, J; Malon, D; May, E; LeCompte, T J; Vaniachine, A; Adams, D L; Assamagan, Ketevi A; Baker, R; Deng, W; Fine, V; Fisyak, Yu; Gibbard, B; Ma, H; Nevski, P; Paige, F; Rajagopalan, S; Smith, J; Undrus, A; Wenaus, T; Yu, D; Calafiura, P; Canon, S; Costanzo, D; Hinchliffe, Ian; Lavrijsen, W; Leggett, C; Marino, M; Quarrie, D R; Sakrejda, I; Stravopoulos, G; Tull, C; Loch, P; Youssef, S; Shank, J T; Engh, D; Frank, E; Sen-Gupta, A; Gardner, R; Meritt, F; Smirnov, Y; Huth, J; Grundhoefer, L; Luehring, F C; Goldfarb, S; Severini, H; Skubic, P L; Gao, Y; Ryan, T; De, K; Sosebee, M; McGuigan, P; Ozturk, N

2004-01-01

The ATLAS Collaboration at CERN is preparing for the data taking and analysis at the LHC that will start in 2007. Therefore, a series of Data Challenges was started in 2002 whose goals are the validation of the Computing Model, of the complete software suite, of the data model, and to ensure the correctness of the technical choices to be made for the final offline computing environment. A major feature of the first Data Challenge (DC1) was the preparation and the deployment of the software required for the production of large event samples as a worldwide distributed activity. It should be noted that it was not an option to "run the complete production at CERN" even if we had wanted to; the resources were not available at CERN to carry out the production on a reasonable time-scale. The great challenge of organising and carrying out this large-scale production at a significant number of sites around the world had therefore to be faced. However, the benefits of this are manifold: apart from realising the require...

Pathways to School Readiness: Executive Functioning Predicts Academic and Social-Emotional Aspects of School Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Trisha D.; Hund, Alycia M.; Hesson-McInnis, Matthew S.; Roman, Zachary J.

2017-01-01

The current study specified the extent to which hot and cool aspects of executive functioning predicted academic and social-emotional indicators of school readiness. It was unique in focusing on positive aspects of social-emotional readiness, rather than problem behaviors. One hundred four 3-5-year-old children completed tasks measuring executive…

Implementing a Zero Energy Ready Home Multifamily Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Springer, David [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation, Davis, CA (United States); German, Alea [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation, Davis, CA (United States)

2015-08-01

An objective of this project was to gain a highly visible foothold for residential buildings built to the U.S. Department of Energy's Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) specification that can be used to encourage participation by other California builders. This report briefly describes two single family homes that were ZERH-certified, and focuses on the experience of working with developer Mutual Housing on a 62 unit multi-family community at the Spring Lake subdivision in Woodland, CA. The Spring Lake project is expected to be the first ZERH certified multi-family project nationwide. This report discusses challenges encountered, lessons learned, and how obstacles were overcome.

Development of the PRE-HIT instrument: patient readiness to engage in health information technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Koopman, Richelle J; Petroski, Gregory F; Canfield, Shannon M; Stuppy, Julie A; Mehr, David R

2014-01-28

Technology-based aids for lifestyle change are becoming more prevalent for chronic conditions. Important "digital divides" remain, as well as concerns about privacy, data security, and lack of motivation. Researchers need a way to characterize participants' readiness to use health technologies. To address this need, we created an instrument to measure patient readiness to engage with health technologies among adult patients with chronic conditions. Initial focus groups to determine domains, followed by item development and refinement, and exploratory factor analysis to determine final items and factor structure. The development sample included 200 patients with chronic conditions from 6 family medicine clinics. From 98 potential items, 53 best candidate items were examined using exploratory factor analysis. Pearson's Correlation for Test/Retest reliability at 3 months. The final instrument had 28 items that sorted into 8 factors with associated Cronbach's alpha: 1) Health Information Need (0.84), 2) Computer/Internet Experience (0.87), 3) Computer Anxiety (0.82), 4) Preferred Mode of Interaction (0.73), 5) Relationship with Doctor (0.65), 6) Cell Phone Expertise (0.75), 7) Internet Privacy (0.71), and 8) No News is Good News (0.57). Test-retest reliability for the 8 subscales ranged from (0.60 to 0.85). The Patient Readiness to Engage in Health Internet Technology (PRE-HIT) instrument has good psychometric properties and will be an aid to researchers investigating technology-based health interventions. Future work will examine predictive validity.

A database application for the Naval Command Physical Readiness Testing Program

OpenAIRE

Quinones, Frances M.

1998-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 1T21 envisions a Navy with tandardized, state-of-art computer systems. Based on this vision, Naval database management systems will also need to become standardized among Naval commands. Today most commercial off the shelf (COTS) database management systems provide a graphical user interface. Among the many Naval database systems currently in use, the Navy's Physical Readiness Program database has continued to exist at the command leve...

High End Computing Technologies for Earth Science Applications: Trends, Challenges, and Innovations

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, John (Technical Monitor); Biswas, Rupak; Yan, Jerry C.; Brooks, Walter F.; Sterling, Thomas L.

2003-01-01

Earth science applications of the future will stress the capabilities of even the highest performance supercomputers in the areas of raw compute power, mass storage management, and software environments. These NASA mission critical problems demand usable multi-petaflops and exabyte-scale systems to fully realize their science goals. With an exciting vision of the technologies needed, NASA has established a comprehensive program of advanced research in computer architecture, software tools, and device technology to ensure that, in partnership with US industry, it can meet these demanding requirements with reliable, cost effective, and usable ultra-scale systems. NASA will exploit, explore, and influence emerging high end computing architectures and technologies to accelerate the next generation of engineering, operations, and discovery processes for NASA Enterprises. This article captures this vision and describes the concepts, accomplishments, and the potential payoff of the key thrusts that will help meet the computational challenges in Earth science applications.

Computer-assisted learning and simulation systems in dentistry--a challenge to society.

Science.gov (United States)

Welk, A; Splieth, Ch; Wierinck, E; Gilpatrick, R O; Meyer, G

2006-07-01

Computer technology is increasingly used in practical training at universities. However, in spite of their potential, computer-assisted learning (CAL) and computer-assisted simulation (CAS) systems still appear to be underutilized in dental education. Advantages, challenges, problems, and solutions of computer-assisted learning and simulation in dentistry are discussed by means of MEDLINE, open Internet platform searches, and key results of a study among German dental schools. The advantages of computer-assisted learning are seen for example in self-paced and self-directed learning and increased motivation. It is useful for both objective theoretical and practical tests and for training students to handle complex cases. CAL can lead to more structured learning and can support training in evidence-based decision-making. The reasons for the still relatively rare implementation of CAL/CAS systems in dental education include an inability to finance, lack of studies of CAL/CAS, and too much effort required to integrate CAL/CAS systems into the curriculum. To overcome the reasons for the relative low degree of computer technology use, we should strive for multicenter research and development projects monitored by the appropriate national and international scientific societies, so that the potential of computer technology can be fully realized in graduate, postgraduate, and continuing dental education.

Measuring E-Learning Readiness among EFL Teachers in Intermediate Public Schools in Saudi Arabia

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Furaydi, Ahmed Ajab

2013-01-01

This study will determine their readiness level for the e-learning in several aspects such as attitude toward e-learning, and computer literacy also this study attempt to investigate the main the barriers that EFL teachers have to overcome while incorporating e-learning into their teaching. The theory upon which the study was technology acceptance…

Beyond a Logic of Quality: Opening Space for Material-Discursive Practices of "Readiness" in Early Years Education

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Katherine

2016-01-01

This article is an exploration of the possibilities encountered through shifting from a "logic of quality" to a "space of meaning-making" within early years education. Focusing on ideas of "readiness", this discussion aims to challenge normative understandings that relate this concept to the predictable achievement of…

First Responder Readiness: A Systems Approach to Readiness Assessment Using Model Based Vulnerability Analysis Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

2005-09-01

to come—if it be not to come, it will be now—if it be not now, yet it will come—the readiness is all. . .” --- Shakespeare , Hamlet , 5.2.215-219...BLANK 1 I. READINESS OVERVIEW A. INTRODUCTION “ Hamlet : . . . There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now ‘tis not

Preparing Canada`s power systems for transition to the Year 2000: Y2K readiness assessment results for Canadian electric utility companies: second quarter 1999

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-08-25

The report describes the state of readiness of Canadian electric utility companies with respect to the Year 2000 computer challenge. It complements the North American Electric Reliability Council Report entitled `Preparing the Electric Power Systems of North America for Transition to the Year 2000: A Status and Work Plan.` Two surveys were employed to gather information for this report. The first, a detailed survey prepared by NERC, was forwarded to all major electric utilities that comprise the Bulk Electricity System in North America. CEA has removed the Canadian findings from the overall North American results, and has presented those findings in this report. The second was a shorter, more simplified study, conducted by CEA and Natural Resources Canada. Whereas small companies involved only in the distribution aspect of the electricity business were not asked to complete the NERC assessment, all Canadian electric utility companies were part of the shorter survey. Chapter 2 covers specifically the readiness status and project management for non-nuclear generation, nuclear generation, energy management systems, telecommunications systems, substation controls, system protection and distribution systems, business information systems, and small distribution companies.

Fundamental challenging problems for developing new nuclear safety standard computer codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, P.K.; Wong, A.E.; Wong, A.

2005-01-01

Based on the claims of the US Basic patents number 5,084,232; 5,848,377 and 6,430,516 that can be obtained from typing the Patent Numbers into the Box of the Web site http://164.195.100.11/netahtml/srchnum.htm and their associated published technical papers having been presented and published at International Conferences in the last three years and that all these had been sent into US-NRC by E-mail on March 26, 2003 at 2:46 PM., three fundamental challenging problems for developing new nuclear safety standard computer codes had been presented at the US-NRC RIC2003 Session W4. 2:15-3:15 PM. at the Washington D.C. Capital Hilton Hotel, Presidential Ballroom on April 16, 2003 in front of more than 800 nuclear professionals from many countries worldwide. The objective and scope of this paper is to invite all nuclear professionals to examine and evaluate all the current computer codes being used in their own countries by means of comparison of numerical data from these three specific openly challenging fundamental problems in order to set up a global safety standard for all nuclear power plants in the world. (authors)

Readiness for hospital discharge: A concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Galvin, Eileen Catherine; Wills, Teresa; Coffey, Alice

2017-11-01

To report on an analysis on the concept of 'readiness for hospital discharge'. No uniform operational definition of 'readiness for hospital discharge' exists in the literature; therefore, a concept analysis is required to clarify the concept and identify an up-to-date understanding of readiness for hospital discharge. Clarity of the concept will identify all uses of the concept; provide conceptual clarity, an operational definition and direction for further research. Literature review and concept analysis. A review of literature was conducted in 2016. Databases searched were: Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, PsycARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) and SocINDEX with Full Text. No date limits were applied. Identification of the attributes, antecedents and consequences of readiness for hospital discharge led to an operational definition of the concept. The following attributes belonging to 'readiness for hospital discharge' were extracted from the literature: physical stability, adequate support, psychological ability, and adequate information and knowledge. This analysis contributes to the advancement of knowledge in the area of hospital discharge, by proposing an operational definition of readiness for hospital discharge, derived from the literature. A better understanding of the phenomenon will assist healthcare professionals to recognize, measure and implement interventions where necessary, to ensure patients are ready for hospital discharge and assist in the advancement of knowledge for all professionals involved in patient discharge from hospital. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Global Health Governance Challenges 2016 - Are We Ready?

Science.gov (United States)

Kickbusch, Ilona

2016-02-29

The year 2016 could turn out to be a turning point for global health, new political realities and global insecurities will test governance and financing mechanisms in relation to both people and planet. But most importantly political factors such as the global power shift and "the rise of the rest" will define the future of global health. A new mix of health inequity and security challenges has emerged and the 2015 humanitarian and health crises have shown the limits of existing systems. The global health as well as the humanitarian system will have to prove their capacity to respond and reform. The challenge ahead is deeply political, especially for the rising political actors. They are confronted with the consequences of a model of development that has neglected sustainability and equity, and was built on their exploitation. Some direction has been given by the path breaking international conferences in 2015. Especially the agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris agreement on climate change will shape action. Conceptually, we will need a different understanding of global health and its ultimate goals - the health of people can no longer be seen separate from the health of the planet and wealth measured by parameters of growth will no longer ensure health. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Lessons Learned about Instruction from Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in College and Career Ready Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Heritage, Margaret; Lazarus, Sheryl S.

2016-01-01

The new large-scale assessments rolled out by consortia and states are designed to measure student achievement of rigorous college- and career-ready (CCR) standards. Recent surveys of teachers in several states indicate that students with disabilities like many features of the new assessments, but that there also are challenges. This Brief was…

General service and child immunization-specific readiness assessment of healthcare facilities in two selected divisions in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Shawon, Md Shajedur Rahman; Adhikary, Gourab; Ali, Md Wazed; Shamsuzzaman, Md; Ahmed, Shahabuddin; Alam, Nurul; Shackelford, Katya A; Woldeab, Alexander; Lim, Stephen S; Levine, Aubrey; Gakidou, Emmanuela; Uddin, Md Jasim

2018-01-25

sufficient funding and resources (antigen) for training programs. Our study suggested that health facilities suffered from lack of readiness in various aspects, most notably in diagnostic capacity. Conversely, with very few challenges, nearly all the health facilities designated to provide immunization services were ready to deliver routine childhood immunization services as well as newly introduced PCV and IPV.

Mobile cloud computing for computation offloading: Issues and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khadija Akherfi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the evolution and enhancements that mobile devices have experienced, they are still considered as limited computing devices. Today, users become more demanding and expect to execute computational intensive applications on their smartphone devices. Therefore, Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC integrates mobile computing and Cloud Computing (CC in order to extend capabilities of mobile devices using offloading techniques. Computation offloading tackles limitations of Smart Mobile Devices (SMDs such as limited battery lifetime, limited processing capabilities, and limited storage capacity by offloading the execution and workload to other rich systems with better performance and resources. This paper presents the current offloading frameworks, computation offloading techniques, and analyzes them along with their main critical issues. In addition, it explores different important parameters based on which the frameworks are implemented such as offloading method and level of partitioning. Finally, it summarizes the issues in offloading frameworks in the MCC domain that requires further research.

Computing Challenges in Coded Mask Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Skinner, Gerald

2009-01-01

This slide presaentation reviews the complications and challenges in developing computer systems for Coded Mask Imaging telescopes. The coded mask technique is used when there is no other way to create the telescope, (i.e., when there are wide fields of view, high energies for focusing or low energies for the Compton/Tracker Techniques and very good angular resolution.) The coded mask telescope is described, and the mask is reviewed. The coded Masks for the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) instruments are shown, and a chart showing the types of position sensitive detectors used for the coded mask telescopes is also reviewed. Slides describe the mechanism of recovering an image from the masked pattern. The correlation with the mask pattern is described. The Matrix approach is reviewed, and other approaches to image reconstruction are described. Included in the presentation is a review of the Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) / High Energy Telescope (HET), with information about the mission, the operation of the telescope, comparison of the EXIST/HET with the SWIFT/BAT and details of the design of the EXIST/HET.

Recent experiences in the development of locally-produced ready to use foods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryan, Kelsey; Manary, Mark

2014-01-01

Ready-to-use foods for treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) are micronutrient-fortified, lipid pastes containing roasted peanuts, oil, micronutrients, sugar, soy and/or dairy ingredient powders. The benefits of pastes like ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF), and lipid nutrient supplements (LNS) for the treatment of nutritional maladies are that they are shelf-stable due to their low water activity, they are easily transportable, and they can be eaten as-is. Since the development of ready-to-use foods, cost reduction and local production experimentation have been ongoing. Attempts to replace ingredients like skim milk powder with alternate dairy protein ingredients or non-animal ingredients have been reported, but little food and process development information has been revealed. Linear programming or least-cost optimization mathematical models have been employed to help design low cost paste formulas from a selection of ingredients that also meet nutritional requirements. A new user-friendly tool can be used to develop new formulas that incorporate locally-sourced ingredients. New approaches to ingredient utilization are necessary for future ready-to-use food production and will require the development of novel processes for local ingredients compared to traditional pastes. The challenges of incorporating novel ingredients include processing changes, flavor and acceptability, and meeting nutrient requirements. Our research is designed to not only look at substitute ingredients, but also to optimize processing conditions in order to reduce cost by energy savings, extended shelf-life, and lower nutrient degradation. An RUSF using a novel dairy ingredient, whey permeate, was recently developed and is currently being tested in a prospective, double-blind randomized clinical trial for children with MAM in Malawi. Recent research in the development and testing of ready-to-use foods for MAM include a programmatic study

Data Collaboration in New York City: The Challenges of Linking High School and Post-Secondary Data

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkes, Shani; Brohawn, Kathryn; Mevs, Pascale; Lee, Jaein

2012-01-01

Education leaders across the country confront a growing challenge: too many students are not college ready when they leave high school. Although indicators exist to identify students at risk of dropping out of high school, few indicators of students' college readiness are currently in place, and few districts have linked indicators to practices…

Magnetic fusion: Environmental Readiness Document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-03-01

Environmental Readiness Documents are prepared periodically to review and evaluate the environmental status of an energy technology during the several phases of development of that technology. Through these documents, the Office of Environment within the Department of Energy provides an independent and objective assessment of the environmental risks and potential impacts associated with the progression of the technology to the next stage of development and with future extensive use of the technology. This Environmental Readiness Document was prepared to assist the Department of Energy in evaluating the readiness of magnetic fusion technology with respect to environmental issues. An effort has been made to identify potential environmental problems that may be encountered based upon current knowledge, proposed and possible new environmental regulations, and the uncertainties inherent in planned environmental research

Beyond College Eligibility: A New Framework for Promoting College Readiness. College Readiness Indicator Systems Resource Series

Science.gov (United States)

Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, 2014

2014-01-01

The College Readiness Indicator Systems (CRIS) initiative was developed in response to a troubling pattern: More students than ever are enrolling in college after high school, but many of them are not college ready, as evidenced by persistently low rates of college completion. The sense of urgency to close the gap between college eligibility and…

The nature of the (visualization) game: Challenges and opportunities from computational geophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Kellogg, L. H.

2016-12-01

As the geosciences enters the era of big data, modeling and visualization become increasingly vital tools for discovery, understanding, education, and communication. Here, we focus on modeling and visualization of the structure and dynamics of the Earth's surface and interior. The past decade has seen accelerated data acquisition, including higher resolution imaging and modeling of Earth's deep interior, complex models of geodynamics, and high resolution topographic imaging of the changing surface, with an associated acceleration of computational modeling through better scientific software, increased computing capability, and the use of innovative methods of scientific visualization. The role of modeling is to describe a system, answer scientific questions, and test hypotheses; the term "model" encompasses mathematical models, computational models, physical models, conceptual models, statistical models, and visual models of a structure or process. These different uses of the term require thoughtful communication to avoid confusion. Scientific visualization is integral to every aspect of modeling. Not merely a means of communicating results, the best uses of visualization enable scientists to interact with their data, revealing the characteristics of the data and models to enable better interpretation and inform the direction of future investigation. Innovative immersive technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, and remote collaboration techniques, are being adapted more widely and are a magnet for students. Time-varying or transient phenomena are especially challenging to model and to visualize; researchers and students may need to investigate the role of initial conditions in driving phenomena, while nonlinearities in the governing equations of many Earth systems make the computations and resulting visualization especially challenging. Training students how to use, design, build, and interpret scientific modeling and visualization tools prepares them

Framework for Designing The Assessment Models of Readiness SMEs to Adopt Indonesian National Standard (SNI), Case Study: SMEs Batik in Surakarta

Science.gov (United States)

Fahma, Fakhrina; Zakaria, Roni; Fajar Gumilang, Royan

2018-03-01

Since the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is released, the opportunity to expand market share has become very open, but the level of competition is also very high. Standardization is believed to be an important factor in seizing opportunities in the AEC’s era and other free trade agreements in the future. Standardization activities in industry can be proven by obtaining certification of SNI (Indonesian National Standard). This is a challenge for SMEs, considering that currently only 20% of SMEs had SNI certification both product and process. This research will be designed a model of readiness assessment to obtain SNI certification for SMEs. The stages of model development used an innovative approach by Roger (2003). Variables that affect the readiness of SMEs are obtained from product certification requirements established by BSN (National Standardization Agency) and LSPro (Certification body). This model will be used for mapping the readiness for SNI certification of SMEs’product. The level of readiness of SMEs is determined by the percentage of compliance with those requirements. Based on the result of this study, the five variables are determined as main aspects to assess SME readiness. For model validation, trials were conducted on Batik SMEs in Laweyan Surakarta.

Development and Pilot Test of the Workplace Readiness Questionnaire, a Theory-Based Instrument to Measure Small Workplaces' Readiness to Implement Wellness Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannon, Peggy A; Helfrich, Christian D; Chan, K Gary; Allen, Claire L; Hammerback, Kristen; Kohn, Marlana J; Parrish, Amanda T; Weiner, Bryan J; Harris, Jeffrey R

2017-01-01

To develop a theory-based questionnaire to assess readiness for change in small workplaces adopting wellness programs. In developing our scale, we first tested items via "think-aloud" interviews. We tested the revised items in a cross-sectional quantitative telephone survey. The study setting comprised small workplaces (20-250 employees) in low-wage industries. Decision-makers representing small workplaces in King County, Washington (think-aloud interviews, n = 9), and the United States (telephone survey, n = 201) served as study subjects. We generated items for each construct in Weiner's theory of organizational readiness for change. We also measured workplace characteristics and current implementation of workplace wellness programs. We assessed reliability by coefficient alpha for each of the readiness questionnaire subscales. We tested the association of all subscales with employers' current implementation of wellness policies, programs, and communications, and conducted a path analysis to test the associations in the theory of organizational readiness to change. Each of the readiness subscales exhibited acceptable internal reliability (coefficient alpha range, .75-.88) and was positively associated with wellness program implementation ( p < .05). The path analysis was consistent with the theory of organizational readiness to change, except change efficacy did not predict change-related effort. We developed a new questionnaire to assess small workplaces' readiness to adopt and implement evidence-based wellness programs. Our findings also provide empirical validation of Weiner's theory of readiness for change.

Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Ready Mix Concrete Plant

Science.gov (United States)

Topkar, V. M.; Duggar, A. R.; Kumar, A.; Bonde, P. P.; Girwalkar, R. S.; Gade, S. B.

2013-11-01

India, being a developing nation is experiencing major growth in its infrastructural sector. Concrete is the major component in construction. The requirement of good quality of concrete in large quantities can be fulfilled by ready mix concrete batching and mixing plants. The paper presents a technique of applying the value engineering tool life cycle cost analysis to a ready mix concrete plant. This will help an investor or an organization to take investment decisions regarding a ready mix concrete facility. No economic alternatives are compared in this study. A cost breakdown structure is prepared for the ready mix concrete plant. A market survey has been conducted to collect realistic costs for the ready mix concrete facility. The study establishes the cash flow for the ready mix concrete facility helpful in investment and capital generation related decisions. Transit mixers form an important component of the facility and are included in the calculations. A fleet size for transit mixers has been assumed for this purpose. The life cycle cost has been calculated for the system of the ready mix concrete plant and transit mixers.

LHC@home is ready to support HiLumi LHC: take part!

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2011-01-01

Recently relaunched, the LHC@home volunteer computing project is now ready to support the HiLumi LHC project, the design phase of the planned upgrade of the LHC that will increase its luminosity by a factor of 5 to 10 beyond its original design value. HiLumi will need massive simulations to test the beam dynamics. Whether you are at home or at work, you can help experts design the future LHC by connecting your computer to LHC@home. Go for it!   LHC@home is aimed at involving the public in real science. If you have a computer that is connected to the Internet, you can join the large team of volunteers who are already supporting its two main projects: Test4Theory, which runs computer simulations of high-energy particle collisions, and SixTrack, which is aimed at optimizing the LHC performance by performing beam dynamics simulations. In both cases, the software is designed to run only when your computer is idle and causes no disruption to your normal activities. To the simulations run by the Six...

Understanding Early Educators' Readiness to Change

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Shira M.

2012-01-01

Researchers in the fields of humanistic psychology, counseling, organizational change, and implementation science have been asking a question that is at the heart of today's early care and education quality improvement efforts: When it comes to changing one's behavior, what makes a person ready to change? Although the concept of readiness to…

Regulatory strategy and status for the Y2K readiness program of the nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Choong Heui; Ji, Seong Hyon; Oh, Soung Hun; Shin, Won Ki

1999-01-01

KINS established a Regulatory Strategy for Y2K Readiness Program of the Nuclear Power Plants in May 1998. On July 29, 1998, the Regulatory Action was enforced on licensees to setup the Y2K Readiness Program and report the stepwise Implementation Results of the Program. KEPCO established the Y2K Readiness Program and finished the Detailed Assessment following the Program. The Assessment showed that 108 out of 726 assets are Non-Compliant. KINS has performed the evaluation for Initial and Detailed Assessment Reports and the site audit for the Wolsong Site Division. Through those regulatory activities, we have gotten much assurance that no Y2K problem will impact on safety-related systems. And considering the progress forwarded by the licensee, we expect that all Y2K issues can be resolved before July 1999. However, to obtain the perfect assurance of the safety against the challenge of Year 2000, we will perform a thorough Audit for Validation Tests at Sites, perform a proper review for the major issues, and complete an in-depth evaluation of Submittals including Contingency Plan

Financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness and monitoring, measurement, reporting and verification in the Congo Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Maniatis, Danae; Gaugris, Jérôme; Mollicone, Danilo; Scriven, Joel; Corblin, Alexis; Ndikumagenge, Cleto; Aquino, André; Crete, Philippe; Sanz-Sanchez, Maria-José

2013-01-01

This paper provides the first critical analysis of the financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness in the Congo Basin, with a particular focus on the REDD+ component of national forest monitoring and measurement, reporting and verification (M&MRV). We focus on three areas of analysis: (i) general financing for REDD+ readiness especially M&MRV; (ii) capacity and information for REDD+ implementation and M&MRV; (iii) prospects and challenges for REDD+ and M&MRV readiness in terms of financing and capacity. For the first area of analysis, a REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing database was created based on the information from the REDD+ voluntary database and Internet searches. For the second area of analysis, a qualitative approach to data collection was adopted (semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, surveys and observations). All 10 countries were visited between 2010 and 2012. We find that: (i) a significant amount of REDD+ financing flows into the Congo Basin (±US$550 million or almost half of the REDD+ financing for the African continent); (ii) across countries, there is an important disequilibrium in terms of REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing, political engagement, comprehension and capacity, which also appears to be a key barrier to countries receiving equal resources; (iii) most financing appears to go to smaller scale (subnational) REDD+ projects; (iv) four distinct country groups in terms of REDD+ readiness and M&MRV status are identified; and (v) the Congo Basin has a distinct opportunity to have a specific REDD+ financing window for large-scale and more targeted national REDD+ programmes through a specific fund for the region.

Financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness and monitoring, measurement, reporting and verification in the Congo Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Maniatis, Danae; Gaugris, Jérôme; Mollicone, Danilo; Scriven, Joel; Corblin, Alexis; Ndikumagenge, Cleto; Aquino, André; Crete, Philippe; Sanz-Sanchez, Maria-José

2013-01-01

This paper provides the first critical analysis of the financing and current capacity for REDD+ readiness in the Congo Basin, with a particular focus on the REDD+ component of national forest monitoring and measurement, reporting and verification (M&MRV). We focus on three areas of analysis: (i) general financing for REDD+ readiness especially M&MRV; (ii) capacity and information for REDD+ implementation and M&MRV; (iii) prospects and challenges for REDD+ and M&MRV readiness in terms of financing and capacity. For the first area of analysis, a REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing database was created based on the information from the REDD+ voluntary database and Internet searches. For the second area of analysis, a qualitative approach to data collection was adopted (semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, surveys and observations). All 10 countries were visited between 2010 and 2012. We find that: (i) a significant amount of REDD+ financing flows into the Congo Basin (±US$550 million or almost half of the REDD+ financing for the African continent); (ii) across countries, there is an important disequilibrium in terms of REDD+ and M&MRV readiness financing, political engagement, comprehension and capacity, which also appears to be a key barrier to countries receiving equal resources; (iii) most financing appears to go to smaller scale (subnational) REDD+ projects; (iv) four distinct country groups in terms of REDD+ readiness and M&MRV status are identified; and (v) the Congo Basin has a distinct opportunity to have a specific REDD+ financing window for large-scale and more targeted national REDD+ programmes through a specific fund for the region. PMID:23878337

Readiness Assessment Plan, Hanford 200 areas treated effluent disposal facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ulmer, F.J.

1995-01-01

This Readiness Assessment Plan documents Liquid Effluent Facilities review process used to establish the scope of review, documentation requirements, performance assessment, and plant readiness to begin operation of the Treated Effluent Disposal system in accordance with DOE-RLID-5480.31, Startup and Restart of Facilities Operational Readiness Review and Readiness Assessments

Category 3 investigation-derived waste Readiness Evaluation Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludowise, J.D.

1996-08-01

This Readiness Evaluation Plan presents the methodology used to assess the readiness for loading investigation-derived waste (IDW) drums on trucks for transport to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF). The scope of this Readiness Evaluation Plan includes an assessment of the organizations, procedures, and regulatory approvals necessary for the handling of IDW containers and the subsequent transportation of materials to ERDF

"Defining Computer 'Speed': An Unsolved Challenge"

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

Abstract: The reason we use computers is their speed, and the reason we use parallel computers is that they're faster than single-processor computers. Yet, after 70 years of electronic digital computing, we still do not have a solid definition of what computer 'speed' means, or even what it means to be 'faster'. Unlike measures in physics, where the definition of speed is rigorous and unequivocal, in computing there is no definition of speed that is universally accepted. As a result, computer customers have made purchases misguided by dubious information, computer designers have optimized their designs for the wrong goals, and computer programmers have chosen methods that optimize the wrong things. This talk describes why some of the obvious and historical ways of defining 'speed' haven't served us well, and the things we've learned in the struggle to find a definition that works. Biography: Dr. John Gustafson is a Director ...

The psychometric properties of the Readiness and Motivation Questionnaire: a symptom-specific measure of readiness for change in the eating disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Geller, Josie; Brown, Krista E; Srikameswaran, Suja; Piper, William; Dunn, Erin C

2013-09-01

Readiness for change, as assessed by the readiness and motivation interview (RMI), predicts a number of clinical outcome variables in eating disorders including enrollment in intensive treatment, symptom change, dropout, and relapse. Although clinically useful, the training and administration of the RMI is time consuming. The purpose of this research was to (a) develop a self-report, symptom-specific version of the RMI, the readiness and motivation questionnaire (RMQ), that can be used to assess readiness for change across all eating disorder diagnoses and (b) establish its psychometric properties. The RMQ provides stage of change, internality, and confidence scores for each of 4 eating disorder symptom domains (restriction, bingeing, and cognitive and compensatory behaviors). Individuals (N = 244) with current eating disorder diagnoses completed the RMQ and measures of convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity. Similar to the RMI scores, readiness scores on the RMQ differed according to symptom domain. Regarding criterion validity, RMQ scores were significantly associated with ratings of anticipated difficulty of recovery activities and completion of recovery activities. The RMQ contributed significant unique variance to anticipated difficulty of recovery activities, beyond those accounted for by the RMI and a questionnaire measure of global readiness. The RMQ is thus an acceptable alternative to the RMI, providing global and domain-specific readiness information when time or cost prohibits use of an interview.

Measuring Success: David Conley's College Readiness Framework and the Illinois College and Career Readiness Act. In Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Baber, Lorenzo D.; Castro, Erin L.; Bragg, Debra D.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this brief is to understand the Illinois College and Career Readiness (CCR) Act in light of David Conley's college readiness model. Although not mentioned specifically by the Illinois statute, evaluation results gathered by the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) show alignment between a number of programs…

Humanitarian Hackathon @CERN | 14-16 October | Are you ready?

CERN Multimedia

2016-01-01

THE Port is ready for the third edition of its hackathon with eight new challenges. Join us to discover how science can make a huge difference in people's life.   Humanitarian hackathons organised by THE Port and hosted by CERN IdeaSquare have already confirmed that fundamental science can provide tech-enabled responses to humanitarian issues affecting the lives of millions of people around the globe. A great example of the success that technology and collaboration can bring is the substantial improvement of the food airdrop bags, requested by the ICRC to deliver assistance in South Sudan and other critical regions. Watch a 360° video or check out the pictures using the QR code. This year, eight teams will innovate the way humanitarian organisations handle the most critical aspects of field work during a 60-hour event. Groups of experts from all over the world will provide out-of-the-box proposals to tackle challenges set up by the ICRC, Handicap International, the United Natio...

Defining a New North Star: Aligning Local Control Accountability Plans to College and Career Readiness. Policy Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Beach, Paul; Thier, Michael; Lench, Sarah Collins; Coleman, Matt

2015-01-01

Educators have the increasingly difficult task of preparing students to live, learn, and work in the 21st century. Amidst those challenges, a growing body of research suggests that college and career readiness depends upon students' ability to think critically, learn how to learn, communicate, and collaborate. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era…

Instructional Alignment of Workplace Readiness Skills in Marketing Education

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Sarah J.; Reed, Philip A.

2015-01-01

This study examined high school marketing education teachers' knowledge of workplace readiness skills and whether that knowledge had an impact on student workplace readiness skill achievement. Further, this study examined the usage of Virginia's 13 Workplace Readiness Skills curriculum and identified the teaching methods and instructional…

Scientific Grand Challenges: Forefront Questions in Nuclear Science and the Role of High Performance Computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khaleel, Mohammad A.

2009-01-01

This report is an account of the deliberations and conclusions of the workshop on 'Forefront Questions in Nuclear Science and the Role of High Performance Computing' held January 26-28, 2009, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Physics (ONP) and the DOE Office of Advanced Scientific Computing (ASCR). Representatives from the national and international nuclear physics communities, as well as from the high performance computing community, participated. The purpose of this workshop was to (1) identify forefront scientific challenges in nuclear physics and then determine which-if any-of these could be aided by high performance computing at the extreme scale; (2) establish how and why new high performance computing capabilities could address issues at the frontiers of nuclear science; (3) provide nuclear physicists the opportunity to influence the development of high performance computing; and (4) provide the nuclear physics community with plans for development of future high performance computing capability by DOE ASCR.

Scientific Grand Challenges: Forefront Questions in Nuclear Science and the Role of High Performance Computing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khaleel, Mohammad A.

2009-10-01

This report is an account of the deliberations and conclusions of the workshop on "Forefront Questions in Nuclear Science and the Role of High Performance Computing" held January 26-28, 2009, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Physics (ONP) and the DOE Office of Advanced Scientific Computing (ASCR). Representatives from the national and international nuclear physics communities, as well as from the high performance computing community, participated. The purpose of this workshop was to 1) identify forefront scientific challenges in nuclear physics and then determine which-if any-of these could be aided by high performance computing at the extreme scale; 2) establish how and why new high performance computing capabilities could address issues at the frontiers of nuclear science; 3) provide nuclear physicists the opportunity to influence the development of high performance computing; and 4) provide the nuclear physics community with plans for development of future high performance computing capability by DOE ASCR.

Computational Cellular Dynamics Based on the Chemical Master Equation: A Challenge for Understanding Complexity.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Jie; Qian, Hong

2010-01-01

Modern molecular biology has always been a great source of inspiration for computational science. Half a century ago, the challenge from understanding macromolecular dynamics has led the way for computations to be part of the tool set to study molecular biology. Twenty-five years ago, the demand from genome science has inspired an entire generation of computer scientists with an interest in discrete mathematics to join the field that is now called bioinformatics. In this paper, we shall lay out a new mathematical theory for dynamics of biochemical reaction systems in a small volume (i.e., mesoscopic) in terms of a stochastic, discrete-state continuous-time formulation, called the chemical master equation (CME). Similar to the wavefunction in quantum mechanics, the dynamically changing probability landscape associated with the state space provides a fundamental characterization of the biochemical reaction system. The stochastic trajectories of the dynamics are best known through the simulations using the Gillespie algorithm. In contrast to the Metropolis algorithm, this Monte Carlo sampling technique does not follow a process with detailed balance. We shall show several examples how CMEs are used to model cellular biochemical systems. We shall also illustrate the computational challenges involved: multiscale phenomena, the interplay between stochasticity and nonlinearity, and how macroscopic determinism arises from mesoscopic dynamics. We point out recent advances in computing solutions to the CME, including exact solution of the steady state landscape and stochastic differential equations that offer alternatives to the Gilespie algorithm. We argue that the CME is an ideal system from which one can learn to understand "complex behavior" and complexity theory, and from which important biological insight can be gained.

CHALLENGE TESTS WITH LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN SALAMI: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Mioni

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Challenge tests are the preferable methodology to study the behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes on ready to eat foods, according to Regulation (EC 2073/2005. Challenge testing using L. monocytogenes in seasoned salami from different food business operators showed, after seasoning of the product, a count reduction of the inoculated organisms without any further growth of the pathogen; however differences of L. monocytogenes behaviour could be observed according to different production protocols.

A new in silico classification model for ready biodegradability, based on molecular fragments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardo, Anna; Pizzo, Fabiola; Benfenati, Emilio; Manganaro, Alberto; Ferrari, Thomas; Gini, Giuseppina

2014-08-01

Regulations such as the European REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals) often require chemicals to be evaluated for ready biodegradability, to assess the potential risk for environmental and human health. Because not all chemicals can be tested, there is an increasing demand for tools for quick and inexpensive biodegradability screening, such as computer-based (in silico) theoretical models. We developed an in silico model starting from a dataset of 728 chemicals with ready biodegradability data (MITI-test Ministry of International Trade and Industry). We used the novel software SARpy to automatically extract, through a structural fragmentation process, a set of substructures statistically related to ready biodegradability. Then, we analysed these substructures in order to build some general rules. The model consists of a rule-set made up of the combination of the statistically relevant fragments and of the expert-based rules. The model gives good statistical performance with 92%, 82% and 76% accuracy on the training, test and external set respectively. These results are comparable with other in silico models like BIOWIN developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); moreover this new model includes an easily understandable explanation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Are the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks? Information Brief

Science.gov (United States)

ACT, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are the minimum ACT® college readiness assessment scores required for students to have a high probability of success in credit-bearing college courses--English Composition, social sciences courses, College Algebra, or Biology. This report identifies the College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT Compass scale…

Electricity market readiness plan : Ontario Energy Board

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-03-01

This document informs electric power market participants of the Ontario Energy Board's newly developed market readiness plan and target timelines that local distribution companies (LDCs) must meet for retail marketing. The Ontario Energy Board's plan incorporates relevant independent market operator (IMO)-administered market milestones with retail market readiness targeted for September 2001. The market readiness framework involves a self-certification process for LDCs by August 10, 2001, through which the Board will be able to monitor progress and assess the feasibility of meeting the target timelines. For retail market readiness, all LDCs will have to calculate settlement costs, produce unbundled bills, provide standard supply service, change suppliers and accommodate retail transactions. LDCs must be either authorized participants in the IMO-administered market or become retail customers of their host LDC. Unbundled bills will include itemized charges for energy price, transmission, distribution and debt retirement charge. 1 tab., 1 fig

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

M. Kasemann P. McBride Edited by M-C. Sawley with contributions from: P. Kreuzer D. Bonacorsi S. Belforte F. Wuerthwein L. Bauerdick K. Lassila-Perini M-C. Sawley

Introduction More than seventy CMS collaborators attended the Computing and Offline Workshop in San Diego, California, April 20-24th to discuss the state of readiness of software and computing for collisions. Focus and priority were given to preparations for data taking and providing room for ample dialog between groups involved in Commissioning, Data Operations, Analysis and MC Production. Throughout the workshop, aspects of software, operating procedures and issues addressing all parts of the computing model were discussed. Plans for the CMS participation in STEP’09, the combined scale testing for all four experiments due in June 2009, were refined. The article in CMS Times by Frank Wuerthwein gave a good recap of the highly collaborative atmosphere of the workshop. Many thanks to UCSD and to the organizers for taking care of this workshop, which resulted in a long list of action items and was definitely a success. A considerable amount of effort and care is invested in the estimate of the comput...

EPA and GSA Webinar: E Scrap Management, Computers for Learning and the Federal Green Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

EPA and the General Services Administration (GSA) are hosting a webinar on May 2, 2018. Topics will include policies and procedures on E Scrap management, a review of the Computers For Leaning Program, and benefits of joining the Federal Green Challenge.

PREPARING FOR EXASCALE: ORNL Leadership Computing Application Requirements and Strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joubert, Wayne [ORNL; Kothe, Douglas B [ORNL; Nam, Hai Ah [ORNL

2009-12-01

In 2009 the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS), elicited petascale computational science requirements from leading computational scientists in the international science community. This effort targeted science teams whose projects received large computer allocation awards on OLCF systems. A clear finding of this process was that in order to reach their science goals over the next several years, multiple projects will require computational resources in excess of an order of magnitude more powerful than those currently available. Additionally, for the longer term, next-generation science will require computing platforms of exascale capability in order to reach DOE science objectives over the next decade. It is generally recognized that achieving exascale in the proposed time frame will require disruptive changes in computer hardware and software. Processor hardware will become necessarily heterogeneous and will include accelerator technologies. Software must undergo the concomitant changes needed to extract the available performance from this heterogeneous hardware. This disruption portends to be substantial, not unlike the change to the message passing paradigm in the computational science community over 20 years ago. Since technological disruptions take time to assimilate, we must aggressively embark on this course of change now, to insure that science applications and their underlying programming models are mature and ready when exascale computing arrives. This includes initiation of application readiness efforts to adapt existing codes to heterogeneous architectures, support of relevant software tools, and procurement of next-generation hardware testbeds for porting and testing codes. The 2009 OLCF requirements process identified numerous actions necessary to meet this challenge: (1) Hardware capabilities must be

PREPARING FOR EXASCALE: ORNL Leadership Computing Application Requirements and Strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joubert, Wayne; Kothe, Douglas B.; Nam, Hai Ah

2009-01-01

In 2009 the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS), elicited petascale computational science requirements from leading computational scientists in the international science community. This effort targeted science teams whose projects received large computer allocation awards on OLCF systems. A clear finding of this process was that in order to reach their science goals over the next several years, multiple projects will require computational resources in excess of an order of magnitude more powerful than those currently available. Additionally, for the longer term, next-generation science will require computing platforms of exascale capability in order to reach DOE science objectives over the next decade. It is generally recognized that achieving exascale in the proposed time frame will require disruptive changes in computer hardware and software. Processor hardware will become necessarily heterogeneous and will include accelerator technologies. Software must undergo the concomitant changes needed to extract the available performance from this heterogeneous hardware. This disruption portends to be substantial, not unlike the change to the message passing paradigm in the computational science community over 20 years ago. Since technological disruptions take time to assimilate, we must aggressively embark on this course of change now, to insure that science applications and their underlying programming models are mature and ready when exascale computing arrives. This includes initiation of application readiness efforts to adapt existing codes to heterogeneous architectures, support of relevant software tools, and procurement of next-generation hardware testbeds for porting and testing codes. The 2009 OLCF requirements process identified numerous actions necessary to meet this challenge: (1) Hardware capabilities must be

StormReady in a Box: Enhancing NOAA's Presence in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Grondin, N. S.; Franks, C.

2015-12-01

The National Weather Service StormReady Supporter program exists to give schools, companies, TV stations, and other facilities the opportunity to earn recognition for their weather preparedness and awareness. Requirements to earn StormReady Supporter status include having a facility warning point, use of NOAA Weather Radios, and weather hazard Emergency Operation Plans. Despite the increasing importance of weather preparedness in schools, only 1.2% of Minnesota schools are deemed StormReady by the National Weather Service. It was determined that the major impedance for schools becoming StormReady Supporters is the lack of time for administrators to engage in anything "extra" beyond their listed duties. As part of a 2015 Hollings Scholar project, the StormReady in a Box concept was developed to remedy this, by empowering teachers and students to take charge and complete the StormReady Supporter application for their school. StormReady in a Box is a project developed for Junior High School students to learn about weather preparedness and to help their school acquire StormReady status. The project was designed to be relevant to the Minnesota State Education Standards in Science, be simple for teachers to do with their students, and most importantly, to be enjoyable for Junior High School age students to do. The project was also designed to enhance critical thinking skills and logical reasoning abilities, as they relate to the StormReady Supporter application. This presentation will present the overall rationale for the undertaking of this project, the creation of, and the logical next steps for the StormReady in a Box project.

Grand Challenges of Advanced Computing for Energy Innovation Report from the Workshop Held July 31-August 2, 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larzelere, Alex R.; Ashby, Steven F.; Christensen, Dana C.; Crawford, Dona L.; Khaleel, Mohammad A.; John, Grosh; Stults, B. Ray; Lee, Steven L.; Hammond, Steven W.; Grover, Benjamin T.; Neely, Rob; Dudney, Lee Ann; Goldstein, Noah C.; Wells, Jack; Peltz, Jim

2013-03-06

On July 31-August 2 of 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) held a workshop entitled Grand Challenges of Advanced Computing for Energy Innovation. This workshop built on three earlier workshops that clearly identified the potential for the Department and its national laboratories to enable energy innovation. The specific goal of the workshop was to identify the key challenges that the nation must overcome to apply the full benefit of taxpayer-funded advanced computing technologies to U.S. energy innovation in the ways that the country produces, moves, stores, and uses energy. Perhaps more importantly, the workshop also developed a set of recommendations to help the Department overcome those challenges. These recommendations provide an action plan for what the Department can do in the coming years to improve the nation’s energy future.

A Model of Feeding Readiness for Preterm Infants

OpenAIRE

Pickler, Rita H.

2004-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical model of bottle feeding readiness in preterm infants, which hypothesizes relationships between bottle feeding readiness, experience, and outcomes. The synactive theory of development provided the conceptual foundation for the model. The model, which is currently being tested, is designed to establish bottle feeding readiness criteria that will help nurses decide when to offer a bottle to a preterm infant The model may also provide a useful framework for deter...

Smart Grid Technology and Consumer Call Center Readiness

OpenAIRE

Schamber, Kelsey L.

2010-01-01

The following reasearch project deals with utility call center readiness to address customer concerns and questions about the Smart Grid and smart meter technology. Since consumer engagement is important for the benefits of the Smart Grid to be realized, the readiness and ability of utilities to answer consumer questions is an important issue. Assessing the readiness of utility call centers to address pertinant customer concerns was accomplished by calling utility call centers with Smart Grid...

Universal School Readiness Screening at Kindergarten Entry

Science.gov (United States)

Quirk, Matthew; Dowdy, Erin; Dever, Bridget; Carnazzo, Katherine; Bolton, Courtney

2018-01-01

Researchers examined the concurrent and predictive validity of a brief (12-item) teacher-rated school readiness screener, the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP), using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to examine associations between (N = 78) children's social-emotional (SE) and cognitive (COG) readiness with…

Radiation Tolerant, FPGA-based SmallSat Computer System

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The goal of this project is to mature the technology readiness of a radiation tolerant smallsat computer system for a subsequent orbital flight demonstration. The...

Year 2000 Readiness Kit: A Compilation of Y2K Resources for Schools, Colleges and Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Education, Washington, DC.

This kit was developed to assist the postsecondary education community's efforts to resolve the Year 2000 (Y2K) computer problem. The kit includes a description of the Y2K problem, an assessment of the readiness of colleges and universities, a checklist for institutions, a Y2K communications strategy, articles on addressing the problem in academic…

Students’ Readiness for E-learning Application in Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atousa Rasouli

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this research was to investigate the readiness of art students in applying e-learning. This study adopted a survey research design. From three public Iranian Universities (Alzahra, Tarbiat Modares, and Tehran, 347 students were selected by multistage cluster sampling and via Morgan Table. Their readiness for E-learning application was assessed by a self-developed questionnaire. Data analysis was done by indexes of descriptive statistics and one sample t-test. Analysis of results found a significant relationship between the readiness of undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-graduate students to apply E-learning, but there was no significant relationship between students’ readiness and gender, university, and subject. Results revealed that Art students were in a moderate level of readiness for applying E-learning.

“Getting Ready for School:” A Preliminary Evaluation of a Parent-Focused School-Readiness Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly G. Noble

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Children from disadvantaged backgrounds tend to start school with fewer school readiness skills than their more advantaged peers. Emergent literacy and math skills play an important role in this gap. The family is essential in helping children build these skills, and the active involvement of families is crucial to the success of any intervention for young children. The Getting Ready for School (GRS program is a parent-focused curriculum designed to help parents equip their children with the skills and enthusiasm necessary for learning when they start school. Parents meet in weekly workshops led by a trained facilitator and implement the curriculum at home with their children. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the promise of the GRS intervention in children participating in an urban Head Start program and to explore parents' responses to the intervention. We hypothesized that participation in GRS would improve school readiness in literacy and math skills, relative to participation in business-as-usual Head Start. Four Head Start classrooms (two randomly selected “intervention” and two “comparison” classrooms participated in this study. Preliminary analyses suggest that GRS improves school readiness over and above a Head Start-as-usual experience. Implications for early childhood programs and policies are discussed.

A Proposed Conceptual Model of Military Medical Readiness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Van Hall, Brian M

2007-01-01

.... The purpose of this research is to consolidate existing literature on the latent variable of medical readiness, and to propose a composite theoretical model of medical readiness that may provide...

A Study of Fleet Surgical Teams Readiness Posture in Amphibious Readiness Groups

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Tennyson, Ruby

2000-01-01

This thesis describes and evaluates Fleet Surgical Teams (FSTs). It examines how Navy Medicine adapted FSTs to changing support requirements associated with the Total Health Care Support Readiness Requirement (THCSRR...

Institutional And Teacher Readiness For Inclusive Education In Schools Of Hithadhoo Addu Maldives A Study Of The Perceptions Of Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariyam Shareefa

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The Inclusive Educational Policy of Maldives Ministry of Education 2013 declares that all students should be given equal educational opportunities regardless of their physical intellectual social emotional or other conditions. The aim of this study was to find out what teachers believe perceive and feel about their schools readiness for inclusive education with regard to the school leadership school climate curriculum instructions individual student support and teachers knowledge skills and attitudes. The secondary purpose was to investigate the main challenges that deter inclusivity in the four government schools of Hithadhoo Addu. A mixed approach with survey and focus group interview methods were used in the study. A total of 153 teachers participated in the survey and 10 teachers were in the focus group sessions. The findings revealed that in general teachers had a positive view towards all the readiness factors related to inclusive education. However the results indicated substantial challenges that may impede successful implementation of inclusive education. These challenges include lack of knowledge and skills on inclusive education lack of facilities lack of awareness among all stakeholders curriculum difficulties and time restrictions.

Some computational challenges of developing efficient parallel algorithms for data-dependent computations in thermal-hydraulics supercomputer applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodruff, S.B.

1994-01-01

The Transient Reactor Analysis Code (TRAC), which features a two-fluid treatment of thermal-hydraulics, is designed to model transients in water reactors and related facilities. One of the major computational costs associated with TRAC and similar codes is calculating constitutive coefficients. Although the formulations for these coefficients are local, the costs are flow-regime- or data-dependent; i.e., the computations needed for a given spatial node often vary widely as a function of time. Consequently, a fixed, uniform assignment of nodes to prallel processors will result in degraded computational efficiency due to the poor load balancing. A standard method for treating data-dependent models on vector architectures has been to use gather operations (or indirect adressing) to sort the nodes into subsets that (temporarily) share a common computational model. However, this method is not effective on distributed memory data parallel architectures, where indirect adressing involves expensive communication overhead. Another serious problem with this method involves software engineering challenges in the areas of maintainability and extensibility. For example, an implementation that was hand-tuned to achieve good computational efficiency would have to be rewritten whenever the decision tree governing the sorting was modified. Using an example based on the calculation of the wall-to-liquid and wall-to-vapor heat-transfer coefficients for three nonboiling flow regimes, we describe how the use of the Fortran 90 WHERE construct and automatic inlining of functions can be used to ameliorate this problem while improving both efficiency and software engineering. Unfortunately, a general automatic solution to the load-balancing problem associated with data-dependent computations is not yet available for massively parallel architectures. We discuss why developers should either wait for such solutions or consider alternative numerical algorithms, such as a neural network

Readiness for organisational change among general practice staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Christl, B; Harris, M F; Jayasinghe, U W; Proudfoot, J; Taggart, J; Tan, J

2010-10-01

Increasing demands on general practice to manage chronic disease may warrant organisational change at the practice level. Staff's readiness for organisational change can act as a facilitator or barrier to implementing interventions aimed at organisational change. To explore general practice staff readiness for organisational change and its association with staff and practices characteristics. This is a cross-sectional study of practices in three Australian states involved in a randomised control trial on the effectiveness of an intervention to enhance the role of non-general practitioner staff in chronic disease management. Readiness for organisational change, job satisfaction and practice characteristics were assessed using questionnaires. 502 staff from 58 practices completed questionnaires. Practice characteristics were not associated with staff readiness for change. A multilevel regression analysis showed statistically significant associations between staff readiness for organisational change (range 1 to 5) and having a non-clinical staff role (vs general practitioner; B=-0.315; 95% CI -0.47 to -0.16; pchange which addresses the mix of practice staff. Moderately low job satisfaction may be an opportunity for organisational change.

PERFORMANCES PARENTS ABOUT EMOTIONAL READINESS OF THE CHILD TO SCHOOL WHEN ANALYZING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOTIONAL READINESS OF CHILDREN IN THE TRANSITION FROM KINDERGARTEN TO FIRST GRADE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaterina Sergeevna Novitskaya

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The article examines the importance of emotional understanding of parents child’s readiness for school. The aim of the study was to determine the characteristics of parental influence perceptions about the emotional readiness of children to the actual level of emotional readiness of the child. An experimental study was conducted comparing the methods, testing, questionnaires, observations, interviews, expert assessments, Longitude. We compared the performance of emotional readiness of children in the preparatory group of the kindergarten and the beginning of the school year in first grade. The study revealed that parents consider the emotional readiness primarily in the structure of the psychological readiness; representations of parents about the emotional readiness to occupy the last place among the other groups of ideas. Weak concrete definition of representations of parents about the emotional school readiness issues contributes to the emotional sphere of the child at an early stage of learning in first grade.

Concept of economic readiness levels assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Yuniaristanto, Sutopo, W.; Widiyanto, A.; Putri, A. S.

2017-11-01

This research aims to build a concept of Economic Readiness Level (ERL) assessment for incubation center. ERL concept is arranged by considering both market and business aspects. Every aspect is divided into four phases and each of them consists of some indicators. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to develop the ERL in calculating the weight of every single aspect and indicator. Interval scale between 0 and 4 is also applied in indicator assessment. In order to calculate ERL, score in every indicator and the weight of both the aspect and indicator are considered. ERL value is able to show in detail the innovative product readiness level from economic sight, market and business aspect. There are four levels in Economic Readiness Level scheme which are investigation, feasibility, planning and introduction.

E-Learning Readiness in Medicine: Turkish Family Medicine (FM) Physicians Case

Science.gov (United States)

Parlakkiliç, Alaattin

2015-01-01

This research investigates e-learning readiness level of family medicine physicians (FM) in Turkey. The study measures the level of e-learning readiness of Turkish FM physicians by an online e-learning readiness survey. According to results five areas are ready at Turkish FM physicians but need a few improvements:…

Strategic leadership will be essential for dietitian eHealth readiness: A qualitative study exploring dietitian perspectives of eHealth readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Maunder, Kirsty; Walton, Karen; Williams, Peter; Ferguson, Maree; Beck, Eleanor

2018-05-16

To explore dietitians' perspectives on the eHealth readiness of Australian dietitians, and to identify strategies to improve eHealth readiness of the profession. Dietitians who met the criteria for nutrition informatics experts participated in semi-structured interviews between June 2016 and March 2017. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis using coding was undertaken until consensus was reached by the researchers regarding key themes, topics and exemplar quotes. Interviews with 10 nutrition informatics experts revealed 25 discussion topics grouped into four main themes: benefits of eHealth for dietitians; risks of dietitians not being involved in eHealth; dietitians are not ready for eHealth; and strategies to improve eHealth readiness. The strategies identified for improving eHealth readiness included: collaboration and representation, education, offering of incentives and mentoring, as well as development of a national strategy, organisational leaders, nutrition informatics champions and a supportive environment. These findings suggest that dietitians may not be ready for eHealth. Strategic leadership and the actioning of other identified strategies will be imperative to preparing dietitians for eHealth to ensure the profession can practice effectively in the digital age, optimise nutrition care and support research for eHealth. If dietitians do not engage in eHealth, others may take their place, or dietitians may be forced to use eHealth in ways that are not the most effective for practice or maximising patient outcomes. © 2018 Dietitians Association of Australia.

Two-Agent Single-Machine Scheduling of Jobs with Time-Dependent Processing Times and Ready Times

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan-Yee Kung

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Scheduling involving jobs with time-dependent processing times has recently attracted much research attention. However, multiagent scheduling with simultaneous considerations of jobs with time-dependent processing times and ready times is relatively unexplored. Inspired by this observation, we study a two-agent single-machine scheduling problem in which the jobs have both time-dependent processing times and ready times. We consider the model in which the actual processing time of a job of the first agent is a decreasing function of its scheduled position while the actual processing time of a job of the second agent is an increasing function of its scheduled position. In addition, each job has a different ready time. The objective is to minimize the total completion time of the jobs of the first agent with the restriction that no tardy job is allowed for the second agent. We propose a branch-and-bound and several genetic algorithms to obtain optimal and near-optimal solutions for the problem, respectively. We also conduct extensive computational results to test the proposed algorithms and examine the impacts of different problem parameters on their performance.

Analyzing International Readiness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Reza Hamidizadeh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Internationalization has different connotations for different social sciences and its social, economic and cultural impacts have been examined by a number of studies. While firms’ internationalization processes have been understood as being dynamic, the concept of international readiness has rarely been the main focus of research efforts, which until a decade ago, focused principally on explaining sequences of entry modes and choices of markets. The emergence of the study of international entrepreneurship has enhanced the role of readiness. This study reviews the concept of international readiness by experimental and theoretical studies. Axioms in this research are based on content analysis. The framework incorporates measures to evaluate SMEs’ international readiness. The paper concludes with a research agenda as a guide for future work on considering the readiness as a critical phase before the internationalization process.

Operational readiness of EFAD systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabat, M.J.

1992-02-01

An assessment of the operational readiness of the Emergency Filtered Air Discharge (EFAD) systems, installed in Canadian CANDU multi-unit nuclear power plants, was performed in this project. Relevant Canadian and foreign standards and regulatory requirements have been reviewed and documentation on EFAD system design, operation, testing and maintenance have been assessed to identify likely causes and potential failures of EFAD systems and their components under both standby and accident conditions. Recommendations have also been provided in this report for revisions which are needed to achieve and maintain appropriate operational readiness of EFAD systems

The WIPP transportation system: Demonstrated readiness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, T.R.; Spooner, R.

1991-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has developed an integrated transportation system to transport transuranic (TRU) waste from ten widely-dispersed generator sites to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The system consists of a Type B container, a specially- designed trailer, a lightweight tractor, the DOE ''TRANSCOM'' vehicle tracking system, and uniquely qualified and highly-trained drivers. In June of 1989, the National Academy of Sciences reviewed the transportation system and concluded that: ''The system proposed for transportation of TRU waste to WIPP is safer than that employed for any other hazardous material in the United States today and will reduce risk to very low levels'' (emphasis added). The next challenge facing the DOE was demonstrating that this system was ready to transport the TRU waste to the WIPP site efficiently and in the safest manner possible. Not only did the DOE feel that is was necessary to convince itself that the system was safe, but also representatives of the 20 states through which it would travel

The WIPP transportation system: Demonstrated readiness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, T.R.; Spooner, R.

1991-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has developed an integrated transportation system to transport transuranic (TRU) waste from ten widely-dispersed generator sites to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The system consists of a Type B container, a specially-designed trailer, a lightweight tractor, the DOE ''TRANSCOM'' vehicle tracing system, and uniquely qualified and highly-trained drivers. In June of 1989, the National Academy of Sciences reviewed the transportation system and concluded that: ''The system proposed for transportation of TRU waste to WIPP is safer than that employed for any other hazardous material in the United States today and will reduce risk to very low levels.'' The next challenge facing the DOE was demonstrating that this system was ready to transport the TRU waste to the WIPP site in the safest manner possible. Not only did the DOE feel that it was necessary to convince itself that the system was safe, but also representatives of the 23 states through which it traveled

Bridging the provenance gap: opportunities and challenges tracking in and ex silico provenance in sUAS workflows

Science.gov (United States)

Thomer, A.

2017-12-01

Data provenance - the record of the varied processes that went into the creation of a dataset, as well as the relationships between resulting data objects - is necessary to support the reusability, reproducibility and reliability of earth science data. In sUAS-based research, capturing provenance can be particularly challenging because of the breadth and distributed nature of the many platforms used to collect, process and analyze data. In any given project, multiple drones, controllers, computers, software systems, sensors, cameras, imaging processing algorithms and data processing workflows are used over sometimes long periods of time. These platforms and processing result in dozens - if not hundreds - of data products in varying stages of readiness-for-analysis and sharing. Provenance tracking mechanisms are needed to make the relationships between these many data products explicit, and therefore more reusable and shareable. In this talk, I discuss opportunities and challenges in tracking provenance in sUAS-based research, and identify gaps in current workflow-capture technologies. I draw on prior work conducted as part of the IMLS-funded Site-Based Data Curation project in which we developed methods of documenting in and ex silico (that is, computational and non-computation) workflows, and demonstrate this approaches applicability to research with sUASes. I conclude with a discussion of ontologies and other semantic technologies that have potential application in sUAS research.

Evaluating mobile centric readiness of students: A case of computer science students in open-distance learning

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Chipangura, B

2015-07-01

Full Text Available and Education]: Distance learning Keywords Mobile centric services, mobile information access, mobile readiness 1. INTRODUCTION As the mobile phone market matures in terms of penetration rate, subscription rate, handsets functionality and mobile centric..., this reflects a ratio of one mobile phone per person. High mobile phone penetration has made it possible for digitally alienated communities in developing countries to have improved access to business, health, education and social services. Indeed, this has...

Diagnostics of children's school readiness in scientific studies abroad

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nazarenko V.V.

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The article considers the problem of children's school readiness as it is represented in contemporary studies of foreign scholars. It displays a variety of approaches to estimation of school readiness as well as the ways of measuring the levels of child development as relating to school readiness, namely those of them which are in common practice in education.

A Federal Vision for Future Computing: A Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-29

fault-tolerant system that consumes less power than an incandescent light bulb. Recent progress in developing novel, low-power methods of sensing and...computation—including neuromorphic, magneto-electronic, and analog systems—combined with dramatic advances in neuroscience and cognitive sciences...enable ready-to-fabricate designs and specifications. 4. Brain-Inspired Approaches Neuroscience research suggests that the brain is a complex, high

Remedial action and waste disposal project - ERDF readiness evaluation plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casbon, M.A.

1996-06-01

This Readiness Evaluation Report presents the results of the project readiness evaluation to assess the readiness of the Environmental Restoration and Disposal Facility. The evaluation was conducted at the conclusion of a series of readiness activities that began in January 1996. These activities included completion of the physical plant; preparation, review, and approval of operating procedures; definition and assembly of the necessary project and operational organizations; and activities leading to regulatory approval of the plant and operating plans

Democracy in schools: are educators ready for teacher leadership?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elsabé de Villiers

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research was to determine educators' perceptions of and readiness for teacher leadership. A total of 283 educators in the Eden and Central Karoo Education District in the Western Cape participated in the study. The participants included district officials, principals, and members of school management teams, as well as veteran, middle, and novice educators. A series of instruments was used to determine educators' perspectives, perceptions and readiness for teacher leadership, including the Teacher Leadership Readiness Instrument (TLRI. The results indicated that educators held positive assumptions about teacher leadership. Educators' preliminary leadership perceptions, assumptions about and readiness for teacher leadership proved that the majority of educators are ready for a more distributed, deep democratic leadership practice in schools. Educators acknowledged the need for continuous professional development in the area of teacher leadership. It was also found that as preliminary leadership perceptions of educators improve or strengthen, readiness for teacher leadership is also likely to improve or strengthen. These findings have significant implications for leadership practices, collaboration, capacity-building and improvement in schools, educators' self-esteem, motivation and productivity, as well as student outcomes.

Overview: Texas College and Career Readiness Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2009

2009-01-01

The Texas College and Career Readiness Standards define what students should know and be able to accomplish in order to succeed in entry-level college courses or skilled workforce opportunities upon graduation from high school. This paper answers the following questions: (1) Who developed the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards?; (2) What…

Tackling some of the most intricate geophysical challenges via high-performance computing

Science.gov (United States)

Khosronejad, A.

2016-12-01

Recently, world has been witnessing significant enhancements in computing power of supercomputers. Computer clusters in conjunction with the advanced mathematical algorithms has set the stage for developing and applying powerful numerical tools to tackle some of the most intricate geophysical challenges that today`s engineers face. One such challenge is to understand how turbulent flows, in real-world settings, interact with (a) rigid and/or mobile complex bed bathymetry of waterways and sea-beds in the coastal areas; (b) objects with complex geometry that are fully or partially immersed; and (c) free-surface of waterways and water surface waves in the coastal area. This understanding is especially important because the turbulent flows in real-world environments are often bounded by geometrically complex boundaries, which dynamically deform and give rise to multi-scale and multi-physics transport phenomena, and characterized by multi-lateral interactions among various phases (e.g. air/water/sediment phases). Herein, I present some of the multi-scale and multi-physics geophysical fluid mechanics processes that I have attempted to study using an in-house high-performance computational model, the so-called VFS-Geophysics. More specifically, I will present the simulation results of turbulence/sediment/solute/turbine interactions in real-world settings. Parts of the simulations I present are performed to gain scientific insights into the processes such as sand wave formation (A. Khosronejad, and F. Sotiropoulos, (2014), Numerical simulation of sand waves in a turbulent open channel flow, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 753:150-216), while others are carried out to predict the effects of climate change and large flood events on societal infrastructures ( A. Khosronejad, et al., (2016), Large eddy simulation of turbulence and solute transport in a forested headwater stream, Journal of Geophysical Research:, doi: 10.1002/2014JF003423).

IMPLEMENTING THE COMPUTER-BASED NATIONAL EXAMINATION IN INDONESIAN SCHOOLS: THE CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heri Retnawati

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In line with technological development, the computer-based national examination (CBNE has become an urgent matter as its implementation faces various challenges, especially in developing countries. Strategies in implementing CBNE are thus needed to face the challenges. The aim of this research was to analyse the challenges and strategies of Indonesian schools in implementing CBNE. This research was qualitative phenomenological in nature. The data were collected through a questionnaire and a focus group discussion. The research participants were teachers who were test supervisors and technicians at junior high schools and senior high schools (i.e. Level 1 and 2 and vocational high schools implementing CBNE in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The data were analysed using the Bogdan and Biklen model. The results indicate that (1 in implementing CBNE, the schools should initially make efforts to provide the electronic equipment supporting it; (2 the implementation of CBNE is challenged by problems concerning the Internet and the electricity supply; (3 the test supervisors have to learn their duties by themselves and (4 the students are not yet familiar with the beneficial use of information technology. To deal with such challenges, the schools employed strategies by making efforts to provide the standard electronic equipment through collaboration with the students’ parents and improving the curriculum content by adding information technology as a school subject.

UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ READINESS TO APPLY THE MODERN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina O. Kotlyarova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the research is to investigate the readiness of the university teachers to apply the modern educational technologies. Methods. The methods include theoretical: analysis of existing modern educational technologies, the concept «readiness» and its components, abstraction of signs and kinds of modern educational technologies based on the scientific literature and in the Federal State Educational Standards (FSES; empirical: questionnaires and testing methods for detecting levels of university teachers’ skills and readiness to use modern educational technology. Results. The main features of modern educational technologies are identified and justified that are to comply with modern methodology of the theory and practice of education study and the latest FSES requirements; the level of science, manufacturing, and modern rules of human relations. The components of readiness of university teachers to use modern educational technology are structured. The linguistic component is included along with the cognitive, psychological, operational, connotative components; its necessity is proved. The average level of readiness for the use of modern educational technology by university teachers is identified. Scientific novelty. The author specifies the features of the modern educational technology. The most significant components of higher-education teaching personnel readiness to use technological innovations are identified. As a whole, these results form the indicative framework for the development and measurement of readiness of the university teachers to use the modern educational technology. The development of the readiness of the university teachers to apply the modern educational technologies is proved to be an issue of current interest. Practical significance. The research findings can be used as the basis of techniques and methods designing for its further development and measurement of the training, retraining and advanced training of

Internet ware cloud computing :Challenges

OpenAIRE

Qamar, S; Lal, Niranjan; Singh, Mrityunjay

2010-01-01

After decades of engineering development and infrastructural investment, Internet connections have become commodity product in many countries, and Internet scale “cloud computing” has started to compete with traditional software business through its technological advantages and economy of scale. Cloud computing is a promising enabling technology of Internet ware Cloud Computing is termed as the next big thing in the modern corporate world. Apart from the present day software and technologies,...

Community Mobilization and Readiness: Planning Flaws which Challenge Effective Implementation of 'Communities that Care' (CTC) Prevention System.

Science.gov (United States)

Basic, Josipa

2015-01-01

This article reviews the experience of implementing a community approach to drug use and youth delinquency prevention based on the 'Communities that Care' (CTC) system implemented in one Croatian county consisting of 12 communities, 2002 to 2013 (Hawkins, 1999; Hawkins & Catalano, 2004). This overview explores selected critical issues which are often not considered in substance use(r) community intervention planning, implementation as well as in associated process and outcome assessments. These issues include, among others, the mobilization process of adequate representation of people; the involvement of relevant key individual and organizational stakeholders and being aware of the stakeholders' willingness to participate in the prevention process. In addition, it is important to be aware of the stakeholders' knowledge and perceptions about the 'problems' of drug use and youth delinquency in their communities as well as the characteristics of the targeted population(s). Sometimes there are community members and stakeholders who block needed change and therefore prevention process enablers and 'bridges' should be involved in moving prevention programming forward. Another barrier that is often overlooked in prevention planning is community readiness to change and a realistic assessment of available and accessible resources for initiating the planned change(s) and sustaining them. All of these issues have been found to be potentially related to intervention success. At the end of this article, I summarize perspectives from prevention scientists and practitioners and lessons learned from communities' readiness research and practice in Croatian that has international relevance.

Risk management is every managers’ responsibility: Are HR practitioners ready for the challenge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascal Siphelele Zulu

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Risk and Enterprise Risk Management has become a strategic imperative in most organisations and government departments over the years. Most company boards and government entities in South Africa have adopted various corporate governance frameworks as a mechanism to direct and control the operations of their organisations. As a result, risk management and enterprise risk management has become every manager’s responsibility. The key question that the study investigates is whether HR managers are aware of this strategic imperative and ready to be risk champions in their environment. Data was collected from forty eight (48 HR Managers and Practitioners from private companies and sixty eight (68 HR Managers and Practitioners from government departments and government companies in Durban, Kwazulu-Natal and Cape Town, Western Cape using both personal interviews and questionnaires which were distributed to one hundred and fifty (150 employees, of which one hundred and sixteen (116 questionnaires were completed (return rate 77.3%. The results of this paper indicate that, in general and across all sectors, HR practitioners’ levels of understanding of corporate governance and risk management is limited

The utility of single-item readiness screeners in middle school.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Crystal G; Herman, Keith C; Huang, Francis L; Stormont, Melissa; Grossman, Caroline; Eddy, Colleen; Reinke, Wendy M

2017-10-01

This study examined the benefit of utilizing one-item academic and one-item behavior readiness teacher-rated screeners at the beginning of the school year to predict end-of-school year outcomes for middle school students. The Middle School Academic and Behavior Readiness (M-ABR) screeners were developed to provide an efficient and effective way to assess readiness in students. Participants included 889 students in 62 middle school classrooms in an urban Missouri school district. Concurrent validity with the M-ABR items and other indicators of readiness in the fall were evaluated using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, with the academic readiness item having medium to strong correlations with other baseline academic indicators (r=±0.56 to 0.91) and the behavior readiness item having low to strong correlations with baseline behavior items (r=±0.20 to 0.79). Next, the predictive validity of the M-ABR items was analyzed with hierarchical linear regressions using end-of-year outcomes as the dependent variable. The academic and behavior readiness items demonstrated adequate validity for all outcomes with moderate effects (β=±0.31 to 0.73 for academic outcomes and β=±0.24 to 0.59 for behavioral outcomes) after controlling for baseline demographics. Even after controlling for baseline scores, the M-ABR items predicted unique variance in almost all outcome variables. Four conditional probability indices were calculated to obtain an optimal cut score, to determine ready vs. not ready, for both single-item M-ABR scales. The cut point of "fair" yielded the most acceptable values for the indices. The odd ratios (OR) of experiencing negative outcomes given a "fair" or lower readiness rating (2 or below on the M-ABR screeners) at the beginning of the year were significant and strong for all outcomes (OR=2.29 to OR=14.46), except for internalizing problems. These findings suggest promise for using single readiness items to screen for varying negative end

Computational science: Emerging opportunities and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendrickson, Bruce

2009-01-01

In the past two decades, computational methods have emerged as an essential component of the scientific and engineering enterprise. A diverse assortment of scientific applications has been simulated and explored via advanced computational techniques. Computer vendors have built enormous parallel machines to support these activities, and the research community has developed new algorithms and codes, and agreed on standards to facilitate ever more ambitious computations. However, this track record of success will be increasingly hard to sustain in coming years. Power limitations constrain processor clock speeds, so further performance improvements will need to come from ever more parallelism. This higher degree of parallelism will require new thinking about algorithms, programming models, and architectural resilience. Simultaneously, cutting edge science increasingly requires more complex simulations with unstructured and adaptive grids, and multi-scale and multi-physics phenomena. These new codes will push existing parallelization strategies to their limits and beyond. Emerging data-rich scientific applications are also in need of high performance computing, but their complex spatial and temporal data access patterns do not perform well on existing machines. These interacting forces will reshape high performance computing in the coming years.

Consumers' health-related motive orientations and ready meal consumption behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Geeroms, Nele; Verbeke, Wim; Van Kenhove, Patrick

2008-11-01

Based on a multidimensional perspective on the meaning of health, this study explores associations between consumers' health-related motive orientations (HRMO) and ready meal consumption behaviour. Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 1934 Flemish consumers through an on-line survey. The respondents rated 45 health statements referring to people's motives for pursuing health. The survey also assessed information on several aspects of ready meal consumption, i.e. consumption frequency, beliefs and attitudes toward ready meals and ready meal buying criteria. Based on a two-step cluster analysis, we identified five distinct subgroups in the sample, according to their HRMO: health is about energy (Energetic Experimenters), emotional well-being/enjoying life (Harmonious Enjoyers), social responsibility/physical well-being (Normative Carers), achievement/outward appearance (Conscious Experts) and autonomy (Rationalists). Ready meal consumption patterns differed between these segments, with Energetic Experimenters and Conscious Experts showing significantly more positive attitudes, stronger beliefs and both higher penetration and consumption frequency related to ready meals, compared to Harmonious Enjoyers, Normative Carers and Rationalists. These findings may relate to the individualistic versus altruistic health orientation perspective of the identified segments, and are valuable in the context of improving consumer-oriented product development, positioning and marketing of ready meals.

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

I. Fisk

2010-01-01

Introduction It has been a very active quarter in Computing with interesting progress in all areas. The activity level at the computing facilities, driven by both organised processing from data operations and user analysis, has been steadily increasing. The large-scale production of simulated events that has been progressing throughout the fall is wrapping-up and reprocessing with pile-up will continue. A large reprocessing of all the proton-proton data has just been released and another will follow shortly. The number of analysis jobs by users each day, that was already hitting the computing model expectations at the time of ICHEP, is now 33% higher. We are expecting a busy holiday break to ensure samples are ready in time for the winter conferences. Heavy Ion An activity that is still in progress is computing for the heavy-ion program. The heavy-ion events are collected without zero suppression, so the event size is much large at roughly 11 MB per event of RAW. The central collisions are more complex and...

Technology Assessment of the Inspection Readiness Plan in Chemical Weapons Convention Challenge Inspections

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Woodley, Anthony

1998-01-01

...) Challenge Inspections. The CWC is an intrusive inspection. The Challenge Inspection allows for a team of international inspectors to inspect on very short notice a naval facility suspected of violating the CWC...

Process Improvement to the Inspection Readiness Plan in Chemical Weapons Convention Challenge Inspections

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Triplett, William

1997-01-01

...) Challenge Inspection. The CWC is an intensive inspection. The Challenge Inspection allows for a team of international inspectors to inspect a naval facility suspected of violating the CWC on very short notice...

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

I. Fisk

2011-01-01

Introduction It has been a very active quarter in Computing with interesting progress in all areas. The activity level at the computing facilities, driven by both organised processing from data operations and user analysis, has been steadily increasing. The large-scale production of simulated events that has been progressing throughout the fall is wrapping-up and reprocessing with pile-up will continue. A large reprocessing of all the proton-proton data has just been released and another will follow shortly. The number of analysis jobs by users each day, that was already hitting the computing model expectations at the time of ICHEP, is now 33% higher. We are expecting a busy holiday break to ensure samples are ready in time for the winter conferences. Heavy Ion The Tier 0 infrastructure was able to repack and promptly reconstruct heavy-ion collision data. Two copies were made of the data at CERN using a large CASTOR disk pool, and the core physics sample was replicated ...

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

I. Fisk

2010-01-01

Introduction The first data taking period of November produced a first scientific paper, and this is a very satisfactory step for Computing. It also gave the invaluable opportunity to learn and debrief from this first, intense period, and make the necessary adaptations. The alarm procedures between different groups (DAQ, Physics, T0 processing, Alignment/calibration, T1 and T2 communications) have been reinforced. A major effort has also been invested into remodeling and optimizing operator tasks in all activities in Computing, in parallel with the recruitment of new Cat A operators. The teams are being completed and by mid year the new tasks will have been assigned. CRB (Computing Resource Board) The Board met twice since last CMS week. In December it reviewed the experience of the November data-taking period and could measure the positive improvements made for the site readiness. It also reviewed the policy under which Tier-2 are associated with Physics Groups. Such associations are decided twice per ye...

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

M. Kasemann

Introduction More than seventy CMS collaborators attended the Computing and Offline Workshop in San Diego, California, April 20-24th to discuss the state of readiness of software and computing for collisions. Focus and priority were given to preparations for data taking and providing room for ample dialog between groups involved in Commissioning, Data Operations, Analysis and MC Production. Throughout the workshop, aspects of software, operating procedures and issues addressing all parts of the computing model were discussed. Plans for the CMS participation in STEP’09, the combined scale testing for all four experiments due in June 2009, were refined. The article in CMS Times by Frank Wuerthwein gave a good recap of the highly collaborative atmosphere of the workshop. Many thanks to UCSD and to the organizers for taking care of this workshop, which resulted in a long list of action items and was definitely a success. A considerable amount of effort and care is invested in the estimate of the co...

Nurses’ perspectives on readiness of organizations for change: a comparative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amarneh BH

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Basil Hameed Amarneh Department of Psychiatric and Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate readiness for change perceived by nurses at Jordanian hospitals according to the hospital type and the gender of nurse.Background: There are misconceptions about readiness for change, and only a few health care and nursing studies about organizational readiness for change have been conducted. Nurses’ perceptions of their organizations’ readiness for change are important; they help in introducing, managing, and maintaining the change.Methods: Using a quantitative comparative research design and a validated survey, data were collected in 2010 from a convenience sample of 130 nurses from four government and three private hospitals with a response rate of 59%.Results: There are some issues in Jordanian hospitals, which show that change has to be managed well. Nurses in government hospitals and female nurses perceived their hospitals to be more ready for change, compared with those in private hospitals and male nurses.Conclusion: Government hospitals were more ready to change than private hospitals, particularly in supporting collaborative and multidisciplinary team approaches to patient care. More than male nurses, female nurses perceived that their organizations were ready to use or plan to use advanced practice nurses. One of the recommendations is a need for targeted intervention to improve readiness for change. Keywords: readiness for change, organizations, hospitals, nurses, Jordan

Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of metals; physics, computational, and materials challenges

Science.gov (United States)

King, W. E.; Anderson, A. T.; Ferencz, R. M.; Hodge, N. E.; Kamath, C.; Khairallah, S. A.; Rubenchik, A. M.

2015-12-01

The production of metal parts via laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing is growing exponentially. However, the transition of this technology from production of prototypes to production of critical parts is hindered by a lack of confidence in the quality of the part. Confidence can be established via a fundamental understanding of the physics of the process. It is generally accepted that this understanding will be increasingly achieved through modeling and simulation. However, there are significant physics, computational, and materials challenges stemming from the broad range of length and time scales and temperature ranges associated with the process. In this paper, we review the current state of the art and describe the challenges that need to be met to achieve the desired fundamental understanding of the physics of the process.

Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of metals; physics, computational, and materials challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

King, W. E., E-mail: weking@llnl.gov [Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Anderson, A. T.; Ferencz, R. M.; Hodge, N. E.; Khairallah, S. A. [Engineering Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Kamath, C. [Computation Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Rubenchik, A. M. [NIF and Photon Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

2015-12-15

The production of metal parts via laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing is growing exponentially. However, the transition of this technology from production of prototypes to production of critical parts is hindered by a lack of confidence in the quality of the part. Confidence can be established via a fundamental understanding of the physics of the process. It is generally accepted that this understanding will be increasingly achieved through modeling and simulation. However, there are significant physics, computational, and materials challenges stemming from the broad range of length and time scales and temperature ranges associated with the process. In this paper, we review the current state of the art and describe the challenges that need to be met to achieve the desired fundamental understanding of the physics of the process.

Laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of metals; physics, computational, and materials challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, W. E.; Anderson, A. T.; Ferencz, R. M.; Hodge, N. E.; Khairallah, S. A.; Kamath, C.; Rubenchik, A. M.

2015-01-01

The production of metal parts via laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing is growing exponentially. However, the transition of this technology from production of prototypes to production of critical parts is hindered by a lack of confidence in the quality of the part. Confidence can be established via a fundamental understanding of the physics of the process. It is generally accepted that this understanding will be increasingly achieved through modeling and simulation. However, there are significant physics, computational, and materials challenges stemming from the broad range of length and time scales and temperature ranges associated with the process. In this paper, we review the current state of the art and describe the challenges that need to be met to achieve the desired fundamental understanding of the physics of the process

Analysis of e-learning implementation readiness based on integrated elr model

Science.gov (United States)

Adiyarta, K.; Napitupulu, D.; Rahim, R.; Abdullah, D.; Setiawan, MI

2018-04-01

E-learning nowadays has become a requirement for institutions to support their learning activities. To adopt e-learning, an institution requires a large strategy and resources for optimal application. Unfortunately, not all institutions that have used e-learning got the desired results or expectations. This study aims to identify the extent of the level of readiness of e-learning implementation in institution X. The degree of institutional readiness will determine the success of future e-learning utilization. In addition, institutional readiness measurement are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies in e-learning development. The research method used is survey with questionnaire designed based on integration of 8 best practice ELR (e-learning readiness) model. The results showed that from 13 factors of integrated ELR model being measured, there are 3 readiness factors included in the category of not ready and needs a lot of work. They are human resource (2.57), technology skill (2.38) and content factors (2.41). In general, e-learning implementation in institutions is in the category of not ready but needs some of work (3.27). Therefore, the institution should consider which factors or areas of ELR factors are considered still not ready and needs improvement in the future.

Iranian Clinical Nurses' Readiness for Self-Directed Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Malekian, Morteza; Ghiyasvandian, Sharzad; Cheraghi, Mohammad Ali; Hassanzadeh, Akbar

2015-05-17

Clinical nurses are in need of being able to adapt to the ever-changing environment of clinical settings. The prerequisite for their successful adaptation is to be lifelong learners. An approach for making nurses lifelong learners is self-directed learning. This study was undertaken to evaluate a group of Iranian clinical nurses' readiness for self-directed learning and its relationship with some of their personal characteristics. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2014. A random sample of 314 nurses working in three hospitals affiliated to Isfahan Social Security Organization, Isfahan, Iran, was recruited to complete the Fisher's Self-directed Learning Readiness Scale. In total, 279 nurses filled the scale completely. The mean of their readiness for self-directed learning was 162.50±14.11 (120-196). The correlation of self-directed learning readiness with age, gender, marital status, and university degree was not statistically significant. Most nurses had great readiness for self-directed learning. Accordingly, nursing policy-makers need to develop strategies for promoting their self-directed learning. Moreover, innovative teaching methods such as problem solving and problem-based learning should be employed to prepare nurses for effectively managing the complexities of their ever-changing work environment.

Instructional Computer Use in the Community College: A Discussion of the Research and Its Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bower, Beverly L.

1998-01-01

Reviews research on the instructional benefits of computer technology. Discusses the computer readiness of students, faculty, and institutions, and suggests that despite mixed findings, political and organizational realities indicate computer-based instruction is a feasible alternative for community colleges. Therefore, educators should continue…

Technology Readiness Level Guidebook

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

This guidebook provides the necessary information for conducting a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Assessment. TRL Assessments are a tool for determining the maturity of technologies and identifying next steps in the research process. This guidebook...

Assessing motivation and readiness to change for weight management and control: an in-depth evaluation of three sets of instruments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina eCeccarini

2015-05-01

Full Text Available It is highly recommended to promptly assess motivation and readiness to change in individuals who wish to achieve significant lifestyle behavior changes in order to improve their health, overall quality of life and well-being. In particular, motivation should be assessed for those who face the difficult task to maintain weight, which implies a double challenge: weight loss initially and its management subsequently. In fact, weight-control may be as problematic as smoking or drugs-taking cessation, since they all share the commonality of being highly refractory to change behaviors. This paper will examine three well-established tools following the Trans-theoretical Model (TTM, specifically assessing readiness to change in weight management: the URICA, the S-Weight and the P-Weight and the Decisional Balance Inventory. Though their strengths and weaknesses may appear to be rather homogeneous and similar, the S-Weight and P-Weight are more efficient in assessing readiness to change in weight management and control. Assessing motivation and readiness to change may be a crucial step in promptly identifying psychological obstacles or resistance towards weight-management in overweight or obese hospitalised individuals, and it may contribute to provide a more effective weight-control treatment intervention.

Parent Involvement in the Getting Ready for School Intervention Is Associated With Changes in School Readiness Skills

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Marti

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The role of parent involvement in school readiness interventions is not well-understood. The Getting Ready for School (GRS intervention is a novel program that has both home and school components and aims to improve early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills in preschool children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. In this study, we first examined associations between family characteristics and different indices of parent involvement in the GRS intervention. We then examined associations between parent involvement and change in children's school readiness skills over time. Participants were 133 preschool children attending Head Start and their parents who participated in the GRS intervention during the academic year 2014–2015. Parent involvement was operationalized as attendance to GRS events at the school, time spent at home doing GRS activities, and usage of digital program materials, which included a set of videos to support the implementation of parent-child activities at home. Although few family characteristics were significantly associated with parent involvement indices, there was a tendency for some markers of higher socioeconomic status to be linked with greater parent involvement. In addition, greater parent involvement in the GRS intervention was significantly associated with greater gains in children's early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills. These findings suggest that parent involvement in comprehensive early interventions could be beneficial in terms of improving school readiness for preschoolers from disadvantaged families.

Parent Involvement in the Getting Ready for School Intervention Is Associated With Changes in School Readiness Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Marti, Maria; Merz, Emily C.; Repka, Kelsey R.; Landers, Cassie; Noble, Kimberly G.; Duch, Helena

2018-01-01

The role of parent involvement in school readiness interventions is not well-understood. The Getting Ready for School (GRS) intervention is a novel program that has both home and school components and aims to improve early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills in preschool children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. In this study, we first examined associations between family characteristics and different indices of parent involvement in the GRS intervention. We then examined associations between parent involvement and change in children's school readiness skills over time. Participants were 133 preschool children attending Head Start and their parents who participated in the GRS intervention during the academic year 2014–2015. Parent involvement was operationalized as attendance to GRS events at the school, time spent at home doing GRS activities, and usage of digital program materials, which included a set of videos to support the implementation of parent-child activities at home. Although few family characteristics were significantly associated with parent involvement indices, there was a tendency for some markers of higher socioeconomic status to be linked with greater parent involvement. In addition, greater parent involvement in the GRS intervention was significantly associated with greater gains in children's early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills. These findings suggest that parent involvement in comprehensive early interventions could be beneficial in terms of improving school readiness for preschoolers from disadvantaged families. PMID:29904362

Child Readiness to Kindergarten in Parents and Pedagogues Sight

OpenAIRE

POKORNÁ, Ivana

2014-01-01

The bachelor thesis deals with the readiness of 3-4 year old children to enter kindergarten. The theoretical part describes the biological and psychosocial development of the child aged three to four years and highlights the various factors that may affect the child's entry into kindergarten. Describes the family and kindergarten, the issue of adaptation in pre-school and readiness of the child to them. The practical part contains research focused on the perception of the readiness of childre...

The Impact and Promise of Open-Source Computational Material for Physics Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, Wolfgang

2017-01-01

A computer-based modeling approach to teaching must be flexible because students and teachers have different skills and varying levels of preparation. Learning how to run the ``software du jour'' is not the objective for integrating computational physics material into the curriculum. Learning computational thinking, how to use computation and computer-based visualization to communicate ideas, how to design and build models, and how to use ready-to-run models to foster critical thinking is the objective. Our computational modeling approach to teaching is a research-proven pedagogy that predates computers. It attempts to enhance student achievement through the Modeling Cycle. This approach was pioneered by Robert Karplus and the SCIS Project in the 1960s and 70s and later extended by the Modeling Instruction Program led by Jane Jackson and David Hestenes at Arizona State University. This talk describes a no-cost open-source computational approach aligned with a Modeling Cycle pedagogy. Our tools, curricular material, and ready-to-run examples are freely available from the Open Source Physics Collection hosted on the AAPT-ComPADRE digital library. Examples will be presented.

Television Viewing, Educational Quality of the Home Environment, and School Readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Angela Teresa; Kurtz-Costes, Beth

1997-01-01

Researchers examined relationships among children's television viewing, school readiness, parental employment, and the home environment's educational quality. Thirty low-income parents completed surveys. Their preschoolers completed IQ and school readiness assessments. Television viewing adversely related to school readiness and the home…

75 FR 28594 - Ready-to-Learn Television Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-21

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA Number 84.295A] Ready-to-Learn Television Program AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for... INFORMATION CONTACT: The Ready-to-Learn Television Program, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue...

Cloud Computing Security Issues and Challenges

OpenAIRE

Kuyoro S. O.; Ibikunle F; Awodele O

2011-01-01

Cloud computing is a set of IT services that are provided to a customer over a network on a leased basis and with the ability to scale up or down their service requirements. Usually cloud computing services are delivered by a third party provider who owns the infrastructure. It advantages to mention but a few include scalability, resilience, flexibility, efficiency and outsourcing non-core activities. Cloud computing offers an innovative business model for organizations to adopt IT services w...

Are Malaysian Students Ready to Be Authors of Digital Contents? A Case Study of Digital Library Stakeholders’ Readiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abrizah Abdullah

2007-09-01

Full Text Available The paper reports on a study that ascertains the factors facilitating students to utilize digital libraries for educational purposes. The study investigates students ICT readiness, usage of online resources and information seeking behaviour of secondary school students with the specific goal of applying the results to the design of a collaborative digital library for school projects. The digital library has been conceived to support resource needs of these students as well provide the space for them to publish their school projects, which are currently submitted handwritten. The study uses the case study approach and an urban secondary school in Malaysia is chosen as the case school. Findings from a survey and focus group interviews indicate that the students are ready to collaboratively build the digital library resources as evidenced by students digital library readiness score of 31.4/40.

Computational analyses of ancient pathogen DNA from herbarium samples: challenges and prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, Kentaro; Sasaki, Eriko; Kamoun, Sophien

2015-01-01

The application of DNA sequencing technology to the study of ancient DNA has enabled the reconstruction of past epidemics from genomes of historically important plant-associated microbes. Recently, the genome sequences of the potato late blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans were analyzed from 19th century herbarium specimens. These herbarium samples originated from infected potatoes collected during and after the Irish potato famine. Herbaria have therefore great potential to help elucidate past epidemics of crops, date the emergence of pathogens, and inform about past pathogen population dynamics. DNA preservation in herbarium samples was unexpectedly good, raising the possibility of a whole new research area in plant and microbial genomics. However, the recovered DNA can be extremely fragmented resulting in specific challenges in reconstructing genome sequences. Here we review some of the challenges in computational analyses of ancient DNA from herbarium samples. We also applied the recently developed linkage method to haplotype reconstruction of diploid or polyploid genomes from fragmented ancient DNA.

The Challenges in Applying Magnetroesistive Sensors on the 'Curiosity' Rover

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Michael R.

2013-01-01

Magnetoresistive Sensors were selected for use on the motor encoders throughout the Curiosity Rover for motor position feedback devices. The Rover contains 28 acuators with a corresponding number of encoder assemblies. The environment on Mars provides opportunities for challenges to any hardware design. The encoder assemblies presented several barriers that had to be vaulted in order to say the rover was ready to fly. The environment and encoder specific design features provided challenges that had to be solved in time to fly.

75 FR 16763 - Ready-to-Learn Television Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-02

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA Number 84.295A] Ready-to-Learn Television Program AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for... FR 13515) a notice inviting applications for new awards for FY 2010 for the Ready-to-Learn Television...

75 FR 18170 - Ready-to-Learn Television Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-09

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA Number 84.295A] Ready-to-Learn Television Program AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for... FR 13515) a notice inviting applications for new awards for FY 2010 for the Ready-to-Learn Television...

Readiness towards Entrepreneurship Education: Students and Malaysian Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, Norasmah; Hashim, Norashidah; Wahid, Hariyaty Ab

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to observe the readiness of students and the internal environment of Malaysian public universities in the implementation of entrepreneurship education. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employed a quantitative approach and the main instrument used to gauge the entrepreneurship readiness among students…

Rice University: Innovation to Increase Student College Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Gigliotti, Jennifer

2012-01-01

"College readiness" means that a student can enter a college classroom without remediation and successfully complete entry-level college requirements (Conley, 2012). In order for students to be considered college ready, they must acquire skills, content knowledge, and behaviors before leaving high school. Research on high-school performance…

Replacing Remediation with Readiness. An NCPR Working Paper

Science.gov (United States)

Conley, David T.

2010-01-01

This paper critically examines traditional means of assessing college students' need for remediation and suggests as a replacement an expanded definition of college readiness, where readiness is more complex than rudimentary content knowledge and more multifaceted than a single cut point. The paper presents and explains four dimensions of…

What Does It Mean to Be El Niño Ready?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael H. Glantz

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Once an El Niño event has been forecast, government warnings and news headlines highlight the need for society to get ready for the potential impacts of the event, whether drought, flood, heatwave, disease outbreak, or water shortage. The notion of readiness for a climate-, water- or weather-related hazard or disaster is a fuzzy term, subject to a wide range of conflicting perceptions. Not every government sees El Niño as a direct threat to the wellbeing of its citizens. In this paper, we conceptualize readiness and identify reasons that some governments do not as well as cannot prepare for El Niño’s foreseeable consequences. Central among those reasons are its characteristics: quasi-periodicity, event variability, difficulties with onset forecasting, and the fact that El Niño and its “teleconnections” are influenced by numerous other oceanic and atmospheric oscillations. As a result, there is no universally accepted approach to or reliable measure of readiness. The concept is often discussed qualitatively in terms of “shades of readiness”, such as hardly ready, somewhat ready, almost ready, and absolutely ready. Although El Niño is still difficult to forecast, the existing knowledge about it can provide usable information for decision makers to choose whether to pursue strategic or tactical disaster risk reduction policies.

Implementing a Zero Energy Ready Home Multifamily Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Springer, David [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); German, Alea [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-08-17

Building cost-effective, high-performance homes that provide superior comfort, health, and durability is the goal of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program. Building America research and other innovative programs throughout the country have addressed many of the technical challenges of building to the ZERH standard. The cost-effectiveness of measure packages that result in 30% source energy savings compared to a code-compliant home have been demonstrated. However, additional challenges remain, particularly with respect to convincing production builders of the strong business case for ZERH. The Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI) team believes that the keys to successfully engaging builders and developers in the California market are to help them leverage development agreement requirements, code compliance requirements, incentives, and competitive market advantages of ZERH certification, and navigate through this process. A primary objective of this project was to gain a highly visible foothold for residential buildings that are built to the DOE ZERH specification that can be used to encourage participation by other California builders. This report briefly describes two single-family homes that were ZERH certified and focuses on the experience of working with developer Mutual Housing on a 62-unit multifamily community at the Spring Lake subdivision in Woodland, California. The Spring Lake project is expected to be the first ZERH-certified multifamily project in the country. This report discusses the challenges encountered, lessons learned, and how obstacles were overcome.

Effect of an Individual Readiness Assurance Test on a Team Readiness Assurance Test in the Team-Based Learning of Physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Gopalan, Chaya; Fox, Dainielle J.; Gaebelein, Claude J.

2013-01-01

We examined whether requiring an individual readiness assurance test (iRAT) before a team readiness assurance test (tRAT) would benefit students in becoming better problem solvers in physiology. It was tested in the form of tRAT scores, the time required to complete the tRAT assignment, and individual performance on the unit examinations. Students…

Readiness to proceed: Characterization planning basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, M.R.

1998-01-01

This report summarizes characterization requirements, data availability, and data acquisition plans in support of the Phase 1 Waste Feed Readiness to Proceed Mid-Level Logic. It summarizes characterization requirements for the following program planning documents: Waste Feed Readiness Mid-Level Logic and Decomposition (in development); Master blue print (not available); Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Operations and Utilization Plan and Privatization Contract; Enabling assumptions (not available); Privatization low-activity waste (LAW) Data Quality Objective (DQO); Privatization high-level waste (HLW) DQO (draft); Problem-specific DQOs (in development); Interface control documents (draft). Section 2.0 defines the primary objectives for this report, Section 3.0 discusses the scope and assumptions, and Section 4.0 identifies general characterization needs and analyte-specific characterization needs or potential needs included in program documents and charts. Section 4.0 also shows the analyses that have been conducted, and the archive samples that are available for additional analyses. Section 5.0 discusses current plans for obtaining additional samples and analyses to meet readiness-to-proceed requirements. Section 6.0 summarizes sampling needs based on preliminary requirements and discusses other potential characterization needs. Many requirements documents are preliminary. In many cases, problem-specific DQOs have not been drafted, and only general assumptions about the document contents could be obtained from the authors. As a result, the readiness-to-proceed characterization requirements provided in this document are evolving and may change

USSR Report: Cybernetics, Computers and Automation Technology

Science.gov (United States)

1986-12-03

Georgian SSR Academy of Sciences: "Ready for Dialogue"] [Text] Computers in schools, auditoria , and educational laboratories are an phenomenon to which we...professional-technical academies and VUZ auditoria . Obviously, the color of the screens and the characters on them is of major importance for people

Subjective-personal readiness of correctional teachers to education of ASD children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kateryna Ostrovska

2017-07-01

Full Text Available ASD teachers require skills that go beyond the realm of most educators including professional competences and high moral qualities. In the work theoretical approaches and experimental research on the problem of subjective personality readiness of correctional teachers in the education of ASD children are carried out. The psychological investigation has been conducted including measurement of psychological indices of 40 teachers of ASD children from the boarding school "Trust" and 40 teachers from mainstream schools of Lviv city aged from 28 to 59 years. The following methods are used: "Questionnaire for the measurement of tolerance" (Magun, Zhamkochyan, Magura, 2000; "Shein’s Career Anchors" method aimed at studying the career orientations of the teachers (Shein, 2010; “Diagnostics of empathy level” (Viktor Boiko, 2001; method of study “Motivation professional activities” by Catelin Zamfir in a modification of Artur Rean (Bordovskaya, & Rean, 2001. Based on the provided studies a program for development of subject-personality readiness of the correctional teacher to work with ASD children is proposed. The program consists of the following components: motivational component (professional competence, self-development, self-determination, self-control; cognitive component (intellectual personality autonomy, self-identification, stability, challenge, integration of lifestyles; emotionally-volitional component (empathy, positive attitude toward a child, intellectual analysis of emotions, self-regulation.

e-Learning readiness amongst nursing students at the Durban ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

e-Learning readiness amongst nursing students at the Durban University of ... make the shift from traditional learning to the technological culture of e-Learning at a ... equipment and technological readiness for the change in learning method.

A survey on the measure of combat readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Kwong Fook; Nor, Norazman Mohamad; Soon, Lee Lai

2014-09-01

Measuring the combat readiness in military forces involves the measures of tangible and intangible elements of combat power. Though these measures are applicable, the mathematical models and formulae used focus mainly on either the tangible or the intangible elements. In this paper, a review is done to highlight the research gap in the formulation of a mathematical model that incorporates tangible elements with intangible elements to measure the combat readiness of a military force. It highlights the missing link between the tangible and intangible elements of combat power. To bridge the gap and missing link, a mathematical model could be formulated that measures both the tangible and intangible aspects of combat readiness by establishing the relationship between the causal (tangible and intangible) elements and its effects on the measure of combat readiness. The model uses multiple regression analysis as well as mathematical modeling and simulation which digest the capability component reflecting its assets and resources, the morale component reflecting human needs, and the quality of life component reflecting soldiers' state of satisfaction in life. The results of the review provide a mean to bridge the research gap through the formulation of a mathematical model that shows the total measure of a military force's combat readiness. The results also significantly identify parameters for each of the variables and factors in the model.

University Research Initiative Program for Combat Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

1999-05-01

microscope image of one of the lenses. This array was selected for testing because it is fabricated in a relatively inexpensive polyacrylic material, the...potent analogues of the potassium -sparing diuretic, amiloride. However, our results 179 University Reasearch Initiative for Combat Readiness Annual Report...for Combat Readiness Annual Report for the period June 1, 1998 - June 30, 1999 Roger H. Sawyer University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 May

Challenges in reducing the computational time of QSTS simulations for distribution system analysis.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deboever, Jeremiah [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Zhang, Xiaochen [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Reno, Matthew J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Broderick, Robert Joseph [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Grijalva, Santiago [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Therrien, Francis [CME International T& D, St. Bruno, QC (Canada)

2017-06-01

The rapid increase in penetration of distributed energy resources on the electric power distribution system has created a need for more comprehensive interconnection modelling and impact analysis. Unlike conventional scenario - based studies , quasi - static time - series (QSTS) simulation s can realistically model time - dependent voltage controllers and the diversity of potential impacts that can occur at different times of year . However, to accurately model a distribution system with all its controllable devices, a yearlong simulation at 1 - second resolution is often required , which could take conventional computers a computational time of 10 to 120 hours when an actual unbalanced distribution feeder is modeled . This computational burden is a clear l imitation to the adoption of QSTS simulation s in interconnection studies and for determining optimal control solutions for utility operations . Our ongoing research to improve the speed of QSTS simulation has revealed many unique aspects of distribution system modelling and sequential power flow analysis that make fast QSTS a very difficult problem to solve. In this report , the most relevant challenges in reducing the computational time of QSTS simulations are presented: number of power flows to solve, circuit complexity, time dependence between time steps, multiple valid power flow solutions, controllable element interactions, and extensive accurate simulation analysis.

NHI Component Technical Readiness Evaluation System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherman, S.; Wilson, Dane F.; Pawel, Steven J.

2007-01-01

A decision process for evaluating the technical readiness or maturity of components (i.e., heat exchangers, chemical reactors, valves, etc.) for use by the U.S. DOE Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative is described. This system is used by the DOE NHI to assess individual components in relation to their readiness for pilot-scale and larger-scale deployment and to drive the research and development work needed to attain technical maturity. A description of the evaluation system is provided, and examples are given to illustrate how it is used to assist in component R and D decisions.

Copy-Right for Software and Computer Games: Strategies and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hojatollah Ayoubi

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Copy-right has been initially used in cultural and art industries. From that time there have been two different approaches to the matter: the commercial-economic approach which is concerned with the rights of suppliers and investors; and the other approach, the cultural one, which is especially concerned with the rights of author. First approach is rooted in Anglo-American countries, while the other is originally French. Expansion of the computer market, and separating software and hardware markets caused to the so-called velvet-rubbery, which refers to the illegal reproduction in the market. Therefore, there were some struggles all over the world to protect rights of their producers. In present study, beside the domestic and international difficulties these strategies would encounter, this article has reviewed different strategies to face this challenge.

Towards higher reliability of CMS computing facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagliesi, G; Bloom, K; Brew, C; Flix, J; Kreuzer, P; Sciabà, A

2012-01-01

The CMS experiment has adopted a computing system where resources are distributed worldwide in more than 50 sites. The operation of the system requires a stable and reliable behaviour of the underlying infrastructure. CMS has established procedures to extensively test all relevant aspects of a site and their capability to sustain the various CMS computing workflows at the required scale. The Site Readiness monitoring infrastructure has been instrumental in understanding how the system as a whole was improving towards LHC operations, measuring the reliability of sites when running CMS activities, and providing sites with the information they need to troubleshoot any problem. This contribution reviews the complete automation of the Site Readiness program, with the description of monitoring tools and their inclusion into the Site Status Board (SSB), the performance checks, the use of tools like HammerCloud, and the impact in improving the overall reliability of the Grid from the point of view of the CMS computing system. These results are used by CMS to select good sites to conduct workflows, in order to maximize workflows efficiencies. The performance against these tests seen at the sites during the first years of LHC running is as well reviewed.

New LHCb Management readies for run 2 challenges

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2014-01-01

As of 1 July, LHCb, one of the four biggest experiments at the LHC, will have a new Management. Ahead are the huge challenges of run 2 and the following long technical shutdown during which LHCb will undergo a major upgrade. In the meantime, the discovery of new physics could be a dream within reach…   New LHCb Spokesperson, Guy Wilkinson.   “We have to make sure that the detector wakes up after its long hibernation and goes back to data taking in the most efficient way and that we are able to process all these data to produce high-quality physics results,” says Guy Wilkinson, new Spokesperson of the LHCb collaboration. Although this already sounds like a considerable “to-do” list for the coming months, it’s just the beginning of a much longer and ambitious plan. “The previous management has done an excellent job in analysing the data we took during run 1. They also put on a very sound footing the LHCb upgrade, whi...

Computer-aided detection systems to improve lung cancer early diagnosis: state-of-the-art and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Traverso, A; Lopez Torres, E; Cerello, P; Fantacci, M E

2017-01-01

Lung cancer is one of the most lethal types of cancer, because its early diagnosis is not good enough. In fact, the detection of pulmonary nodule, potential lung cancers, in Computed Tomography scans is a very challenging and time-consuming task for radiologists. To support radiologists, researchers have developed Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems for the automated detection of pulmonary nodules in chest Computed Tomography scans. Despite the high level of technological developments and the proved benefits on the overall detection performance, the usage of Computer-Aided Diagnosis in clinical practice is far from being a common procedure. In this paper we investigate the causes underlying this discrepancy and present a solution to tackle it: the M5L WEB- and Cloud-based on-demand Computer-Aided Diagnosis. In addition, we prove how the combination of traditional imaging processing techniques with state-of-art advanced classification algorithms allows to build a system whose performance could be much larger than any Computer-Aided Diagnosis developed so far. This outcome opens the possibility to use the CAD as clinical decision support for radiologists. (paper)

Computer-aided detection systems to improve lung cancer early diagnosis: state-of-the-art and challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Traverso, A.; Lopez Torres, E.; Fantacci, M. E.; Cerello, P.

2017-05-01

Lung cancer is one of the most lethal types of cancer, because its early diagnosis is not good enough. In fact, the detection of pulmonary nodule, potential lung cancers, in Computed Tomography scans is a very challenging and time-consuming task for radiologists. To support radiologists, researchers have developed Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems for the automated detection of pulmonary nodules in chest Computed Tomography scans. Despite the high level of technological developments and the proved benefits on the overall detection performance, the usage of Computer-Aided Diagnosis in clinical practice is far from being a common procedure. In this paper we investigate the causes underlying this discrepancy and present a solution to tackle it: the M5L WEB- and Cloud-based on-demand Computer-Aided Diagnosis. In addition, we prove how the combination of traditional imaging processing techniques with state-of-art advanced classification algorithms allows to build a system whose performance could be much larger than any Computer-Aided Diagnosis developed so far. This outcome opens the possibility to use the CAD as clinical decision support for radiologists.

Workplace safety in Bangladesh ready-made garment sector: 3 years after the Rana Plaza collapse.

Science.gov (United States)

Barua, Uttama; Ansary, Mehedi Ahmed

2017-12-01

Workplace safety is one of the most important issues in industries worldwide, and is endangered by industrial accidents. Different industrial disasters have resulted in several initiatives worldwide to protect human life and reduce material damage, both nationally and internationally. In Bangladesh, the ready-made garment (RMG) industry is one of the most important export-oriented business sectors, which is facing challenges to ensure workplace safety. The Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh is the consequence of such non-compliance. The accident resulted in different local and global initiatives to address the challenges. This article reviews progress and achievement of the initiatives to reduce vulnerability in the Bangladesh RMG industry within 3 years after the deadly accident. In the long run, the challenge is to maintain momentum already created for achieving sustainability in the RMG sector in Bangladesh and maintaining compliance even after the end of support from external partners.

Addressing current challenges in cancer immunotherapy with mathematical and computational modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Konstorum, Anna; Vella, Anthony T; Adler, Adam J; Laubenbacher, Reinhard C

2017-06-01

The goal of cancer immunotherapy is to boost a patient's immune response to a tumour. Yet, the design of an effective immunotherapy is complicated by various factors, including a potentially immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment, immune-modulating effects of conventional treatments and therapy-related toxicities. These complexities can be incorporated into mathematical and computational models of cancer immunotherapy that can then be used to aid in rational therapy design. In this review, we survey modelling approaches under the umbrella of the major challenges facing immunotherapy development, which encompass tumour classification, optimal treatment scheduling and combination therapy design. Although overlapping, each challenge has presented unique opportunities for modellers to make contributions using analytical and numerical analysis of model outcomes, as well as optimization algorithms. We discuss several examples of models that have grown in complexity as more biological information has become available, showcasing how model development is a dynamic process interlinked with the rapid advances in tumour-immune biology. We conclude the review with recommendations for modellers both with respect to methodology and biological direction that might help keep modellers at the forefront of cancer immunotherapy development. © 2017 The Author(s).

DOE Richland readiness review for PUREX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zamorski, M.J.

1984-01-01

For ten months prior to the November 1983 startup of the Plutonium and URanium EXtraction (PUREX) Plant, the Department of Energy's Richland Operations Office conducted an operational readiness review of the facility. This review was performed consistent with DOE and RL Order 5481.1 and in accordance with written plans prepared by the program and safety divisions. It involved personnel from five divisions within the office. The DOE review included two tasks: (1) overview and evaluation of the operating contractor's (Rockwell Hanford) readiness review for PUREX, and (2) independent assessment of 25 significant aspects of the startup effort. The RL reviews were coordinated by the program division and were phased in succession with the contractor's readiness review. As deficiencies or concerns were noted in the course of the review they were documented and required formal response from the contractor. Startup approval was given in three steps as the PUREX Plant began operation. A thorough review was performed and necessary documentation was prepared to support startup authorization in November 1983, before the scheduled startup date

Parallel computation for distributed parameter system-from vector processors to Adena computer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nogi, T

1983-04-01

Research on advanced parallel hardware and software architectures for very high-speed computation deserves and needs more support and attention to fulfil its promise. Novel architectures for parallel processing are being made ready. Architectures for parallel processing can be roughly divided into two groups. One is a vector processor in which a single central processing unit involves multiple vector-arithmetic registers. The other is a processor array in which slave processors are connected to a host processor to perform parallel computation. In this review, the concept and data structure of the Adena (alternating-direction edition nexus array) architecture, which is conformable to distributed-parameter simulation algorithms, are described. 5 references.

Community Readiness Within Systems of Care: The Validity and Reliability of the System of Care Readiness and Implementation Measurement Scale (SOC-RIMS).

Science.gov (United States)

Rosas, Scott R; Behar, Lenore B; Hydaker, William M

2016-01-01

Establishing a system of care requires communities to identify ways to successfully implement strategies and support positive outcomes for children and their families. Such community transformation is complex and communities vary in terms of their readiness for implementing sustainable community interventions. Assessing community readiness and guiding implementation, specifically for the funded communities implementing a system of care, requires a well-designed tool with sound psychometric properties. This scale development study used the results of a previously published concept mapping study to create, administer, and assess the psychometric characteristics of the System of Care Readiness and Implementation Measurement Scale (SOC-RIMS). The results indicate the SOC-RIMS possesses excellent internal consistency characteristics, measures clearly discernible dimensions of community readiness, and demonstrates the target constructs exist within a broad network of content. The SOC-RIMS can be a useful part of a comprehensive assessment in communities where system of care practices, principles, and philosophies are implemented and evaluated.

Solid scintillator 'Ready Cap' for measurement with a liquid scintillation counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ijiri, Kenichi; Endo, Masashi; Nogawa, Norio; Tsuda, Shoko; Nakamura, Aiko; Morikawa, Naotake; Osaki, Susumu.

1990-01-01

'Ready Cap', a small plastic container coated with solid scintillator has recently been introduced (Beckman Instruments, Inc.). Pulse height spectra and counting efficiencies obtained with a liquid scintillator and Ready Cap using a liquid scintillation counter were compared for 15 different radionuclides. For radionuclides emitting low-energy β-rays or characteristic X-rays, the spectra for Ready Cap shifted toward the higher energy side compared with the spectra for the liquid scintillator. This tendency was reversed for the nuclides emitting higher-energy β-radiations ( 36 Cl and 32 P). Generally, counting efficiencies both in Ready Cap and in liquid scintillator increased with increase in the energy of β- or X-rays. For some nuclides, Ready Cap gave higher counting efficiencies and for others it gave lower values than in the liquid scintillator. However, the differences were not large within each nuclide. The use of Ready Cap is recommended for measurements of radionuclides when liquid scintillation cocktails have no means of waste disposal under the present Japanese radioisotope regulation. (author)

A new estimator for sensitivity analysis of model output: An application to the e-business readiness composite indicator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarantola, Stefano; Nardo, Michela; Saisana, Michaela; Gatelli, Debora

2006-01-01

In this paper we propose and test a generalisation of the method originally proposed by Sobol', and recently extended by Saltelli, to estimate the first-order and total effect sensitivity indices. Exploiting the symmetries and the dualities of the formulas, we obtain additional estimates of first-order and total indices at no extra computational cost. We test the technique on a case study involving the construction of a composite indicator of e-business readiness, which is part of the initiative 'e-Readiness of European enterprises' of the European Commission 'e-Europe 2005' action plan. The method is used to assess the contribution of uncertainties in (a) the weights of the component indicators and (b) the imputation of missing data on the composite indicator values for several European countries

A new estimator for sensitivity analysis of model output: An application to the e-business readiness composite indicator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tarantola, Stefano [European Commission , Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Applied Statistics Group, TP 361, Via E. Fermi, 1, Ispra (Vatican City State, Holy See,), 21020 (Italy)]. E-mail: stefano.tarantola@jrc.it; Nardo, Michela [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Applied Statistics Group, TP 361, Via E. Fermi, 1, Ispra (VA), 21020 (Italy); Saisana, Michaela [European Commission , Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Applied Statistics Group, TP 361, Via E. Fermi, 1, Ispra (VA), 21020 (Italy); Gatelli, Debora [European Commission , Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Applied Statistics Group, TP 361, Via E. Fermi, 1, Ispra (VA), 21020 (Italy)

2006-10-15

In this paper we propose and test a generalisation of the method originally proposed by Sobol', and recently extended by Saltelli, to estimate the first-order and total effect sensitivity indices. Exploiting the symmetries and the dualities of the formulas, we obtain additional estimates of first-order and total indices at no extra computational cost. We test the technique on a case study involving the construction of a composite indicator of e-business readiness, which is part of the initiative 'e-Readiness of European enterprises' of the European Commission 'e-Europe 2005' action plan. The method is used to assess the contribution of uncertainties in (a) the weights of the component indicators and (b) the imputation of missing data on the composite indicator values for several European countries.

Research on Influencing Factors of Salespeople's Empowerment Readiness in Green Energy Enterprise

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Yuan; Liu, Xiaohui

As market competition in green energy enterprises continues to intensify, marketing activities are enlarging and customer demand is increasingly growing and diversifying. More and more green energy enterprises have empowered their own salespeople. And managers in green energy enterprises are more concerned with the issues which employees suit to be empowered and which factors will influence employee empowerment readiness. This paper proposes the definition of salespeople's empowerment readiness, analyzes influencing factors of salespeople's empowerment readiness, discusses the effect mechanism of influencing factors of salespeople's empowerment readiness, finally, and puts forward some suggestions to enhance salespeople's empowerment readiness from the perspective of human resource management practice.

Health promotion research in active duty army soldiers: The road to a fit and ready force.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Mary S; Elshaw, Evelyn B; Szekely, Barbara M; Pflugeisen, Bethann

In the last decade the Military Health System has changed its paradigm to focus on health promotion and disease prevention. This paper reviews a decade of research exploring the effects of military life on nutritional status and bone health of Army soldiers. Descriptive and experimental approaches have assessed occupational demands on soldiers in variable environments that require optimal nutrition status and physical health. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the military has risen dramatically and the implications for health, readiness, productivity, and cost demands attention. The related nutritional deficits such as suboptimal vitamin D status likely contribute to musculoskeletal injuries which have a greater impact on the performance and readiness of soldiers than any other medical condition in peacetime or conflict. The greatest challenge in our system for health is optimizing the performance of all soldiers while minimizing health risks and long-term disability resulting from occupational hazards, particularly those inherent to war. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Solar Training Network and Solar Ready Vets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalstrom, Tenley Ann

2016-09-14

In 2016, the White House announced the Solar Ready Vets program, funded under DOE's SunShot initiative would be administered by The Solar Foundation to connect transitioning military personnel to solar training and employment as they separate from service. This presentation is geared to informing and recruiting employer partners for the Solar Ready Vets program, and the Solar Training Network. It describes the programs, and the benefits to employers that choose to connect to the programs.

Making Technology Ready: Integrated Systems Health Management

Science.gov (United States)

Malin, Jane T.; Oliver, Patrick J.

2007-01-01

This paper identifies work needed by developers to make integrated system health management (ISHM) technology ready and by programs to make mission infrastructure ready for this technology. This paper examines perceptions of ISHM technologies and experience in legacy programs. Study methods included literature review and interviews with representatives of stakeholder groups. Recommendations address 1) development of ISHM technology, 2) development of ISHM engineering processes and methods, and 3) program organization and infrastructure for ISHM technology evolution, infusion and migration.

Ready for kindergarten: Are intelligence skills enough?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline Fitzpatrick

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated how different profiles of kindergarten readiness in terms of student intellectual ability, academic skills and classroom engagement relate to future academic performance. Participants are French-Canadian children followed in the context of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (N = 670. Trained examiners measured number knowledge, receptive vocabulary and fluid intelligence when children were in kindergarten. Teachers rated kindergarten classroom engagement. Outcomes included fourth-grade teacherrated achievement and directly assessed mathematical skills. Latent class analyses revealed three kindergarten readiness profiles: high (57%, moderate (34% and low (9.3% readiness. Using multiple regression, we found that a more favourable kindergarten profile predicted better fourth-grade academic performance. Identifying children at risk of academic difficulty is an important step for preventing underachievement and dropout. These results suggest the importance of promoting a variety of cognitive, academic and behavioural skills to enhance later achievement in at-risk learners.

Applied & Computational MathematicsChallenges for the Design and Control of Dynamic Energy Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, D L; Burns, J A; Collis, S; Grosh, J; Jacobson, C A; Johansen, H; Mezic, I; Narayanan, S; Wetter, M

2011-03-10

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) was passed with the goal 'to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security.' Energy security and independence cannot be achieved unless the United States addresses the issue of energy consumption in the building sector and significantly reduces energy consumption in buildings. Commercial and residential buildings account for approximately 40% of the U.S. energy consumption and emit 50% of CO{sub 2} emissions in the U.S. which is more than twice the total energy consumption of the entire U.S. automobile and light truck fleet. A 50%-80% improvement in building energy efficiency in both new construction and in retrofitting existing buildings could significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption and mitigate climate change. Reaching these aggressive building efficiency goals will not happen without significant Federal investments in areas of computational and mathematical sciences. Applied and computational mathematics are required to enable the development of algorithms and tools to design, control and optimize energy efficient buildings. The challenge has been issued by the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu (emphasis added): 'We need to do more transformational research at DOE including computer design tools for commercial and residential buildings that enable reductions in energy consumption of up to 80 percent with investments that will pay for themselves in less than 10 years.' On July 8-9, 2010 a team of technical experts from industry, government and academia were assembled in Arlington, Virginia to identify the challenges associated with developing and deploying newcomputational methodologies and tools thatwill address building energy efficiency. These experts concluded that investments in fundamental applied and computational mathematics will be required to build enabling technology that can be used to realize the target of 80% reductions in energy

High performance computing in power and energy systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khaitan, Siddhartha Kumar [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States); Gupta, Anshul (eds.) [IBM Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY (United States)

2013-07-01

The twin challenge of meeting global energy demands in the face of growing economies and populations and restricting greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most daunting ones that humanity has ever faced. Smart electrical generation and distribution infrastructure will play a crucial role in meeting these challenges. We would need to develop capabilities to handle large volumes of data generated by the power system components like PMUs, DFRs and other data acquisition devices as well as by the capacity to process these data at high resolution via multi-scale and multi-period simulations, cascading and security analysis, interaction between hybrid systems (electric, transport, gas, oil, coal, etc.) and so on, to get meaningful information in real time to ensure a secure, reliable and stable power system grid. Advanced research on development and implementation of market-ready leading-edge high-speed enabling technologies and algorithms for solving real-time, dynamic, resource-critical problems will be required for dynamic security analysis targeted towards successful implementation of Smart Grid initiatives. This books aims to bring together some of the latest research developments as well as thoughts on the future research directions of the high performance computing applications in electric power systems planning, operations, security, markets, and grid integration of alternate sources of energy, etc.

e-Learning readiness amongst nursing students at the Durban ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Marilynne Coopasami

c Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, ML Sultan Campus, Durban University of Technology, Durban ... education, technological and equipment readiness require attention before it can be ... strategy; consider the benefits and disadvantages of e- ... using an appropriate tool to measure e-Learning readiness has.

47 CFR 15.118 - Cable ready consumer electronics equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cable ready consumer electronics equipment. 15... Unintentional Radiators § 15.118 Cable ready consumer electronics equipment. (a) All consumer electronics TV... provisions of this section. Consumer electronics TV receiving equipment that includes features intended for...

The use of the Climate-science Computational End Station (CCES) development and grand challenge team for the next IPCC assessment: an operational plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Washington, W M; Buja, L; Gent, P; Drake, J; Erickson, D; Anderson, D; Bader, D; Dickinson, R; Ghan, S; Jones, P; Jacob, R

2008-01-01

The grand challenge of climate change science is to predict future climates based on scenarios of anthropogenic emissions and other changes resulting from options in energy and development policies. Addressing this challenge requires a Climate Science Computational End Station consisting of a sustained climate model research, development, and application program combined with world-class DOE leadership computing resources to enable advanced computational simulation of the Earth system. This project provides the primary computer allocations for the DOE SciDAC and Climate Change Prediction Program. It builds on the successful interagency collaboration of the National Science and the U.S. Department of Energy in developing and applying the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) for climate change science. It also includes collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in carbon data assimilation and university partners with expertise in high-end computational climate research

Sleep Duration and School Readiness of Chinese Preschool Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Tso, Winnie; Rao, Nirmala; Jiang, Fan; Li, Albert Martin; Lee, So-Lun; Ho, Frederick Ka-Wing; Li, Sophia Ling; Ip, Patrick

2016-02-01

To examine the average sleep duration in Chinese preschoolers and to investigate the association between sleep duration and school readiness. This is a cross-sectional study that included 553 Chinese children (mean age = 5.46 years) from 20 preschools in 2 districts of Hong Kong. Average daily sleep duration in the last week was reported by parents and school readiness as measured by the teacher-rated Chinese Early Development Instrument (CEDI). Most Chinese preschoolers had 9-10 hours of sleep per day. Only 11% of preschoolers had the recommended 11-12 hours of sleep per day. This group was associated with more "very ready" CEDI domains. Sleep deprivation (≤7 hours per day) was associated with a lower CEDI total score, lower scores in the emotional maturity and language/cognitive domain, and prosocial behaviors subdomain but a greater score in the hyperactivity/inattention subdomain. Children with a lower family socioeconomic index, lower maternal education level, infrequent parent-child interactions, and who used electronic devices for more than 3 hours per day had shortened sleep durations. Optimal sleep duration was associated with better school readiness in preschool children, whereas sleep deprivation was associated with lower school readiness, more hyperactivity and inattention, and less prosocial behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

College Readiness versus College Worthiness: Examining the Role of Principal Beliefs on College Readiness Initiatives in an Urban U.S. High School

Science.gov (United States)

Convertino, Christina; Graboski-Bauer, Ashley

2018-01-01

In light of increasing emphasis on the importance of post-secondary education to personal economic security, there is growing interest to promote college readiness initiatives in high schools, particularly for low-income and minority students for whom the harmful effects of institutional inequities on college readiness is well-documented.…

Usability and Workflow Evaluation of “RhEumAtic Disease Activity” (READY)

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Po-Yin; Lara, Barbara; Lopetegui, Marcelo; Bharat, Aseem; Ardoin, Stacy; Johnson, Bernadette; Mathur, Puneet; Embi, Peter J.

2016-01-01

Summary Background RhEumAtic Disease activitY (READY) is a mobile health (mHealth) application that aims to create a shared platform integrating data from both patients and physicians, with a particular emphasis on arthritis disease activity. Methods We made READY available on an iPad and pilot implemented it at a rheumatology out-patient clinic. We conducted 1) a usability evaluation study to explore patients’ and physicians’ interactions with READY, and 2) a time motion study (TMS) to observe the clinical workflow before and after the implementation. Results A total of 33 patients and 15 physicians participated in the usability evaluation. We found usability problems in navigation, data entry, pain assessment, documentation, and instructions along with error messages. Despite these issues, 25 (75,76%) patients reported they liked READY. Physicians provided mixed feedback because they were concerned about the impact of READY on clinical workflow. Six physicians participated in the TMS. We observed 47 patient visits (44.72 hours) in the pre-implementation phase, and 42 patient visits (37.82 hours) in the post-implementation phase. We found that patients spent more time on READY than paper (4.39mins vs. 2.26mins), but overall, READY did not delay the workflow (pre = 52.08 mins vs. post = 45.46 mins). This time difference may be compensated with READY eliminating a workflow step for the staff. Conclusion Patients preferred READY to paper documents. Many found it easier to input information because of the larger font size and the ease of ‘tapping’ rather than writing-out or circling answers. Even though patients spent more time on READY than using paper documents, the longer usage of READY was mainly due to when troubleshooting was needed. Most patients did not have problems after receiving initial support from the staff. This study not only enabled improvements to the software but also serves as good reference for other researchers or institutional decision

Individual Ready Reserve: It's Relevance in Supporting the Long War

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chisholm, Shelley A

2008-01-01

... in sustaining personnel readiness while supporting on going operations. In response to meeting these personnel readiness concerns, the Army Reserve will require the call-up of Soldiers currently serving in the IRR...

TU-G-BRB-05: Panel Discussion: Clinical Trials in Proton and Ion Therapy - Are We Ready?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulte, R.

2015-01-01

Proton therapy, in particular, and ion therapy, just beginning, are becoming an increasing focus of attention in clinical radiation oncology and medical physics. Both modalities have been criticized of lacking convincing evidence from randomized trials proving their efficacy, justifying the higher costs involved in these therapies. This session will provide an overview of the current status of clinical trials in proton therapy, including recent developments in ion therapy. As alluded to in the introductory talk by Dr. Schulte, opinions are diverging widely as to the usefulness and need for clinical trials in particle therapy and the challenge of equipoise. The lectures will highlight some of the challenges that surround clinical trials in particle therapy. One, presented by Dr. Choy from UT Southwestern, is that new technology and even different types of particles such as helium and carbon ions are introduced into this environment, increasing the phase space of clinical variables. The other is the issue of medical physics quality assurance with physical phantoms, presented by Mrs. Taylor from IROC Houston, which is more challenging because 3D and 4D image guidance and active delivery techniques are in relatively early stages of development. The role of digital phantoms in developing clinical treatment planning protocols and as a QA tool will also be highlighted by Dr. Lee from NCI. The symposium will be rounded off by a panel discussion among the Symposium speakers, arguing pro or con the need and readiness for clinical trials in proton and ion therapy. Learning Objectives: To get an update on the current status of clinical trials allowing or mandating proton therapy. Learn about the status of planned clinical trials in the U.S. and worldwide involving ion therapy. Discuss the challenges in the design and QA of clinical trials in particle therapy. Learn about existing and future physical and computational anthropomorphic phantoms for charged particle clinical trial

States Move toward Computer Science Standards. Policy Update. Vol. 23, No. 17

Science.gov (United States)

Tilley-Coulson, Eve

2016-01-01

While educators and parents recognize computer science as a key skill for career readiness, only five states have adopted learning standards in this area. Tides are changing, however, as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recognizes with its call on states to provide a "well-rounded education" for students, to include computer science…

Geant4 Hadronic Cascade Models and CMS Data Analysis : Computational Challenges in the LHC era

CERN Document Server

Heikkinen, Aatos

This work belongs to the field of computational high-energy physics (HEP). The key methods used in this thesis work to meet the challenges raised by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) era experiments are object-orientation with software engineering, Monte Carlo simulation, the computer technology of clusters, and artificial neural networks. The first aspect discussed is the development of hadronic cascade models, used for the accurate simulation of medium-energy hadron-nucleus reactions, up to 10 GeV. These models are typically needed in hadronic calorimeter studies and in the estimation of radiation backgrounds. Various applications outside HEP include the medical field (such as hadron treatment simulations), space science (satellite shielding), and nuclear physics (spallation studies). Validation results are presented for several significant improvements released in Geant4 simulation tool, and the significance of the new models for computing in the Large Hadron Collider era is estimated. In particular, we es...

Managing Military Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

2017-02-01

These metrics contain critical information and have their place in readiness management. However, they have never been sufficient to fully...demand signals along with simultaneity assumptions form the es- sence of the operational requirements in national strategy. This section briefly... places demands on the capability and capacity of the Air Force that consume its resources in today’s fight and exceed our capacity to address

Market readiness report : status of preparation for Ontario's competitive retail electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) assumes a leadership role in the electricity sector to ensure the readiness of retail participants in Ontario's competitive electricity market. The Market Readiness Project Team is instrumental in this activity. The team, led by the Independent Electricity Market Operator, provides information and advice regarding the technical readiness of the retail industry, with particular focus on the readiness of distributors to carry out their important functions in a competitive market. This report provides an assessment of the team regarding the industry's technical readiness based on information as of December 14, 2001. The status of retail market readiness was reviewed in terms of the viability of the design of the new competitive market and on the status of Ontario distributors in enabling a competitive market. The workplan for the remaining industry activities needed to achieve market opening were then summarized along with the contingency arrangements for any distributors that are not ready for market opening. Based on several projections, an estimated 88 per cent of Ontario contracts will be served by a distributor starting on a May 1, 2002 market opening. tabs., figs., appendices

Exercising CMS dataflows and workflows in computing challenges at the SpanishTier-1 and Tier-2 sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caballero, J; Colino, N; Peris, A D; G-Abia, P; Hernandez, J M; R-Calonge, F J; Cabrillo, I; Caballero, I G; Marco, R; Matorras, F; Flix, J; Merino, G

2008-01-01

An overview of the data transfer, processing and analysis operations conducted at the Spanish Tier-1 (PIC, Barcelona) and Tier-2 (CIEMAT-Madrid and IFCA-Santander federation) centres during the past CMS CSA06 Computing, Software and Analysis challenge and in preparation for CSA07 is presented

Irradiation of ready made meals -Lasagne

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barkia, Ines

2007-01-01

The effect of ionizing radiation on the microbiological, nutritional, chemical and sensory quality of chilled ready-made meals was assessed. The ready meals used for this experimental work are lasagne. Following arrival at the semi-industrial Cobalt 60 irradiation facility, the meals were either left unirradiated or irradiated with doses of 2 or 4 kGy after which they were stored for up to 23 days at 3C. Results showed that 2 or 4 kGy doses of gamma irradiation decreased the total counts of mesophilic aerobic bacteria and increased the shelf-life of lasagne. In terms of nutritional quality, it was found that losses of vitamin A and E due to irradiation treatment were considerable at 4 kGy. Total acidity, and p H, were all well within the acceptable limit for up to one week for ready meals treated with 2 and 4 kGy whereas peroxide index showed high values at 4 kGy. Sensory results showed no significant differences between the non-irradiated and irradiated meals at 2 kGy. However, the results were less promising at 4 kGy since differences were significant. (Author). 60 refs

Computational biomechanics for medicine imaging, modeling and computing

CERN Document Server

Doyle, Barry; Wittek, Adam; Nielsen, Poul; Miller, Karol

2016-01-01

The Computational Biomechanics for Medicine titles provide an opportunity for specialists in computational biomechanics to present their latest methodologies and advancements. This volume comprises eighteen of the newest approaches and applications of computational biomechanics, from researchers in Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, Switzerland, Scotland, France and Russia. Some of the interesting topics discussed are: tailored computational models; traumatic brain injury; soft-tissue mechanics; medical image analysis; and clinically-relevant simulations. One of the greatest challenges facing the computational engineering community is to extend the success of computational mechanics to fields outside traditional engineering, in particular to biology, the biomedical sciences, and medicine. We hope the research presented within this book series will contribute to overcoming this grand challenge.

Teachers’ Readiness to Implement Digital Curriculum in Kuwaiti Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamed Mubarak Al-Awidi

2017-03-01

Findings\tTeachers are moderately ready for implementation of the digital curriculum in both components of readiness (technical and pedagogical. Teachers identified some factors that that hinder their readiness. These factors are related to time constraints, knowledge and skills, infrastructure, and technical support. Recommendations for Practitioners: This paper will guide curriculum decision makers to find the best ways to help and support teachers to effectively implement the digital. Future Research: Follow up studies may examine the effectiveness of teacher education pro-grams in preparing students teachers to implement the digital curriculum, and the role of education decision makers in facilitating the implementation of the digital curriculum.

The Readiness of Students to Learn Interprofessional Teamwork in Antenatal Care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dina Zakiyyatul Fuadah

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Indonesia as a developing country have a higher Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR. The prevention efforts is developing interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP in the level of health care. Collaboration attitudes should start from education level through interprofessional education training and simulation for student. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of interprofessional education training toward the readiness of students to learn interprofessional teamwork in antenatal care. Methods: Quasi-experimental design (pre test and post test without control with Time-Series Design. Participants used in this study were students of five semester in STIKes Karya Husada Kediri year of 2011/2012 and the number of samples are 60 students. Technique sampling using simple random. The data collected by used questionnaires Readiness Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS and checklist observations using Teamwork Score (TWS. Anova, Friedman test, and Kruskal Wallis was used to statistically analyzed the data. Results: Readiness to learn interprofessional teamwork indicates the value of p = 0.001 thats means there are significant differences between the readiness before and after training IPE. Delta test showed that p value > 0.05 so there is no difference between the three programs study on readiness to learn interprofessional teamwork in antenatal care. Discussion: Interprofessional education training using simulation methods can affect the readiness of nursing, midwifery and nutritionist students for learning interprofessional teamwork in antenatal care. Keywords: interprofessional education, readiness, training and simulations, pre clinics students, antenatal care.

Exercising CMS dataflows and workflows in computing challenges at the SpanishTier-1 and Tier-2 sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caballero, J; Colino, N; Peris, A D; G-Abia, P; Hernandez, J M; R-Calonge, F J [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Cabrillo, I; Caballero, I G; Marco, R; Matorras, F [IFCA, Santander (Spain); Flix, J; Merino, G [PIC, Barcelona (Spain)], E-mail: jose.hernandez@ciemat.es

2008-07-15

An overview of the data transfer, processing and analysis operations conducted at the Spanish Tier-1 (PIC, Barcelona) and Tier-2 (CIEMAT-Madrid and IFCA-Santander federation) centres during the past CMS CSA06 Computing, Software and Analysis challenge and in preparation for CSA07 is present0008.

Privacy-Preserving Computation with Trusted Computing via Scramble-then-Compute

OpenAIRE

Dang Hung; Dinh Tien Tuan Anh; Chang Ee-Chien; Ooi Beng Chin

2017-01-01

We consider privacy-preserving computation of big data using trusted computing primitives with limited private memory. Simply ensuring that the data remains encrypted outside the trusted computing environment is insufficient to preserve data privacy, for data movement observed during computation could leak information. While it is possible to thwart such leakage using generic solution such as ORAM [42], designing efficient privacy-preserving algorithms is challenging. Besides computation effi...

ceRNAs in plants: computational approaches and associated challenges for target mimic research.

Science.gov (United States)

Paschoal, Alexandre Rossi; Lozada-Chávez, Irma; Domingues, Douglas Silva; Stadler, Peter F

2017-05-30

The competing endogenous RNA hypothesis has gained increasing attention as a potential global regulatory mechanism of microRNAs (miRNAs), and as a powerful tool to predict the function of many noncoding RNAs, including miRNAs themselves. Most studies have been focused on animals, although target mimic (TMs) discovery as well as important computational and experimental advances has been developed in plants over the past decade. Thus, our contribution summarizes recent progresses in computational approaches for research of miRNA:TM interactions. We divided this article in three main contributions. First, a general overview of research on TMs in plants is presented with practical descriptions of the available literature, tools, data, databases and computational reports. Second, we describe a common protocol for the computational and experimental analyses of TM. Third, we provide a bioinformatics approach for the prediction of TM motifs potentially cross-targeting both members within the same or from different miRNA families, based on the identification of consensus miRNA-binding sites from known TMs across sequenced genomes, transcriptomes and known miRNAs. This computational approach is promising because, in contrast to animals, miRNA families in plants are large with identical or similar members, several of which are also highly conserved. From the three consensus TM motifs found with our approach: MIM166, MIM171 and MIM159/319, the last one has found strong support on the recent experimental work by Reichel and Millar [Specificity of plant microRNA TMs: cross-targeting of mir159 and mir319. J Plant Physiol 2015;180:45-8]. Finally, we stress the discussion on the major computational and associated experimental challenges that have to be faced in future ceRNA studies. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Implementation plan for WRAP Module 1 operational readiness review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irons, L.G.

1994-01-01

The Waste Receiving and Processing Module 1 (WRAP 1) will be used to receive, sample, treat, and ship contact-handled (CH) transuranic (TRU), low-level waste (LLW), and low-level mixed waste (LLMW) to storage and disposal sites both on the Hanford site and off-site. The primary mission of WRAP 1 is to characterize and certify CH waste in 55-gallon and 85-gallon drums; and its secondary function is to certify CH waste standard waste boxes (SWB) and boxes of similar size for disposal. The WRAP 1 will provide the capability for examination (including x-ray, visual, and contents sampling), limited treatment, repackaging, and certification of CH suspect-TRU waste in 55-gallon drums retrieved from storage, as well as newly generated CH LLW and CH TRU waste drums. The WRAP 1 will also provide examination (X-ray and visual only) and certification of CH LLW and CH TRU waste in small boxes. The decision to perform an Operational Readiness Review (ORR) was made in accordance with WHC-CM-5-34, Solid Waste Disposal Operations Administration, Section 1.4, Operational Readiness Activities. The ORR will ensure plant and equipment readiness, management and personnel readiness, and management programs readiness for the initial startup of the facility. This implementation plan is provided for defining the conduct of the WHC ORR

Technology Readiness of School Teachers: An Empirical Study of Measurement and Segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Badri, Masood; Al Rashedi, Asma; Yang, Guang; Mohaidat, Jihad; Al Hammadi, Arif

2014-01-01

The Technology Readiness Index (TRI) developed by Parasuraman (2000) was adapted to measure the technology readiness of public school teachers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The study aims at better understanding the factors (mostly demographics) that affect such readiness levels. In addition, Abu Dhabi teachers are segmented into five main…

Defining School Readiness in Maryland: A Multi-Dimensional Perspective. Publication #2012-44

Science.gov (United States)

Forry, Nicole; Wessel, Julia

2012-01-01

Increased emphasis has been placed on children's ability to enter kindergarten ready to learn, a concept referred to as "school readiness." School readiness has been defined by the Maryland State Department of Education as "the stage of human development that enables a child to engage in, and benefit from, primary learning…

School Readiness Factor Analyzed.

Science.gov (United States)

Brenner, Anton; Scott, Leland H.

This paper is an empirical statistical analysis and interpretation of data relating to school readiness previously examined and reported on a theoretical basis. A total of 118 white, middle class children from six consecutive kindergarten groups in Dearborn, Michigan were tested with seven instruments, evaluated in terms of achievement, ability,…

Consumer behaviors towards ready-to-eat foods based on food-related lifestyles in Korea

OpenAIRE

Bae, Hyun-Joo; Chae, Mi-Jin; Ryu, Kisang

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine consumers' behaviors toward ready-to-eat foods and to develop ready-to-eat food market segmentation in Korea. The food-related lifestyle and purchase behaviors of ready-to-eat foods were evaluated using 410 ready-to-eat food consumers in the Republic of Korea. Four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis (health-orientation, taste-orientation, convenience-orientation, and tradition-orientation) to explain the ready-to eat food consumers' ...

Measuring organizational readiness for knowledge translation in chronic care.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagnon, Marie-Pierre; Labarthe, Jenni; Légaré, France; Ouimet, Mathieu; Estabrooks, Carole A; Roch, Geneviève; Ghandour, El Kebir; Grimshaw, Jeremy

2011-07-13

Knowledge translation (KT) is an imperative in order to implement research-based and contextualized practices that can answer the numerous challenges of complex health problems. The Chronic Care Model (CCM) provides a conceptual framework to guide the implementation process in chronic care. Yet, organizations aiming to improve chronic care require an adequate level of organizational readiness (OR) for KT. Available instruments on organizational readiness for change (ORC) have shown limited validity, and are not tailored or adapted to specific phases of the knowledge-to-action (KTA) process. We aim to develop an evidence-based, comprehensive, and valid instrument to measure OR for KT in healthcare. The OR for KT instrument will be based on core concepts retrieved from existing literature and validated by a Delphi study. We will specifically test the instrument in chronic care that is of an increasing importance for the health system. Phase one: We will conduct a systematic review of the theories and instruments assessing ORC in healthcare. The retained theoretical information will be synthesized in a conceptual map. A bibliography and database of ORC instruments will be prepared after appraisal of their psychometric properties according to the standards for educational and psychological testing. An online Delphi study will be carried out among decision makers and knowledge users across Canada to assess the importance of these concepts and measures at different steps in the KTA process in chronic care.Phase two: A final OR for KT instrument will be developed and validated both in French and in English and tested in chronic disease management to measure OR for KT regarding the adoption of comprehensive, patient-centered, and system-based CCMs. This study provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on explanatory models and instruments assessing OR for KT. Moreover, this project aims to create more consensus on the theoretical underpinnings and the

Measuring organizational readiness for knowledge translation in chronic care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ouimet Mathieu

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Knowledge translation (KT is an imperative in order to implement research-based and contextualized practices that can answer the numerous challenges of complex health problems. The Chronic Care Model (CCM provides a conceptual framework to guide the implementation process in chronic care. Yet, organizations aiming to improve chronic care require an adequate level of organizational readiness (OR for KT. Available instruments on organizational readiness for change (ORC have shown limited validity, and are not tailored or adapted to specific phases of the knowledge-to-action (KTA process. We aim to develop an evidence-based, comprehensive, and valid instrument to measure OR for KT in healthcare. The OR for KT instrument will be based on core concepts retrieved from existing literature and validated by a Delphi study. We will specifically test the instrument in chronic care that is of an increasing importance for the health system. Methods Phase one: We will conduct a systematic review of the theories and instruments assessing ORC in healthcare. The retained theoretical information will be synthesized in a conceptual map. A bibliography and database of ORC instruments will be prepared after appraisal of their psychometric properties according to the standards for educational and psychological testing. An online Delphi study will be carried out among decision makers and knowledge users across Canada to assess the importance of these concepts and measures at different steps in the KTA process in chronic care. Phase two: A final OR for KT instrument will be developed and validated both in French and in English and tested in chronic disease management to measure OR for KT regarding the adoption of comprehensive, patient-centered, and system-based CCMs. Discussion This study provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on explanatory models and instruments assessing OR for KT. Moreover, this project aims to create more

Effects of mobile phone-based app learning compared to computer-based web learning on nursing students: pilot randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myung Kyung

2015-04-01

This study aimed to determine the effect of mobile-based discussion versus computer-based discussion on self-directed learning readiness, academic motivation, learner-interface interaction, and flow state. This randomized controlled trial was conducted at one university. Eighty-six nursing students who were able to use a computer, had home Internet access, and used a mobile phone were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to either the mobile phone app-based discussion group (n = 45) or a computer web-based discussion group (n = 41). The effect was measured at before and after an online discussion via self-reported surveys that addressed academic motivation, self-directed learning readiness, time distortion, learner-learner interaction, learner-interface interaction, and flow state. The change in extrinsic motivation on identified regulation in the academic motivation (p = 0.011) as well as independence and ability to use basic study (p = 0.047) and positive orientation to the future in self-directed learning readiness (p = 0.021) from pre-intervention to post-intervention was significantly more positive in the mobile phone app-based group compared to the computer web-based discussion group. Interaction between learner and interface (p = 0.002), having clear goals (p = 0.012), and giving and receiving unambiguous feedback (p = 0.049) in flow state was significantly higher in the mobile phone app-based discussion group than it was in the computer web-based discussion group at post-test. The mobile phone might offer more valuable learning opportunities for discussion teaching and learning methods in terms of self-directed learning readiness, academic motivation, learner-interface interaction, and the flow state of the learning process compared to the computer.

Smoke Ready Toolbox for Wildfires

Science.gov (United States)

This site provides an online Smoke Ready Toolbox for Wildfires, which lists resources and tools that provide information on health impacts from smoke exposure, current fire conditions and forecasts and strategies to reduce exposure to smoke.

External Factors, Internal Factors and Self-Directed Learning Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Ramli, Nurjannah; Muljono, Pudji; Afendi, Farit M.

2018-01-01

There are many factors which affect the level of self-directed learning readiness. This study aims to investigate the relationship between external factors, internal factors and self-directed learning readiness. This study was carried out by using a census method for fourth year students of medical program of Tadulako University. Data were…

E-Learning Readiness in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Ouma, Gordon O.; Awuor, Fredrick M.; Kyambo, Benjamin

2013-01-01

As e-learning becomes useful to learning institutions worldwide, an assessment of e-learning readiness is essential for the successful implementation of e-learning as a platform for learning. Success in e-learning can be achieved by understanding the level of readiness of e-learning environments. To facilitate schools in Kenya to implement…

Students' Readiness for E-Learning Application in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Rasouli, Atousa; Rahbania, Zahra; Attaran, Mohammad

2016-01-01

The main goal of this research was to investigate the readiness of art students in applying e-learning. This study adopted a survey research design. From three public Iranian Universities (Alzahra, Tarbiat Modares, and Tehran), 347 students were selected by multistage cluster sampling and via Morgan Table. Their readiness for E-learning…

System analysis for technology transfer readiness assessment of horticultural postharvest

Science.gov (United States)

Hayuningtyas, M.; Djatna, T.

2018-04-01

Availability of postharvest technology is becoming abundant, but only a few technologies are applicable and useful to a wider community purposes. Based on this problem it requires a significant readiness level of transfer technology approach. This system is reliable to access readiness a technology with level, from 1-9 and to minimize time of transfer technology in every level, time required technology from the selection process can be minimum. Problem was solved by using Relief method to determine ranking by weighting feasible criteria on postharvest technology in each level and PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) to schedule. The results from ranking process of post-harvest technology in the field of horticulture is able to pass level 7. That, technology can be developed to increase into pilot scale and minimize time required for technological readiness on PERT with optimistic time of 7,9 years. Readiness level 9 shows that technology has been tested on the actual conditions also tied with estimated production price compared to competitors. This system can be used to determine readiness of technology innovation that is derived from agricultural raw materials and passes certain stages.

A proposed framework of big data readiness in public sectors

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Raja Haslinda Raja Mohd; Mohamad, Rosli; Sudin, Suhizaz

2016-08-01

Growing interest over big data mainly linked to its great potential to unveil unforeseen pattern or profiles that support organisation's key business decisions. Following private sector moves to embrace big data, the government sector has now getting into the bandwagon. Big data has been considered as one of the potential tools to enhance service delivery of the public sector within its financial resources constraints. Malaysian government, particularly, has considered big data as one of the main national agenda. Regardless of government commitment to promote big data amongst government agencies, degrees of readiness of the government agencies as well as their employees are crucial in ensuring successful deployment of big data. This paper, therefore, proposes a conceptual framework to investigate perceived readiness of big data potentials amongst Malaysian government agencies. Perceived readiness of 28 ministries and their respective employees will be assessed using both qualitative (interview) and quantitative (survey) approaches. The outcome of the study is expected to offer meaningful insight on factors affecting change readiness among public agencies on big data potentials and the expected outcome from greater/lower change readiness among the public sectors.

Effects of Personnel Injuries on Cinc Mission Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

1997-09-01

activities in which injury may be sustained: ACTSPEC (activity specific): 1 =N/A 5 = 0 Course 9 = Fastrope 13 = Patrolling 2 = Running 6 = Weightlifting 10...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS EFFECTS OF PERSONNEL INJURIES ON CINC MISSION READINESS by Erin G. Snow September, 1997...Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE EFFECTS OF PERSONNEL INJURIES ON CINC MISSION READINESS 6. AUTHOR(S) Snow, Erin G. 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 7. PERFORMING

A practical introduction to computer vision with OpenCV

CERN Document Server

Dawson-Howe, Kenneth

2014-01-01

Explains the theory behind basic computer vision and provides a bridge from the theory to practical implementation using the industry standard OpenCV libraries Computer Vision is a rapidly expanding area and it is becoming progressively easier for developers to make use of this field due to the ready availability of high quality libraries (such as OpenCV 2).  This text is intended to facilitate the practical use of computer vision with the goal being to bridge the gap between the theory and the practical implementation of computer vision. The book will explain how to use the relevant OpenCV

Cloud Computing Security Issues - Challenges and Opportunities

OpenAIRE

Vaikunth, Pai T.; Aithal, P. S.

2017-01-01

Cloud computing services enabled through information communication technology delivered to a customer as services over the Internet on a leased basis have the capability to extend up or down their service requirements or needs. In this model, the infrastructure is owned by a third party vendor and the cloud computing services are delivered to the requested customers. Cloud computing model has many advantages including scalability, flexibility, elasticity, efficiency, and supports outsourcing ...

Advances and challenges in computational plasma science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, W M; Chan, V S

2005-01-01

Scientific simulation, which provides a natural bridge between theory and experiment, is an essential tool for understanding complex plasma behaviour. Recent advances in simulations of magnetically confined plasmas are reviewed in this paper, with illustrative examples, chosen from associated research areas such as microturbulence, magnetohydrodynamics and other topics. Progress has been stimulated, in particular, by the exponential growth of computer speed along with significant improvements in computer technology. The advances in both particle and fluid simulations of fine-scale turbulence and large-scale dynamics have produced increasingly good agreement between experimental observations and computational modelling. This was enabled by two key factors: (a) innovative advances in analytic and computational methods for developing reduced descriptions of physics phenomena spanning widely disparate temporal and spatial scales and (b) access to powerful new computational resources. Excellent progress has been made in developing codes for which computer run-time and problem-size scale well with the number of processors on massively parallel processors (MPPs). Examples include the effective usage of the full power of multi-teraflop (multi-trillion floating point computations per second) MPPs to produce three-dimensional, general geometry, nonlinear particle simulations that have accelerated advances in understanding the nature of turbulence self-regulation by zonal flows. These calculations, which typically utilized billions of particles for thousands of time-steps, would not have been possible without access to powerful present generation MPP computers and the associated diagnostic and visualization capabilities. In looking towards the future, the current results from advanced simulations provide great encouragement for being able to include increasingly realistic dynamics to enable deeper physics insights into plasmas in both natural and laboratory environments. This

Length of stay after vaginal birth: sociodemographic and readiness-for-discharge factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Marianne; Ryan, Polly; Lokken, Lisa; Nelson, Magdalen

2004-06-01

The impact of reductions in postpartum length of stay have been widely reported, but factors influencing length of hospital stay after vaginal birth have received less attention. The study purpose was to compare the sociodemographic characteristics and readiness for discharge of new mothers and their newborns at 3 discharge time intervals, and to determine which variables were associated with postpartum length of stay. The study sample comprised 1,192 mothers who were discharged within 2 postpartum days after uncomplicated vaginal birth at a tertiary perinatal center in the midwestern United States. The sample was divided into 3 postpartum length-of-stay groups: group 1 (18-30 hr), group 2 (31-42 hr), and group 3 (43-54 hr). Sociodemographic and readiness-for-discharge data were collected by self-report and from a computerized hospital information system. Measures of readiness for discharge included perceived readiness (single item and Readiness for Discharge After Birth Scale), documented maternal and neonatal clinical problems, and feeding method. Compared with other groups, the longest length-of-stay group was older; of higher socioeconomic status and education; and with more primiparous, breastfeeding, white, married mothers who were living with the baby's father, had adequate home help, and had a private payor source. This group also reported greater readiness for discharge, but their newborns had more documented clinical problems during the postbirth hospitalization. In logistic regression modeling, earlier discharge was associated with young age, multiparity, public payor source, low socioeconomic status, lack of readiness for discharge, bottle-feeding, and absence of a neonatal clinical problem. Sociodemographic characteristics and readiness for discharge (clinical and perceived) were associated with length of postpartum hospital stay. Length of stay is an outcome of a complex interface between patient, provider, and payor influences on discharge timing

Checklist for clinical readiness published

Science.gov (United States)

Scientists from NCI, together with collaborators from outside academic centers, have developed a checklist of criteria to evaluate the readiness of complex molecular tests that will guide decisions made during clinical trials. The checklist focuses on tes

Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Using Laptop Computers in Higher Education Classrooms: A Formative Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin H. Kay

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Because of decreased prices, increased convenience, and wireless access, an increasing number of college and university students are using laptop computers in their classrooms. This recent trend has forced instructors to address the educational consequences of using these mobile devices. The purpose of the current study was to analyze and assess beneficial and challenging laptop behaviours in higher education classrooms. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 177 undergraduate university students (89 males, 88 females. Key benefits observed include note-taking activities, in-class laptop-based academic tasks, collaboration, increased focus, improved organization and efficiency, and addressing special needs. Key challenges noted include other student’s distracting laptop behaviours, instant messaging, surfing the web, playing games, watching movies, and decreased focus. Nearly three-quarters of the students claimed that laptops were useful in supporting their academic experience. Twice as many benefits were reported compared to challenges. It is speculated that the integration of meaningful laptop activities is a critical determinant of benefits and challenges experienced in higher education classrooms.

Readiness factors for lean implementation in healthcare settings--a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Balushi, S; Sohal, A S; Singh, P J; Al Hajri, A; Al Farsi, Y M; Al Abri, R

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to determine the readiness factors that are critical to the application and success of lean operating principles in healthcare organizations through a review of relevant literature. A comprehensive review of literature focussing on lean and lean healthcare was conducted. Leadership, organizational culture, communication, training, measurement, and reward systems are all commonly attributed readiness factors throughout general change management and lean literature. However, directly related to the successful implementation of lean in healthcare is that a setting is able to authorize a decentralized management style and undertake an end-to-end process view. These can be particularly difficult initiatives for complex organizations such as healthcare settings. The readiness factors identified are based on a review of the published literature. The external validity of the findings could be enhanced if tested using an empirical study. The readiness factors identified will enable healthcare practitioners to be better prepared as they begin their lean journeys. Sustainability of the lean initiative will be at stake if these readiness factors are not addressed. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper that provides a consolidated list of key lean readiness factors that can guide practice, as well as future theory and empirical research.

Validating Acquisition IS Integration Readiness with Drills

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wynne, Peter J.

2017-01-01

To companies, mergers and acquisitions are important strategic tools, yet they often fail to deliver their expected value. Studies have shown the integration of information systems is a significant roadblock to the realisation of acquisition benefits, and for an IT department to be ready......), to understand how an IT department can use them to validate their integration plans. The paper presents a case study of two drills used to validate an IT department’s readiness to carry out acquisition IS integration, and suggests seven acquisition IS integration drill characteristics others could utilise when...

Why Do We Need Future Ready Librarians? That Kid.

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Mark

2018-01-01

In this article, the author examines the need of the Future Ready Librarians (FRL) initiative. The FRL Framework helps define how librarians might lead, teach, and support schools based on the core research-based components defined by Future Ready. The framework and initiative are intended to be ways to change the conversation about school…

Balancing the Readiness Equation in Early Childhood Education Reform

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Christopher P.

2010-01-01

As policy-makers continue to implement early childhood education reforms that frame the field as a mechanism that is to ready children for elementary school success, questions arise as to how the multiple variables in the readiness equation, such as the child, family, and program, are affected by these policies. The instrumental case study…

Capacity and readiness for quality improvement among home and community-based service providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrahamson, Kathleen; Myers, Jaclyn; Arling, Greg; Davila, Heather; Mueller, Christine; Abery, Brian; Cai, Yun

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to explore home and community-based service (HCBS) providers' perspectives of organizational readiness for quality improvement (QI). Data were obtained from a survey of participants (N = 56) in a state-sponsored HCBS QI initiative. Quality improvement challenges included lack of time and resources, staff apprehension or resistance, resistance from consumers and families, and project sustainability. Support from leadership was viewed as an important factor in participating organizations' decision to engage in QI. Internal resources available to support QI varied widely between participating organizations, with differences observed between smaller and larger agencies, as well as between provider types and populations served.

Parental Learning and School Readiness in the Gearing Up for Kindergarten Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharon Query

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Entering kindergarten is a key moment in a young child’s life, and parents are a child’s first teacher. What can guide parents as they assist children with school readiness? Gearing Up for Kindergarten is an intensive parent education and school readiness program designed to help parents and children prepare for school. Gearing Up for Kindergarten is a parent education program that combines early learning opportunities for pre-kindergarten children with parent education opportunities for adults. This study presents findings from evaluation efforts conducted with 59 Gearing Up for Kindergarten adult participants during the 2006-2007 school year. Participants in the program demonstrated (1 high satisfaction with program quality and experiences, (2 impacts on parental knowledge and confidence, and (3 significant and positive changes in parental practices related to school readiness. Implications for parent education and programs intended to strengthen school readiness among pre-kindergarten children are explored. Parent education on school readiness can provide a substantive resource as parents help their children develop and become ready for the school years.

Human Resources Development Challenges for Nuclear Newcomers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perrette, Xavier

2014-01-01

Conclusion and take away messages: • HRD solution is dependent upon country’s economical, societal, industrial situation and development strategy. • HRD to be integrated in the global HCB approach (education and training, KM, knowledge networks). • Maximum local benefit with national development. • International collaboration and partnership with competent and experienced partners is recommended (lever effect). • Anticipation is key. → HRD for a nuclear program is challenging but achievable. Countries already did it and are ready to build long term partnerships

Technology Readiness for the Smart Grid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirkham, Harold; Marinovici, Maria C.; Fitzpatrick, G.; Lindsey, K.; McBride, James; Clark, G. L.

2013-06-30

Reluctance to adopt new technology into a utility application is understandable, given the critical nature of the infrastructure and the less-than-ideal experiences of some power companies. The authors of this paper have considered adapting the NASA approach of classifying technology readiness, but find it not quite appropriate because NASA was both the developer and the eventual user of the new technology it was evaluating, whereas a utility is ordinarily in the mode of a customer, acquiring a new product from a manufacturer. Instead of a generic scale of technology readiness, a scale of readiness is proposed specifically for the smart grid, based on the many standards that exist for the relevant technologies. In this paper we present an overall structure for organization those standards. The acceptance of new technology is organized into five SGL (Smart Grid Level) steps, numbered five through 9 to correspond approximately to the last five numbers of the NASA TRL scale. SGL 5 is a certification that the hardware and software of the technology is safe for the system into which is intended to be placed. SGL 6 is documentation that the system is safe for itself, and will have adequate reliability. It is thus clear that the steps differ from NASA’s TRL in that technology development is not required, the transition is more one of documenting already existing system readiness. Since SGL 6 describes a system that is safe for the power system and for itself, it should not be restricted from being in a pilot-scale study, and achieving SGL 7. A larger-scale demonstration in a realistic environment will demonstrate interoperability and achieve SGL 8. Only when systems are installed and operating, and when disposal plans are in place will the designation of fully operable at SGL 9 be granted.

Conjoint behavioral consultation: implementing a tiered home-school partnership model to promote school readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Brandy L; Sheridan, Susan M; Woods, Kathryn E

2014-01-01

An ecological perspective to school readiness focuses on child and family readiness by enhancing the developmental contexts and relationships within which children reside (e.g., home environment, parent-child relationship, home-school relationships). The Getting Ready intervention is an ecological, relationally based, tiered intervention providing both universal and intensive services to children and families to promote child and family school readiness. Intensive level consultation services were provided via Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC; Sheridan & Kratochwill, 1992 , 2008 ). The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation and effects of CBC within the Getting Ready intervention to promote child and family school readiness. Keys to successful implementation of the CBC intervention and issues needing further investigation are discussed.

Measuring readiness for entrepreneurship: An information tool proposal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicia Coduras

2016-05-01

Full Text Available A profound review of the literature on entrepreneurship reveals that it does not exist a specific information tool to measure the individuals’ readiness for entrepreneurship. The purpose of this research has been building such kind of instrument to estimate the individuals’ readiness for entrepreneurship. Its design takes in consideration the inclusion of the main variables identified by the literature as those most associated with entrepreneurial profiles. These variables have been grouped into three categories: sociological, psychological and managerial-entrepreneurial. Each group provides batteries of items which are evaluated thanks to a specific scoring system. The final objective is to provide a system to calculate individual scores of readiness for entrepreneurship and, at the same time, partial scores on concrete aspects of it. The information tool is presented at this paper and will be tested and refined in the near future.

Study of the Readiness of Czech Companies to the Industry 4.0

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakub Kopp

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the results of the questionnaire survey that analyzes the readiness of Czech companies on the trend of the Industry 4.0. It means mainly whether Czech companies are interested in the fourth industrial revolution and whether they are ready for this trend. The readiness is expressed in defined levels.

Mobile, Cloud, and Big Data Computing: Contributions, Challenges, and New Directions in Telecardiology

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Jui-Chien; Li, Ai-Hsien; Yang, Chung-Chi

2013-01-01

Many studies have indicated that computing technology can enable off-site cardiologists to read patients’ electrocardiograph (ECG), echocardiography (ECHO), and relevant images via smart phones during pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-hospital teleconsultation, which not only identifies emergency cases in need of immediate treatment, but also prevents the unnecessary re-hospitalizations. Meanwhile, several studies have combined cloud computing and mobile computing to facilitate better storage, delivery, retrieval, and management of medical files for telecardiology. In the future, the aggregated ECG and images from hospitals worldwide will become big data, which should be used to develop an e-consultation program helping on-site practitioners deliver appropriate treatment. With information technology, real-time tele-consultation and tele-diagnosis of ECG and images can be practiced via an e-platform for clinical, research, and educational purposes. While being devoted to promote the application of information technology onto telecardiology, we need to resolve several issues: (1) data confidentiality in the cloud, (2) data interoperability among hospitals, and (3) network latency and accessibility. If these challenges are overcome, tele-consultation will be ubiquitous, easy to perform, inexpensive, and beneficial. Most importantly, these services will increase global collaboration and advance clinical practice, education, and scientific research in cardiology. PMID:24232290

Mobile, Cloud, and Big Data Computing: Contributions, Challenges, and New Directions in Telecardiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung-Chi Yang

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Many studies have indicated that computing technology can enable off-site cardiologists to read patients’ electrocardiograph (ECG, echocardiography (ECHO, and relevant images via smart phones during pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-hospital teleconsultation, which not only identifies emergency cases in need of immediate treatment, but also prevents the unnecessary re-hospitalizations. Meanwhile, several studies have combined cloud computing and mobile computing to facilitate better storage, delivery, retrieval, and management of medical files for telecardiology. In the future, the aggregated ECG and images from hospitals worldwide will become big data, which should be used to develop an e-consultation program helping on-site practitioners deliver appropriate treatment. With information technology, real-time tele-consultation and tele-diagnosis of ECG and images can be practiced via an e-platform for clinical, research, and educational purposes. While being devoted to promote the application of information technology onto telecardiology, we need to resolve several issues: (1 data confidentiality in the cloud, (2 data interoperability among hospitals, and (3 network latency and accessibility. If these challenges are overcome, tele-consultation will be ubiquitous, easy to perform, inexpensive, and beneficial. Most importantly, these services will increase global collaboration and advance clinical practice, education, and scientific research in cardiology.

Mobile, cloud, and big data computing: contributions, challenges, and new directions in telecardiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Jui-Chien; Li, Ai-Hsien; Yang, Chung-Chi

2013-11-13

Many studies have indicated that computing technology can enable off-site cardiologists to read patients' electrocardiograph (ECG), echocardiography (ECHO), and relevant images via smart phones during pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-hospital teleconsultation, which not only identifies emergency cases in need of immediate treatment, but also prevents the unnecessary re-hospitalizations. Meanwhile, several studies have combined cloud computing and mobile computing to facilitate better storage, delivery, retrieval, and management of medical files for telecardiology. In the future, the aggregated ECG and images from hospitals worldwide will become big data, which should be used to develop an e-consultation program helping on-site practitioners deliver appropriate treatment. With information technology, real-time tele-consultation and tele-diagnosis of ECG and images can be practiced via an e-platform for clinical, research, and educational purposes. While being devoted to promote the application of information technology onto telecardiology, we need to resolve several issues: (1) data confidentiality in the cloud, (2) data interoperability among hospitals, and (3) network latency and accessibility. If these challenges are overcome, tele-consultation will be ubiquitous, easy to perform, inexpensive, and beneficial. Most importantly, these services will increase global collaboration and advance clinical practice, education, and scientific research in cardiology.

Measuring readiness for entrepreneurship: An information tool proposal

OpenAIRE

Alicia Coduras; José Manuel Saiz-Alvarez; Jesús Ruiz

2016-01-01

A profound review of the literature on entrepreneurship reveals that it does not exist a specific information tool to measure the individuals’ readiness for entrepreneurship. The purpose of this research has been building such kind of instrument to estimate the individuals’ readiness for entrepreneurship. Its design takes in consideration the inclusion of the main variables identified by the literature as those most associated with entrepreneurial profiles. These variables have been grouped i...

Challenges of Enterprise Wide AM for Air Force Sustainment

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

processes for AM across the Air Force enterprise. The opportunity for cost-effective readiness is important, and using a value chain approach that takes...December 2016 Naguy is chief of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Product Support Engineering Division at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in...produc- tion that can address many current Air Force supply chain challenges. It also can reduce weight through lightweight design while potentially

Development of the Writing Readiness Inventory Tool in Context (WRITIC)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Hartingsveldt, Margo J.; de Vries, Liesbeth; Cup, Edith HC; de Groot, Imelda JM; Nijhuis-van der Sanden, Maria WG

2014-01-01

This article describes the development of the Writing Readiness Inventory Tool in Context (WRITIC), a measurement evaluating writing readiness in Dutch kindergarten children (5 and 6 years old). Content validity was established through 10 expert evaluations in three rounds. Construct validity was

Readiness and motivation for change among young women with broadly defined eating disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Ålgars, Monica; Ramberg, Carin; Moszny, Josefine; Hagman, Jessica; Rintala, Hanna; Santtila, Pekka

2015-01-01

Readiness and motivation for change were examined in 32 women with broadly defined eating disorders who took part in a 10-week Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based group intervention. Readiness for change and eating disorder psychopathology were assessed before and after the intervention. The results revealed significant negative associations between degree of eating disorder symptoms and degree of readiness for change before the intervention started. In particular, higher levels of eating concern, shape concern, and body dissatisfaction were associated with lower motivation for change. No significant associations between degree of readiness for change before the intervention started and changes in eating disorder symptoms at the end of intervention were found. Readiness for change increased from the beginning to the end of the intervention, indicating that group CBT may be a cost-effective and time-efficient way of enhancing readiness and motivation for change in individuals with eating psychopathology.

Regulatory challenges affecting ICT development in Ukraine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kretova, Olga A.

2017-01-01

in the region in terms of network readiness (64th place out of 139 economies) and global competitiveness (79th place out of 140 economies) in 2016. The significance of ICT policies is broadly understood at the highest political level in Ukraine, however their implementation has always posed a challenge....... And the chapter is organized as follows. Section 2.1 is the introduction; section 2.2 presents an overview of policies and regulations influencing ICTs in Ukraine; section 2.3 presents a snapshot of the national ICT sector which is dominated by the mobile market and the Broadband Access Technology market; Section...... 2.4 provides an insight into the various ICT regulations, how it affected the markets and the challenges in implementing these policies; section 2.5 highlights the role , successes and challenges of implementing regulations aimed at implementing e-government; and section 2.7 concludes this chapter...

NGNP Infrastructure Readiness Assessment: Consolidation Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castle, Brian K.

2011-01-01

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project supports the development, demonstration, and deployment of high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). The NGNP project is being reviewed by the Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (NEAC) to provide input to the DOE, who will make a recommendation to the Secretary of Energy, whether or not to continue with Phase 2 of the NGNP project. The NEAC review will be based on, in part, the infrastructure readiness assessment, which is an assessment of industry's current ability to provide specified components for the FOAK NGNP, meet quality assurance requirements, transport components, have the necessary workforce in place, and have the necessary construction capabilities. AREVA and Westinghouse were contracted to perform independent assessments of industry's capabilities because of their experience with nuclear supply chains, which is a result of their experiences with the EPR and AP-1000 reactors. Both vendors produced infrastructure readiness assessment reports that identified key components and categorized these components into three groups based on their ability to be deployed in the FOAK plant. The NGNP project has several programs that are developing key components and capabilities. For these components, the NGNP project have provided input to properly assess the infrastructure readiness for these components.

NGNP Infrastructure Readiness Assessment: Consolidation Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brian K Castle

2011-02-01

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project supports the development, demonstration, and deployment of high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs). The NGNP project is being reviewed by the Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (NEAC) to provide input to the DOE, who will make a recommendation to the Secretary of Energy, whether or not to continue with Phase 2 of the NGNP project. The NEAC review will be based on, in part, the infrastructure readiness assessment, which is an assessment of industry's current ability to provide specified components for the FOAK NGNP, meet quality assurance requirements, transport components, have the necessary workforce in place, and have the necessary construction capabilities. AREVA and Westinghouse were contracted to perform independent assessments of industry's capabilities because of their experience with nuclear supply chains, which is a result of their experiences with the EPR and AP-1000 reactors. Both vendors produced infrastructure readiness assessment reports that identified key components and categorized these components into three groups based on their ability to be deployed in the FOAK plant. The NGNP project has several programs that are developing key components and capabilities. For these components, the NGNP project have provided input to properly assess the infrastructure readiness for these components.

Work-readiness skills in the Fasset Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melandi Raftopoulos

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study was to determine the work -readiness skills that are regarded as important by employers and graduates in the Fasset Sector of South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was  used  to  achieve  this  objective.  Two  convenience  samples, namely  24  employers  and  333 graduates, completed  the Work Readiness Skills Scale. This scale was validated as a one-factor model with  an  alpha  coeffcient of  0.88. Oral  and written  communication,  self-discipline,  time management, interpersonal skills and teamwork, problem-solving skills and positive work ethic were rated as important skills for securing employment in this sector by employers and graduates alike. In addition, employers valued numeracy skills and motivation, whereas graduates regarded confidence and  leadership skills as  important. The results have implications for the curriculum design of the Fasset Work Readiness Programme presented to graduates in this industry.

Characterization of a new computer-ready photon counting system

Science.gov (United States)

Andor, Gyorgy

1998-08-01

The photon-counting system seems to be the best solution for extremely low optical power measurements. The Hamamatsu HC135 photon counting module has a built-in high-voltage power supply amplifier, discriminator, micro-controller with an RS232 serial output. It requires only a +5V supply voltage and an IBM PC or compatible computer to run. The system is supplied with an application software. This talk is about the testing of the device.

Computational Physics Simulation of Classical and Quantum Systems

CERN Document Server

Scherer, Philipp O. J

2010-01-01

This book encapsulates the coverage for a two-semester course in computational physics. The first part introduces the basic numerical methods while omitting mathematical proofs but demonstrating the algorithms by way of numerous computer experiments. The second part specializes in simulation of classical and quantum systems with instructive examples spanning many fields in physics, from a classical rotor to a quantum bit. All program examples are realized as Java applets ready to run in your browser and do not require any programming skills.

Capture ready fossil fuel plants: a critical stage in tackling climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gibbins, J.; Jia Li; Xi Liang [Imperial College, London (United Kingdom). Energy Technology for Sustainable Development Group

2006-07-01

Ways in which gasification-based systems can approach the CO{sub 2} capture ready ideal is discussed, together with possible methods for assessing the optimum degree of capture readiness. A key technology choice for power plants is whether or not to incorporate a shift before capture. Financial returns for making plants capture ready are also discussed. 10 refs., 3 tabs.

Measuring Success: Metrics that Link Supply Chain Management to Aircraft Readiness

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Balestreri, William

2002-01-01

..., The Theory of Constraints proved to be a viable tool for establishing aircraft readiness as the ultimate goal of Marine Corps aviation logistics, and provided a means for identifying and eliminating readiness...

Community Cloud Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Marinos, Alexandros; Briscoe, Gerard

Cloud Computing is rising fast, with its data centres growing at an unprecedented rate. However, this has come with concerns over privacy, efficiency at the expense of resilience, and environmental sustainability, because of the dependence on Cloud vendors such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Our response is an alternative model for the Cloud conceptualisation, providing a paradigm for Clouds in the community, utilising networked personal computers for liberation from the centralised vendor model. Community Cloud Computing (C3) offers an alternative architecture, created by combing the Cloud with paradigms from Grid Computing, principles from Digital Ecosystems, and sustainability from Green Computing, while remaining true to the original vision of the Internet. It is more technically challenging than Cloud Computing, having to deal with distributed computing issues, including heterogeneous nodes, varying quality of service, and additional security constraints. However, these are not insurmountable challenges, and with the need to retain control over our digital lives and the potential environmental consequences, it is a challenge we must pursue.

Reflections on e-Learning Readiness in Albanian Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ezmolda Barolli

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays e-Learning has been identified to be the future of learning worldwide since the very powerful platform of the Internet has accelerated the speed of communication. Adoption of e-learning has become the latest trend across universities all over the world. Albania is part of a global shift from material resources to knowledge and intellectual resources as the basis for economic growth. Educators across Albania are aware that students must have an education that enables the students to participate successfully in and contribute to the knowledge economy. E-Learning readiness is an initial part of e- Learning development. In order to benefit from e-learning, higher education institutions in Albania should conduct considerable up-front analysis to assess their readiness. In this paper we are trying to examine the status of e-Learning readiness in Albania, analyzing and discussing several components and criteria based on literature.

Organizational readiness for implementing change: a psychometric assessment of a new measure.

Science.gov (United States)

Shea, Christopher M; Jacobs, Sara R; Esserman, Denise A; Bruce, Kerry; Weiner, Bryan J

2014-01-10

Organizational readiness for change in healthcare settings is an important factor in successful implementation of new policies, programs, and practices. However, research on the topic is hindered by the absence of a brief, reliable, and valid measure. Until such a measure is developed, we cannot advance scientific knowledge about readiness or provide evidence-based guidance to organizational leaders about how to increase readiness. This article presents results of a psychometric assessment of a new measure called Organizational Readiness for Implementing Change (ORIC), which we developed based on Weiner's theory of organizational readiness for change. We conducted four studies to assess the psychometric properties of ORIC. In study one, we assessed the content adequacy of the new measure using quantitative methods. In study two, we examined the measure's factor structure and reliability in a laboratory simulation. In study three, we assessed the reliability and validity of an organization-level measure of readiness based on aggregated individual-level data from study two. In study four, we conducted a small field study utilizing the same analytic methods as in study three. Content adequacy assessment indicated that the items developed to measure change commitment and change efficacy reflected the theoretical content of these two facets of organizational readiness and distinguished the facets from hypothesized determinants of readiness. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in the lab and field studies revealed two correlated factors, as expected, with good model fit and high item loadings. Reliability analysis in the lab and field studies showed high inter-item consistency for the resulting individual-level scales for change commitment and change efficacy. Inter-rater reliability and inter-rater agreement statistics supported the aggregation of individual level readiness perceptions to the organizational level of analysis. This article provides evidence in

The nutritional content and cost of supermarket ready-meals. Cross-sectional analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Remnant, Jennifer; Adams, Jean

2015-09-01

Over-reliance on convenience foods, including ready-meals, has been suggested as one contributor to obesity. Little research has systematically explored the nutritional content of supermarket ready-meals. We described the nutritional content and cost of UK supermarket ready-meals. We conducted a survey of supermarket own-brand chilled and frozen ready-meals available in branches of ten national supermarket chains in one city in northern England. Data on price, weight and nutritional content of meals in four ranges ('healthier', luxury, economy and standard) and of six types (macaroni cheese, meat lasagne, cottage pie, chicken tikka masala, fish pie, and sweet and sour chicken) were collected. Nutritional content was compared to ranges used to identify low, medium and high fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in nationally recommended front-of-pack labelling. 166 ready-meals were included from 41 stores. Overall, ready-meals were high in saturated fat and salt, and low in sugar. One-fifth of meals were low in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, including two-thirds of 'healthier' meals. Meals that were low for three out of the four front-of-pack nutrients were the cheapest. Supermarket ready-meals do not have a healthful nutritional profile overall. However, a number of healthier meals were available - particularly amongst meals specifically marked as 'healthier'. There was little evidence that healthier meals necessarily cost more. Further effort is required to encourage producers to improve the nutritional profile of the full range of ready-meals, and not just those specifically labelled as 'healthier'. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The nutritional content and cost of supermarket ready-meals. Cross-sectional analysis☆

Science.gov (United States)

Remnant, Jennifer; Adams, Jean

2015-01-01

Background: Over-reliance on convenience foods, including ready-meals, has been suggested as one contributor to obesity. Little research has systematically explored the nutritional content of supermarket ready-meals. We described the nutritional content and cost of UK supermarket ready-meals. Methods: We conducted a survey of supermarket own-brand chilled and frozen ready-meals available in branches of ten national supermarket chains in one city in northern England. Data on price, weight and nutritional content of meals in four ranges (‘healthier’, luxury, economy and standard) and of six types (macaroni cheese, meat lasagne, cottage pie, chicken tikka masala, fish pie, and sweet and sour chicken) were collected. Nutritional content was compared to ranges used to identify low, medium and high fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in nationally recommended front-of-pack labelling. Results: 166 ready-meals were included from 41 stores. Overall, ready-meals were high in saturated fat and salt, and low in sugar. One-fifth of meals were low in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, including two-thirds of ‘healthier’ meals. Meals that were low for three out of the four front-of-pack nutrients were the cheapest. Conclusions: Supermarket ready-meals do not have a healthful nutritional profile overall. However, a number of healthier meals were available – particularly amongst meals specifically marked as ‘healthier’. There was little evidence that healthier meals necessarily cost more. Further effort is required to encourage producers to improve the nutritional profile of the full range of ready-meals, and not just those specifically labelled as ‘healthier’. PMID:25963106

Effects of Preschool Intervention Strategies on School Readiness in Kindergarten

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xin; Nelson, Regena F.; Shen, Jianping; Krenn, Huilan Y.

2015-01-01

Using hierarchical linear modeling, the present study aimed to examine whether targeted intervention strategies implemented individually during a preschool program exhibited any short-term and long-term effects on children's school readiness in kindergarten, utilizing data gathered through the Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK)…

Emotional Intelligence as a Determinant of Readiness for Online Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Buzdar, Muhammad Ayub; Ali, Akhtar; Tariq, Riaz Ul Haq

2016-01-01

Students' performance in online learning environments is associated with their readiness to adopt a digital learning approach. Traditional concept of readiness for online learning is connected with students' competencies of using technology for learning purposes. We in this research, however, investigated psychometric aspects of students'…

Operational readiness review for the Waste Experimental Reduction Facility. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-11-01

An Operational Readiness Review (ORR) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory's (INEL's) Waste Experimental Reduction Facility (WERF) was conducted by EG ampersand G Idaho, Inc., to verify the readiness of WERF to resume operations following a shutdown and modification period of more than two years. It is the conclusion of the ORR Team that, pending satisfactory resolution of all pre-startup findings, WERF has achieved readiness to resume unrestricted operations within the approved safety basis. ORR appraisal forms are included in this report

Organizational e-readiness web: a model for evaluating e-readiness of Iranian commercial banks in order to develop e-banking

OpenAIRE

Chitsazan, Hasti; Keimasi, Masoud

2015-01-01

E-banking through mutual benefits for customers and banks has become a necessity in the banking industry nowadays. In spite of this, e-banking has not spread in Iran as it is appropriate.In a general categorization it can be said that E-readiness of banks and environmental e-readiness are two effective factors on development of e-banking which have been referred in different studies some models have been proposed in this regard in macro industries and others. However, no specific model has be...

EG&G Florida, Inc., KSC base operations contractor Launch Readiness Assessment System

Science.gov (United States)

Geaslen, W. D.

1988-01-01

A computerized Launch Readiness Assessment System (LRAS) which compares 'current status' of readiness against the 'required status' of readiness for the Space Shuttle. The five subsystems of the LRAS are examined in detail. The LRAS Plan specifies the overall system requirements, procedures, and reports. The LRAS Manager drives the operation of the LRAS system. The Responding Units (RU) maintain support plans and procedures which specify the detail requirements for each mission or milestone. The Master Data Tables contain the milestone, responsible RU relationships, and requirements assessment categories. The LRAS Status System serves as the launch readiness assessment reporting system. The relationships between these subsystems are displayed in diagrams.

Nuclear explosives testing readiness evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valk, T.C.

1993-09-01

This readiness evaluation considers hole selection and characterization, verification, containment issues, nuclear explosive safety studies, test authorities, event operations planning, canister-rack preparation, site preparation, diagnostic equipment setup, device assembly facilities and processes, device delivery and insertion, emplacement, stemming, control room activities, readiness briefing, arming and firing, test execution, emergency response and reentry, and post event analysis to include device diagnostics, nuclear chemistry, and containment. This survey concludes that the LLNL program and its supporting contractors could execute an event within six months of notification, and a second event within the following six months, given the NET group`s evaluation and the following three restraints: (1) FY94 (and subsequent year) funding is essentially constant with FY93, (2) Preliminary work for the initial event is completed to the historical sic months status, (3) Critical personnel, currently working in dual use technologies, would be recallable as needed.

Digital archives, big data and image-based culturomics for social impact assessment: Opportunities and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherren, Kate; Parkins, John R.; Smit, Michael; Holmlund, Mona; Chen, Yan

2017-01-01

Social impact assessment (SIA) is well-established but uses conventional approaches that have become less effective in recent decades, particularly in relation to declining survey response rates and a lack of youth engagement. Images from digital archives and social media sources are poised to advance the research and practice of SIA by transcending text-based methods with insights into changing landscapes, and human engagement with them. This viewpoint describes progress, challenges and cautions toward the development of such tools (defined as culturomics), using hydroelectricity cases to illustrate potential approaches. These tools build on foundational work in a range of disciplines, including the humanities and computer science. We describe necessary advances in machine learning, image digitization, and data aggregation and visualization techniques, as well as ways to ensure that such tools are carefully tested, applied and interpreted. Challenges include the automation, acquisition and management of datasets, and using these tools appropriately and equitably. Critically, culturomics of any kind must not be used as a replacement for engagement with people, but as complementary to inclusive stakeholder engagement. - Highlights: •Image-based digital archives and social media present opportunities for new SIA tools. •Application-ready big data approaches are emerging across many fields. •SIA scholars, practitioners and stakeholders should engage with culturomics. •Challenges include automation, digitization, interpretation and justice. •Culturomics of any kind must not replace engagement with people.

K-Reactor readiness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice, P.D.

1991-01-01

This document describes some of the more significant accomplishments in the reactor restart program and details the magnitude and extent of the work completed to bring K-Reactor to a state of restart readiness. The discussion of restart achievements is organized into the three major categories of personnel, programs, and plant. Also presented is information on the scope and extent of internal and external oversight of the efforts, as well as some details on the startup plan

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

P. McBride

It has been a very active year for the computing project with strong contributions from members of the global community. The project has focused on site preparation and Monte Carlo production. The operations group has begun processing data from P5 as part of the global data commissioning. Improvements in transfer rates and site availability have been seen as computing sites across the globe prepare for large scale production and analysis as part of CSA07. Preparations for the upcoming Computing Software and Analysis Challenge CSA07 are progressing. Ian Fisk and Neil Geddes have been appointed as coordinators for the challenge. CSA07 will include production tests of the Tier-0 production system, reprocessing at the Tier-1 sites and Monte Carlo production at the Tier-2 sites. At the same time there will be a large analysis exercise at the Tier-2 centres. Pre-production simulation of the Monte Carlo events for the challenge is beginning. Scale tests of the Tier-0 will begin in mid-July and the challenge it...

Challenges for the computational fluid dynamics codes in the nineties. Various examples of application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chabard, J.P.; Viollet, P.L.

1991-08-01

Most of the computational fluid dynamics applications which are encountered at the Research and Development Division of EDF (RDD) are dealing with thermal exchanges. The development of numerical tools for the simulation of flows, devoted to this class of application, has been under way for 15 years. At the beginning this work was mainly concerned with a good simulation of the dynamics of the flow. Now these tools can be used to compute flows with thermal exchanges. The presentation will be limited to incompressible and one phase flows. First the softwares developed at RDD will be presented. Then some applications of these tools to flows with thermal exchanges will be discussed. To conclude, the paper will treat be general case of the CFD codes. The challenges for the next years will be detailed in order to make these tools available for users involved in complex physical modeling

Secure cloud computing

CERN Document Server

Jajodia, Sushil; Samarati, Pierangela; Singhal, Anoop; Swarup, Vipin; Wang, Cliff

2014-01-01

This book presents a range of cloud computing security challenges and promising solution paths. The first two chapters focus on practical considerations of cloud computing. In Chapter 1, Chandramouli, Iorga, and Chokani describe the evolution of cloud computing and the current state of practice, followed by the challenges of cryptographic key management in the cloud. In Chapter 2, Chen and Sion present a dollar cost model of cloud computing and explore the economic viability of cloud computing with and without security mechanisms involving cryptographic mechanisms. The next two chapters addres

Back to the future: virtualization of the computing environment at the W. M. Keck Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

McCann, Kevin L.; Birch, Denny A.; Holt, Jennifer M.; Randolph, William B.; Ward, Josephine A.

2014-07-01

Over its two decades of science operations, the W.M. Keck Observatory computing environment has evolved to contain a distributed hybrid mix of hundreds of servers, desktops and laptops of multiple different hardware platforms, O/S versions and vintages. Supporting the growing computing capabilities to meet the observatory's diverse, evolving computing demands within fixed budget constraints, presents many challenges. This paper describes the significant role that virtualization is playing in addressing these challenges while improving the level and quality of service as well as realizing significant savings across many cost areas. Starting in December 2012, the observatory embarked on an ambitious plan to incrementally test and deploy a migration to virtualized platforms to address a broad range of specific opportunities. Implementation to date has been surprisingly glitch free, progressing well and yielding tangible benefits much faster than many expected. We describe here the general approach, starting with the initial identification of some low hanging fruit which also provided opportunity to gain experience and build confidence among both the implementation team and the user community. We describe the range of challenges, opportunities and cost savings potential. Very significant among these was the substantial power savings which resulted in strong broad support for moving forward. We go on to describe the phasing plan, the evolving scalable architecture, some of the specific technical choices, as well as some of the individual technical issues encountered along the way. The phased implementation spans Windows and Unix servers for scientific, engineering and business operations, virtualized desktops for typical office users as well as more the more demanding graphics intensive CAD users. Other areas discussed in this paper include staff training, load balancing, redundancy, scalability, remote access, disaster readiness and recovery.

Enhancing Mental Readiness in Military Personnel

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Thompson, Megan M; McCreary, Donald R

2006-01-01

In this paper we explore how the psychological literature on stress and coping might inform military training programs to enhance "mental readiness" as a method to develop the baseline psychological...

Ready-to-use foods for management of moderate acute malnutrition: considerations for scaling up production and use in programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Osendarp, Saskia; Rogers, Beatrice; Ryan, Kelsey; Manary, Mark; Akomo, Peter; Bahwere, Paluku; Belete, Hilina; Zeilani, Mamane; Islam, Munirul; Dibari, Filippo; De Pee, Saskia

2015-03-01

Ready-to-use foods are one of the available strategies for the treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), but challenges remain in the use of these products in programs at scale. This paper focuses on two challenges: the need for cheaper formulations using locally available ingredients that are processed in a safe, reliable, and financially sustainable local production facility; and the effective use of these products in large-scale community-based programs. Linear programming tools can be used successfully to design local compositions that are in line with international guidelines, low in cost, and acceptable, and the efficacy of these local formulations in the treatment of MAM was recently demonstrated in Malawi. The production of local formulations for programs at scale relies on the existence of a reliable and efficient local production facility. Technical assistance may be required in the development of sustainable business models at an early stage in the process, taking into account the stringent product quality and safety criteria and the required investments. The use of ready-to-use products, as of any food supplement, in programs at scale will be affected by the practice of household sharing and diversion of these products for other uses. Additional measures can be considered to account for sharing. These products designed for the treatment and prevention of MAM are to be used in community-based programs and should therefore be used in conjunction with other interventions and designed so that they do not replace the intake of other foods and breastmilk. Remaining challenges and implications for the (operations) research agenda are discussed.

Microbiological Quality Assessment of Ready-To-Eat Kilishi Sold in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Microbiological Quality Assessment of Ready-To-Eat Kilishi Sold in Abuja, Nigeria. ... Animal Production Research Advances ... A total of twelve samples of ready-to-eat dried meat product, kilishi, were purchased from different sale-points in Abuja, Nigeria and a study conducted on them to assess their microbiological ...

Recent achievements in real-time computational seismology in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S.; Liang, W.; Huang, B.

2012-12-01

Real-time computational seismology is currently possible to be achieved which needs highly connection between seismic database and high performance computing. We have developed a real-time moment tensor monitoring system (RMT) by using continuous BATS records and moment tensor inversion (CMT) technique. The real-time online earthquake simulation service is also ready to open for researchers and public earthquake science education (ROS). Combine RMT with ROS, the earthquake report based on computational seismology can provide within 5 minutes after an earthquake occurred (RMT obtains point source information ROS completes a 3D simulation real-time now. For more information, welcome to visit real-time computational seismology earthquake report webpage (RCS).

Onderzoek online readiness modezaken 2012

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boels, Han; Weltevreden, Jesse

2013-01-01

In dit onderzoek is de online readiness van modezaken in 2012 in kaart gebracht. In totaal hebben 124 (voornamelijk zelfstandige) modezaken deelgenomen aan het onderzoek. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd door het lectoraat Online Ondernemen samen met studenten van de minor Marketing Tomorrow van de

Onderzoek online readiness rijscholen 2013

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weltevreden, Jesse; Boels, Han

2013-01-01

In dit onderzoek is de online readiness van rijscholen in 2013 in kaart gebracht. In totaal hebben 115 rijscholen deelgenomen aan het onderzoek. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd door het lectoraat Online Ondernemen samen met studenten van de minor Marketing Tomorrow van de Hogeschool van Amsterdam.

Advances in Bio-Imaging From Physics to Signal Understanding Issues State-of-the-Art and Challenges

CERN Document Server

Racoceanu, Daniel; Gouaillard, Alexandre

2012-01-01

Advances in Imaging Devices and Image processing stem from cross-fertilization between many fields of research such as Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Sciences. This BioImaging Community feel the urge to integrate more intensively its various results, discoveries and innovation into ready to use tools that can address all the new exciting challenges that Life Scientists (Biologists, Medical doctors, ...) keep providing, almost on a daily basis. Devising innovative chemical probes, for example, is an archetypal goal in which image quality improvement must be driven by the physics of acquisition, the image processing and analysis algorithms and the chemical skills in order to design an optimal bioprobe. This book offers an overview of the current advances in many research fields related to bioimaging and highlights the current limitations that would need to be addressed in the next decade to design fully integrated BioImaging Device.

Mathematical challenges from theoretical/computational chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-31

The committee believes that this report has relevance and potentially valuable suggestions for a wide range of readers. Target audiences include: graduate departments in the mathematical and chemical sciences; federal and private agencies that fund research in the mathematical and chemical sciences; selected industrial and government research and development laboratories; developers of software and hardware for computational chemistry; and selected individual researchers. Chapter 2 of this report covers some history of computational chemistry for the nonspecialist, while Chapter 3 illustrates the fruits of some past successful cross-fertilization between mathematical scientists and computational/theoretical chemists. In Chapter 4 the committee has assembled a representative, but not exhaustive, survey of research opportunities. Most of these are descriptions of important open problems in computational/theoretical chemistry that could gain much from the efforts of innovative mathematical scientists, written so as to be accessible introductions to the nonspecialist. Chapter 5 is an assessment, necessarily subjective, of cultural differences that must be overcome if collaborative work is to be encouraged between the mathematical and the chemical communities. Finally, the report ends with a brief list of conclusions and recommendations that, if followed, could promote accelerated progress at this interface. Recognizing that bothersome language issues can inhibit prospects for collaborative research at the interface between distinctive disciplines, the committee has attempted throughout to maintain an accessible style, in part by using illustrative boxes, and has included at the end of the report a glossary of technical terms that may be familiar to only a subset of the target audiences listed above.

Remedial action and waste disposal project: 100-B/C remedial action readiness report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

April, J.G.; Bryant, D.L.; Cislo, G.B.

1996-07-01

This Readiness Evaluation Report presents the results of the project readiness evaluation to assess the readiness of the 100-B/C source sites remediation. The 100-B/C Area is located at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. The evaluation was conducted at the conclusion of a series of readiness activities that began in May 1996. These activities included confirming the completion of project specific procedures, training of staff, obtaining support equipment, receipt of subcontractor submittals, approval of subcontractor submittals, and mobilization and construction of site support systems

The Computational Fluid Dynamics Rupture Challenge 2013--Phase II: Variability of Hemodynamic Simulations in Two Intracranial Aneurysms.

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Philipp; Roloff, Christoph; Beuing, Oliver; Voss, Samuel; Sugiyama, Shin-Ichiro; Aristokleous, Nicolas; Anayiotos, Andreas S; Ashton, Neil; Revell, Alistair; Bressloff, Neil W; Brown, Alistair G; Chung, Bong Jae; Cebral, Juan R; Copelli, Gabriele; Fu, Wenyu; Qiao, Aike; Geers, Arjan J; Hodis, Simona; Dragomir-Daescu, Dan; Nordahl, Emily; Bora Suzen, Yildirim; Owais Khan, Muhammad; Valen-Sendstad, Kristian; Kono, Kenichi; Menon, Prahlad G; Albal, Priti G; Mierka, Otto; Münster, Raphael; Morales, Hernán G; Bonnefous, Odile; Osman, Jan; Goubergrits, Leonid; Pallares, Jordi; Cito, Salvatore; Passalacqua, Alberto; Piskin, Senol; Pekkan, Kerem; Ramalho, Susana; Marques, Nelson; Sanchi, Stéphane; Schumacher, Kristopher R; Sturgeon, Jess; Švihlová, Helena; Hron, Jaroslav; Usera, Gabriel; Mendina, Mariana; Xiang, Jianping; Meng, Hui; Steinman, David A; Janiga, Gábor

2015-12-01

With the increased availability of computational resources, the past decade has seen a rise in the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for medical applications. There has been an increase in the application of CFD to attempt to predict the rupture of intracranial aneurysms, however, while many hemodynamic parameters can be obtained from these computations, to date, no consistent methodology for the prediction of the rupture has been identified. One particular challenge to CFD is that many factors contribute to its accuracy; the mesh resolution and spatial/temporal discretization can alone contribute to a variation in accuracy. This failure to identify the importance of these factors and identify a methodology for the prediction of ruptures has limited the acceptance of CFD among physicians for rupture prediction. The International CFD Rupture Challenge 2013 seeks to comment on the sensitivity of these various CFD assumptions to predict the rupture by undertaking a comparison of the rupture and blood-flow predictions from a wide range of independent participants utilizing a range of CFD approaches. Twenty-six groups from 15 countries took part in the challenge. Participants were provided with surface models of two intracranial aneurysms and asked to carry out the corresponding hemodynamics simulations, free to choose their own mesh, solver, and temporal discretization. They were requested to submit velocity and pressure predictions along the centerline and on specified planes. The first phase of the challenge, described in a separate paper, was aimed at predicting which of the two aneurysms had previously ruptured and where the rupture site was located. The second phase, described in this paper, aims to assess the variability of the solutions and the sensitivity to the modeling assumptions. Participants were free to choose boundary conditions in the first phase, whereas they were prescribed in the second phase but all other CFD modeling parameters were not

A Harmonized Process Model for Digital Forensic Investigation Readiness

OpenAIRE

Valjarevic , Aleksandar; Venter , Hein

2013-01-01

Part 2: FORENSIC MODELS; International audience; Digital forensic readiness enables an organization to prepare itself to perform digital forensic investigations in an efficient and effective manner. The benefits include enhancing the admissibility of digital evidence, better utilization of resources and greater incident awareness. However, a harmonized process model for digital forensic readiness does not currently exist and, thus, there is a lack of effective and standardized implementations...

From Computational Thinking to Computational Empowerment: A 21st Century PD Agenda

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Ole Sejer; Smith, Rachel Charlotte; Dindler, Christian

2018-01-01

We propose computational empowerment as an approach, and a Participatory Design response, to challenges related to digitalization of society and the emerging need for digital literacy in K12 education. Our approach extends the current focus on computational thinking to include contextual, human-c...... technology in education. We argue that PD has the potential to drive a computational empowerment agenda in education, by connecting political PD with contemporary visions for addressing a future digitalized labor market and society.......We propose computational empowerment as an approach, and a Participatory Design response, to challenges related to digitalization of society and the emerging need for digital literacy in K12 education. Our approach extends the current focus on computational thinking to include contextual, human......-centred and societal challenges and impacts involved in students’ creative and critical engagement with digital technology. Our research is based on the FabLab@School project, in which a PD approach to computational empowerment provided opportunities as well as further challenges for the complex agenda of digital...

DISPOSABLE DIAPER IMPACT THE TODDLER’S TOILET TRAINING READINESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuni Sufyanti Arief

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction : Toilet training is an important developmental milestone in every child’s life. The children who wear cloth diapers than disposable diaper are out of diaper 12 months earlier because they can feel the wetness when they urinate. Kinds of underwear may facilitate the development of toileting skill. The objective of this study was to learn differentiation about toilet training practised between the toddler who ever wear disposable diaper and the toddler who never wear disposable diaper. Method : This study used case control design. Population was consist of 45 toddler in 24-36 month old. The samples were 34 respondents, 21 toddler as 1st group  who ever wear disposable diaper and 13 toddler as 2nd group who never one, taken according to inclusion criteria. The independent variables were wear disposable diaper and never one. The dependent variable was toilet training practised such as the toileting skill of toddler, method of toilet training by the parent, toddler readiness to start toilet training and the parents and environment readiness to start toilet training for toddler. Data were taken by using questionnaire and analysed using Mann Whitney test with significance level of  α<0.05. Result : The result showed that there was no differentiation about the toileting skill of toddler (p=0.631, method of toilet training (p=0.249, and the parents and environment readiness to start toilet training (p=0.207 between the groups. There was differentiation about the toddler readiness to start toilet training between the groups with significance level p=0.000. Analysis : It can be concluded that there are no differentiation about the toilet training practiced beetwen the groups. Discussion : Disposable diaper has influences in the toddler readiness to start toilet training. It has no influences in the toileting skill of toddler, method of toilet training by the parent, and the parents and environment readiness to start toilet training.

Consumer behaviors towards ready-to-eat foods based on food-related lifestyles in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Hyun-Joo; Chae, Mi-Jin; Ryu, Kisang

2010-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine consumers' behaviors toward ready-to-eat foods and to develop ready-to-eat food market segmentation in Korea. The food-related lifestyle and purchase behaviors of ready-to-eat foods were evaluated using 410 ready-to-eat food consumers in the Republic of Korea. Four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis (health-orientation, taste-orientation, convenience-orientation, and tradition-orientation) to explain the ready-to eat food consumers' food-related lifestyles. The results of cluster analysis indicated that "tradition seekers" and "convenience seekers" should be regarded as the target segments. Chi-square tests and t-tests of the subdivided groups showed there were significant differences across marital status, education level, family type, eating-out expenditure, place of purchase, and reason for purchase. In conclusion, the tradition seekers consumed more ready-to-eat foods from discount marts or specialty stores and ate them between meals more often than the convenience seekers. In contrast, the convenience seekers purchased more ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores and ate them as meals more often than the tradition seekers. These findings suggest that ready-to-eat food market segmentation based on food-related lifestyles can be applied to develop proper marketing strategies.

Consumer behaviors towards ready-to-eat foods based on food-related lifestyles in Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Hyun-Joo; Chae, Mi-Jin

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine consumers' behaviors toward ready-to-eat foods and to develop ready-to-eat food market segmentation in Korea. The food-related lifestyle and purchase behaviors of ready-to-eat foods were evaluated using 410 ready-to-eat food consumers in the Republic of Korea. Four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis (health-orientation, taste-orientation, convenience-orientation, and tradition-orientation) to explain the ready-to eat food consumers' food-related lifestyles. The results of cluster analysis indicated that "tradition seekers" and "convenience seekers" should be regarded as the target segments. Chi-square tests and t-tests of the subdivided groups showed there were significant differences across marital status, education level, family type, eating-out expenditure, place of purchase, and reason for purchase. In conclusion, the tradition seekers consumed more ready-to-eat foods from discount marts or specialty stores and ate them between meals more often than the convenience seekers. In contrast, the convenience seekers purchased more ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores and ate them as meals more often than the tradition seekers. These findings suggest that ready-to-eat food market segmentation based on food-related lifestyles can be applied to develop proper marketing strategies. PMID:20827350

DES Science Portal: II- Creating Science-Ready Catalogs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fausti Neto, Angelo; et al.

2017-08-18

We present a novel approach for creating science-ready catalogs through a software infrastructure developed for the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We integrate the data products released by the DES Data Management and additional products created by the DES collaboration in an environment known as DES Science Portal. Each step involved in the creation of a science-ready catalog is recorded in a relational database and can be recovered at any time. We describe how the DES Science Portal automates the creation and characterization of lightweight catalogs for DES Year 1 Annual Release, and show its flexibility in creating multiple catalogs with different inputs and configurations. Finally, we discuss the advantages of this infrastructure for large surveys such as DES and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. The capability of creating science-ready catalogs efficiently and with full control of the inputs and configurations used is an important asset for supporting science analysis using data from large astronomical surveys.

Computational physics. Simulation of classical and quantum systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scherer, Philipp O.J. [TU Muenchen (Germany). Physikdepartment T38

2010-07-01

This book encapsulates the coverage for a two-semester course in computational physics. The first part introduces the basic numerical methods while omitting mathematical proofs but demonstrating the algorithms by way of numerous computer experiments. The second part specializes in simulation of classical and quantum systems with instructive examples spanning many fields in physics, from a classical rotor to a quantum bit. All program examples are realized as Java applets ready to run in your browser and do not require any programming skills. (orig.)

Challenges in computational fluid dynamics simulation for the nineties. Various examples of application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chabard, J.P.; Viollet, P.L.

1991-01-01

Most of the computational fluid dynamics applications which are encountered at the Research Branch of EDF (DER) are dealing with thermal exchanges. The development of numerical tools for the simulation of flows, devoted to this class of application, has been under way for 15 years. At the beginning this work was mainly concerned with a good simulation of the dynamics of the flow. Now these tools can be used to compute flows with thermal exchanges. The presentation will be limited to incompressible and one phase flows (the DER developments on two phase flows are discussed in the paper by MM. Hery, Boivin et Viollet (in the present magazine). First the softwares developed at DER will be presented. Then some applications of these tools to flows with thermal exchanges will be discussed. To conclude, the paper will treat the general case of the CFD codes. The challenges for the next years will be detailed in order to make these tools available for users involved in complex physical modeling [fr

Validation of Transition Readiness Assessment Questionaire in Turkish Adolescents with Diabetes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evrim Kızıler

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Today, more than 90% of adolescents with chronic conditions survive into adulthood and move from pediatric care to adult care for the management of their chronic illness. It is important to grant autonomy and ensure that adolescents/young adults are ready to use the adult health care system prior to the transfer of care. However, the lack of a transition readiness assessment tool that is validated, patient-centered, and appropriate to developmental differences in pediatric care is a major obstacle for the transition of care from pediatric services to adult services. Aims: This study examined the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire, which assesses the readiness for transition from pediatric to adult health care for adolescents/young adults with diabetes mellitus. Study Design: Methodological study. Methods: Participants were 109 adolescents/young adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus aged 14-21 years. After permission was obtained to adapt the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire, the Turkish Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire and self-care scale were administered to participants through face-to-face interviews at two pediatric endocrinology clinics. Validity was evaluated by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and content-scope validity assessment; reliability was evaluated by item-total score correlation and continuity methods. Internal reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and criterion validity assessment. Results: The item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis identified five basic dimensions, with high internal consistency (0.89-0.75. The ratio χ2/df and other conformity indices were a good fit to the data. The correlation coefficient in the analyses of test-retest scores was 0.86 for the total scale (p<0.05, and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.88 for overall scale

Algorithms for limited-view computed tomography: an annotated bibliography and a challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rangayyan, R.; Dhawan, A.P.; Gordon, R.

1985-01-01

In many applications of computed tomography, it may not be possible to acquire projection data at all angles, as required by the most commonly used algorithm of convolution backprojection. In such a limited-data situation, we face an ill-posed problem in attempting to reconstruct an image from an incomplete set of projections. Many techniques have been proposed to tackle this situation, employing diverse theories such as signal recovery, image restoration, constrained deconvolution, and constrained optimization, as well as novel schemes such as iterative object-dependent algorithms incorporating a priori knowledge and use of multispectral radiation. The authors present an overview of such techniques and offer a challenge to all readers to reconstruct images from a set of limited-view data provided here

Novel spintronics devices for memory and logic: prospects and challenges for room temperature all spin computing

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jian-Ping

An energy efficient memory and logic device for the post-CMOS era has been the goal of a variety of research fields. The limits of scaling, which we expect to reach by the year 2025, demand that future advances in computational power will not be realized from ever-shrinking device sizes, but rather by innovative designs and new materials and physics. Magnetoresistive based devices have been a promising candidate for future integrated magnetic computation because of its unique non-volatility and functionalities. The application of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for potential STT-RAM application was demonstrated and later has been intensively investigated by both academia and industry groups, but there is no clear path way how scaling will eventually work for both memory and logic applications. One of main reasons is that there is no demonstrated material stack candidate that could lead to a scaling scheme down to sub 10 nm. Another challenge for the usage of magnetoresistive based devices for logic application is its available switching speed and writing energy. Although a good progress has been made to demonstrate the fast switching of a thermally stable magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) down to 165 ps, it is still several times slower than its CMOS counterpart. In this talk, I will review the recent progress by my research group and my C-SPIN colleagues, then discuss the opportunities, challenges and some potential path ways for magnetoresitive based devices for memory and logic applications and their integration for room temperature all spin computing system.

Software and man-machine interface considerations for a nuclear plant computer replacement and upgrade project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamond, G.; Robinson, E.

1984-01-01

Some of the key software functions and Man-Machine Interface considerations in a computer replacement and upgrade project for a nuclear power plant are described. The project involves the installation of two separate computer systems: an Emergency Response Facilities Computer System (ERFCS) and a Plant Process Computer System (PPCS). These systems employ state-of-the-art computer hardware and software. The ERFCS is a new system intended to provide enhanced functions to meet NRC post-TMI guidelines. The PPCS is intended to replace and upgrade an existing obsolete plant computer system. A general overview of the hardware and software aspects of the replacement and upgrade is presented. The work done to develop the upgraded Man-Machine Interface is described. For the ERFCS, a detailed discussion is presented of the work done to develop logic to evaluate the readiness and performance of safety systems and their supporting functions. The Man-Machine Interface considerations of reporting readiness and performance to the operator are discussed. Finally, the considerations involved in the implementation of this logic in real-time software are discussed.. For the PPCS, a detailed discussion is presented of some new features

The Challenges and Benefits of Using Computer Technology for Communication and Teaching in the Geosciences

Science.gov (United States)

Fairley, J. P.; Hinds, J. J.

2003-12-01

The advent of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s not only revolutionized the exchange of ideas and information within the scientific community, but also provided educators with a new array of teaching, informational, and promotional tools. Use of computer graphics and animation to explain concepts and processes can stimulate classroom participation and student interest in the geosciences, which has historically attracted students with strong spatial and visualization skills. In today's job market, graduates are expected to have knowledge of computers and the ability to use them for acquiring, processing, and visually analyzing data. Furthermore, in addition to promoting visibility and communication within the scientific community, computer graphics and the Internet can be informative and educational for the general public. Although computer skills are crucial for earth science students and educators, many pitfalls exist in implementing computer technology and web-based resources into research and classroom activities. Learning to use these new tools effectively requires a significant time commitment and careful attention to the source and reliability of the data presented. Furthermore, educators have a responsibility to ensure that students and the public understand the assumptions and limitations of the materials presented, rather than allowing them to be overwhelmed by "gee-whiz" aspects of the technology. We present three examples of computer technology in the earth sciences classroom: 1) a computer animation of water table response to well pumping, 2) a 3-D fly-through animation of a fault controlled valley, and 3) a virtual field trip for an introductory geology class. These examples demonstrate some of the challenges and benefits of these new tools, and encourage educators to expand the responsible use of computer technology for teaching and communicating scientific results to the general public.

The Naval Aviation Enterprise Type/Model/Series Team and Its Effect on AH-1W Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-23

Team Structure 28 9 Current Readiness Process The Current Readiness Process assesses the readiness metrics, or Key Performance Indicators ( KPIs ...CR CFT and the Marine Corps leadership to shift resources to close the gap. Aircraft Readiness Aircraft availability is one of the KPIs that the T...Commandant of Aviation DRRS Defense Readiness Reporting System FMC Full Mission Capable GAO General Accounting Office GSE Ground Support Equipment KPI

THE EFFECTS OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC CRISIS ONTURKISH READY-MADE CLOTHING INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurgul KILINC

2012-07-01

Full Text Available THE EFFECTS OF INTERTextile and ready-made clothing sector is one of the sectors that globalize in anadvanced level due to employment it provides, value-added created by it duringthe manufacturing process and high share in export revenue.In this research, 5 international economiccrisesdetermined since the foundationof theTurkish Republic, Turkish textile and ready-made clothing sector have beenexamined depending on journal archives and export-import data.Economic crises emerged in the world between 1974 and 2008 from whichTurkey has been affected as well have been examined by document analysismethod, which is a qualitative data gathering method in this research.By this research, which has studied international economic crisesoccurredinfragile and vulnerable Turkish economy since 1974 as regards to reason, result,effects and which has aimed to detect their effects on textile and ready-madeclothing sector. It has been realised that textile and ready-made clothing sectorthat is the locomotive sector of export of Turkey is the premier sector of thesectors those are being affected initially and directly from the negativedevelopments inTurkish economy. NATIONAL ECONOMIC CRISIS ONTURKISH READY-MADE CLOTHING INDUSTRY

Assessing students' readiness towards e-learning

Science.gov (United States)

Rahim, Nasrudin Md; Yusoff, Siti Hawa Mohd; Latif, Shahida Abd

2014-07-01

The usage of e-Learning methodology has become a new attraction for potential students as shown by some higher learning institutions in Malaysia. As such, Universiti Selangor (Unisel) should be ready to embark on e-Learning teaching and learning in the near future. The purpose of the study is to gauge the readiness of Unisel's students in e-Learning environment. A sample of 110 students was chosen to participate in this study which was conducted in January 2013. This sample consisted of students from various levels of study that are foundation, diploma and degree program. Using a structured questionnaire, respondents were assessed on their basic Internet skills, access to technology required for e-Learning and their attitude towards characteristics of successful e-Learning student based on study habits, abilities, motivation and time management behaviour. The result showed that respondents did have access to technology that are required for e-Learning environment, and respondents were knowledgeable regarding the basic Internet skills. The finding also showed that respondents' attitude did meet all characteristics of successful e-Learning student. Further analysis showed that there is no significant relationshipeither among gender, level of study or faculty with those characteristics. As a conclusion, the study shows that current Unisel's students are ready to participate in e-Learning environment if the institution decided to embark on e-Learning methodology.

Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Using Laptop Computers in Higher Education Classrooms: A Formative Analysis

OpenAIRE

Robin H. Kay; Sharon Lauricella

2011-01-01

Because of decreased prices, increased convenience, and wireless access, an increasing number of college and university students are using laptop computers in their classrooms. This recent trend has forced instructors to address the educational consequences of using these mobile devices. The purpose of the current study was to analyze and assess beneficial and challenging laptop behaviours in higher education classrooms. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 177 undergrad...

Readying Health Services for Climate Change: A Policy Framework for Regional Development

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Climate change presents the biggest threat to human health in the 21st century. However, many public health leaders feel ill equipped to face the challenges of climate change and have been unable to make climate change a priority in service development. I explore how to achieve a regionally responsive whole-of-systems approach to climate change in the key operational areas of a health service: service governance and culture, service delivery, workforce development, asset management, and financing. The relative neglect of implementation science means that policymakers need to be proactive about sourcing and developing models and processes to make health services ready for climate change. Health research funding agencies should urgently prioritize applied, regionally responsive health services research for a future of climate change. PMID:21421953

Readying health services for climate change: a policy framework for regional development.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Erica

2011-05-01

Climate change presents the biggest threat to human health in the 21st century. However, many public health leaders feel ill equipped to face the challenges of climate change and have been unable to make climate change a priority in service development. I explore how to achieve a regionally responsive whole-of-systems approach to climate change in the key operational areas of a health service: service governance and culture, service delivery, workforce development, asset management, and financing. The relative neglect of implementation science means that policymakers need to be proactive about sourcing and developing models and processes to make health services ready for climate change. Health research funding agencies should urgently prioritize applied, regionally responsive health services research for a future of climate change.

Workplace Readiness for Communicating Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Muir, Clive

1996-01-01

Proposes a model for communicating change about diversity using a workplace-readiness approach. Discusses ways organizational change agents can assess the company's current interpersonal and social dynamics, use appropriate influence strategies, and create effective messages that will appeal to employees and help to achieve the desired acceptance…

Critical services in the LHC computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sciaba, A

2010-01-01

The LHC experiments (ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb) rely for the data acquisition, processing, distribution, analysis and simulation on complex computing systems, running using a variety of services, provided by the experiments, the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid and the different computing centres. These services range from the most basic (network, batch systems, file systems) to the mass storage services or the Grid information system, up to the different workload management systems, data catalogues and data transfer tools, often internally developed in the collaborations. In this contribution we review the status of the services most critical to the experiments by quantitatively measuring their readiness with respect to the start of the LHC operations. Shortcomings are identified and common recommendations are offered.

Big data business models: Challenges and opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralph Schroeder

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper, based on 28 interviews from a range of business leaders and practitioners, examines the current state of big data use in business, as well as the main opportunities and challenges presented by big data. It begins with an account of the current landscape and what is meant by big data. Next, it draws distinctions between the ways organisations use data and provides a taxonomy of big data business models. We observe a variety of different business models, depending not only on sector, but also on whether the main advantages derive from analytics capabilities or from having ready access to valuable data sources. Some major challenges emerge from this account, including data quality and protectiveness about sharing data. The conclusion discusses these challenges, and points to the tensions and differing perceptions about how data should be governed as between business practitioners, the promoters of open data, and the wider public.

Manpower Management: No Tiered Readiness - Enabling The Nation’s Force in Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-09

readiness. The calculus of effectively pulling resources from the DEP must be driven from the FORCESYNCH, but align to institutional plans. The...physically qualified (medical, dental , panorex) 2,D, D,H,Q Pregnancy (after determination by proper authority) N Postpartum (up to six...months after delivery) Dental Class 3 or 4 Physical Evaluation Board determination R E ADMINISTRATIVE End of active

Computational simulation of concurrent engineering for aerospace propulsion systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chamis, C. C.; Singhal, S. N.

1992-01-01

Results are summarized of an investigation to assess the infrastructure available and the technology readiness in order to develop computational simulation methods/software for concurrent engineering. These results demonstrate that development of computational simulations methods for concurrent engineering is timely. Extensive infrastructure, in terms of multi-discipline simulation, component-specific simulation, system simulators, fabrication process simulation, and simulation of uncertainties - fundamental in developing such methods, is available. An approach is recommended which can be used to develop computational simulation methods for concurrent engineering for propulsion systems and systems in general. Benefits and facets needing early attention in the development are outlined.

Computational simulation for concurrent engineering of aerospace propulsion systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chamis, C. C.; Singhal, S. N.

1993-01-01

Results are summarized for an investigation to assess the infrastructure available and the technology readiness in order to develop computational simulation methods/software for concurrent engineering. These results demonstrate that development of computational simulation methods for concurrent engineering is timely. Extensive infrastructure, in terms of multi-discipline simulation, component-specific simulation, system simulators, fabrication process simulation, and simulation of uncertainties--fundamental to develop such methods, is available. An approach is recommended which can be used to develop computational simulation methods for concurrent engineering of propulsion systems and systems in general. Benefits and issues needing early attention in the development are outlined.

Challenges and opportunities of modeling plasma–surface interactions in tungsten using high-performance computing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wirth, Brian D., E-mail: bdwirth@utk.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Hammond, K.D. [Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Krasheninnikov, S.I. [University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Maroudas, D. [University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003 (United States)

2015-08-15

The performance of plasma facing components (PFCs) is critical for ITER and future magnetic fusion reactors. The ITER divertor will be tungsten, which is the primary candidate material for future reactors. Recent experiments involving tungsten exposure to low-energy helium plasmas reveal significant surface modification, including the growth of nanometer-scale tendrils of “fuzz” and formation of nanometer-sized bubbles in the near-surface region. The large span of spatial and temporal scales governing plasma surface interactions are among the challenges to modeling divertor performance. Fortunately, recent innovations in computational modeling, increasingly powerful high-performance computers, and improved experimental characterization tools provide a path toward self-consistent, experimentally validated models of PFC and divertor performance. Recent advances in understanding tungsten–helium interactions are reviewed, including such processes as helium clustering, which serve as nuclei for gas bubbles; and trap mutation, dislocation loop punching and bubble bursting; which together initiate surface morphological modification.

Challenges and opportunities of modeling plasma–surface interactions in tungsten using high-performance computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wirth, Brian D.; Hammond, K.D.; Krasheninnikov, S.I.; Maroudas, D.

2015-01-01

The performance of plasma facing components (PFCs) is critical for ITER and future magnetic fusion reactors. The ITER divertor will be tungsten, which is the primary candidate material for future reactors. Recent experiments involving tungsten exposure to low-energy helium plasmas reveal significant surface modification, including the growth of nanometer-scale tendrils of “fuzz” and formation of nanometer-sized bubbles in the near-surface region. The large span of spatial and temporal scales governing plasma surface interactions are among the challenges to modeling divertor performance. Fortunately, recent innovations in computational modeling, increasingly powerful high-performance computers, and improved experimental characterization tools provide a path toward self-consistent, experimentally validated models of PFC and divertor performance. Recent advances in understanding tungsten–helium interactions are reviewed, including such processes as helium clustering, which serve as nuclei for gas bubbles; and trap mutation, dislocation loop punching and bubble bursting; which together initiate surface morphological modification

Ready, set, stop: mismatch between self-care beliefs, transition readiness skills, and transition planning among adolescents, young adults, and parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawicki, Gregory S; Kelemen, Skyler; Weitzman, Elissa R

2014-10-01

Health care transition (HCT) from pediatric to adult-focused systems is a key milestone for youth. Developing self-care skills and HCT planning are key elements. In a survey at 4 pediatric specialty clinics to 79 youth aged 16 to 25 years and 52 parents, skill-based HCT readiness was assessed using the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ). Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the association between TRAQ scores and self-care beliefs. In all, 70% of youth and 67% of parents believed that they/their child could manage their care. Only 38% of youth and 53% of parents reported thinking about HCT; only 18% of youth and 27% of parents reported having a HCT plan. Youth with higher TRAQ scores were more likely to believe they could manage their care, controlling for age and gender (adjusted odds ratio = 4.0, 95% confidence interval = 1.7-9.5). Transition readiness skills are associated with self-care beliefs. However, a mismatch exists between high reported self-care beliefs and low levels of transition planning. © The Author(s) 2014.

Can NATO's new Very High Readiness Joint Task Force deter?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rynning, Sten; Ringsmose, Jens

2017-01-01

” a distinct strategic rival – Russia. Chief among the Welsh summit initiatives was the decision to set up a new multinational spearhead force – the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) – as part of an enhanced NATO Response Force (NRF) and within the framework of a so-called Readiness Action Plan (RAP...

COMPUTING

CERN Multimedia

P. MacBride

The Computing Software and Analysis Challenge CSA07 has been the main focus of the Computing Project for the past few months. Activities began over the summer with the preparation of the Monte Carlo data sets for the challenge and tests of the new production system at the Tier-0 at CERN. The pre-challenge Monte Carlo production was done in several steps: physics generation, detector simulation, digitization, conversion to RAW format and the samples were run through the High Level Trigger (HLT). The data was then merged into three "Soups": Chowder (ALPGEN), Stew (Filtered Pythia) and Gumbo (Pythia). The challenge officially started when the first Chowder events were reconstructed on the Tier-0 on October 3rd. The data operations teams were very busy during the the challenge period. The MC production teams continued with signal production and processing while the Tier-0 and Tier-1 teams worked on splitting the Soups into Primary Data Sets (PDS), reconstruction and skimming. The storage sys...

Many States unprepared for 'Y2K' computer woes.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-12-25

Most computer systems that States use to process health benefits are not Y2K compliant, which could jeopardize Medicaid application processing. This could cause recipients to lose benefits or experience delays in payments. Only seven states have reported that their systems are ready for the year 2000. Contact information is provided.

READINESS OF MILITARY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR TACTICAL TASKS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolai Alekseevich Seredkin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Background. The purpose of this article is to reveal the features and analyze the studies of the interpretation of the concept of “readiness”, to formulate the definition of the concept of “the future officer’s willingness to solve tactical problems,” to describe the components and its main components. Methods. The methodological basis for researching the problem of the future officers’ readiness for solving tactical tasks is the personal and activity approach. Relying on them, the author reveals the essence of the definition of readiness and a description of its components. Results. The results of the article are the readiness of the cadet for professional work and we consider it as an integrated education formed in the process of professional training, ensuring the performance of their service and job functions, the successful solution of the service-combat tasks of professional activity. It includes a system of personality qualities of the future officer, characterized by a positive attitude towards professional activity, the presence of an adequate holistic view of it, the possession of ways to solve professional problems, the perception of oneself as a subject of one’s own activity. Reflexive attitude to one’s own activity is one of the most important conditions for its deep comprehension, critical analysis and constructive improvement. Conclusion. The definition of the concept of the cadet’s readiness for the solution of tactical tasks and its components is the theoretical basis for improving the process of professional training in a military high school. The components of readiness and its indicators set the teacher of the military higher educational institution a vector of practical activities for its formation.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the Financial Sector: Are Financial Cooperatives Ready to the Challenge?

OpenAIRE

Élias Rizkallah; Inmaculada Buendía Martínez

2011-01-01

After the crash of financial institutions and the negative effects of the financial crisis, financial service cooperatives (FSCs) emerged as good performer compared to commercial banks. But this condition will not be enough to face the challenges that the new financial panorama will bring on the banking arena. Among them, challenges related to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) sphere will play a special role. In Canada, the financial regulatory framework forces some federal institutio...

Psychometric evaluation of the Work Readiness Questionnaire in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Potkin, Steven G; Bugarski-Kirola, Dragana; Edgar, Chris J; Soliman, Sherif; Le Scouiller, Stephanie; Kunovac, Jelena; Miguel Velasco, Eugenio; Garibaldi, George M

2016-04-01

Unemployment can negatively impact quality of life among patients with schizophrenia. Employment status depends on ability, opportunity, education, and cultural influences. A clinician-rated scale of work readiness, independent of current work status, can be a valuable assessment tool. A series of studies were conducted to create and validate a Work Readiness Questionnaire (WoRQ) for clinicians to assess patient ability to engage in socially useful activity, independent of work availability. Content validity, test-retest and inter-rater reliability, and construct validity were evaluated in three separate studies. Content validity was supported. Cronbach's α was 0.91, in the excellent range. Clinicians endorsed WoRQ concepts, including treatment adherence, physical appearance, social competence, and symptom control. The final readiness decision showed good test-retest reliability and moderate inter-rater reliability. Work readiness was associated with higher function and lower levels of negative symptoms. Low positive and high negative predictive values confirmed the concept validity. The WoRQ has suitable psychometric properties for use in a clinical trial for patients with a broad range of symptom severity. The scale may be applicable to assess therapeutic interventions. It is not intended to assess eligibility for supported work interventions. The WoRQ is suitable for use in schizophrenia clinical trials to assess patient work functional potential.

The Effects of Ready to Use Bibliometric Indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wildgaard, Lorna Elizabeth

2014-01-01

‘Ready to use’ bibliometric indicators are being used by end users as never before. Administrators and evaluators for assessment purposes, whereas researchers add indicators to their CV in a competitive move to show visibility in the academic community. ‘Ready to use’ indicators are important...... as they provide researchers with the opportunity to evaluate the effect of their own published works before being evaluated by others. The numerical values of these indicators have personal significance to the individual as they can be interpreted as criteria of success or failure, therefore the bibliometric...

AGR-5/6/7 LEUCO Kernel Fabrication Readiness Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marshall, Douglas W. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States). Fuel Design and Development; Bailey, Kirk W. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States). ART Quality Assurance Engineer

2015-02-01

In preparation for forming low-enriched uranium carbide/oxide (LEUCO) fuel kernels for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) fuel development and qualification program, Idaho National Laboratory conducted an operational readiness review of the Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group – Lynchburg (B&W NOG-L) procedures, processes, and equipment from January 14 – January 16, 2015. The readiness review focused on requirements taken from the American Society Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nuclear Quality Assurance Standard (NQA-1-2008, 1a-2009), a recent occurrence at the B&W NOG-L facility related to preparation of acid-deficient uranyl nitrate solution (ADUN), and a relook at concerns noted in a previous review. Topic areas open for the review were communicated to B&W NOG-L in advance of the on-site visit to facilitate the collection of objective evidences attesting to the state of readiness.

Computer and internet use in vascular outpatients--ready for interactive applications?