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Sample records for demonstrated excellent agreement

  1. A microsoft excel(®) 2010 based tool for calculating interobserver agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Derek D; Azulay, Richard L

    2011-01-01

    This technical report provides detailed information on the rationale for using a common computer spreadsheet program (Microsoft Excel(®)) to calculate various forms of interobserver agreement for both continuous and discontinuous data sets. In addition, we provide a brief tutorial on how to use an Excel spreadsheet to automatically compute traditional total count, partial agreement-within-intervals, exact agreement, trial-by-trial, interval-by-interval, scored-interval, unscored-interval, total duration, and mean duration-per-interval interobserver agreement algorithms. We conclude with a discussion of how practitioners may integrate this tool into their clinical work.

  2. A Microsoft Excel® 2010 Based Tool for Calculating Interobserver Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azulay, Richard L

    2011-01-01

    This technical report provides detailed information on the rationale for using a common computer spreadsheet program (Microsoft Excel®) to calculate various forms of interobserver agreement for both continuous and discontinuous data sets. In addition, we provide a brief tutorial on how to use an Excel spreadsheet to automatically compute traditional total count, partial agreement-within-intervals, exact agreement, trial-by-trial, interval-by-interval, scored-interval, unscored-interval, total duration, and mean duration-per-interval interobserver agreement algorithms. We conclude with a discussion of how practitioners may integrate this tool into their clinical work. PMID:22649578

  3. Urban Partnership Agreement and Congestion Reduction Demonstration : National Evaluation Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-11-21

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

  4. Rater agreement in lung scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christiansen, F.; Andersson, T.; Rydman, H.; Qvarner, N.; Maare, K.

    1996-01-01

    Purpose: The PIOPED criteria in their original and revised forms are today's standards in the interpretation of ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy. When the PIOPED criteria are used by experienced raters with training in consensus interpretation, the agreement rates have been demonstrated to be excellent. Our purpose was to investigate the rates of agreement between 2 experienced raters from different hospitals who had no training in consensus interpretation. Material and Methods: The 2 raters investigated a population of 195 patients. This group included 72 patients from a previous study who had an intermediate probability of pulmonary embolism and who had also been examined by pulmonary angiography. Results: The results demonstrated moderate agreement rates with a kappa value of 0.54 (0.45-0.63 in a 95% confidence interval), which is similar to the kappa value of the PIOPED study but significantly lower than the kappa values of agreement rates among consensus-trained raters. There was a low consistency in the intermediate probability category, with a proportional agreement rate of 0.39 between the experienced raters. Conclusion: The moderate agreement rates between raters from different hospitals make it difficult to compare study populations of a certain scintigraphic category in different hospitals. Further investigations are mandatory for accurate diagnosis when the scintigrams are in the category of intermediate probability of pulmonary embolism. (orig.)

  5. Excel 2013 formulas

    CERN Document Server

    Walkenbach, John

    2013-01-01

    Maximize the power of Excel 2013 formulas with this must-have Excel reference John Walkenbach, known as ""Mr. Spreadsheet,"" is a master at deciphering complex technical topics and Excel formulas are no exception. This fully updated book delivers more than 800 pages of Excel 2013 tips, tricks, and techniques for creating formulas that calculate, developing custom worksheet functions with VBA, debugging formulas, and much more. Demonstrates how to use all the latest features in Excel 2013 Shows how to create financial formulas and tap into the power of array formulas

  6. Coronary artery disease reporting and data system (CAD-RADSTM): Inter-observer agreement for assessment categories and modifiers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maroules, Christopher D; Hamilton-Craig, Christian; Branch, Kelley; Lee, James; Cury, Roberto C; Maurovich-Horvat, Pál; Rubinshtein, Ronen; Thomas, Dustin; Williams, Michelle; Guo, Yanshu; Cury, Ricardo C

    The Coronary Artery Disease Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS) provides a lexicon and standardized reporting system for coronary CT angiography. To evaluate inter-observer agreement of the CAD-RADS among an panel of early career and expert readers. Four early career and four expert cardiac imaging readers prospectively and independently evaluated 50 coronary CT angiography cases using the CAD-RADS lexicon. All readers assessed image quality using a five-point Likert scale, with mean Likert score ≥4 designating high image quality, and CAD-RADS assessment categories and modifiers were assessed using intra-class correlation (ICC) and Fleiss' Kappa (κ).The impact of reader experience and image quality on inter-observer agreement was also examined. Inter-observer agreement for CAD-RADS assessment categories was excellent (ICC 0.958, 95% CI 0.938-0.974, p CAD-RADS assessment categories and modifiers is excellent, except for high-risk plaque (modifier V) which demonstrates fair agreement. These results suggest CAD-RADS is feasible for clinical implementation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  7. Excel VBA 24-hour trainer

    CERN Document Server

    Urtis, Tom

    2015-01-01

    Master VBA automation quickly and easily to get more out of Excel Excel VBA 24-Hour Trainer, 2nd Edition is the quick-start guide to getting more out of Excel, using Visual Basic for Applications. This unique book/video package has been updated with fifteen new advanced video lessons, providing a total of eleven hours of video training and 45 total lessons to teach you the basics and beyond. This self-paced tutorial explains Excel VBA from the ground up, demonstrating with each advancing lesson how you can increase your productivity. Clear, concise, step-by-step instructions are combined wit

  8. 78 FR 35649 - Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-13

    ... whether the 2013 Agreement (1) Improves the net financial position of the Postal Service or enhances the... CFR 3015.5 (filed under seal); a public Excel file containing redacted versions of financial...

  9. Teaching, in Spite of Excellence: Recovering a Practice of Teaching-Led Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles, Matthew

    2018-01-01

    Although, as a result of the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework, the principle of teaching excellence is receiving renewed attention in English higher education, the idea has been left largely undefined. The cynic might argue, in agreement with Bill Readings, that this lack of a precise definition is deliberate, since teaching…

  10. Final report for the Department of Energy funded cooperative agreement ''Electronic Research Demonstration Project'' [University electronic research administration demonstration project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodman, John

    1998-07-31

    This is the final report for the Department of Energy (DOE) funded cooperative agreement ''Electronic Research Demonstration Project (DE-FC02-92ER35180)'' for the period August 1994-July 1998. The goal of the project, referred to as NewERA, was to demonstrate the use of open standards for electronic commerce to support research administration, otherwise referred to as Electronic Research Administration (ERA). The NewERA demonstration project provided a means to test interagency standards developed within the Federal Grant Electronic Commerce Committee, a group comprised of federal granting agencies. The NewERA program was initiated by DOE. NewERA was comprised of three separate, but related, ERA activities in preaward administration, postaward administration, and secure Internet commerce. The goal of New ERA was to demonstrate an open standard implementation of ERA using electronic data interchange, e-mail and Internet transaction security between grant applicants and DOE, along with t h e other participating agencies.

  11. The Pfirrmann classification of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration: an independent inter- and intra-observer agreement assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urrutia, Julio; Besa, Pablo; Campos, Mauricio; Cikutovic, Pablo; Cabezon, Mario; Molina, Marcelo; Cruz, Juan Pablo

    2016-09-01

    Grading inter-vertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is important in the evaluation of many degenerative conditions, including patients with low back pain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered the best imaging instrument to evaluate IDD. The Pfirrmann classification is commonly used to grade IDD; the authors describing this classification showed an adequate agreement using it; however, there has been a paucity of independent agreement studies using this grading system. The aim of this study was to perform an independent inter- and intra-observer agreement study using the Pfirrmann classification. T2-weighted sagittal images of 79 patients consecutively studied with lumbar spine MRI were classified using the Pfirrmann grading system by six evaluators (three spine surgeons and three radiologists). After a 6-week interval, the 79 cases were presented to the same evaluators in a random sequence for repeat evaluation. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and the weighted kappa (wκ) were used to determine the inter- and intra-observer agreement. The inter-observer agreement was excellent, with an ICC = 0.94 (0.93-0.95) and wκ = 0.83 (0.74-0.91). There were no differences between spine surgeons and radiologists. Likewise, there were no differences in agreement evaluating the different lumbar discs. Most differences among observers were only of one grade. Intra-observer agreement was also excellent with ICC = 0.86 (0.83-0.89) and wκ = 0.89 (0.85-0.93). In this independent study, the Pfirrmann classification demonstrated an adequate agreement among different observers and by the same observer on separate occasions. Furthermore, it allows communication between radiologists and spine surgeons.

  12. Excel Initiative: Excellence in Youth Programming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lynne M. Borden

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The Excellence in Youth Programming (Excel Initiative strives to support youth programs in delivering high quality programs. The backbone of Excel is the Youth Development Observational Tool (YDOT which allows for the virtual assessment of program staff who work with children and youth ages 9-18 years. The YDOT also allows Excel to provide structured feedback to programs. Excel has several unique features, including a virtual platform and a focus on the relationships between adults and youth participating in after-school programs. Offering structured assessment and interaction online eliminates expenses, provides convenient access for programs around the globe, and allows for unobtrusive assessment of worker-youth interactions. Excel is also integrated into a broader network of resources, tools, and research for those working with children and youth ages 9-18.

  13. Radiologist agreement on the quantification of bronchiectasis by high-resolution computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brito, Milene Carneiro Barbosa de, E-mail: milenebrito7@gmail.com [Clinica da Imagem do Tocantins, Araguaia, TO (Brazil); Ota, Mauricio Kenji [Fundacao Instituto de Pesquisa e Estudos de Diagnostico por Imagem (FIDI), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Leitao Filho, Fernando Sergio Studart [Universidade de Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Fortaleza, CE (Brazil); Meirelles, Gustavo de Souza Portes [Grupo Fleury, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2017-01-15

    Objective: To evaluate radiologist agreement on the quantification of bronchiectasis by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Materials and Methods: The HRCT scans of 43 patients with bronchiectasis were analyzed by two radiologists, who used a scoring system to grade the findings. Kappa (κ) values and overall agreement were calculated. Results: For the measurement and appearance of bronchiectasis, the interobserver agreement was moderate (κ = 0.45 and κ = 0.43, respectively), as was the intraobserver agreement (κ = 0.54 and κ = 0.47, respectively). Agreement on the presence of mucous plugging was fair, for central distribution (overall interobserver agreement of 68.3% and κ = 0.39 for intraobserver agreement) and for peripheral distribution (κ = 0.34 and κ = 0.35 for interobserver and intraobserver agreement, respectively). The agreement was also fair for peri bronchial thickening (κ = 0.21 and κ = 0.30 for interobserver and intraobserver agreement, respectively). There was fair interobserver and intraobserver agreement on the detection of opacities (κ = 0.39 and 71.9%, respectively), ground-glass attenuation (64.3% and κ = 0.24, respectively), and cysts/bullae (κ = 0.47 and κ = 0.44, respectively). Qualitative analysis of the HRCT findings of bronchiectasis and the resulting individual patient scores showed that there was an excellent correlation between the observers (intra class correlation coefficient of 0.85 and 0.81 for interobserver and intraobserver agreement, respectively). Conclusion: In the interpretation of HRCT findings of bronchiectasis, radiologist agreement appears to be fair. In our final analysis of the findings using the proposed score, we observed excellent interobserver and intraobserver agreement. (author)

  14. Radiologist agreement on the quantification of bronchiectasis by high-resolution computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brito, Milene Carneiro Barbosa de; Ota, Mauricio Kenji; Leitao Filho, Fernando Sergio Studart; Meirelles, Gustavo de Souza Portes

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate radiologist agreement on the quantification of bronchiectasis by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Materials and Methods: The HRCT scans of 43 patients with bronchiectasis were analyzed by two radiologists, who used a scoring system to grade the findings. Kappa (κ) values and overall agreement were calculated. Results: For the measurement and appearance of bronchiectasis, the interobserver agreement was moderate (κ = 0.45 and κ = 0.43, respectively), as was the intraobserver agreement (κ = 0.54 and κ = 0.47, respectively). Agreement on the presence of mucous plugging was fair, for central distribution (overall interobserver agreement of 68.3% and κ = 0.39 for intraobserver agreement) and for peripheral distribution (κ = 0.34 and κ = 0.35 for interobserver and intraobserver agreement, respectively). The agreement was also fair for peri bronchial thickening (κ = 0.21 and κ = 0.30 for interobserver and intraobserver agreement, respectively). There was fair interobserver and intraobserver agreement on the detection of opacities (κ = 0.39 and 71.9%, respectively), ground-glass attenuation (64.3% and κ = 0.24, respectively), and cysts/bullae (κ = 0.47 and κ = 0.44, respectively). Qualitative analysis of the HRCT findings of bronchiectasis and the resulting individual patient scores showed that there was an excellent correlation between the observers (intra class correlation coefficient of 0.85 and 0.81 for interobserver and intraobserver agreement, respectively). Conclusion: In the interpretation of HRCT findings of bronchiectasis, radiologist agreement appears to be fair. In our final analysis of the findings using the proposed score, we observed excellent interobserver and intraobserver agreement. (author)

  15. 75 FR 11561 - Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement-Training for Executive Excellence: Leadership Style and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-11

    ...--Training for Executive Excellence: Leadership Style and Instrumentation Curriculum Development AGENCY... leadership styles through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; An emotional intelligence and leadership profile...' ``Correctional Leadership Competencies for the 21st Century'' for the executive level. It is expected that the...

  16. BENCHMARKING WORKSHOPS AS A TOOL TO RAISE BUSINESS EXCELLENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milos Jelic

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Annual competition for national award for business excellence appears to be a good opportunity for participating organizations to demonstrate their practices particularly those ones which enable them to excel. National quality award competition in Serbia (and Montenegro, namely "OSKAR KVALITETA" started in 1995 but was limited to competition cycle only. However, upon establishing Fund for Quality Culture and Excellence - FQCE in 2002, which took over OSKAR KVALITETA model, several changes took place. OSKAR KVALITETA turned to be annual competition in business excellence, but at the same time FQCE started to offer much wider portfolio of its services including levels of excellence programs, assessment and self-assessment training courses and benchmarking workshops. These benchmarking events have hosted by Award winners or other laureates in OSKAR KVALITETA competition who demonstrated excellence in regard of some particular criteria thus being in position to share their practice with other organizations. For six years experience in organizing benchmarking workshops FQCE scored 31 workshops covering major part of model issues. Increasing level of participation on the workshops and distinct positive trends of participants expressed satisfaction may serve as a reliable indicator that the workshops have been effective in actuating people to think and move in business excellence direction.

  17. Urban partnership agreement and congestion reduction demonstration programs : lessons learned on congestion pricing from the Seattle and Atlanta household travel behavior surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-01

    This paper presents lessons learned from household traveler surveys administered in Seattle and Atlanta as part of the evaluation of the Urban Partnership Agreement and Congestion Reduction Demonstration Programs. The surveys use a two-stage panel su...

  18. Inter-observer agreement for abdominal CT in unselected patients with acute abdominal pain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Randen, Adrienne van; Lameris, Wytze; Nio, C.Y.; Spijkerboer, Anje M.; Meier, Mark A.; Tutein Nolthenius, Charlotte; Smithuis, Frank; Stoker, Jaap; Bossuyt, Patrick M.; Boermeester, Marja A.

    2009-01-01

    The level of inter-observer agreement of abdominal computed tomography (CT) in unselected patients presenting with acute abdominal pain at the Emergency Department (ED) was evaluated. Two hundred consecutive patients with acute abdominal pain were prospectively included. Multi-slice CT was performed in all patients with intravenous contrast medium only. Three radiologists independently read all CT examinations. They recorded specific radiological features and a final diagnosis on a case record form. We calculated the proportion of agreement and kappa values, for overall, urgent and frequently occurring diagnoses. The mean age of the evaluated patients was 46 years (range 19-94), of which 54% were women. Overall agreement on diagnoses was good, with a median kappa of 0.66. Kappa values for specific urgent diagnoses were excellent, with median kappa values of 0.84, 0.90 and 0.81, for appendicitis, diverticulitis and bowel obstruction, respectively. Abdominal CT has good inter-observer agreement in unselected patients with acute abdominal pain at the ED, with excellent agreement for specific urgent diagnoses as diverticulitis and appendicitis. (orig.)

  19. Inter-observer agreement for abdominal CT in unselected patients with acute abdominal pain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Randen, Adrienne van [University of Amsterdam, Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); University of Amsterdam, Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Lameris, Wytze [University of Amsterdam, Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); University of Amsterdam, Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Nio, C.Y.; Spijkerboer, Anje M.; Meier, Mark A.; Tutein Nolthenius, Charlotte; Smithuis, Frank; Stoker, Jaap [University of Amsterdam, Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Bossuyt, Patrick M. [University of Amsterdam, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Boermeester, Marja A. [University of Amsterdam, Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2009-06-15

    The level of inter-observer agreement of abdominal computed tomography (CT) in unselected patients presenting with acute abdominal pain at the Emergency Department (ED) was evaluated. Two hundred consecutive patients with acute abdominal pain were prospectively included. Multi-slice CT was performed in all patients with intravenous contrast medium only. Three radiologists independently read all CT examinations. They recorded specific radiological features and a final diagnosis on a case record form. We calculated the proportion of agreement and kappa values, for overall, urgent and frequently occurring diagnoses. The mean age of the evaluated patients was 46 years (range 19-94), of which 54% were women. Overall agreement on diagnoses was good, with a median kappa of 0.66. Kappa values for specific urgent diagnoses were excellent, with median kappa values of 0.84, 0.90 and 0.81, for appendicitis, diverticulitis and bowel obstruction, respectively. Abdominal CT has good inter-observer agreement in unselected patients with acute abdominal pain at the ED, with excellent agreement for specific urgent diagnoses as diverticulitis and appendicitis. (orig.)

  20. Diagnostic sensitivity and interobserver agreement of radiography and ultrasonography for detecting trochlear ridge osteochondrosis lesions in the equine stifle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beccati, Francesca; Chalmers, Heather J; Dante, Sara; Lotto, Eleonora; Pepe, Marco

    2013-01-01

    Osteochondrosis lesions commonly occur on the femoral trochlear ridges in horses and radiography and ultrasonography are routinely used to diagnose these lesions. However, poor correlation has been found between radiographic and arthroscopic findings of affected trochlear ridges. Interobserver agreement for ultrasonographic diagnoses and correlation between ultrasonographic and arthroscopic findings have not been previously described. Objectives of this study were to describe diagnostic sensitivity and interobserver agreement of radiography and ultrasonography for detecting and grading osteochondrosis lesions of the equine trochlear ridges, using arthroscopy as the reference standard. Twenty-two horses were sampled. Two observers independently recorded radiographic and ultrasonographic findings without knowledge of arthroscopic findings. Imaging findings were compared between observers and with arthroscopic findings. Agreement between observers was moderate to excellent (κ 0.48-0.86) for detecting lesions using radiography and good to excellent (κ 0.74-0.87) for grading lesions using radiography. Agreement between observers was good to excellent (κ 0.78-0.94) for detecting lesions using ultrasonography and very good to excellent (κ 0.86-0.93) for grading lesions using ultrasonography. Diagnostic sensitivity was 84-88% for radiography and 100% for ultrasonography. Diagnostic specificity was 89-100% for radiography and 60-82% for ultrasonography. Agreement between radiography and arthroscopy was good (κ 0.64-0.78). Agreement between ultrasonography and arthroscopy was very good to excellent (κ 0.81-0.87). Findings from this study support ultrasound as a preferred method for predicting presence and severity of osteochondrosis lesions involving the femoral trochlear ridges in horses. © 2012 Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound.

  1. Agreement between questionnaire and medical records on some health and socioeconomic problems among poisoning cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fathelrahman Ahmed I

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the agreement between questionnaire and medical records on some health and socioeconomic problems among poisoning cases. Methods Cross-sectional sample of 100 poisoning cases consecutively admitted to the Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia during the period from September 2003 to February 2004 were studied. Data on health and socioeconomic problems were collected both by self-administered questionnaire and from medical records. Agreement between the two sets of data was assessed by calculating the concordance rate, Kappa (k and PABAK. McNemar statistic was used to test differences between categories. Results Data collected by questionnaire and medical records showed excellent agreement on the "marital status"; good agreements on "chronic illness", "psychiatric illness", and "previous history of poisoning"; and fair agreements on "at least one health problem", and "boy-girl friends problem". PABAK values suggest better agreements' measures. Conclusion There were excellent to good agreements between questionnaire and medical records on the marital status and most of the health problems and fair to poor agreements on the majority of socioeconomic problems. The implications of those findings were discussed.

  2. Calibration of gamma cell 220 excel irradiator using Fricke and alanine dosimeters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rushdi, M. A. H.

    2006-06-01

    Using of gamma cell 220 excel irradiators is widely spread in many countries. This type of irradiators is being used for research purposes. Gamma cell 220 excel was provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the radiation processing laboratory of Sudan Atomic Energy Commission (SAEC). It is a self-contained gamma irradiator and self shielded, this makes it operates safely. Dose calibration for this cell is important for samples irradiation. In this work, a dosimetry system for the GC220E of SAEC was established using Fricke dosimeter. Fricke dosimeter has a confidence 95% in the rang not exceed 400 Gy. To establish routine dosimetry at high doses up to 5000 Gy, alanine dosimeter was used. This range can demonstrate the ability of GC220E to deliver known controllable doses in reproducible manner for high doses. The irradiation specifications often include a lower and upper limit of absorbed dose or central target dose. Absorbed dose mapping was carried out by both dosimeters to determine the magnitude and locations of D.max and D.min in the irradiation chamber. The results are in good agreement with dose distribution given in the machine manual. A comparison between the tow dosimeters was done and explained.(Author)

  3. Confirmatory factor analysis using Microsoft Excel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Jeremy N V

    2005-11-01

    This article presents a method for using Microsoft (MS) Excel for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CFA is often seen as an impenetrable technique, and thus, when it is taught, there is frequently little explanation of the mechanisms or underlying calculations. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that this is not the case; it is relatively straightforward to produce a spreadsheet in MS Excel that can carry out simple CFA. It is possible, with few or no programming skills, to effectively program a CFA analysis and, thus, to gain insight into the workings of the procedure.

  4. Agreement between children and parents demonstrated that illness-related absenteeism was validly reported by children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Denbæk, Anne Maj; Bonnesen, Camilla Thørring; Andersen, Anette

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: To examine the agreement between children's and parents' reporting of illness-related absenteeism from school and to examine predictors for disagreement between children and parents. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A total of 8,438 schoolchildren aged from 5 to 15 years (grade 0-8) and one...... of 22 weeks. Text messages and questionnaire data were linked at the individual level, leaving 2,269 child-parent pairs in the analysis, corresponding to 27% of the eligible sample. RESULTS: The agreement between children's and parents' reports of illness-related absenteeism was good, with high absolute...... agreement and slight to moderate Ƙ values. Agreement was lowest for 6- to 8-year-olds and highest for 11- to 12-year-olds. Children's reports of illness symptoms and parents' reports of their children's illnesses in the preceding week were strong predictors for children reporting illness-related absenteeism...

  5. China and CERN renew their Co-operation Agreement

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    Dr. Liu Yanhua, Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology, and Dr. Robert Aymar, Director-General of CERN, sign a new Co-operation Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and CERN. During his visit to CERN on 17 February, Liu Yanhua, Vice Minister of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, signed a new Co-operation Agreement with the Laboratory. The Agreement, which is valid for a period of five years and renewable, lays down the framework for the development of scientific and technological co-operation between CERN and China. This includes China's participation, as a non-Member State, in CERN's research projects as well as its main programmes. Robert Aymar and Liu Yanhua underlined that this Agreement will provide an excellent framework for close co-operation on the LHC Programme and Grid and accelerator technologies. Scientific co-operation between China and CERN is nothing new, as Chinese physicists already took part in the LEP experiments. Today, CERN's C...

  6. Texas Tech & University of Arizona Win APPA's 2013 Award for Excellence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clendenning, Joanie; Kopach, Christopher M.

    2013-01-01

    APPA's highest institutional honor, the "Award for Excellence in Facilities Management (AFE)," recognizes those educational institutions whose facilities management organizations demonstrate quality in overall operations and effectiveness. The Award for Excellence is based on a set of criteria that include: Leadership; Strategic and…

  7. Excel 2013 simplified

    CERN Document Server

    McFedries, Paul

    2013-01-01

    A friendly, visual approach to learning the basics of Excel 2013 As the world's leading spreadsheet program, Excel is a spreadsheet and data analysis tool that is part of the Microsoft Office suite. The new Excel 2013 includes new features and functionalities that require users of older versions to re-learn the application. However, whether you're switching from an earlier version or learning Excel for the first time, this easy-to-follow visual guide gets you going with Excel 2013 quickly and easily. Numbered steps as well as full-color screen shots, concise information, and helpfu

  8. Guide to the National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching (NPEAT). ERIC Digest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawley, Willis D.; Valli, Linda

    The National Partnership for Excellence in Education and Accountability in Teaching (NPEAT) helps place improvement of teaching at the center of reform efforts, addressing two problems that impede the development of systemic reforms to improve teaching quality: (1) absence of agreement about effective strategies for improving teaching among those…

  9. Excellence in the knowledge-based economy: from scientific to research excellence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Mads P.; Bloch, Carter Walter; Young, Mitchell

    2016-01-01

    In 2013, the European Union (EU) unveiled its new ‘Composite Indicator for Scientific and Technological Research Excellence’. This is not an isolated occurrence; policy-based interest in excellence is growing all over the world. The heightened focus on excellence and, in particular, attempts...... to define it through quantitative indicators can have important implications for research policy and for the conduct of research itself. This paper examines how the EU's understanding of excellence has evolved in recent years, from the presentation of the Lisbon strategy in 2000 to the current Europe 2020...... strategy. We find a distinct shift in the understanding of excellence and how success in the knowledge-based economy should be achieved: in the early period, excellence is a fuzzy concept, intrinsically embedded in research and researchers and revealed by peer review. In the later period, excellence...

  10. Demonstration of infective endocarditis by cardiac CT and transoesophageal echocardiography: comparison with intra-operative findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koo, Hyun Jung; Yang, Dong Hyun; Kang, Joon-Won; Lee, Joo Yeon; Kim, Dae-Hee; Song, Jong-Min; Kang, Duk-Hyun; Song, Jae-Kwan; Kim, Joon Bum; Jung, Sung-Ho; Choo, Suk Jung; Chung, Cheol Hyun; Lee, Jae-Won; Lim, Tae-Hwan

    2018-02-01

    We aimed to compare imaging findings of infective endocarditis between computed tomography (CT) and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) using surgical inspection as a reference standard. Forty-nine patients (aged 54 ± 17 years, 69% men) who underwent pre-operative CT and TEE for infective endocarditis were included. Twelve of these patients had prosthetic valve endocarditis. Imaging findings of infective endocarditis were classified as vegetation, leaflet perforation, abscess/pseudoaneurysm, and paravalvular leakage. Diagnostic performances of CT and TEE were evaluated using surgical inspection as a reference standard. Interobserver agreements for CT findings were obtained using Cohen's κ test. The detection rates of infective endocarditis per patient with CT and TEE were 93.9% (46/49) and 95.9% (47/49), respectively. In per-imaging analysis, the sensitivities of CT and TEE were not significantly different for both native and prosthetic valve infective endocarditis (sensitivity: vegetation, 100% in TEE and 90.9% in CT; leaflet perforation, 87.5% in TEE and 50.0% in CT; abscess/pseudoaneurysm, 40.0% in TEE and 60.0% in CT; paravalvular leakage, 100% in TEE and 50.0% in CT). Interobserver agreements for CT findings were substantial or excellent (0.79-0.88). Cardiac CT can accurately demonstrate infective endocarditis in pre-operative patients with a similar diagnostic accuracy to TEE. The interobserver agreements for the CT findings of infective endocarditis were excellent. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2017. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Evaluation of interobserver agreement in Albertoni's classification for mallet finger

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinícius Alexandre de Souza Almeida

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To measure the reliability of Albertoni's classification for mallet finger. Methods: Agreement study. Forty-three radiographs of patients with mallet finger were assessed by 19 responders (12 hand surgeons and seven residents. Injuries were classified by Albertoni's classification. For agreement comparison, lesions were grouped as: (A tendon avulsion; (B avulsion fracture; (C fracture of the dorsal lip; and (D physis injury-and subgroups (each group divided into two subgroups. Agreement was assessed by Fleiss's modification for kappa statistics. Results: Agreement was excellent for Group A (k = 0.95 (0.93-0.97 and remained good when separated into A1 and A2. Group B was moderate (k = 0.42 (0.39-0.44 and poor when separated into B1 and B2. In the Group C, agreement was good (k = 0.72 (0.70-0.74, but when separated into C1 and C2, it became moderate. Group D was always poor (k = 0.16 (0.14-0.19. The general agreement was moderate, with (k = 0.57 (0.56-0.58. Conclusion: Albertoni's classification evaluated for interobserver agreement is considered a reproducible classification by the method used in the research.

  12. Excel 2010 bible

    CERN Document Server

    Walkenbach, John

    2010-01-01

    A comprehensive reference to the newest version of the world's most popular spreadsheet application: Excel 2010 John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in computer books that decipher complex technical topics. Known as ""Mr. Spreadsheet,"" Walkenbach shows you how to maximize the power of all the new features of Excel 2010. An authoritative reference, this perennial bestseller proves itself indispensable no matter your level of skill, from Excel beginners and intermediate users to power users and potential power users everywhere. Fully updated for the new release, this

  13. Excellence in the Knowledge-Based Economy: From Scientific to Research Excellence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sørensen, Mads P.; Bloch, Carter; Young, Mitchell

    2016-01-01

    In 2013, the European Union (EU) unveiled its new "Composite Indicator for Scientific and Technological Research Excellence." This is not an isolated occurrence; policy-based interest in excellence is growing all over the world. The heightened focus on excellence and, in particular, attempts to define it through quantitative indicators…

  14. Agreement of glaucoma specialists and experienced optometrists in gonioscopy and optic disc evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Addepalli U. Kumar

    2013-10-01

    Conclusion: Agreement between optometrists and glaucoma specialists, in diagnostic performance of gonioscopy and optic assessment was excellent with high sensitivity and specificity. Hence, we conclude that the experienced optometrists can detect glaucoma accurately in the LVPEI-GLEAMS.

  15. Agreement between children and parents demonstrated that illness-related absenteeism was validly reported by children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denbæk, Anne Maj; Bonnesen, Camilla Thørring; Andersen, Anette; Holstein, Bjørn Evald; Laursen, Bjarne; Due, Pernille; Johansen, Anette

    2016-01-01

    To examine the agreement between children's and parents' reporting of illness-related absenteeism from school and to examine predictors for disagreement between children and parents. A total of 8,438 schoolchildren aged from 5 to 15 years (grade 0-8) and one parent of each child were invited to participate in the Hi Five baseline study. The response rate for children answering a questionnaire was 89% (n = 7,525), and 36% of the parents (n = 3,008) participated in a weekly illness registration study using text messages (short message service) over a period of 22 weeks. Text messages and questionnaire data were linked at the individual level, leaving 2,269 child-parent pairs in the analysis, corresponding to 27% of the eligible sample. The agreement between children's and parents' reports of illness-related absenteeism was good, with high absolute agreement and slight to moderate Ƙ values. Agreement was lowest for 6- to 8-year-olds and highest for 11- to 12-year-olds. Children's reports of illness symptoms and parents' reports of their children's illnesses in the preceding week were strong predictors for children reporting illness-related absenteeism when parents did not. Illness-related absenteeism can be reported by children, and children report higher prevalence of illness-related absenteeism than parents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. ASPIRE-to-Excellence Academy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Drees

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The ASPIRE-to-Excellence Academy was recently founded at the 2015 Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE conference in Glasgow. The academy is new pillar of the ASPIRE-to-Excellence initiative by AMEE, which aims at promoting and encouraging medical schools in achieving excellence in the categories of assessment, student engagement, social accountability or faculty development. The Academy panel consists of the members of the ASPIRE Board and representatives from schools which have been recognised with an ASPIRE-to-excellence award in one or more of the categories. Major goal of the ASPIRE-to-Excellence Academy is to foster collaboration between excellent medical schools and to allow them to exchange experiences and Best Practices. The Academy members are organising workshops and symposia at international conferences to inform medical schools about the ASPIRE-to-Excellence programme and the areas for recognition in excellence as well as to support medical school in preparing their applications.

  17. Awarding Teaching Excellence: "What Is It Supposed to Achieve?" Teacher Perceptions of Student-Led Awards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madriaga, Manuel; Morley, Krystle

    2016-01-01

    Although there is lack of agreement as to what constitutes teaching excellence, there remains a steady effort to make an intangible, ambiguous, multifaceted concept incarnate in the form of "student-led" teaching awards schemes within higher education institutions. What teaching staff say about such schemes have largely been ignored.…

  18. Excel simulations

    CERN Document Server

    Verschuuren, Gerard M

    2013-01-01

    Covering a variety of Excel simulations, from gambling to genetics, this introduction is for people interested in modeling future events, without the cost of an expensive textbook. The simulations covered offer a fun alternative to the usual Excel topics and include situations such as roulette, password cracking, sex determination, population growth, and traffic patterns, among many others.

  19. Evaluation of accuracy and interobserver agreement of MR cholangiography for diagnosis of cholelithiasis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Sung Won; Baek, Seung Yon; Kang, Byung Chul; Rhee, Chung Sik

    2001-01-01

    To assess the accuracy of MR cholangiography(MRC) in the diagnosis of cholelithiasis, and to determine interobserver agreement. Between March and September 1999, 43 consecutive patients with biliary obstruction [24 men and 19 women aged 25-85 (mean, 58) years] underwent MRC using the single-shot fast spin-echo technique. Heavily T2-weighted source images(axial and coronal) 3-5 mm thick and 12 projection images with 15- degree rotation and 5-cm thickness were obtained. All images were reviewed blindly and independently by two radiologists specialized in the interpretation of abdominal imaging information. Choledocholithiasis was evaluated in eight segments of the intrahepatic duct(IHD), extrahepatic duct(EHD) and gall bladder lumen. Final diagnosis was established on the basis of operative (n=31) and other radiological (n=12) findings. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the MRC findings were assessed, and using kappa measurement (cross-table analysis, SPSS Windows for 8.0), interobserver agreement was determined. Thirty of the 43 patients, had choledocholithiasis (IHD stones in 7 cases, EHD stones in 15, and GB stones in 18). For radiologist 1, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 86%, 100% and 98%, respectively, in the diagnosis of IHD stones; 100%, 89% and 93%, respectively, in the diagnosis of EHD stones; and 81%, 96% and 91%, respectively, in the diagnosis of GB stones. For radiologist 2, the corresponding figures were 86%, 94% and 93% (1HD stones);87%, 89% and 88% (EHD stones); and 81%, 86% and 84% (GB stones). Interobserver agreement for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis was excellent in all cases. The kappa mesurement was 0.91 for 1HD stones, 0.77 for EHD stones, and 0.70 for GB stones. MRC is an excellent imaging modality for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis, and inter observer agreement was also excellent

  20. A dynamic network model to explain the development of excellent human performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruud J.R. Den Hartigh

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Across different domains, from sports to science, some individuals accomplish excellent levels of performance. For over 150 years, researchers have debated the roles of specific nature and nurture components to develop excellence. In this article, we argue that the key to excellence does not reside in specific underlying components, but rather in the ongoing interactions among the components. We propose that excellence emerges out of dynamic networks consisting of idiosyncratic mixtures of interacting components such as genetic endowment, motivation, practice, and coaching. Using computer simulations we demonstrate that the dynamic network model accurately predicts typical properties of excellence reported in the literature, such as the idiosyncratic developmental trajectories leading to excellence and the highly skewed distributions of productivity present in virtually any achievement domain. Based on this novel theoretical perspective on excellent human performance, this article concludes by suggesting policy implications and directions for future research.

  1. Striving for Excellence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hattke, Fabian; Blaschke, Steffen

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the influence of top management team diversity on academic excellence in universities. Academic excellence is conceptualized as successfully gaining funds for inter-organizational research collaborations, interdisciplinary graduate schools......, and high ranked scientific reputation. Design/methodology/approach: -The study applies upper echelon theory to universities. Three hypotheses are developed: 1) (Overall) top management team heterogeneity is positively associated with successful funding of excellence clusters, 2) (Overall) top management...... no significant effects. Besides top management team composition, we find that a high number of faculties and a broad inclusion of internal status groups (students, tenured faculty, academic and administrative staff) and external stakeholders in decision making processes may enhance academic excellence...

  2. Excel 2010 Made Simple

    CERN Document Server

    Katz, Abbott

    2011-01-01

    Get the most out of Excel 2010 with Excel 2010 Made Simple - learn the key features, understand what's new, and utilize dozens of time-saving tips and tricks to get your job done. Over 500 screen visuals and clear-cut instructions guide you through the features of Excel 2010, from formulas and charts to navigating around a worksheet and understanding Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and macros. Excel 2010 Made Simple takes a practical and highly effective approach to using Excel 2010, showing you the best way to complete your most common spreadsheet tasks. You'll learn how to input, format,

  3. Master VISUALLY Excel 2010

    CERN Document Server

    Marmel, Elaine

    2010-01-01

    The complete visual reference on Excel basics. Aimed at visual learners who are seeking an all-in-one reference that provides in-depth coveage of Excel from a visual viewpoint, this resource delves into all the newest features of Excel 2010. You'll explore Excel with helpful step-by-step instructions that show you, rather than tell you, how to navigate Excel, work with PivotTables and PivotCharts, use macros to streamline work, and collaborate with other users in one document.: This two-color guide features screen shots with specific, numbered instructions so you can learn the actions you need

  4. Sustainable Enterprise Excellence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edgeman, Rick

    2013-01-01

    Structured Abstract Purpose: Sustainable Enterprise Excellence (SEE) is defined and developed through integration and expansion of business excellence modeling and sustainability thought. The intent is to enable simple yet reliable enterprise assessment of triple bottom line (TBL) performance...... and produce actionable enterprise foresight that can enable next best practices and sources of sustainable competitive advantage through innovation. Methodology: Key elements of SEE are identified from various business excellence and sustainability reporting sources, including the Global Reporting Initiative...... assessment approach similar in structure to those behind established excellence awards are developed that enable enterprise assessment of progress toward SEE. The resulting assessment is delivered in a highly consumable, combined narrative and graphic format referred to as a SEE NEWS Report. Practical...

  5. Gait Deviation Index, Gait Profile Score and Gait Variable Score in children with spastic cerebral palsy: Intra-rater reliability and agreement across two repeated sessions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasmussen, Helle Mätzke; Nielsen, Dennis Brandborg; Pedersen, Niels Wisbech; Overgaard, Søren; Holsgaard-Larsen, Anders

    2015-07-01

    The Gait Deviation Index (GDI) and Gait Profile Score (GPS) are the most used summary measures of gait in children with cerebral palsy (CP). However, the reliability and agreement of these indices have not been investigated, limiting their clinimetric quality for research and clinical practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the intra-rater reliability and agreement of summary measures of gait (GDI; GPS; and the Gait Variable Score (GVS) derived from the GPS). The intra-rater reliability and agreement were investigated across two repeated sessions in 18 children aged 5-12 years diagnosed with spastic CP. No systematic bias was observed between the sessions and no heteroscedasticity was observed in Bland-Altman plots. For the GDI and GPS, excellent reliability with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values of 0.8-0.9 was found, while the GVS was found to have fair to good reliability with ICCs of 0.4-0.7. The agreement for the GDI and the logarithmically transformed GPS, in terms of the standard error of measurement as a percentage of the grand mean (SEM%) varied from 4.1 to 6.7%, whilst the smallest detectable change in percent (SDC%) ranged from 11.3 to 18.5%. For the logarithmically transformed GVS, we found a fair to large variation in SEM% from 7 to 29% and in SDC% from 18 to 81%. The GDI and GPS demonstrated excellent reliability and acceptable agreement proving that they can both be used in research and clinical practice. However, the observed large variability for some of the GVS requires cautious consideration when selecting outcome measures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Demonstration of cathode emittance dominated high bunch charge beams in a DC gun-based photoinjector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gulliford, Colwyn, E-mail: cg248@cornell.edu; Bartnik, Adam, E-mail: acb20@cornell.edu; Bazarov, Ivan; Dunham, Bruce; Cultrera, Luca [CLASSE, Cornell University, 161 Synchrotron Drive Ithaca, New York 14853-8001 (United States)

    2015-03-02

    We present the results of transverse emittance and longitudinal current profile measurements of high bunch charge (≥100 pC) beams produced in the DC gun-based Cornell energy recovery linac photoinjector. In particular, we show that the cathode thermal and core beam emittances dominate the final 95% and core emittances measured at 9–9.5 MeV. Additionally, we demonstrate excellent agreement between optimized 3D space charge simulations and measurement, and show that the quality of the transverse laser distribution limits the optimal simulated and measured emittances. These results, previously thought achievable only with RF guns, demonstrate that DC gun based photoinjectors are capable of delivering beams with sufficient single bunch charge and beam quality suitable for many current and next generation accelerator projects such as Energy Recovery Linacs and Free Electron Lasers.

  7. Linear System of Equations, Matrix Inversion, and Linear Programming Using MS Excel

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Gebeily, M.; Yushau, B.

    2008-01-01

    In this note, we demonstrate with illustrations two different ways that MS Excel can be used to solve Linear Systems of Equation, Linear Programming Problems, and Matrix Inversion Problems. The advantage of using MS Excel is its availability and transparency (the user is responsible for most of the details of how a problem is solved). Further, we…

  8. Striving for excellence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaughn, G.E.

    1986-01-01

    With guidance and assistance from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), nuclear utilities are striving for excellence by making steady improvements in industry performance indicators. Duke Power Company has solidly committed to support the industry's effort to obtain higher standards of excellence. Dedicated, highly trained employees, who are motivated to making it happen, carry out this commitment within a management framework which includes: 1) top management support and direct involvement; 2) a strategy to achieve excellence over the long run; 3) a nuclear management priority structure; and 4) a goals program

  9. Excel2003 Formulas

    CERN Document Server

    Walkenbach, John

    2011-01-01

    Everything you need to know about* Mastering operators, error values, naming techniques, and absolute versus relative references* Debugging formulas and using the auditing tools* Importing and exporting XML files and mapping the data to specific cells* Using Excel 2003's rights management feature* Working magic with array formulas* Developing custom formulas to produce the results you needHere's the formula for Excel excellenceFormulas are the lifeblood of spreadsheets, and no one can bring a spreadsheet to life like John Walkenbach. In this detailed reference guide, he delves deeply into unde

  10. Validation of the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire: agreement between parental and child reports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Taís de Souza; Gavião, Maria Beatriz Duarte

    2015-01-01

    To test the validity and reliability of Brazilian Portuguese version of the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ) (Aim 1) and to assess the agreement between parents and children concerning the child's oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) (Aim 2). The P-CPQ and the Brazilian Portuguese versions of the Child Perceptions Questionnaires (CPQ8-10 and CPQ11-14 ) were used. Objective 1 addressed in the study that involved 210 (validity and internal reliability) and 20 (test-retest reliability) parents and Objective 2 in the study that involved 210 pairs of parents and children. Construct validity was calculated using the Spearman's correlation and the Mann-Whitney/Kruskal-Wallis tests. Reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Agreement between overall and subscale scores derived from the P-CPQ and CPQ was assessed in comparison and correlation analyses. The P-CPQ discriminated among the categories of malocclusion and dmft. The P-CPQ showed good construct validity, good internal consistency reliability, and excellent test-retest reliability. There was systematic under- and overreporting in parents' assessments for younger and older children, respectively. However, the magnitude of the directional differences was just small. At individual level, agreement between parents and children was excellent. However, it ranged from excellent to moderate or substantial in subscales for CPQ8-10 and CPQ11-14 groups, respectively. The Portuguese version of P-CPQ is valid and reliable. Some parents have limited knowledge about child OHRQoL. Given that parental and child reports measure different realities concerning the child's OHRQoL, information provided by parents can complement the child's evaluation. © 2015 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

  11. Solving L-L Extraction Problems with Excel Spreadsheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teppaitoon, Wittaya

    2016-01-01

    This work aims to demonstrate the use of Excel spreadsheets for solving L-L extraction problems. The key to solving the problems successfully is to be able to determine a tie line on the ternary diagram where the calculation must be carried out. This enables the reader to analyze the extraction process starting with a simple operation, the…

  12. Agreement Attraction in Comprehension: Representations and Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagers, Matthew W.; Lau, Ellen F.; Phillips, Colin

    2009-01-01

    Much work has demonstrated so-called attraction errors in the production of subject-verb agreement (e.g., "The key to the cabinets are on the table", [Bock, J. K., & Miller, C. A. (1991). "Broken agreement." "Cognitive Psychology, 23", 45-93]), in which a verb erroneously agrees with an intervening noun. Six self-paced reading experiments examined…

  13. Excel 2016 for social work statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2017-01-01

    This text is a step-by-step guide for students taking a first course in statistics for social work and for social work managers and practitioners who want to learn how to use Excel to solve practical statistics problems in in the workplace, whether or not they have taken a course in statistics. There is no other text for a first course in social work statistics that teaches students, step-by-step, how to use Excel to solve interesting social work statistics problems. Excel 2016 for Social Work Statistics explains statistical formulas and offers practical examples for how students can solve real-world social work statistics problems. This book leaves detailed explanations of statistical theory to other statistics textbooks and focuses entirely on practical, real-world problem solving. Each chapter briefly explains a topic and then demonstrates how to use Excel commands and formulas to solve specific social work statistics problems.  This book gives practice in using Excel in two different ways:  (1) writing ...

  14. Illustrating the Central Limit Theorem through Microsoft Excel Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moen, David H.; Powell, John E.

    2005-01-01

    Using Microsoft Excel, several interactive, computerized learning modules are developed to demonstrate the Central Limit Theorem. These modules are used in the classroom to enhance the comprehension of this theorem. The Central Limit Theorem is a very important theorem in statistics, and yet because it is not intuitively obvious, statistics…

  15. Agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    These columns summarize the different bilateral and multilateral agreements concluded recently between the different OECD countries and concerning the nuclear energy domain: Argentina - Australia: Agreement concerning Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (2001). Argentina - Brazil: Joint Declaration regarding the Creation of the Argentinean-Brazilian Agency for Nuclear Energy Applications (2001). Australia - Czech Republic / Australia - Hungary: Agreements on Co-operation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and the Transfer of Nuclear Material (2001). Australia - Indonesia: Arrangement Concerning Co-operation on Nuclear Safeguards and Related Matters (2001). Austria - Switzerland: Agreement on the Early Exchange of Information in the Field of Nuclear Safety and Radiation. Brazil - United States: Extension of the Agreement concerning Research and Development in Nuclear Material Control, Accountancy, Verification, Physical Protection, and Advanced Containment and Surveillance Technologies for International Safeguards Applications (2001). Czech Republic - Republic of Korea: Agreement for Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (2001). European Union- Russian Federation: Agreements on Nuclear Safety and Controlled Nuclear Fusion (2001). France - United States: Agreement for Co-operation in Advanced Nuclear Reactor Science and Technology (2001). Japan - United Kingdom: Co-operation Agreement on Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Fast Breeder Reactor and Other Related Technologies (2001). Republic OF Korea - United States: Annex IV Joint Project on Cintichem Technology (2000). Morocco - United States: Protocol amending the Co-operation Agreement on the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (2001). Multilateral Agreements: Agreement for Information Exchange on Radiological Surveillance in Northern Europe (2001). Status of Conventions in the Field of Nuclear Energy. (author)

  16. Excel 2016 for advertising statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2017-01-01

    This text is a step-by-step guide for students taking a first course in statistics for advertising and for advertising managers and practitioners who want to learn how to use Excel to solve practical statistics problems in in the workplace, whether or not they have taken a course in statistics. Excel 2016 for Advertising Statistics explains statistical formulas and offers practical examples for how students can solve real-world advertising statistics problems. This book leaves detailed explanations of statistical theory to other statistics textbooks and focuses entirely on practical, real-world problem solving. Each chapter briefly explains a topic and then demonstrates how to use Excel commands and formulas to solve specific advertising statistics problems.  This book gives practice in using Excel in two different ways:  (1) writing formulas (e.g., confidence interval about the mean, one-group t-test, two-group t-test, correlation) and (2) using Excel’s drop-down formula menus (e.g., simple linear regres...

  17. Using Excel's Matrix Operations to Facilitate Reciprocal Cost Allocations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leese, Wallace R.; Kizirian, Tim

    2009-01-01

    The reciprocal method of service department cost allocation requires linear equations to be solved simultaneously. These computations are often so complex as to cause the abandonment of the reciprocal method in favor of the less sophisticated direct or step-down methods. Here is a short example demonstrating how Excel's sometimes unknown matrix…

  18. ACTIVATED SLUDGE DESIGN ON MS.EXCEL 8.0

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Köksal SARICAOĞLU

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the planing of the Activated Sludge Method used on Environmental Engineering, was done by MS Excel 8.0, which very commonly used for spread sheet design. The program contained five sections. They are; the "DATA" section to enter the available data for calculations, the "RESULTS" section to show the outcomes of calculations, the "DETERMINATION of DIMENSIONS" section to determine the dimensions of the reactor, the "CALCULATION of AIR DIFFUSER" section to calculate the dimensions and capacity of air diffuser and the "EVALUATION" section to evaluate the results of calculations according to the criteria. The aim of this study was, to demonstrate that every engineer ca do easily needed programs related to her or his field using Excel's functions although can not know about any program language.

  19. UNITED STATES/GERMAN TECHNICAL BILATERAL AGREEMENT: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

    Science.gov (United States)

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) entered into a Bilateral Agreement in 1990 to study each country's efforts in developing and demonstrating remedial technologies. The bilateral agreement is being impl...

  20. ARS-Media for excel instruction manual

    Science.gov (United States)

    ARS-Media for Excel Instruction Manual is the instruction manual that explains how to use the Excel spreadsheet ARS-Media for Excel application. ARS-Media for Excel Instruction Manual is provided as a pdf file....

  1. Excel dashboards and reports

    CERN Document Server

    Alexander, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Learn to use Excel dashboards and reports to better conceptualize data Updated for all the?latest features and capabilities of Excel 2013, this go-to resource provides you with in-depth coverage of the individual functions and tools that can be used to create?compelling Excel reports. Veteran author Michael Alexander walks you through the most effective ways to present and report data. Featuring a comprehensive review of a wide array of technical and analytical concepts, this essential guide helps you go from reporting data with simple tables full of dull numbers to presenting

  2. Performance demonstration of a high-power space-reactor heat-pipe design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merrigan, M.A.; Martinez, E.H.; Keddy, E.S.; Runyan, J.; Kemme, J.E.

    1983-01-01

    Performance of a 15.9-mm diam, 2-m long, artery heat pipe has been demonstrated at power levels to 22.6 kW and temperatures to 1500 0 K. The heat pipe employed lithium as a working fluid with distribution wicks and arteries fabricated from 400 mesh Mo-41 wt % Re screen. Molybdenum alloy (TZM) was used for the container. Peak axial power density attained in the testing was 19 kW/cm 2 at 1465 0 K. The corresponding radial flux density in the evaporator region of the heat pipe was 150 W/cm 2 . The extrapolated limit for the heat pipe at its 1500 0 K design point is 30 kW, corresponding to an axial flux density of 25 kW/cm 2 . Sonic and capillary limits for the design were investigated in the 1100 to 1500 0 K temperature range. Excellent agreement of measured and predicted temperature and power levels was observed

  3. Excel 2003 for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Harvey, Greg

    2013-01-01

    Every time you turn around, you run into Excel. It's on yourPC at work. It's on your PC at home. You get Excel files fromyour boss. Wouldn't you like to understand this powerfulMicrosoft Office spreadsheet program, once and for all? Now, youcan crunch financial data, add sparkle to presentations, convertstatic lists of numbers into impressive charts, and discover whatall the shouting's about regarding databases, formulas, andcells. You may even decide that getting organized with a goodspreadsheet is downright useful and fun! Flip open Excel 2003 For Dummies, and you'llquickly start getting th

  4. Beginning Microsoft Excel 2010

    CERN Document Server

    Katz, Abbott

    2010-01-01

    Beginning Microsoft Excel 2010 is a practical, step-by-step guide to getting started with the world's most widely used spreadsheet application. The book offers a hands-on approach to learning how to create and edit spreadsheets, use various calculation formulas, employ charts/graphs, and get work done efficiently. Microsoft is rolling out several new features with Excel 2010 - perhaps the most notable is the ability to use Excel 2010 online and this collaborate on a project in real time. Beginning Microsoft Office 2010 keeps you up-to-date with all of these new features and more. What you'll l

  5. Teaching physics using Microsoft Excel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uddin, Zaheer; Ahsanuddin, Muhammad; Khan, Danish Ahmed

    2017-09-01

    Excel is both ubiquitous and easily understandable. Most people from every walk of life know how to use MS office and Excel spreadsheets. Students are also familiar with spreadsheets. Most students know how to use spreadsheets for data analysis. Besides basic use of Excel, some important aspects of spreadsheets are highlighted in this article. MS Excel can be used to visualize effects of various parameters in a physical system. It can be used as a simulating tool; simulation of wind data has been done through spreadsheets in this study. Examples of Lissajous figures and a damped harmonic oscillator are presented in this article.

  6. Limitations of Using Microsoft Excel Version 2016 (MS Excel 2016) for Statistical Analysis for Medical Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanavalee, Chotetawan; Luksanapruksa, Panya; Singhatanadgige, Weerasak

    2016-06-01

    Microsoft Excel (MS Excel) is a commonly used program for data collection and statistical analysis in biomedical research. However, this program has many limitations, including fewer functions that can be used for analysis and a limited number of total cells compared with dedicated statistical programs. MS Excel cannot complete analyses with blank cells, and cells must be selected manually for analysis. In addition, it requires multiple steps of data transformation and formulas to plot survival analysis graphs, among others. The Megastat add-on program, which will be supported by MS Excel 2016 soon, would eliminate some limitations of using statistic formulas within MS Excel.

  7. PEP-II vacuum system pressure profile modeling using EXCEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nordby, M.; Perkins, C.

    1994-06-01

    A generic, adaptable Microsoft EXCEL program to simulate molecular flow in beam line vacuum systems is introduced. Modeling using finite-element approximation of the governing differential equation is discussed, as well as error estimation and program capabilities. The ease of use and flexibility of the spreadsheet-based program is demonstrated. PEP-II vacuum system models are reviewed and compared with analytical models

  8. Test-Retest Reliability of Rating of Perceived Exertion and Agreement With 1-Repetition Maximum in Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bove, Allyn M; Lynch, Andrew D; DePaul, Samantha M; Terhorst, Lauren; Irrgang, James J; Fitzgerald, G Kelley

    2016-09-01

    Study Design Clinical measurement. Background It has been suggested that rating of perceived exertion (RPE) may be a useful alternative to 1-repetition maximum (1RM) to determine proper resistance exercise dosage. However, the test-retest reliability of RPE for resistance exercise has not been determined. Additionally, prior research regarding the relationship between 1RM and RPE is conflicting. Objectives The purpose of this study was to (1) determine test-retest reliability of RPE related to resistance exercise and (2) assess agreement between percentages of 1RM and RPE during quadriceps resistance exercise. Methods A sample of participants with and without knee pathology completed a series of knee extension exercises and rated the perceived difficulty of each exercise on a 0-to-10 RPE scale, then repeated the procedure 1 to 2 weeks later for test-retest reliability. To determine agreement between RPE and 1RM, participants completed knee extension exercises at various percentages of their 1RM (10% to 130% of predicted 1RM) and rated the perceived difficulty of each exercise on a 0-to-10 RPE scale. Percent agreement was calculated between the 1RM and RPE at each resistance interval. Results The intraclass correlation coefficient indicated excellent test-retest reliability of RPE for quadriceps resistance exercises (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.895; 95% confidence interval: 0.866, 0.918). Overall percent agreement between RPE and 1RM was 60%, but agreement was poor within the ranges that would typically be used for training (50% 1RM for muscle endurance, 70% 1RM and greater for strength). Conclusion Test-retest reliability of perceived exertion during quadriceps resistance exercise was excellent. However, agreement between the RPE and 1RM was poor, especially in common training zones for knee extensor strengthening. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2016;46(9):768-774. Epub 5 Aug 2016. doi:10.2519/jospt.2016.6498.

  9. ARS-Media for Excel

    Science.gov (United States)

    ARS-Media for Excel is an ion solution calculator that uses Microsoft Excel to generate recipes of salts for complex ion mixtures specified by the user. Generating salt combinations (recipes) that result in pre-specified target ion values is a linear programming problem. Thus, the recipes are genera...

  10. NASA Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity 1989 highlights. The 1989 recipient: Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-01-01

    The NASA Excellence Award for Productivity and Quality is the result of NASA's desire to encourage superior quality and the continuous improvement philosophy in the aerospace industry. It is awarded to NASA contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who have demonstrated sustained excellence, customer orientation, and outstanding achievements in a total quality management (TQM) environment. The 'highlights' booklet is intended to transfer successful techniques demonstrated by the performance and quality of major NASA contractors.

  11. An add-in implementation of the RESAMPLING syntax under Microsoft EXCEL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meineke, I

    2000-10-01

    The RESAMPLING syntax defines a set of powerful commands, which allow the programming of probabilistic statistical models with few, easily memorized statements. This paper presents an implementation of the RESAMPLING syntax using Microsoft EXCEL with Microsoft WINDOWS(R) as a platform. Two examples are given to demonstrate typical applications of RESAMPLING in biomedicine. Details of the implementation with special emphasis on the programming environment are discussed at length. The add-in is available electronically to interested readers upon request. The use of the add-in facilitates numerical statistical analyses of data from within EXCEL in a comfortable way.

  12. Learn Excel 2011 for Mac

    CERN Document Server

    Hart-Davis, Guy

    2011-01-01

    Microsoft Excel 2011 for Mac OS X is a powerful application, but many of its most impressive features can be difficult to find. Learn Excel 2011 for Mac by Guy Hart-Davis is a practical, hands-on approach to learning all of the details of Excel 2011 in order to get work done efficiently on Mac OS X. From using formulas and functions to creating databases, from analyzing data to automating tasks, you'll learn everything you need to know to put this powerful application to use for a variety of tasks. What you'll learn * The secrets of the Excel for Mac interface! * How to create effective workbo

  13. Excel data analysis for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Nelson, Stephen L

    2014-01-01

    Harness the power of Excel to discover what your numbers are hiding Excel Data Analysis For Dummies, 2nd Edition is the ultimate guide to getting the most out of your data. Veteran Dummies author Stephen L. Nelson guides you through the basic and not-so-basic features of Excel to help you discover the gems hidden in your rough data. From input, to analysis, to visualization, the book walks you through the steps that lead to superior data analysis. Excel is the number-one spreadsheet application, with ever-expanding capabilities. If you're only using it to balance the books, you're missing out

  14. Spine Instability Neoplastic Score: agreement across different medical and surgical specialties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arana, Estanislao; Kovacs, Francisco M; Royuela, Ana; Asenjo, Beatriz; Pérez-Ramírez, Úrsula; Zamora, Javier

    2016-05-01

    Spinal instability is an acknowledged complication of spinal metastases; in spite of recent suggested criteria, it is not clearly defined in the literature. This study aimed to assess intra and interobserver agreement when using the Spine Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) by all physicians involved in its management. Independent multicenter reliability study for the recently created SINS, undertaken with a panel of medical oncologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, orthopedic surgeons, and radiation oncologists, was carried out. Ninety patients with biopsy-proven spinal metastases and magnetic resonance imaging, reviewed at the multidisciplinary tumor board of our institution, were included. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used for SINS score agreement. Fleiss kappa statistic was used to assess agreement on the location of the most affected vertebral level; agreement on the SINS category ("stable," "potentially stable," or "unstable"); and overall agreement with the classification established by tumor board. Clinical data and imaging were provided to 83 specialists in 44 hospitals across 14 Spanish regions. No assessment criteria were pre-established. Each clinician assessed the SINS score twice, with a minimum 6-week interval. Clinicians were blinded to assessments made by other specialists and to their own previous assessment. Subgroup analyses were performed by clinicians' specialty, experience (≤7, 8-13, ≥14 years), and hospital category (four levels according to size and complexity). This study was supported by Kovacs Foundation. Intra and interobserver agreement on the location of the most affected levels was "almost perfect" (κ>0.94). Intra-observer agreement on the SINS score was "excellent" (ICC=0.77), whereas interobserver agreement was "moderate" (ICC=0.55). Intra-observer agreement in SINS category was "substantial" (k=0.61), whereas interobserver agreement was "moderate" (k=0.42). Overall agreement with the tumor board classification

  15. Environmental management technology demonstration and commercialization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daly, D.J.; Erickson, T.A.; Groenewold, G.H.

    1995-01-01

    The Energy ampersand Environmental Research Center (EERC), a contract-supported organization focused on technology research, development, demonstration, and commercialization (RDD ampersand C), is entering its second year of a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) to facilitate the development, demonstration, and commercialization of innovative environmental management (EM) technologies in support of the activities of DOE's Office of Environmental Science and Technology (EM-50) under DOE's EM Program. This paper reviews the concept and approach of the program under the METC-EERC EM Cooperative Agreement and profiles the role the program is playing in the commercialization of five EM technologies

  16. Environmental management technology demonstration and commercialization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daly, D.J.; Erickson, T.A.; Groenewold, G.H. [Energy & Environmental Research Center, Grand Forks, ND (United States)] [and others

    1995-10-01

    The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), a contract-supported organization focused on technology research, development, demonstration, and commercialization (RDD&C), is entering its second year of a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) to facilitate the development, demonstration, and commercialization of innovative environmental management (EM) technologies in support of the activities of DOE`s Office of Environmental Science and Technology (EM-50) under DOE`s EM Program. This paper reviews the concept and approach of the program under the METC-EERC EM Cooperative Agreement and profiles the role the program is playing in the commercialization of five EM technologies.

  17. "Excellence" in STEM Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Aaron C.

    2012-01-01

    So what does it take to achieve excellence in STEM education? That is the title of the author's presentation delivered at International Technology and Engineering Educators Association's (ITEEA's) FTEE "Spirit of Excellence" Breakfast on March 16, 2012, in Long Beach, California. In preparation for this presentation, the author went back and read…

  18. Writing Excel Macros with VBA

    CERN Document Server

    Roman, Steven

    2008-01-01

    To achieve the maximum control and flexibility from Microsoft® Excel often requires careful custom programming using the VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) language. Writing Excel Macros with VBA, 2nd Edition offers a solid introduction to writing VBA macros and programs, and will show you how to get more power at the programming level: focusing on programming languages, the Visual Basic Editor, handling code, and the Excel object model.

  19. What Makes an Excellent Lecturer? Academics' Perspectives on the Discourse of "Teaching Excellence" in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Margaret; Su, Feng

    2017-01-01

    In the context of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), we examine academics' perspectives on the discourse of "teaching excellence" based on an empirical study with 16 participants from five post-1992 universities. The article reports the findings on academics' views of the term and concept of "teaching excellence",…

  20. Postirradiation examination of ORR demonstration elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snelgrove, J.L.; Copeland, G.L.; Hofman, G.L.

    1991-01-01

    Postirradiation examinations of selected U 3 Si 2 fuel elements fabricated by B and W, CERCA, and NUKEM and irradiated during the whole core demonstration in the Oak Ridge Research Reactor are nearing completion. The results of all tests have shown the demonstration fuel elements, produced under production-line conditions, to have performed in the excellent manner expected from earlier tests of miniature fuel plates and full-sized elements. (orig.)

  1. Measuring research excellence in the EU

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Mads P.; Bloch, Carter Walter; Young, Mitchell

    In 2013, the European Union unveiled its new ‘Composite Indicator for Scientific and Technological Research Excellence’, marking a turning point in how excellence is understood and used in European policy. This is not an isolated occurrence; policy-based interest in excellence is growing all over...... the world. The heightened focus on excellence and in particular, attempts to define it through quantitative indicators can have important implications for research policy and for the conduct of research itself. This paper examines how the European Union’s understanding of excellence has evolved in recent...... years, from the presentation of the Lisbon strategy in 2000 to the current Europe 2020 strategy. We find a distinct shift in the understanding of excellence and how success in the knowledge-based economy should be achieved: in the early period, excellence is a fuzzy concept, intrinsically embedded...

  2. Professor's Page: Do Demonstration Lessons Work?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarke, Doug

    2011-01-01

    As part of a large research and professional development project funded by the Catholic Education Office Melbourne (CEOM), called "Contemporary Teaching and Learning of Mathematics," the ACU team has been leading demonstration lessons. There is certainly not universal agreement on the worth of demonstration lessons in the mathematics…

  3. Integrated test schedule for buried waste integrated demonstration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, J.T.; McDonald, J.K.

    1992-05-01

    The Integrated Test Schedule incorporates the various schedules the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration (BWID) supports into one document. This document contains the Federal Facilities Agreement and Consent Order schedules for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Hanford Reservation, Oak Ridge Reservation, and Fernald Environmental Materials Center. Included in the Integrated Test Schedule is the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration ''windows of opportunity'' schedule. The ''windows of opportunity'' schedule shows periods of time in which Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration Program-sponsored technology demonstrations could support key decisions in the Federal Facilities Agreement and Consent Order. Schedules for the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration-sponsored technology task plans are categorized by technology area and divided by current fiscal year and out-year. Total estimated costs for Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration-sponsored Technology Task Plans for FY-92 through FY-97 are $74.756M

  4. Managing for Excellence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gysel, T.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: Nuclear organizations now wishing to become much more effective as an organization require further advice and specific guidance, drawn from validated international best practices in the development and implementation of Knowledge Management in the context of the organization’s management system. Therefore the IAEA Nuclear Knowledge Management Section is developing an approach for implementing Knowledge Management in the context of a management system. What looks like excellence today, may not be tomorrow. Best-in-class competitors, technology, and management paradigms all evolve. Second, true Operational Excellence manifests itself through integrated performance across revenue, cost, and risk. (author

  5. Excel 2010 all-in-one for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Harvey, Greg

    2010-01-01

    A comprehensive, up-to-date, user-friendly guide to Excel 2010 Excel is the standard for spreadsheet applications and is used worldwide, but it's not always user-friendly. That makes it a perfect For Dummies topic, and this handy all-in-one guide covers all the essentials, the new features, how to analyze data with Excel, and much more. Eight minibooks address Excel basics, worksheet design, formulas and functions, worksheet collaboration and review, charts and graphics, data management, data analysis, and Excel and VBA.Excel is the leading spreadsheet/data analysis s

  6. Achieveing Organizational Excellence Through

    OpenAIRE

    Mehdi Abzari; Mohammadreza Dalvi

    2009-01-01

    AbstractToday, In order to create motivation and desirable behavior in employees, to obtain organizational goals,to increase human resources productivity and finally to achieve organizational excellence, top managers oforganizations apply new and effective strategies. One of these strategies to achieve organizational excellenceis creating desirable corporate culture. This research has been conducted to identify the path to reachorganizational excellence by creating corporate culture according...

  7. Exploring rater agreement: configurations of agreement and disagreement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ALEXANDER VON EYE

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available At the level of manifest categorical variables, a large number of coefficients and models for the examination of rater agreement has been proposed and used for descriptive and explanatory purposes. This article focuses on exploring rater agreement. Configural Frequency Analysis (CFA is proposed as a method of exploration of cross-classifications of raters’ judgements. CFA allows researchers to (1 examine individual cells and sets of cells in agreement tables; (2 examine cells that indicate disagreement; and (3 explore agreement and disagreement among three or more raters. Four CFA base models are discussed. The first is the model of rater agreement that is also used for Cohen’s (1960  (kappa. This model proposes independence of raters’ judgements. Deviations from this model suggest agreement or disagreement beyond chance. The second CFA model is based on a log-linear null model. This model is also used for Brennan and Prediger’s (1981 n. It proposes a uniform distribution of ratings. The third model is that of Tanner and Young (1985. This model proposes equal weights for agreement cases and independence otherwise. The fourth model is the quasi-independence model. This model allows one to blank out agreement cells and thus to focus solely on patterns of disagreement. Examples use data from applicant selection.

  8. Excel 2013 power programming with VBA

    CERN Document Server

    Walkenbach, John

    2013-01-01

    Maximize your Excel 2013 experience using VBA application development The new Excel 2013 boasts updated features, enhanced power, and new capabilities. Naturally, that means John Walkenbach returns with a new edition of his bestselling VBA Programming book and covers all the methods and tools you need to know in order to program with Excel. With this comprehensive guide, ""Mr. Spreadsheet"" shows you how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Featuring a complete introduction to Visual Basic f

  9. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY IDENTIFICATION, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, DEPLOYMENT AND EXCHANGE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roy C. Herndon

    2001-02-28

    Cooperative Agreement (DE-FC21-95EW55101) between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Florida State University's Institute for International Cooperative Environmental Research (IICER) was designed to facilitate a number of joint programmatic goals of both the DOE and the IICER related to international technology identification, development, demonstration and deployment using a variety of mechanisms to accomplish these goals. These mechanisms included: laboratory and field research; technology demonstrations; international training and technical exchanges; data collection, synthesis and evaluation; the conduct of conferences, symposia and high-level meetings; and other appropriate and effective approaches. The DOE utilized the expertise and facilities of the IICER at Florida State University to accomplish its goals related to this cooperative agreement. The IICER has unique and demonstrated capabilities that have been utilized to conduct the tasks for this cooperative agreement. The IICER conducted activities related to technology identification, development, evaluation, demonstration and deployment through its joint centers which link the capabilities at Florida State University with collaborating academic and leading research institutions in the major countries of Central and Eastern Europe (e.g., Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland) and Russia. The activities and accomplishments for this five-year cooperative agreement are summarized in this Final Technical Report.

  10. Sourcing Excellence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adeyemi, Oluseyi

    2011-01-01

    Sourcing Excellence is one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) in this world of ever changing sourcing strategies. Manufacturing companies need to access and diagnose the reliability and competencies of existing suppliers in order to coordinate and develop them. This would help in managing...

  11. The Susquehanna plant lifetime excellence program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNamara, R.W.

    1988-01-01

    This paper discusses how the Susquehanna plant lifetime excellence program (SPLEX) blends many of the objectives of a new managing for excellence program with plant life extension objectives to achieve excellence in the lifetime operation and availability of the two-unit Susquehanna steam electric station. Investments in lifetime excellence improvements will provide near-term, as well as plant life extension, benefits. A high-quality lifetime experience record, together with extensive, periodic technical assessments and cost-benefit analyses, will provide conclusive justification for future extensions of the unit operating licenses

  12. Teach yourself visually complete Excel

    CERN Document Server

    McFedries, Paul

    2013-01-01

    Get the basics of Excel and then go beyond with this new instructional visual guide While many users need Excel just to create simple worksheets, many businesses and professionals rely on the advanced features of Excel to handle things like database creation and data analysis. Whatever project you have in mind, this visual guide takes you step by step through what each step should look like. Veteran author Paul McFedries first presents the basics and then gradually takes it further with his coverage of designing worksheets, collaborating between worksheets, working with visual data

  13. Bilateral agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    Ten bilateral agreements are presented. These are: 1) Co-operation agreement relating to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between Argentina and EURATOM (1996); 2) Agreement on co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between Argentina and Greece (1997); 3) Implementing arrangement for technical exchange and co-operation in the area of peaceful uses of nuclear energy between Argentina and the United States (1997); 4) Agreement concerning co-operation in nuclear science and technology between Australia and Indonesia (1997); 5) Implementation of the 1985 Agreement for co-operation concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the People's Republic of China and the United States (1998); 6) Protocol of co-operation between France and Lithuania (1997); 7) Agreement on co-operation in energy research, science and technology, and development between Germany and the United States (1998); 8) Agreement on early notification of a nuclear accident and exchange of information on nuclear facilities between Greece and Romania (1997); 9) Agreement on early notification of nuclear accidents and co-operation in the field of nuclear safety between Hungary and the Ukraine (1997); 10) Agreement in the field of radioactive waste management between Switzerland and the United States (1997). (K.A.)

  14. 101 ready-to-use Excel formulas

    CERN Document Server

    Alexander, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Mr. Spreadsheet has done it again with 101 easy-to-apply Excel formulas 101 Ready-to-Use Excel Formulas is filled with the most commonly-used, real-world Excel formulas that can be repurposed and put into action, saving you time and increasing your productivity. Each segment of this book outlines a common business or analysis problem that needs to be solved and provides the actual Excel formulas to solve the problem-along with detailed explanation of how the formulas work. Written in a user-friendly style that relies on a tips and tricks approach, the book details how to perform everyday Excel tasks with confidence. 101 Ready-to-Use Excel Formulas is sure to become your well-thumbed reference to solve your workplace problems. The recipes in the book are structured to first present the problem, then provide the formula solution, and finally show how it works so that it can be customized to fit your needs. The companion website to the book allows readers to easily test the formulas and provides visual confirmat...

  15. Agreement between Gonioscopic Examination and Swept Source Fourier Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Rigi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. To evaluate interobserver, intervisit, and interinstrument agreements for gonioscopy and Fourier domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (FD ASOCT for classifying open and narrow angle eyes. Methods. Eighty-six eyes with open or narrow anterior chamber angles were included. The superior angle was classified open or narrow by 2 of 5 glaucoma specialists using gonioscopy and imaged by FD ASOCT in the dark. The superior angle of each FD ASOCT image was graded as open or narrow by 2 masked readers. The same procedures were repeated within 6 months. Kappas for interobserver and intervisit agreements for each instrument and interinstrument agreements were calculated. Results. The mean age was 50.9 (±18.4 years. Interobserver agreements were moderate to good for both gonioscopy (0.57 and 0.69 and FD ASOCT (0.58 and 0.75. Intervisit agreements were moderate to excellent for both gonioscopy (0.53 to 0.86 and FD ASOCT (0.57 and 0.85. Interinstrument agreements were fair to good (0.34 to 0.63, with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy. Conclusions. Both gonioscopy and FD ASOCT examiners were internally consistent with similar interobserver and intervisit agreements for angle classification. Agreement between instruments was fair to good, with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy.

  16. Agreement between Gonioscopic Examination and Swept Source Fourier Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Donna; Minnal, Vandana R.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose. To evaluate interobserver, intervisit, and interinstrument agreements for gonioscopy and Fourier domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (FD ASOCT) for classifying open and narrow angle eyes. Methods. Eighty-six eyes with open or narrow anterior chamber angles were included. The superior angle was classified open or narrow by 2 of 5 glaucoma specialists using gonioscopy and imaged by FD ASOCT in the dark. The superior angle of each FD ASOCT image was graded as open or narrow by 2 masked readers. The same procedures were repeated within 6 months. Kappas for interobserver and intervisit agreements for each instrument and interinstrument agreements were calculated. Results. The mean age was 50.9 (±18.4) years. Interobserver agreements were moderate to good for both gonioscopy (0.57 and 0.69) and FD ASOCT (0.58 and 0.75). Intervisit agreements were moderate to excellent for both gonioscopy (0.53 to 0.86) and FD ASOCT (0.57 and 0.85). Interinstrument agreements were fair to good (0.34 to 0.63), with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy. Conclusions. Both gonioscopy and FD ASOCT examiners were internally consistent with similar interobserver and intervisit agreements for angle classification. Agreement between instruments was fair to good, with FD ASOCT classifying more angles as narrow than gonioscopy. PMID:27990300

  17. Improving Conceptual Understanding and Representation Skills Through Excel-Based Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malone, Kathy L.; Schunn, Christian D.; Schuchardt, Anita M.

    2018-02-01

    The National Research Council framework for science education and the Next Generation Science Standards have developed a need for additional research and development of curricula that is both technologically model-based and includes engineering practices. This is especially the case for biology education. This paper describes a quasi-experimental design study to test the effectiveness of a model-based curriculum focused on the concepts of natural selection and population ecology that makes use of Excel modeling tools (Modeling Instruction in Biology with Excel, MBI-E). The curriculum revolves around the bio-engineering practice of controlling an invasive species. The study takes place in the Midwest within ten high schools teaching a regular-level introductory biology class. A post-test was designed that targeted a number of common misconceptions in both concept areas as well as representational usage. The results of a post-test demonstrate that the MBI-E students significantly outperformed the traditional classes in both natural selection and population ecology concepts, thus overcoming a number of misconceptions. In addition, implementing students made use of more multiple representations as well as demonstrating greater fascination for science.

  18. Excel 2013 all-in-one for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Harvey, Greg

    2013-01-01

    The comprehensive reference, now completely up-to-date for Excel 2013! As the standard for spreadsheet applications, Excel is used worldwide - but it's not always user-friendly. However, in the hands of veteran bestselling author Greg Harvey, Excel gets a whole lot easier to understand! This handy all-in-one guide covers all the essentials, the new features, how to analyze data with Excel, and much more. The featured minibooks address Excel basics, worksheet design, formulas and functions, worksheet collaboration and review, charts and graphics, data management, data analysis, and

  19. Leading Others Toward Excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hupp, James R

    2015-12-01

    This essay puts forth the proposition that academic program excellence does not arise by accident. Effective leadership is required. To support this proposition, the essay discusses the characteristics common to effective leaders. It then proceeds to use the example of a successful academic oral-maxillofacial surgery department and characteristics of its leader to provide evidence that excellence derives from effective leadership. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The changing reimbursement landscape: nurses' role in quality and operational excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hines, Patricia A; Yu, Kevin M

    2009-01-01

    Operational excellence, care quality, and financial performance are increasingly linked as key drivers of hospital performance. This environment may be seen as a challenge, but it is also an excellent opportunity for nursing services to further demonstrate their value in patient care outcomes and support financial performance. Nursing contributions toward reduced complications, reductions in length of stay, and lower costs per case should be measured, rewarded, and made transparent to the public. Staff nurses should not view quality as simply another task on which to focus their attention, but rather a continuous process that requires critical thinking about how care is delivered and its effect on the entire care progression of a patient. Nursing management must focus on continually educating their staff on appropriate care, as well as developing and supporting a culture of safety and accountability. Nursing leadership must improve nurse retention and recruiting efforts, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and, most importantly, demonstrate to the rest of the organization the value nursing brings to the organization through consistently tracking quality and financial indicators and tying them to nursing initiatives.

  1. Excel2Genie: A Microsoft Excel application to improve the flexibility of the Genie-2000 Spectroscopic software

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forgács, Attila; Balkay, László; Trón, Lajos; Raics, Péter

    2014-01-01

    Excel2Genie, a simple and user-friendly Microsoft Excel interface, has been developed to the Genie-2000 Spectroscopic Software of Canberra Industries. This Excel application can directly control Canberra Multichannel Analyzer (MCA), process the acquired data and visualize them. Combination of Genie-2000 with Excel2Genie results in remarkably increased flexibility and a possibility to carry out repetitive data acquisitions even with changing parameters and more sophisticated analysis. The developed software package comprises three worksheets: display parameters and results of data acquisition, data analysis and mathematical operations carried out on the measured gamma spectra. At the same time it also allows control of these processes. Excel2Genie is freely available to assist gamma spectrum measurements and data evaluation by the interested Canberra users. With access to the Visual Basic Application (VBA) source code of this application users are enabled to modify the developed interface according to their intentions. - Highlights: • User-friendly Microsoft Excel interface to the Genie-2000 Spectroscopic software. • Data acquisitions with changing parameters and sophisticated data analysis. • Three worksheets: data acquisition, data analysis and mathematical operations on spectra. • The source code is freely available

  2. Why Excel?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barreto, Humberto

    2015-01-01

    This article is not the usual Excel pedagogy fare in that it does not provide an application or example taught via a spreadsheet. Instead, it briefly reviews the history of spreadsheets in the economics classroom and explores the current environment, with an emphasis on modern learning theory. The conclusion is not surprising: spreadsheets improve…

  3. Pre-operative Duplex Ultrasonography in Arteriovenous Fistula Creation: Intra- and Inter-observer Agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zonnebeld, Niek; Maas, Tommy M G; Huberts, Wouter; van Loon, Magda M; Delhaas, Tammo; Tordoir, Jan H M

    2017-11-01

    Although clinical guidelines on arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation advocate minimum luminal arterial and venous diameters, assessed by duplex ultrasonography (DUS), the clinical value of routine DUS examination is under debate. DUS might be an insufficiently repeatable and/or reproducible imaging modality because of its operator dependency. The present study aimed to assess intra- and inter-observer agreement of DUS examination in support of AVF surgery planning. Ten end stage renal disease patients were included, to assess intra- and inter-observer agreement of pre-operative DUS measurements. All measurements were performed by two trained and experienced vascular technicians, blinded to measurement readings. From the routine DUS protocol, representative measurements (venous diameters, and arterial diameters and volume flow in the upper arm and forearm) were selected. For intra-observer agreement the measurements were performed in triplicate, with the probe released from the skin between each. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for intra- and inter-observer agreement, and Bland-Altman plots used to graphically display mean measurement differences and limits of agreement. Ten patients (6 male, 59.4±19.7 years) consented to participate, and all predefined measurements were obtained. Intraclass correlation coefficients for intra-observer agreement of diameter measurements were at least 0.90 (95% CI 0.74-0.97; radial artery). Inter-observer agreement was at least 0.83 (0.46-0.96; lateral diameter upper arm cephalic vein). The Bland-Altman plots showed acceptable mean measurement differences and limits of agreement. In experienced hands, excellent intra- and inter-observer agreement can be reached for the discrete pre-operative DUS measurements advocated in clinical guidelines. DUS is therefore a reliable imaging modality to support AVF surgery planning. The content of DUS protocols, however, needs further standardisation. Copyright © 2017 European

  4. The Elitism Dispositif: Hierarchization, Discourses of Excellence and Organizational Change in European Economics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maesse, Jens

    2017-01-01

    From the 1990s onwards, economics departments in Europe have changed toward a culture of "excellence." Strong academic hierarchies and new forms of academic organization replace "institutes" and "colleges" by fully equipped "economics departments." This article seeks to demonstrate how and why…

  5. Excel2Genie: A Microsoft Excel application to improve the flexibility of the Genie-2000 Spectroscopic software.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forgács, Attila; Balkay, László; Trón, Lajos; Raics, Péter

    2014-12-01

    Excel2Genie, a simple and user-friendly Microsoft Excel interface, has been developed to the Genie-2000 Spectroscopic Software of Canberra Industries. This Excel application can directly control Canberra Multichannel Analyzer (MCA), process the acquired data and visualize them. Combination of Genie-2000 with Excel2Genie results in remarkably increased flexibility and a possibility to carry out repetitive data acquisitions even with changing parameters and more sophisticated analysis. The developed software package comprises three worksheets: display parameters and results of data acquisition, data analysis and mathematical operations carried out on the measured gamma spectra. At the same time it also allows control of these processes. Excel2Genie is freely available to assist gamma spectrum measurements and data evaluation by the interested Canberra users. With access to the Visual Basic Application (VBA) source code of this application users are enabled to modify the developed interface according to their intentions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Lineær programmering med Excel

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lynggaard, Peter

    Publikationen giver en introduktion til faget "Lineær programmering". Formulering og løsning bygger på, at modellerne opstilles og løses i et Excel-regneark. Fremgangsmåden er forklaret trin for trin, således at hæftet kan bruges som selvstudiemateriale. Indholdsfortegnelse Generelt om styring og...... planlægning Lineær programmering Excel solveren Fortolkning af udskrifter Degeneration Excel tips Opgaver med løsninger...

  7. Essentials of Excel, Excel VBA, SAS and Minitab for statistical and financial analyses

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, Cheng-Few; Chang, Jow-Ran; Tai, Tzu

    2016-01-01

    This introductory textbook for business statistics teaches statistical analysis and research methods via business case studies and financial data using Excel, MINITAB, and SAS. Every chapter in this textbook engages the reader with data of individual stock, stock indices, options, and futures. One studies and uses statistics to learn how to study, analyze, and understand a data set of particular interest. Some of the more popular statistical programs that have been developed to use statistical and computational methods to analyze data sets are SAS, SPSS, and MINITAB. Of those, we look at MINITAB and SAS in this textbook. One of the main reasons to use MINITAB is that it is the easiest to use among the popular statistical programs. We look at SAS because it is the leading statistical package used in industry. We also utilize the much less costly and ubiquitous Microsoft Excel to do statistical analysis, as the benefits of Excel have become widely recognized in the academic world and its analytical capabilities...

  8. Excel for chemists: a comprehensive guide

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Billo, E. Joseph

    2011-01-01

    ..., biological, and medicinal calculations. Including a CD-ROM for Windows, this new edition provides chemists and students with the a detailed guide to using the current versions of Excel (Excel 2007 and 2010...

  9. Agreement in the Interpretation of Magnetic Resonance Images of the Lumbar Spine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovacs, F.M.; Royuela, A.; Jensen, T.S.

    2009-01-01

    Background: Correlation between clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings is essential in low-back-pain patients. Most previous studies have analyzed concordance in the interpretation of lumbar MRI among a few radiologists who worked together. This may have overestimated concordance. Purpose: To evaluate intra- and interobserver agreement in the interpretation of lumbar MRI performed in an open 0.2T system. Material and Methods: Seven radiologists from two different geographic settings in Spain interpreted the lumbar MRIs of 50 subjects representative of the general Danish population aged 40 years. The radiologists interpreted the images in routine clinical practice, having no knowledge of the clinical and demographic characteristics of the subjects and blinded to their colleagues' assessments. Six of the radiologists evaluated the same MRIs 14 days later, having no knowledge of the previous results. Data on the existence of disc degeneration, high-intensity zones, disc contour, Schmorl nodes, Modic changes, osteophytes, spondylolisthesis, and spinal stenosis were collected in the Nordic Modic Consensus Group Classification form. Intra- and interobserver agreement was analyzed for variables with a prevalence =10% and =90% by means of the kappa statistic. Results: Intra- and interobserver agreement was excellent for variables related to Modic changes, and fair to good for disc contour, high-intensity zones, and Schmorl nodes. The evaluations for disc degeneration and osteophytes were found to have fair to good intraobserver agreement and poor interobserver agreement. The agreement for the evaluations of spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis was not analyzed because they were observed in <10% of reports. Conclusion: Images from 0.2T MRIs appear to lead to good agreement in the reporting of disc contour, high-intensity zones, Schmorl nodes, and, in particular, Modic changes, suggesting that they can possibly be reliably used for clinical research

  10. Agreement in the Interpretation of Magnetic Resonance Images of the Lumbar Spine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kovacs, F.M. (Dept. Cientfico, Fundacin Kovacs, Palma de Majorca (Spain)); Royuela, A. (Spanish Back Pain Research Network, Fundacin Kovacs, Palma de Majorca (Spain)); Jensen, T.S. (Back Research Center, Backcenter Funen, Ringe (Denmark)) (and others)

    2009-06-15

    Background: Correlation between clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings is essential in low-back-pain patients. Most previous studies have analyzed concordance in the interpretation of lumbar MRI among a few radiologists who worked together. This may have overestimated concordance. Purpose: To evaluate intra- and interobserver agreement in the interpretation of lumbar MRI performed in an open 0.2T system. Material and Methods: Seven radiologists from two different geographic settings in Spain interpreted the lumbar MRIs of 50 subjects representative of the general Danish population aged 40 years. The radiologists interpreted the images in routine clinical practice, having no knowledge of the clinical and demographic characteristics of the subjects and blinded to their colleagues' assessments. Six of the radiologists evaluated the same MRIs 14 days later, having no knowledge of the previous results. Data on the existence of disc degeneration, high-intensity zones, disc contour, Schmorl nodes, Modic changes, osteophytes, spondylolisthesis, and spinal stenosis were collected in the Nordic Modic Consensus Group Classification form. Intra- and interobserver agreement was analyzed for variables with a prevalence =10% and =90% by means of the kappa statistic. Results: Intra- and interobserver agreement was excellent for variables related to Modic changes, and fair to good for disc contour, high-intensity zones, and Schmorl nodes. The evaluations for disc degeneration and osteophytes were found to have fair to good intraobserver agreement and poor interobserver agreement. The agreement for the evaluations of spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis was not analyzed because they were observed in <10% of reports. Conclusion: Images from 0.2T MRIs appear to lead to good agreement in the reporting of disc contour, high-intensity zones, Schmorl nodes, and, in particular, Modic changes, suggesting that they can possibly be reliably used for clinical

  11. The legal points at issue concerning the Non-proliferation Treaty and the verification agreement of EURATOM with the IAEA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zieger, G.

    1975-01-01

    An excellent and comprehensive but very juridicial contribution on: Development and content of the Non-proliferation Treaty, the problems which this Treaty poses for EURATOM (a common market, common supply, joint enterprises, Non-proliferation Treaty and France), the compatibility of the Non-proliferation Treaty with the EURATOM Treaty, verification agreement EURATOM - IAEA (the IAEA as the supervisory authority, the control system of the IAEA, guidelines elaborated by the IAEA to be used as the basis for negotiating safeguard agreements, national systems of accounting for and control of nuclear material IAEA supervision as a secondary control, principles of IAEA supervision, secrecy, conflict management), conclusion of the verification agreement, deviations from the guidelines elaborated by the IAEA to be used as the basis for negotiating safeguard agreements legal reflexions (verification agreement and Non-proliferation Treaty, reservations concerning the Non-proliferation Treaty, questions of competence between EURATOM and member states without nuclear weapons, problems of equal treatment). (HP/LN) [de

  12. Sustainable Enterprise Excellence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edgeman, Rick; Williams, Joseph; Eskildsen, Jacob Kjær

    , supply chain, customer-related, human capital, financial, marketplace, societal, and environmental performance. Sustainable Enterprise Excellence integrates ethical, efficient and effective (E3) enterprise governance with 3E (equity, ecology, economy) Triple Top Line strategy throughout enterprise...

  13. Teaching Excellence Initiatives: Modalities and Operational Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Land, Ray; Gordon, George

    2015-01-01

    Teaching excellence is at the centre of national and international higher education policy. The Higher Education Academy (HEA) is a part of the debate to develop a shared understanding of what constitutes teaching excellence and has published research including "Considering Teaching Excellence in Higher Education: 2007-2013" by Dr Vicky…

  14. Teaching excellence in nursing education: a caring framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawatzky, Jo-Ann V; Enns, Carol L; Ashcroft, Terri J; Davis, Penny L; Harder, B Nicole

    2009-01-01

    Nursing education plays a central role in the ability to practice effectively. It follows that an optimally educated nursing workforce begets optimal patient care. A framework for excellence in nursing education could guide the development of novice educators, establish the basis for evaluating teaching excellence, and provide the impetus for research in this area. However, a review of the social sciences and nursing literature as well as a search for existing models for teaching excellence revealed an apparent dearth of evidence specific to excellence in nursing education. Therefore, we developed the Caring Framework for Excellence in Nursing Education. This framework evolved from a review of the generic constructs that exemplify teaching excellence: excellence in teaching practice, teaching scholarship, and teaching leadership. Nursing is grounded in the ethic of caring. Hence, caring establishes the foundation for this uniquely nursing framework. Because a teaching philosophy is intimately intertwined with one's nursing philosophy and the ethic of caring, it is also fundamental to the caring framework. Ideally, this framework will contribute to excellence in nursing education and as a consequence excellence in nursing practice and optimal patient care.

  15. Incidental enchondromas at knee magnetic resonance imaging: intraobserver and interobserver agreement and prevalence of imaging findings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Akemi Nakamura

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective To evaluate intra- and interobserver agreement in the identification of incidental enchondromas at knee magnetic resonance imaging, and to assess the prevalence of imaging findings. Materials and Methods Retrospective study reviewing 326 knee magnetic resonance images acquired in the period between November 2009 and September 2010. The images were independently and blindly analyzed by two specialists in musculoskeletal radiology, with the objective of identifying incidental enchondromas, presence of foci with signal similar to bone marrow and foci of signal absence suggestive of calcifications within the enchondromas. Inter- and intraobserver agreements were analyzed. Results Eleven lesions compatible with enchondromas (3.3% were identified. The interobserver agreement for the presence of enchondroma was high. Prevalence of foci of bone marrow signal inside the enchondromas was of 54.55%, and foci suggestive of calcification corresponded to 36.36%. The intraobserver agreement for foci of bone marrow signal in enchondromas was perfect, and interobserver agreement was high. Conclusion The prevalence of incidental enchondromas in the current study was compatible with data in the literature. Excellent agreement was observed in the identification of enchondromas and in the assessment of imaging findings. A higher prevalence of fat signal foci was observed as compared with signal absence suggestive of calcifications.

  16. Principles and organizational values: the question of training and the excel-lence of the hotel services. A case study in the JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Amado Santos

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Human capital should be seen as one of the most valuable assets to hotel businesses that aim for offering excellence, hospitality, efficiency and helpfulness to their business segment. In this sense, this paper has as main objective the exposure of principles and values that support the logic of workers’ capacity and training process in hotel ambience, seen here as a fundamental precept to structure a service and a treatment based on excellence values. Exposed it, this academic research has its methodological foundation on quantitative and qualitative analysis presented by a case study - JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro - seeking to exhibit an evaluation of training policies and their effects on excellence in service, in order to demonstrate how their guidelines reflect on hotel business operational and managerial results. Thus, the sample universe, guided by the perception of 26 workers on organizational training activities, allowed the following considerations: (1 there is, through different departments of this organization, the recognition of the importance of this process and its inferences on organizational results, conditioning to ensuring excellence of services; (2 the logic, the frequency and the commitment to the values presented by this guidelines allow a greater security and reliability on human resource, encouraging its proactivity. Finally, it will be discussed how such issues need to be seen as competitive advantages, able of offering its employees a "know how" essential for satisfaction, enchantment and loyalty of a hotel demand.

  17. Discrimination against Women as a Subtext of Excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Scott B.

    1993-01-01

    Pursuing excellence in sport discriminates against women. Alongside the primary texts of the glories of excellence runs a subtext of inequality and discrimination. The paper traces the idea of sport as a quest for excellence through various interpretations of the meaning of sport, discussing excellence as a socially constructed concept. (SM)

  18. What every engineer should know about excel

    CERN Document Server

    Holman, J P

    2006-01-01

    INTRODUCTIONGetting the Most from ExcelConventionsOutline of MISCELLANEOUS OPERATIONS IN EXCEL AND WORDIntroductionPrint Screen or Screen DumpCustom Keyboard Setup for Symbols in WordViewing or Printing Column and Row Headings and Gridlines in ExcelAssorted InstructionsMoving Objects in Small Increments (Nudging)Formatting Objects in Word, Including WrappingFormatting Objects in ExcelUse of Photo-Editing Software in Word, Including WrappingCopying Cell Formulas: Effect of Relative and Absolute AddressesCopying Formulas by Dragging the Fill HandleShortcut for Changing the Status of Cell Address

  19. Predictors of excellent response to lithium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kessing, Lars Vedel; Hellmund, Gunnar; Andersen, Per Kragh

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to identify sociodemographic and clinical predictors of excellent response, that is, 'cure' of future affective episodes, to lithium in monotherapy. We used nationwide registers to identify all patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in psychiatric hospital settings...... who were prescribed lithium from 1995 to 2006 in Denmark (N=3762). Excellent lithium responders were defined as patients who after a stabilization lithium start-up period of 6 months, continued lithium in monotherapy without getting hospitalized. The rate of excellent response to lithium...... with somatic comorbidity had increased rates of non-response to lithium compared with patients without somatic comorbidity (HR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.00-1.52).It is concluded that the prevalence of excellent response to lithium monotherapy is low and such patients are characterized by few earlier psychiatric...

  20. Advanced Excel for scientific data analysis

    CERN Document Server

    De Levie, Robert

    2004-01-01

    Excel is by far the most widely distributed data analysis software but few users are aware of its full powers. Advanced Excel For Scientific Data Analysis takes off from where most books dealing with scientific applications of Excel end. It focuses on three areas-least squares, Fourier transformation, and digital simulation-and illustrates these with extensive examples, often taken from the literature. It also includes and describes a number of sample macros and functions to facilitate common data analysis tasks. These macros and functions are provided in uncompiled, computer-readable, easily

  1. International agreements on nuclear weapons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dombey, N.

    1982-01-01

    The satellite detection of a nuclear explosion in the South Atlantic and Israel's destruction of a research reactor in Iraq make it essential to strengthen existing monitoring and enforcement programs to prevent proliferation. While there was no reliable evidence that either South Africa or Iraq was violating non-proliferation agreements, worst case scenarios can demonstrate to unfriendly countries that South Africa had diverted fuel to test a nuclear weapon and that Iraq is intending to produce weapons-grade plutonium 239. The situation can be improved by formulating better terms and conditions for internationalizing access to materials. Nuclear suppliers need to agree on terms that will assure their customers that contracts for civil programs will be honored. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which includes both nuclear suppliers and customers, could achieve stronger agreements that take into account recent technological advances that will expand enrichment and reprocessing activities. 23 references, 1 figure

  2. Obsessed with excellence

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Lawrence

    dia and develop new areas of research in their perspective laborato- ries. A staunch ... Her unique quality for allowing individual scientific tal- ents to bloom, in ... of excellence in sci- ence, Dr Ranadive made an indelible impression on my mind.

  3. Excel 2016 in applied statistics for high school students a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2018-01-01

    This textbook is a step-by-step guide for high school, community college, or undergraduate students who are taking a course in applied statistics and wish to learn how to use Excel to solve statistical problems. All of the statistics problems in this book will come from the following fields of study: business, education, psychology, marketing, engineering and advertising. Students will learn how to perform key statistical tests in Excel without being overwhelmed by statistical theory. Each chapter briefly explains a topic and then demonstrates how to use Excel commands and formulas to solve specific statistics problems. This book gives practice in using Excel in two different ways: (1) writing formulas (e.g., confidence interval about the mean, one-group t-test, two-group t-test, correlation) and (2) using Excel’s drop-down formula menus (e.g., simple linear regression, multiple correlations and multiple regression, and one-way ANOVA). Three practice problems are provided at the end of each chapter, along w...

  4. Do Pre-Entry Tests Predict Competencies Required to Excel Academically in Law School?: An Empirical Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wamala, Robert

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Prospective students of law are required to demonstrate competence in certain disciplines to attain admission to law school. The grounding in the disciplines is expected to demonstrate competencies required to excel academically in law school. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relevance of the law school admission test to…

  5. People management as indicator of business excellence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haffer, Rafal; Kristensen, Kai

    2010-01-01

    Purpose – This paper aims to show the importance of people management as a key indicator of business excellence based on four research projects, conducted on the samples of Polish (in the years 2004-2005 and 2006-2007) and Danish companies (in 1999 and 2005). Design/methodology/approach – EFQM...... it possible to compare developing Polish and developed Danish companies in their initiatives aiming at business excellence. Findings – The results indicate significant negligence in the management of human resources as one of the initiatives towards business excellence of Polish enterprises before Poland...... Excellence Model indicators were used as the evaluation criteria for the studies. The data were next estimated as a structural equation model by partial least squares using SmartPLS software. That estimation was conducted on the model of the Danish Business Excellence Index methodology. Presented data make...

  6. Contribution of Lean Management to Excellence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    López-Fresno Palmira

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available To continuously and systematically improve efficiency and efficacy of processes, organizations need the implication of all employees in continuous improvement and innovation through suitable Quality Management Programs (QMPs. Effectiveness of these programs is directly linked to the requirement employees understand the methodologies and tools used for QM and the benefits that will derivate from their implementation, individually and collectively, so they can commit and implicate. Lean Management is a friendly methodology to continuously and systematically achieve process improvement, so helping the organization seeking operational excellence that contributes to overall excellence. This paper identifies Critical Success Factors (CSFs for an effective implementation of QMPs, suggests Lean Management as an easy-to-understand, powerful and friendly methodology for operational excellence and overall excellence, and presents a case experience of implementation of Lean Management in a health care organization that applies the EFQM model, and the lessons learnt.

  7. Agreement and Anti-Agreement in Berber: A Multiple-Feature Inheritance Account

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saleem Abdelhady

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study proposes understanding Agreement and Anti-Agreement in Berber from Multi-Feature Inheritance (MFI account following Branigan’s (2016 recent approach. The study aims to bridge a misunderstanding in the literature where it has been assumed that Feature Inheritance (FI can only account for Agreement relations while Anti-agreement relations can only be established by a direct Agree between C as a probe and its goal. Under MFI, it can be argued that FI can account for all aspects of Agreement/Anti-agreement. The study, therefore, presents a unification of the three mechanisms proposed by Ouali (2008. The new approach is tested on data from Berber.

  8. Achieving excellence in training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mangin, A.M.; Solymossy, J.M.

    1983-01-01

    Operating a nuclear power plant is a uniquely challenging activity, requiring a high degree of competence from all who are involved. Achieving and maintaining this competence requires excellence in training. But what does excellence mean, and how do we achieve it. Based on the experience gained by INPO in plant training evaluations and accreditation activities, this paper describes some of the actions that can be taken to achieve the quality appropriate for nuclear power plant training. These actions are discussed in relation to the four phases of a performance-based training system: (1) needs analysis, (2) program design and development, (3) implementation, and (4) evaluation and improvement

  9. Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Inside Out

    CERN Document Server

    Stinson, Craig

    2003-01-01

    Hey, you know your way around a spreadsheet-so now dig into Excel 2003 and really put your data to work! This supremely organized reference packs hundreds of timesaving solutions, troubleshooting tips, and handy workarounds in concise, fast-answer format. It's all muscle and no fluff. Discover the best and fastest ways to perform everyday tasks, and challenge yourself to new levels of Excel mastery! Build on what you already know about Excel and quickly dive into what's newLearn how the experts design more powerful spreadsheetsSharpen your core to advanced document editing and formatting skil

  10. Statistical analysis with Excel for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Schmuller, Joseph

    2013-01-01

    Take the mystery out of statistical terms and put Excel to work! If you need to create and interpret statistics in business or classroom settings, this easy-to-use guide is just what you need. It shows you how to use Excel's powerful tools for statistical analysis, even if you've never taken a course in statistics. Learn the meaning of terms like mean and median, margin of error, standard deviation, and permutations, and discover how to interpret the statistics of everyday life. You'll learn to use Excel formulas, charts, PivotTables, and other tools to make sense of everything fro

  11. 101 Ready-To-Use Excel Macros

    CERN Document Server

    Alexander, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Save time and be more productive with this helpful guide to Excel macros! While most books about Excel macros offer only minor examples, usually aimed at illustrating a particular topic, this invaluable resource provides you with the tools needed to efficiently and effectively program Excel macros immediately. Step-by-step instructions show you how to create VBA macros and explain how to customize your applications to look and work exactly as you want them to. By the end of the book, you will understand how each featured macro works, be able to reuse the macros included in the book and online,

  12. Ultrasonographic assessment of tendon thickness, Doppler activity and bony spurs of the elbow in patients with lateral epicondylitis and healthy subjects: a reliability and agreement study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krogh, T P; Fredberg, U; Christensen, R; Stengaard-Pedersen, K; Ellingsen, T

    2013-10-01

    Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis (LE), is a common disorder often assessed by ultrasound. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ultrasonographic outcomes and methods used in LE research and clinical practice. This study was designed as an intra- and interobserver reliability and agreement study. Ultrasonographic examination of the common extensor tendon of the elbow was performed. The intraobserver study examined tendon thickness twice in 20 right elbows from 20 healthy individuals at an interval of 7 to 12 days. The interobserver study examined tendon thickness, color Doppler activity, and bony spurs in 18 right elbows in 9 healthy individuals and 9 patients with LE. Two trained rheumatologists performed the interobserver examinations with the same scanner on the same day. The main outcomes were intra- and interclass correlation (ICC) and agreement. In the intraobserver study, the ICC with regard to tendon thickness ranged from 0.76 to 0.81, depending on the measurement techniques used. The agreement ranged from 0.06 to 0.13 mm. In the interobserver study, the tendon thickness ICC ranged from 0.45 to 0.65 and the agreement ranged from -0.17 to 0.13 mm. The ICC for color Doppler activity was 0.93, with agreement in 14/18 (78 %) of the cases. A perfect reliability was demonstrated for bony spurs, with an ICC of 1 and exact agreement in 18/18 (100 %) of the cases. Good to excellent reliability was obtained for all measurements. The ultrasonographic techniques evaluated in this trial can be recommended for use in both research and clinical practice. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  13. Quality Management and Business Excellence

    OpenAIRE

    Vasile Dinu

    2017-01-01

    An excellent organization involves much more than the implementation and the certification of one or more models of management systems. It means developing techniques and tools of busin excellence which lead the organization to outstanding performance on quality, costs and deadlines in order to meet the expectations of all their stakeholders. Such an approach is needed especially in the context of an economy marked by globalization, extremely complex and dynamic that causes spectacular change...

  14. Quality improvement using the Baldrige Criteria for Organizational Performance Excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeJong, Douglas J

    2009-06-01

    The criteria needed to achieve the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) are described. The MBNQA was created in 1987 to recognize quality and performance and to encourage excellence in American companies. In 2003, Saint Luke's Hospital, the largest hospital in the Saint Luke's Health System, received the MBNQA. In the years since, the hospital has continued to use the Baldrige approach and has pursued the award on the health-system level. The Baldrige Criteria for Organizational Performance Excellence provide a framework that focuses on obtaining the highest levels of organizational excellence. These criteria consist of seven categories-leadership; strategic planning; focus on patients, customers, and markets; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; work-force focus; process management; and results. At Saint Luke's Hospital, a category leader was designated for each of the seven categories in order to fully apply the criteria to the organization. Pharmacy leaders worked closely with each category leader to ensure that the appropriate format was being followed and to contribute positively to the written application and the site visit conducted by MBNQA examiners. The MBNQA involves its own vernacular and pattern. Effort should be made to fully understand and embrace the path that the organization's leaders have chosen. Departmental activities should be placed in front of an individual's leadership so that he or she can play an active part in demonstrating quality-improvement success stories. The criteria for the MBNQA are structured around seven categories that form a framework by which any organization or department can structure its own pursuit of quality and excellence. Pharmacy leaders can play an important role in the successful pursuit of quality within their organization.

  15. Evaluation of hydrogen demonstration systems (Task 18 of IEA Implementing Agreement on Hydrogen)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baker, J N; Carter, S

    2005-07-01

    Task 18 aims to gather information about the integration of hydrogen into society around the world. As part of subtask B (demonstration projects), EA Technology Limited collected information and data on specific UK hydrogen demonstration projects and case studies. The work involved desk research, a literature review, telephone conversations and meetings with developers and operators of hydrogen-related projects in the UK. Various examples were identified in phase 1 that were either proposed, planned, under construction, commissioned or operational. The main demonstration activities described in the report are: the Clean Urban Transport for Europe (CUTE) refuelling station at Hornchurch in Essex; the Hydrogen and Renewables Integration (HARI) project at West Beacon Farm, Leicestershire; the Promoting Unst Renewable Energy (PURE) project on Unst in the Shetland Isles; the Hunterston Hydrogen Project in North Ayrshire, Scotland; and the Tees Valley Hydrogen Project. The CUTE, HARI and PURE projects were selected for inclusion in the overall Task 18 workplan. The report also covers developments associated with the Fuel Cell House, the Hydrogen Office, INEOS Chlor, the London Hydrogen Partnership and the Wales Hydrogen Project.

  16. Critical self-evaluation for excellence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mullee, G.R.

    1988-01-01

    This paper discusses the use of critical self-evaluation of performance as a stimulus for excellence. Self-evaluation inherently provides acceptance and ownership of a problem, thereby motivating change. Some of the key elements of self-evaluation are discussed such as unbiased observations and appropriate performance standards. As circumstances change, an ongoing self-appraisal approach provides continuing feedback to maintain and further excellence. Two examples of critical self-evaluation in use at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) are discussed

  17. Idea of Quality Versus Idea of Excellence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marko Kiauta

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates professionals on the field of quality, are responsible to give to customer honest clarification of fundamental ideas. Quality movement is losing credibility with suggesting that the idea of quality is replacing with the idea of excellence. Findings are based on more than 25 years of practice in professional promotion of quality: in consulting on private and public sector, from 1990 lead auditor at SIQ (Slovenian Institute of Quality, from 1998 lead assessor – commission for Slovenian Excellence Quality Award. Theory is developed based on: Noriaki Kano theory of Attractive quality, Tito Conti ideas on TQM and applications problems of Excellence model, Practical case of General Hospital Novo Mesto (in 1998 first attempt of using EM, than forced to build QMS based on ISO 9001 and then returned to practice EM. Findings: We really need to amplify and to understand the concept of quality in a much wider way. To treat excellence related activities separated from all others quality management activities is not god solution. The name of EFQM Excellence Model should be replaced with Quality Management Model. Research limitations/implications: This paper present findings mainly based on practice in Slovenia and especially in public sector where practicing of CAF is not giving expected benefits. Practical implications: The three styles of quality management (improvements to reach demands, improvements to reach expectations, improvements to react on new conditions and needs should be connected with personal development. Theory is developed based on: Noriaki Kano theory of Attractive quality, Tito Conti ideas on TQM and applications problems of Excellence model. We need integration moments. Integration is other word for creativity and health. It leads to integrity. Excellence is only one of three states of quality. If we ask: How? The answer is bad, good or excellent. All three are possible states of the same parameter.

  18. 12 CFR 533.5 - Related agreements considered a single agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 533.5 Related agreements considered a single agreement... entered into within the same 12-month period; and (3) Are each in fulfillment of the CRA. (b... in fulfillment of the CRA, if the contracts were negotiated in a coordinated fashion and a NGEP is a...

  19. 12 CFR 35.5 - Related agreements considered a single agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 35.5 Related agreements considered a single agreement... into within the same 12-month period; and (3) Are each in fulfillment of the CRA. (b) Substantively... the CRA, if the contracts were negotiated in a coordinated fashion and a NGEP is a party to each...

  20. The Pursuit of Excellence through Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrari, Michel, Ed.

    In this book theorists and researchers present a range of perspectives on how to promote excellence in education, providing an opportunity for expression to those who stress transformation of educational practice and those who emphasize individual abilities. In part 1, The Individual Pursuit of Excellence, the chapters are: (1) Learning from…

  1. Patient satisfaction: focusing on "excellent".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otani, Koichiro; Waterman, Brian; Faulkner, Kelly M; Boslaugh, Sarah; Burroughs, Thomas E; Dunagan, W Claiborne

    2009-01-01

    In an emerging competitive market such as healthcare, managers should focus on achieving excellent ratings to distinguish their organization from others. When it comes to customer loyalty, "excellent" has a different meaning. Customers who are merely satisfied often do not come back. The purpose of this study was to find out what influences adult patients to rate their overall experience as "excellent." The study used patient satisfaction data collected from one major academic hospital and four community hospitals. After conducting a multiple logistic regression analysis, certain attributes were shown to be more likely than others to influence patients to rate their experiences as excellent. The study revealed that staff care is the most influential attribute, followed by nursing care. These two attributes are distinctively stronger drivers of overall satisfaction than are the other attributes studied (i.e., physician care, admission process, room, and food). Staff care and nursing care are under the control of healthcare managers. If improvements are needed, they can be accomplished through training programs such as total quality management or continuous quality improvement, through which staff employees and nurses learn to be sensitive to patients' needs. Satisfying patients' needs is the first step toward having loyal patients, so hospitals that strive to ensure their patients are completely satisfied are more likely to prosper.

  2. Technology transfer: A cooperative agreement and success story

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reno, H.W.; McNeel, K.; Armstrong, A.T.; Vance, J.K.

    1996-01-01

    This paper describes the cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and Envirocare of Utah, Inc., wherein the former transferred macroencapsulative technology to the latter for purposes of demonstrating commercialization of treatment and disposal of 225, 000 Kg of radioactive lead stored at departmental installations

  3. Interrater agreement for the schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia epidemiological version for school-age children (K-SADS-E

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Polanczyk Guilherme V

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVE: The main objective of this study was to assess the interrater agreement for the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia Epidemiological version for School-Age Children (K-SADS-E. METHODS: Four interviewers being trained with the K-SADS-E scored independently 29 videotaped interviews performed with psychiatric outpatients in the ADHD Outpatient Clinic at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. Interrater agreement analysis was performed using the kappa coefficient (k. RESULTS: Kappa coefficients were .93 (p<.001 for affective disorders, .9 (p<.001 for anxiety disorders, .94 (p<.001 for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders and disruptive behavior disorders. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest an excellent interrater agreement for the diagnosis of several mental disorders in childhood and adolescence by the Brazilian Portuguese version of the K-SADS-E.

  4. OPEC's response to international climate agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braaten, J.; Golombek, R.

    1998-01-01

    This paper studies a game between a group of countries that have agreed to participate in an international climate agreement (the signatories) and OPEC. The purpose of the signatories is to design carbon taxes that maximize their total net income, given a goal on global carbon emissions. As a response to the climate agreement, OPEC imposes an oil tax on its member states that maximizes OPEC's profits. Within a numerical model we find the subgame-perfect equilibrium of a game in which each player chooses when to fix his decision variables. It is shown that in equilibrium the group of signatories chooses to be the leader and OPEC chooses to be the follower. It is demonstrated, however, that for both agents the order of move is of minor (numerical) importance. Hence, the players have limited incentives for strategic behaviour. 17 refs

  5. Emergence of the North American center of excellence for transportation equipment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Gottschall

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Following the closure of Plattsburgh Air Force Base in 1995, the northeastern region of New York State faced a unique economic development challenge. In addition to the loss of the air base, the rural area suffers from urbanization and automation in manufacturing trends. While the quality of life is highly rated, population and job growth stagnate. Isolated geographically by Lake Champlain to the East, the Adirondack Mountains to the South and West, and long distances to southern economic centers in the state, the region has looked north of the Canadian border and positioned itself as "Montreal's US suburb". Economic developers have crafted bi-national agreements between regional organizations, improved cross-border infrastructure, and enhanced educational institutions for the purpose of attracting Canadian and international manufacturers to the region. In 2015, the North American Center of Excellence in Transportation Equipment was launched and six new companies joined the cluster, doubling its size and perhaps providing a base for further growth. Manufacturing jobs are likely to grow for the first time in more than 20-years. We use cluster theory to argue that this formation of companies may still be insufficient to catalyze cluster emergence and the desired goal of regional competitiveness. Moving forward in the crafting of regional economic development policy, we emphasize the importance of viewing the North American Center of Excellence for Transportation Equipment as a pre-emergent cluster in need of further support to reach its potential.

  6. Realisatie van Excel Kwadraat in de praktijk

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, Elma

    2013-01-01

    Dijkstra, E. M. (2013, 2 July). Realisatie van Excel Kwadraat in de praktijk [Realization of Excellent Education in practice]. Presentation held at the OLK-meeting, ITS, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

  7. Creating cultures of excellence: Strategies and outcomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Mintrom

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Research findings on effective support for learning, the development of expertise, and the psychology of success suggest that the pursuit of excellence is teachable. Within the emerging field of research and practice termed “the scholarship of teaching and learning,” considerable effort has been made to document the practices of teachers who, by various measures, have been deemed excellent. In contrast, no effort has been made to codify how students can be trained to self-consciously build behaviors that generate excellent outcomes. This article reports on a multi-year effort to create cultures of excellence among cohorts of graduate students. A statistical analysis of subsequent student performance on a significant, related task indicates that explicitly promoting a culture of excellence among course participants can have a positive and sustained impact on their individual practices. Comments from subsequent student reflections further support this claim. The teaching strategies reported here could be refined, replicated, and reinvented to good effect across higher education. They are also of special relevance to those delivering professional development training to early- and mid-career professionals.

  8. Coping with Excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culler, Jonathan

    2002-01-01

    Suggests that when the university devotes itself to "excellence," it substitutes, for a vision of what should be taught, a contentless measure, a bureaucratic concept that extends the range of managerial control without presuming to make judgments about content. Suggests that English departments should try to design sequences of courses that are…

  9. Quality Management and Business Excellence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasile Dinu

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available An excellent organization involves much more than the implementation and the certification of one or more models of management systems. It means developing techniques and tools of busin excellence which lead the organization to outstanding performance on quality, costs and deadlines in order to meet the expectations of all their stakeholders. Such an approach is needed especially in the context of an economy marked by globalization, extremely complex and dynamic that causes spectacular changes in the business environment by integrating quality management principles on purpose to develop sustainable excellence. Not coincidentally, the new edition of the European excellence model EFQM integrates for the first time the principle "managing with agility“ with the principles: “developing organizational capability”, “harnessing creativity & innovation”, “adding value to the customer”, “sustaining outstanding results” for the organization and “creating a sustainable future”. Also, the new model for quality management system defined by the edition from 2015 of ISO 9000 standards , promotes the process-based approach, incorporating the cycle "Plan - Do − Check − Act" (PDCA and the risk-based thinking, focusing on organizational change and innovation, in order to ensure a sustainable performance in business. Noteworthy is the endeavor for the development of a high-level structure for all international standards for management systems, aiming to harmonize these standards to facilitate the implementation of integrated management systems (quality − environment − security − social responsibility.

  10. A prospective study assessing agreement and reliability of a geriatric evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locatelli, Isabella; Monod, Stéfanie; Cornuz, Jacques; Büla, Christophe J; Senn, Nicolas

    2017-07-19

    The present study takes place within a geriatric program, aiming at improving the diagnosis and management of geriatric syndromes in primary care. Within this program it was of prime importance to be able to rely on a robust and reproducible geriatric consultation to use as a gold standard for evaluating a primary care brief assessment tool. The specific objective of the present study was thus assessing the agreement and reliability of a comprehensive geriatric consultation. The study was conducted at the outpatient clinic of the Service of Geriatric Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. All community-dwelling older persons aged 70 years and above were eligible. Patients were excluded if they hadn't a primary care physician, they were unable to speak French, or they were already assessed by a geriatrician within the last 12 months. A set of 9 geriatricians evaluated 20 patients. Each patient was assessed twice within a 2-month delay. Geriatric consultations were based on a structured evaluation process, leading to rating the following geriatric conditions: functional, cognitive, visual, and hearing impairment, mood disorders, risk of fall, osteoporosis, malnutrition, and urinary incontinence. Reliability and agreement estimates on each of these items were obtained using a three-way Intraclass Correlation and a three-way Observed Disagreement index. The latter allowed a decomposition of overall disagreement into disagreements due to each source of error variability (visit, rater and random). Agreement ranged between 0.62 and 0.85. For most domains, geriatrician-related error variability explained an important proportion of disagreement. Reliability ranged between 0 and 0.8. It was poor/moderate for visual impairment, malnutrition and risk of fall, and good/excellent for functional/cognitive/hearing impairment, osteoporosis, incontinence and mood disorders. Six out of nine items of the geriatric consultation described in this study (functional

  11. 46 CFR 298.38 - Partnership agreements and limited liability company agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Partnership agreements and limited liability company... liability company agreements. Partnership and limited liability company agreements must be in form and...) Duration of the entity; (b) Adequate partnership or limited liability company funding requirements and...

  12. WVU cooperative agreement, decontamination systems information and research program, deployment support leading to implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cook, E.E.

    1996-01-01

    This program at West Virginia University is a Cooperative Agreement that focuses on R ampersand D associated with hazardous waste remediation problems existing at DOE, Corps of Engineers, and private sector sites. The Agreement builds on a unique combination of resources coupling university researchers with DOE sponsored small businesses, leading toward field tests and large scale technology demonstrations of environmental technologies. Most of the Agreement's projects are categorized in the Technology Maturity Levels under Gates 3-Advanced Development, Gate 4-Engineering Development, and Gate 5-Demonstration. The program includes a diversity of projects: subsurface contaminants; mixed wastes; mixed wastes/efficient separations; mixed wastes/characterization, monitoring, and sensor technologies; and decontamination and decommissioning/efficient separations

  13. Improving Graduate Students' Graphing Skills of Multiple Baseline Designs with Microsoft[R] Excel 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Ya-yu; Starling, A. Leyf Peirce

    2009-01-01

    This study examined the effects of a graphing task analysis using the Microsoft[R] Office Excel 2007 program on the single-subject multiple baseline graphing skills of three university graduate students. Using a multiple probe across participants design, the study demonstrated a functional relationship between the number of correct graphing…

  14. Two-Dimensional Tellurene as Excellent Thermoelectric Material

    KAUST Repository

    Sharma, Sitansh

    2018-04-20

    We study the thermoelectric properties of two-dimensional tellurene by first-principles calculations and semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory. The HSE06 hybrid functional results in a moderate direct band gap of 1.48 eV at the Γ point. A high room temperature Seebeck coefficient (Sxx = 0.38 mV/K, Syy = 0.36 mV/K) is combined with anisotropic lattice thermal conductivity (κxxl = 0.43 W/m K, κyyl = 1.29 W/m K). Phonon band structures demonstrate a key role of optical phonons in the record low thermal conductivity that leads to excellent thermoelectric performance of tellurene. At room temperature and moderate hole doping of 1.2 × 10–11 cm–2, for example, a figure of merit of ZTxx = 0.8 is achieved.

  15. Agent-based models of strategies for the emergence and evolution of grammatical agreement.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrien Beuls

    Full Text Available Grammatical agreement means that features associated with one linguistic unit (for example number or gender become associated with another unit and then possibly overtly expressed, typically with morphological markers. It is one of the key mechanisms used in many languages to show that certain linguistic units within an utterance grammatically depend on each other. Agreement systems are puzzling because they can be highly complex in terms of what features they use and how they are expressed. Moreover, agreement systems have undergone considerable change in the historical evolution of languages. This article presents language game models with populations of agents in order to find out for what reasons and by what cultural processes and cognitive strategies agreement systems arise. It demonstrates that agreement systems are motivated by the need to minimize combinatorial search and semantic ambiguity, and it shows, for the first time, that once a population of agents adopts a strategy to invent, acquire and coordinate meaningful markers through social learning, linguistic self-organization leads to the spontaneous emergence and cultural transmission of an agreement system. The article also demonstrates how attested grammaticalization phenomena, such as phonetic reduction and conventionalized use of agreement markers, happens as a side effect of additional economizing principles, in particular minimization of articulatory effort and reduction of the marker inventory. More generally, the article illustrates a novel approach for studying how key features of human languages might emerge.

  16. Simulation of complex pharmacokinetic models in Microsoft Excel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meineke, Ingolf; Brockmöller, Jürgen

    2007-12-01

    With the arrival of powerful personal computers in the office numerical methods are accessible to everybody. Simulation of complex processes therefore has become an indispensible tool in research and education. In this paper Microsoft EXCEL is used as a platform for a universal differential equation solver. The software is designed as an add-in aiming at a minimum of required user input to perform a given task. Four examples are included to demonstrate both, the simplicity of use and the versatility of possible applications. While the layout of the program is admittedly geared to the needs of pharmacokineticists, it can be used in any field where sets of differential equations are involved. The software package is available upon request.

  17. A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Viewer Agreement with Opinionated Television Characters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tate, Eugene D.; Surlin, Stuart H.

    This study was conducted to test the relationship between dogmatism and agreement with the television character Archie Bunker among adult Canadians. It was hypothesized that highly dogmatic Canadians would demonstrate the same identification with Archie Bunker that highly dogmatic viewers from the U. S. demonstrate, and it was also hypothesized…

  18. Technology Partnership Agreements | NREL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partnership Agreements Technology Partnership Agreements Looking for Funding? We do not fund any projects under a technology partnership agreement. The partner provides the necessary resources and, in using technology partnership agreements. See a summary of our Fiscal Year 2017 technology partnership

  19. Excellent Companies and Coalition-Building among the Fortune 500: A Value- and Relationship-Based Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Laurie J.

    1994-01-01

    Discusses ways a revolution in business management emphasizing people, values, integrity, and communication should also change the approach to public relations. Reviews research to demonstrate that coalition companies possess the characteristics of excellent companies. Argues that perhaps this community relations function will lead from the…

  20. Head First Excel A learner's guide to spreadsheets

    CERN Document Server

    Milton, Michael

    2010-01-01

    Do you use Excel for simple lists, but get confused and frustrated when it comes to actually doing something useful with all that data? Stop tearing your hair out: Head First Excel helps you painlessly move from spreadsheet dabbler to savvy user. Whether you're completely new to Excel or an experienced user looking to make the program work better for you, this book will help you incorporate Excel into every aspect of your workflow, from a scratch pad for data-based brainstorming to exploratory analysis with PivotTables, optimizing outcomes with Goal Seek, and presenting your conclusions wit

  1. Excellent Thinking and Its Position among EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gholamhossein Shahini

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The major goal of education, according to the educationalist Matthew Lipman (2003, is to culture students to become thoughtful by attaining excellent thinking power; i.e., critical, creative, and caring thinking ability. The purpose of this study was to examine the current status of excellent thinking among EFL students. Using accessible sampling, 41 EFL students at Shiraz University, Iran read two passages of various types and were asked to make a number of essay-type questions on each one. The results indicated that the majority of the questions were trivial reading comprehension ones with no sign of excellent thinking. The findings may imply that despite the significance of cultivating excellent thinking within students, no/scant attention is paid to this issue and EFL students have not still gained the necessary skills of excellent thinking.

  2. 48 CFR 225.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 225.403 Section 225.403 Federal Acquisition... FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 225.403 World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and... Government Procurement Agreement, acquire only U.S.-made, qualifying country, or designated country end...

  3. Auto Draw from Excel Input Files

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauss, Karl F.; Goullioud, Renaud; Cox, Brian; Grimes, James M.

    2011-01-01

    The design process often involves the use of Excel files during project development. To facilitate communications of the information in the Excel files, drawings are often generated. During the design process, the Excel files are updated often to reflect new input. The problem is that the drawings often lag the updates, often leading to confusion of the current state of the design. The use of this program allows visualization of complex data in a format that is more easily understandable than pages of numbers. Because the graphical output can be updated automatically, the manual labor of diagram drawing can be eliminated. The more frequent update of system diagrams can reduce confusion and reduce errors and is likely to uncover symmetric problems earlier in the design cycle, thus reducing rework and redesign.

  4. Achieving engineering excellence at Palo Verde

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prawlocki, F.C.

    1989-01-01

    Early in 1988, the management of the newly formed Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS) Engineering and Construction Division was faced with a dilemma: how to build a competent, confident, efficient engineering organization in the face of increasing requirements and tightened fiscal controls. This paper discusses steps taken by Palo Verde to address actions taken to effect a smooth transition from construction to operations and the development of the Engineering Excellence Program. The Engineering Excellence Program will continue to evolve over time as the number of the NED's [Nuclear Engineering Department] personnel grown and processes are changed over the course of the next few years. As tasks from the Engineering Excellence Program action plan are completed, the results achieved are expected to be integrated into the routine business of the NED

  5. Developing talent for operational excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theadore, Jason C; O'Brien, Thaddeus J

    2012-01-01

    Many organizations have the expectation that their employees will prepare for their own professional development without much support or guidance. To achieve operational excellence, development of the people in an organization is just as important as the development of technologies and processes. Ohio Health Ambulatory Division in Columbus, OH created a plan to develop its people systematically in three distinct pillars: management development, staff engagement, and clinical excellence. Much was learned about talent development since work began on "The People Plan", perhaps the most critical lesson learned has been the importance of not giving up on the effort.

  6. Seeing Eye to Eye: Predicting Teacher-Student Agreement on Classroom Social Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal, Jennifer Watling; Cappella, Elise; Wagner, Caroline; Atkins, Marc S.

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the association between classroom characteristics and teacher-student agreement in perceptions of students’ classroom peer networks. Social network, peer nomination, and observational data were collected from a sample of second through fourth grade teachers (N=33) and students (N=669) in 33 classrooms across five high poverty urban schools. Results demonstrate that variation in teacher-student agreement on the structure of students’ peer networks can be explained, in part, by developmental factors and classroom characteristics. Developmental increases in network density partially mediated the positive relationship between grade level and teacher-student agreement. Larger class sizes and higher levels of normative aggressive behavior resulted in lower levels of teacher-student agreement. Teachers’ levels of classroom organization had mixed influences, with behavior management negatively predicting agreement, and productivity positively predicting agreement. These results underscore the importance of the classroom context in shaping teacher and student perceptions of peer networks. PMID:21666768

  7. Professional excellence : defining learning outcomes for honours higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fuller, Melissa; Robbe, Patricia; Wolfensberger, Marca

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Honours programs prepare talented students to become future excellent professionals . However, competences defining an excellent professional have not been elucidated yet. We investigated how professionals characterize an excellent communication professional, aiming to develop a competence

  8. Tightly sealed facility of excellent in durability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirano, Kenji; Chatani, Michio; Ebe, Shinji; Shimizu, Masatoshi; Seguchi, Tadao; Fukushima, Susumu; Hirata, Masaru; Shiosawa, Ken-ichi.

    1992-01-01

    It is found that a cross linked methacryl resin using an appropriate amount of a cross linking monomer also has a useful characteristic of an excellent chemical resistance and excellent γ-ray resistance. Then in the present invention, a cross linked methacryl resin molding product comprising 60 to 98 % by weight of methyl methacrylate units and 2 to 40 % by weight of cross linking monomer units is used as a material for transparent partition walls. A tightly sealed facility having the transparent partition wall materials of excellent radiation resistance in addition to acid resistance can be attained. (T.M.)

  9. The Acquisition of Subject-Verb Agreement in Written French: From Novices to Experts' Errors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fayol, Michel; Largy, Pierre; Hupet, Michel

    1999-01-01

    Aims at demonstrating the gradual automatization of subject-verb agreement operation in young writers by examining developmental changes in the occurrence of agreement errors. Finds that subjects' performance moved from systematic errors to attraction errors through an intermediate phase. Concludes that attraction errors are a byproduct of the…

  10. Shareholders' agreements in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Werlauff, Erik

    2010-01-01

    ’ agreements”) cannot bind the company within the sense of company law under the new state of law, and voting rights agreements, agreements on right of pre-emption etc. will therefore only apply at the level of contract law between the parties to the agreement. This article for European Business Law Review......The article warns that with effect from 1 March 2010, the new Danish Companies Act (on public and private limited companies) has seriously weakened the effect of shareholders’ agreements which have been entered into on Danish companies. These agreements (in the act’s new terminology: “owners...... analyses the consequences of this. Rights and duties in the owners’ agreements must now be reiterated to the greatest possible extent in the company’s articles of association so that the precepts become binding on the company and its management. Whether the parties to the owners’ agreement can be required...

  11. Solving rational expectations models using Excel

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strulik, Holger

    2004-01-01

    Problems of discrete time optimal control can be solved using backward iteration and Microsoft Excel. The author explains the method in general and shows how the basic models of neoclassical growth and real business cycles are solved......Problems of discrete time optimal control can be solved using backward iteration and Microsoft Excel. The author explains the method in general and shows how the basic models of neoclassical growth and real business cycles are solved...

  12. TOP PRIORITI QMS PRINCIPLES FOR ACHIEVING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandar Vujović

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The main target of this paper is to select top priority principles of QMS for achieving business excellence. This could be done from the standpoint of significant of principles. That means that. organization should make more attention to this principles in the way for making excellent results. This paper has been developed as a tendency of researchers in the Center for quality-Faculty of mechanical engineering in Podgorica to establish a model for improvement of business processes performances based on quality management system through comparison with top organizational performances characterized by criteria i.e. particularities of the business excellence model. Correlation of principles of the quality management system with QMS principles has been established to that effect. Weight coefficients have been also determined for each principle individually. Thereby key principles were identified, namely priorities in terms of achieving business excellence i.e. areas (principles were given priorities, that is to say principles that play the biggest part in achieving business excellence.

  13. A Tutorial on the Use of Excel 2010 and Excel for Mac 2011 for Conducting Delay-Discounting Analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Derek D.; Kaplan, Brent A.; Brewer, Adam T.

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, researchers and practitioners in the behavioral sciences have profited from a growing literature on delay discounting. The purpose of this article is to provide readers with a brief tutorial on how to use Microsoft Office Excel 2010 and Excel for Mac 2011 to analyze discounting data to yield parameters for both the hyperbolic…

  14. GreenIT Service Level Agreements

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Laszewski, Gregor; Wang, Lizhe

    In this paper we are introducing a framework towards the inclusion of Green IT metrics as part of service level agreements for future Grids and Clouds. As part of this effort we need to revisit Green IT metrics and proxies that we consider optimizing against in order to develop GreenIT as a Services (GaaS) that can be reused as part of a Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure Infrastructureas a service (IaaS) framework. We report on some of our ongoing efforts and demonstrate how we already achieve impact on the environment with our services.

  15. A Population-Based Assessment of the Agreement Between Grading of Goniophotographic Images and Gonioscopy in the Chinese-American Eye Study (CHES).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murakami, Yohko; Wang, Dandan; Burkemper, Bruce; Lin, Shan C; Varma, Rohit

    2016-08-01

    To compare grading of goniophotographic images and gonioscopy in assessing the iridocorneal angle. In a population-based, cross-sectional study, participants underwent gonioscopy and goniophotographic imaging during the same visit. The iridocorneal angle was classified as closed if the posterior trabecular meshwork could not be seen. A single masked observer graded the goniophotographic images, and each eye was classified as having angle closure based on the number of closed quadrants. Agreement between the methods was analyzed by calculating kappa (κ) and first-order agreement coefficient (AC1) statistics and comparison of area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC). A total of 4149 Chinese Americans (3994 eyes) were included in this study. The agreement for angle closure diagnosis between gonioscopy and EyeCam was moderate to excellent (κ = 0.60, AC1 0.90, AUC 0.76-0.80). Detection of iridocorneal angle closure based on goniophotographic imaging shows moderate to very good agreement with angle closure assessment using gonioscopy.

  16. DEMONSTRATION OF PACKAGING MATERIALS ALTERNATIVES TO EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE

    Science.gov (United States)

    This report represents the second demonstration of cleaner technologies to support the goals of the 33/50 Program under the EPA Cooperative Agreement No. CR-821848. The report presents assessment results of alternative packaging materials which could potentially replace expanded...

  17. Using Microsoft Excel to Generate Usage Statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spellman, Rosemary

    2011-01-01

    At the Libraries Service Center, statistics are generated on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis by using four Microsoft Excel workbooks. These statistics provide information about what materials are being requested and by whom. They also give details about why certain requests may not have been filled. Utilizing Excel allows for a shallower…

  18. Bilateral agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2004-01-01

    The bilateral agreements concern Brazil with United States relative to the co operation in nuclear energy, Germany with Russian Federation relative to the elimination and disposal of nuclear weapons; The multilateral agreements concerns the signature of the Protocols to amend the Paris and Brussels Conventions, the multilateral nuclear environmental programme in the Russian Federation, the status of Conventions in the field of nuclear energy. (N.C.)

  19. High inter-rater reliability, agreement, and convergent validity of Constant score in patients with clavicle fractures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ban, Ilija; Troelsen, Anders; Kristensen, Morten Tange

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The Constant score (CS) has been the primary endpoint in most studies on clavicle fractures. However, the CS was not developed to assess patients with clavicle fractures. Our aim was to examine inter-rater reliability and agreement of the CS in patients with clavicle fractures...... standardized CS assessment at a mean of 6.8 weeks (SD, 1.0 weeks) after injury. Reliability and agreement of the CS were determined by 2 raters. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), standard error of measurement, minimal detectable change, Cronbach α coefficient, and Pearson correlation coefficient...... were estimated. RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability of the total CS was excellent (interclass correlation coefficient, 0.94; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-0.97), with no systematic difference between the 2 raters (P = .75). The standard error of measurement (measurement error at the group level) was 4...

  20. Comfort monitoring? Environmental assessment follow-up under community-industry negotiated environmental agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noble, Bram; Birk, Jasmine

    2011-01-01

    Negotiated environmental agreements are becoming common practice in the mining industry. In principle, negotiated environmental agreements are said to respond to many of the shortcomings of environmental impact assessment by providing for improved follow-up of project impacts through, among other things, data provision, engaging stakeholders in the monitoring and management of project impacts, and building capacity at the local level to deal with project-induced environmental change. In practice, however, little is known about the efficacy of follow-up under negotiated environmental agreements between proponents and communities and the demonstrated value added to project impact management. This paper examines follow-up practice under negotiated environmental agreements with a view to understanding whether and how community-based monitoring under privatized agreements actually contributes to improved follow-up and impact management. Based on lessons emerging from recent experiences with environmental agreements in Canada's uranium industry, we show that follow-up under negotiated agreements may be described as 'comfort monitoring'. While such monitoring does improve community-industry relations and enhance corporate image, it does little to support effects-based management. If follow-up under negotiated agreements is to be credible over the long term, there is a need to ensure that monitoring results are useful for, and integrated with, regulatory-based monitoring and project impact management practices.

  1. Statistische toetsen in Excel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A.A.J. van Peet; H.A. Everaert

    2007-01-01

    In KG-18 hebben we verschillende grafieken laten zien. Een veel gebruikte grafische figuur in de statistiek is de zogenaamde boxplot. Weliswaar wordt deze niet vermeld bij de standaard keuzemogelijkheden onder de Wizard Grafieken, toch is het mogelijk om deze figuur met behulp van Excel te tekenen.

  2. 48 CFR 25.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 25.403 Section 25.403 Federal Acquisition... 25.403 World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. (a... in 25.402(a)(1). The WTO GPA and FTAs specify procurement procedures designed to ensure fairness (see...

  3. Nuclear cooperation agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nuclear cooperation agreements are reviewed in tabular form, especially agreements with developing countries. The reporting countries are the USA, the Federal Republic of Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and France. A separate EURATOM list is annexed

  4. The computerized OMAHA system in microsoft office excel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Xiaobin; Wong, Frances K Y; Zhang, Peiqiang; Leung, Carenx W Y; Lee, Lai H; Wong, Jessica S Y; Lo, Yim F; Ching, Shirley S Y

    2014-01-01

    The OMAHA System was adopted as the documentation system in an interventional study. To systematically record client care and facilitate data analysis, two Office Excel files were developed. The first Excel file (File A) was designed to record problems, care procedure, and outcomes for individual clients according to the OMAHA System. It was used by the intervention nurses in the study. The second Excel file (File B) was the summary of all clients that had been automatically extracted from File A. Data in File B can be analyzed directly in Excel or imported in PASW for further analysis. Both files have four parts to record basic information and the three parts of the OMAHA System. The computerized OMAHA System simplified the documentation procedure and facilitated the management and analysis of data.

  5. His Excellency Mr Farukh Amil

    CERN Multimedia

    hugho, Chemli

    2017-01-01

    His Excellency Mr Farukh Amil Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva

  6. A Microsoft-Excel-based tool for running and critically appraising network meta-analyses--an overview and application of NetMetaXL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Stephen; Hutton, Brian; Clifford, Tammy; Coyle, Doug; Grima, Daniel; Wells, George; Cameron, Chris

    2014-09-29

    The use of network meta-analysis has increased dramatically in recent years. WinBUGS, a freely available Bayesian software package, has been the most widely used software package to conduct network meta-analyses. However, the learning curve for WinBUGS can be daunting, especially for new users. Furthermore, critical appraisal of network meta-analyses conducted in WinBUGS can be challenging given its limited data manipulation capabilities and the fact that generation of graphical output from network meta-analyses often relies on different software packages than the analyses themselves. We developed a freely available Microsoft-Excel-based tool called NetMetaXL, programmed in Visual Basic for Applications, which provides an interface for conducting a Bayesian network meta-analysis using WinBUGS from within Microsoft Excel. . This tool allows the user to easily prepare and enter data, set model assumptions, and run the network meta-analysis, with results being automatically displayed in an Excel spreadsheet. It also contains macros that use NetMetaXL's interface to generate evidence network diagrams, forest plots, league tables of pairwise comparisons, probability plots (rankograms), and inconsistency plots within Microsoft Excel. All figures generated are publication quality, thereby increasing the efficiency of knowledge transfer and manuscript preparation. We demonstrate the application of NetMetaXL using data from a network meta-analysis published previously which compares combined resynchronization and implantable defibrillator therapy in left ventricular dysfunction. We replicate results from the previous publication while demonstrating result summaries generated by the software. Use of the freely available NetMetaXL successfully demonstrated its ability to make running network meta-analyses more accessible to novice WinBUGS users by allowing analyses to be conducted entirely within Microsoft Excel. NetMetaXL also allows for more efficient and transparent

  7. A Microsoft-Excel-based tool for running and critically appraising network meta-analyses—an overview and application of NetMetaXL

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background The use of network meta-analysis has increased dramatically in recent years. WinBUGS, a freely available Bayesian software package, has been the most widely used software package to conduct network meta-analyses. However, the learning curve for WinBUGS can be daunting, especially for new users. Furthermore, critical appraisal of network meta-analyses conducted in WinBUGS can be challenging given its limited data manipulation capabilities and the fact that generation of graphical output from network meta-analyses often relies on different software packages than the analyses themselves. Methods We developed a freely available Microsoft-Excel-based tool called NetMetaXL, programmed in Visual Basic for Applications, which provides an interface for conducting a Bayesian network meta-analysis using WinBUGS from within Microsoft Excel. . This tool allows the user to easily prepare and enter data, set model assumptions, and run the network meta-analysis, with results being automatically displayed in an Excel spreadsheet. It also contains macros that use NetMetaXL’s interface to generate evidence network diagrams, forest plots, league tables of pairwise comparisons, probability plots (rankograms), and inconsistency plots within Microsoft Excel. All figures generated are publication quality, thereby increasing the efficiency of knowledge transfer and manuscript preparation. Results We demonstrate the application of NetMetaXL using data from a network meta-analysis published previously which compares combined resynchronization and implantable defibrillator therapy in left ventricular dysfunction. We replicate results from the previous publication while demonstrating result summaries generated by the software. Conclusions Use of the freely available NetMetaXL successfully demonstrated its ability to make running network meta-analyses more accessible to novice WinBUGS users by allowing analyses to be conducted entirely within Microsoft Excel. NetMetaXL also allows

  8. Anticollusion Attack Noninteractive Security Hierarchical Key Agreement Scheme in WHMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kefei Mao

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Wireless Health Monitoring Systems (WHMS have potential to change the way of health care and bring numbers of benefits to patients, physicians, hospitals, and society. However, there are crucial barriers not only to transmit the biometric information but also to protect the privacy and security of the patients’ information. The key agreement between two entities is an essential cryptography operation to clear the barriers. In particular, the noninteractive hierarchical key agreement scheme becomes an attractive direction in WHMS because each sensor node or gateway has limited resources and power. Recently, a noninteractive hierarchical key agreement scheme has been proposed by Kim for WHMS. However, we show that Kim’s cryptographic scheme is vulnerable to the collusion attack if the physicians can be corrupted. Obviously, it is a more practical security condition. Therefore, we proposed an improved key agreement scheme against the attack. Security proof, security analysis, and experimental results demonstrate that our proposed scheme gains enhanced security and more efficiency than Kim’s previous scheme while inheriting its qualities of one-round communication and security properties.

  9. NOBLE and EXCEL: The debate for excellence in dealing with left main stenosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindi, Hamood Al; Samaan, Amir; Hosny, Hatem

    2018-03-14

    Left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG) has always been the standard revascularization strategy for this group of patients. However, with the recent developments in stents design and medical therapy over the past decade, several trials have been designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as an alternative to CABG surgery in patients with LMCA disease. Recently, the results of two major trials, EXCEL and NOBLE, comparing CABG versus PCI in this patient population have been released. In fact, the results of both trials might appear contradictory at first glance. While the EXCEL trial showed that PCI was non-inferior to CABG surgery, the NOBLE trial suggested that CABG surgery is a better option. In the following review, we will discuss some of the similarities and contrasts between these two trials and conclude with lessons to be learned to our daily practice.

  10. International Fisheries Agreements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pintassilgo, Pedro; Kronbak, Lone Grønbæk; Lindroos, Marko

    2015-01-01

    This paper surveys the application of game theory to the economic analysis of international fisheries agreements. The relevance of this study comes not only from the existence of a vast literature on the topic but especially from the specific features of these agreements. The emphasis of the survey...... is on coalition games, an approach that has become prominent in the fisheries economics literature over the last decade. It is shown that coalition games were first applied to international fisheries agreements in the late 1990s addressing cooperative issues under the framework of characteristic function games...... and stability of international fisheries agreements. A key message that emerges from this literature strand is that self-enforcing cooperative management of internationally shared fish stocks is generally difficult to achieve. Hence, the international legal framework and regulations play a decisive role...

  11. OPEC`s response to international climate agreements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Braaten, J.; Golombek, R.

    1996-03-01

    This publication studies a game between a group of countries that have agreed to participate in an international climate agreement (the signatories) and OPEC. The task of the signatories is to design carbon taxes that maximize their total net income, given a goal on global carbon emissions. In response to the climate agreement, OPEC imposes an oil tax on its member states that maximizes OPEC`s profits. Within a numerical model, the subgame-perfect equilibrium of a game is found in which each player chooses when to fix his decision variables. It is shown that, in equilibrium, the group of signatories chooses to be the leader and OPEC chooses to be the follower. It is demonstrated, however, that for both agents the order of move is of minor (numerical) importance. Hence, the players have limited incentives for strategic behaviour. 15 refs., 2 figs., 5 tabs.

  12. Thinly disguised contempt: a barrier to excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown-Stewart, P

    1987-04-01

    Many elements in contemporary leadership and management convey contempt for employees. "Thinly disguised contempt," a concept introduced by Peters and Austin in A Passion For Excellence, explains many barriers to the achievement of excellence in corporations across disciplines. Health care executives and managers can learn from the errors of corporate management and avoid replicating these errors in the health care industry.

  13. INPO and the industry: a commitment to excellence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colvin, J.F.

    1985-01-01

    Utilities in the United States have undergone major changes in their attitudes and methods of operating nuclear stations in the 6 yr since the accident at Three Mile Island. These changes reflect a strong commitment by the US utility industry to excellence in nuclear plant operations. Fundamental in this commitment was the formation of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), an organization created by the industry in the United States to serve as a focus and catalyst for these changes. With membership in INPO, nuclear utilities make a commitment to strive for excellence in the construction and operation of their nuclear plants. INPO has programs to help utilities in their efforts to achieve excellence. The most visible are the INPO evaluation programs. By the end of 1985, INPO will have evaluated most operating plants at least four times. Construction project evaluations are also being conducted. Twenty-one construction evaluations will have been conducted by the end of the year. Through each of its programs, INPO seeks to promote excellence and to help those operating and building nuclear plants in their commitment to excellence

  14. Elements of organizational culture leading to business excellence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrej Bertoncelj

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The main aim of this research was to define the development of a conceptual frame to understand the impact of organizational culture on business excellence in medium-sized and large Slovenian enterprises. In our research the focus was on the importance of the role of communication structure, interpersonal relationships, motivation, and stimulation as part of knowledge management among 825 managers working in medium-sized and large Slovenian enterprises. The aim was to find out if these elements lead or contribute to business excellence. To analyse our data we applied analysis of variance as research methods. Our proposed thesis was supported since significant differences in business excellence between enterprises, different in the above mentioned elements. We can conclude that an appropriate communication structure, interpersonal relationships, motivation, stimulation and values as part of organizational culture positively affect business excellence in enterprises

  15. Developing versus developed companies in Business Excellence initiatives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haffer, Rafal; Kristensen, Kai

    2008-01-01

    The paper reports the advance of Polish companies in Business Excellence initiatives. It indicates how these activities influence their performance. EFQM Excellence Model indicators are used as the evaluation criteria for the study. The performance variable is introduced to ensure the calculation...... of correlations between EFQM model indicators and performance results. The data are next estimated as a structural equation model by partial least squares using SmartPLS software (Ringle et al., 2005). That estimation is conducted on the model of the Danish Business Excellence Index methodology (Kristensen et al...... results from the Business Excellence Model as a proxy for actual financial results in Poland. Data and results from a similar study done in Denmark are also described; thus, a comparison between developing Polish companies and developed Danish ones is included. Poland and Denmark are used as cases of...

  16. Chasing Perfection and Catching Excellence in Graduate Medical Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andolsek, Kathryn M

    2015-09-01

    The author reflects on the chapter titled "Preserving Excellence in Residency Training and Medical Care" in Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer's book Let Me Heal: The Opportunity to Preserve Excellence in American Medicine. Rather than assuming that the status quo represents excellence, however, the author asserts that we must make an informed judgment regarding the quality of graduate medical education (GME) by applying an evidence-based approach, carefully measuring performance against specific criteria. But what are the right criteria to judge excellence in GME? The author posits that the first criterion for excellence is the foundational concept identified by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, that of accountability to the public. The author argues that for GME to be truly excellent it must produce a workforce "of sufficient size, specialty mix, and skill" needed to serve the public good. For GME to be truly excellent it must produce the right composition (reflecting the population it serves), use the right pedagogy, and be embedded within the right clinical learning environment. Implementation of competency-based education must be bolder and accelerated. The process of culling out service from education in GME must be more honest, not because all service cannot in some ways be educational but because it is simply too expensive to squander a single minute of time in training. Finally, the epidemic of burnout must be addressed urgently and innovatively.

  17. X-factor for innovation: identifying future excellent professionals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    den Hertog, J.H.

    2016-01-01

    In this study we wanted to identify which type of individual is capable of achieving professional excellence. Our main question therefore read: which individual antecedents predict professional excellence? We chose to focus on personality traits and specifically on proactive personality - the

  18. Silicon oxynitrides of KCC-1, SBA-15 and MCM-41 for CO 2 capture with excellent stability and regenerability

    KAUST Repository

    Patil, Umesh; Fihri, Aziz; Emwas, Abdul-Hamid M.; Polshettiwar, Vivek

    2012-01-01

    ammonia gas, and they demonstrated excellent CO 2 capture capabilities. These materials overcome several limitations of conventional amine-grafted mesoporous silica. They offer good CO 2 capture capacity, faster adsorption-desorption kinetics, efficient

  19. 12 CFR 346.5 - Related agreements considered a single agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... STATEMENTS OF GENERAL POLICY DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 346.5 Related agreements...; (2) Were entered into within the same 12-month period; and (3) Are each in fulfillment of the CRA. (b... in fulfillment of the CRA, if the contracts were negotiated in a coordinated fashion and a NGEP is a...

  20. A juridical review of partnership agreements that have the elements of work agreements in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nugroho, A.; Sulistyowati, E.; Hikmah, N.

    2018-01-01

    The Partnership Agreements place the parties in an equal position each party has something as the bargaining power. In some cases, employers prefer to use Partnership Agreements to some individuals to complete the work in their company than Work agreements. Practicality and the absence of obligations to fulfil workers’ rights such as the right to join a Union and to get social security are some of the reasons why employers use the Partnership Agreements. Sometimes Partnership Agreement contains jobs, wages and orders which is the characteristic of work agreement. Based on the fact above, the legal issues arise whether the Partnership Agreement can be considered as the Work Agreement or not and which court is authorized to hear in the event of a dispute. To analyze the above legal issues, this research uses normative legal research type with the statute approach. The technique of legal material analysis uses prescriptive techniques to assess the issue and make recommendations. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that the Partnership Agreement, of which the elements are: wages and orders can be categorized as Work Agreement and therefore in the event of a dispute, the authorized court is Industrial Relations Court.

  1. Excel 2003 all-in-one desk reference for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Harvey, Greg

    2013-01-01

    When you think of number-crunching and spreadsheets, you think of Excel, right? After Word, it's the most popular program in the Microsoft Office suite. But if technical jargon isn't your first language, you may have found Excel just a teeny bit frustrating. It can be really hard to pick your way through the many features and make Excel do what you need for it to do. Once you know how, you can use Excel to Create fill-in-the-blank forms Prepare expense reports and invoices Manage all sorts of data Keep sales and inventory records Analyze financial data and create forecasts Present informati

  2. Model voor Excellent voor cognitief excellente leerlingen in de onderbouw PO

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, Elma; Mooij, Ton; Kirschner, Paul A.

    2012-01-01

    Dijkstra, E. M., Mooij, T., & Kirschner, P. A. (2012, June). Model voor Excellent Onderwijs voor cognitief excellent leerlingen in de onderbouw PO. [Model of Excellent Education for cognitively excellent pupils in kindergarten]. Paper presented at the Onderwijs Research Dagen [Educational Research

  3. On the Security of a Two-Factor Authentication and Key Agreement Scheme for Telecare Medicine Information Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arshad, Hamed; Teymoori, Vahid; Nikooghadam, Morteza; Abbassi, Hassan

    2015-08-01

    Telecare medicine information systems (TMISs) aim to deliver appropriate healthcare services in an efficient and secure manner to patients. A secure mechanism for authentication and key agreement is required to provide proper security in these systems. Recently, Bin Muhaya demonstrated some security weaknesses of Zhu's authentication and key agreement scheme and proposed a security enhanced authentication and key agreement scheme for TMISs. However, we show that Bin Muhaya's scheme is vulnerable to off-line password guessing attacks and does not provide perfect forward secrecy. Furthermore, in order to overcome the mentioned weaknesses, we propose a new two-factor anonymous authentication and key agreement scheme using the elliptic curve cryptosystem. Security and performance analyses demonstrate that the proposed scheme not only overcomes the weaknesses of Bin Muhaya's scheme, but also is about 2.73 times faster than Bin Muhaya's scheme.

  4. Global Water Cycle Agreement in the Climate Models Assessed in the IPCC AR4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waliser, D.; Seo, K. -W.; Schubert, S.; Njoku, E.

    2007-01-01

    This study examines the fidelity of the global water cycle in the climate model simulations assessed in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. The results demonstrate good model agreement in quantities that have had a robust global observational basis and that are physically unambiguous. The worst agreement occurs for quantities that have both poor observational constraints and whose model representations can be physically ambiguous. In addition, components involving water vapor (frozen water) typically exhibit the best (worst) agreement, and fluxes typically exhibit better agreement than reservoirs. These results are discussed in relation to the importance of obtaining accurate model representation of the water cycle and its role in climate change. Recommendations are also given for facilitating the needed model improvements.

  5. Achieving excellence with limited resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anson, L.W.; Spinney, R.W.

    1985-01-01

    The achievement of excellence in safety of nuclear power plant operation is dependent in part upon establishment of a performance-based training program. Developing such a program can be a laborious, time-consuming, and very expensive effort. Conducting job and task analyses, designing course outlines from learning objectives, developing training materials, evaluating program effectiveness and managing the training process and program through the out-years will exhaust any utility's training budget and staff. Because the achievement of excellence implies that training become in part performance-based, the question arises of how best to attain quality training yet still maintain a reasonable budget and staff workload. The answer lies not just in contracting the support necessary but making use of all available resources - training staff, contractor personnel in INPO

  6. Poor agreement between operators on grading of the placenta.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Moran, M

    2011-01-01

    Abnormal placental grading is associated with poor pregnancy outcome. The aim of this study was to measure intra- and interobserver variability in placental grading. Five expert sonographers independently graded 90 images on two occasions, each viewing separated by 1 week. A number of measures were employed to standardise assessment and minimise potential for variation: prior agreement was established between observers on the classifications for placental grading; a controlled viewing laboratory was used for all viewings; ambient lighting was optimal and monitors were calibrated to the GSDF standard. Kappa (κ) analysis was used to measure observer agreement. Substantial variations between individuals\\' scores were observed. A mean κ-value of 0.34 (range from 0.19 to 0.50) indicated fair interobserver agreement over the two occasions and only nine of the 90 images were graded the same by all five observers. Intraobserver agreement had a moderate mean κ-value of 0.52, with individual comparisons ranging from 0.45 to 0.66. This study demonstrates that, despite standardised viewing conditions, Grannum grading of the placenta is not a reliable technique even among expert observers. The need for new methods to assess placental health is required and work is ongoing to develop 2D and 3D software-based methods.

  7. Voluntary agreements in environmental policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torvanger, Asbjoern

    2001-01-01

    A typically voluntary agreement is signed between the authorities and an industrial sector in order to reduce the emission of environmentally harmful substances. There are many different types of agreements. Voluntary agreements are not strictly voluntary, since in the background there is often some kind of ''threat'' about taxation or fees if the industry is unwilling to cooperate. This type of agreements has become popular in many OECD countries during the last decades. In Norway there are only a few agreements of this type. Experience with the use of voluntary agreements as well as research show that they are less cost-effective than market-based instruments such as taxes and quota systems. If there are great restrictions on the use of taxes and quota systems because of information- or measurement problems, or because these instruments are not politically acceptable, then voluntary agreements may be an interesting alternative. Thus, voluntary agreements are best used as a supplement to other instruments in some niche areas of the environmental policy. In some cases, voluntary agreements may be used between two countries or at a regional level, for example within the EU

  8. 77 FR 64314 - National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-19

    ...-01] National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and... of interest in collaborating with NIST/ITL on an ongoing basis in the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) through partnerships called ``National Cybersecurity Excellence Partnerships...

  9. The Business Excellence Model for CSR Implementation?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neergaard, Peter; Gjerdrum Pedersen, Esben Rahbek

    2012-01-01

    Most of the Fortune 500 companies address Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on their websites. However, CSR remains a fluffy concept difficult to implement in organization. The European Business Excellence Model has since the introduction in 1992 served as a powerful tool for integrating...... European Award winning company has used the model to integrate CSR. The company adapted the Business Excellence model to improve performance, stimulate innovation and consensus....

  10. Excel formulas and functions for dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Bluttman, Ken

    2013-01-01

    Learn to use Excel for practical, day-to-day calculations Excel is a powerful program with more than 300 built-in functions that can be used to perform an almost infinite number of calculations. This friendly book shows you how to use the 150 most valuable ones in real-world situations: to compare the cost of buying vs. leasing a car, calculate classroom grades, or evaluate investment performance, for example. Another 85 specialized functions are also described. Detailed, step-by-step instructions help you understand how functions work within formulas and how you can use them t

  11. Equity and Excellence: The Emergence, Consolidation and Internalization of Education Development at the University of Natal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odendaal, Marie; Deacon, Roger

    2009-01-01

    Education development in South Africa emerged during the transition from apartheid to democracy, in a context especially marked by political and financial pressures. This case study of the University of Natal (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal) demonstrates how a strategy combining equity with excellence aimed to facilitate increased access to…

  12. BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT FOR ORGANIZATION COMPETITIVENESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeljko Pozega

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Business excellence represents one of the most valuable management means of achieving competitive advantage of organizations. Modern and global market demands new organizational approaches for the long-term improvement at all organization levels. Objectives: This paper is concerned with the level of business excellence in Sibenik-Knin County and the level of knowledge about the EFQM model. Moreover, this paper is concerned with the level of knowledge of the top management concerning the business excellence and quality principles. Methods/Approach: For the purpose of this paper, the research was conducted among organizations in Sibenik-Knin County. Results: The results showed that the organizations in Sibenik-Knin County lack the initiatives for the systematic approach and implementation of business excellence model, but poses the knowledge about the basic concepts of business excellence. Conclusions: The research had showed that the organizations believe that the ISO certification is sufficient for strengthening competitive advantage and organization success.

  13. Unwrapping Court-Connected Mediation Agreements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adrian, Lin; Mykland, Solfrid

    2018-01-01

    Court-connected mediated agreements seem to both fulfil and fail the ideal of self-determination in mediation theory. In a study of 134 agreements from court-connected mediation, we found that the majority of agreements contain creative elements and display great variation in the provisions...... and understand them. The judicial language is well known for the drafters of the agreement but not the parties. Thus, court-connected mediation seems to fail aspects of self-determination when it comes to drafting agreements. We draw on new-institutional theory when we explore and explain this apparent...... they contain. These results indicate that the parties play an important role in crafting the substance of their agreements. However, we also found that the wording of the agreements is characterised by legal and bureaucratic language to the extent that people without legal training find it difficult to read...

  14. Challenges to Business Excellence: Some Empirical Evidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brown Alan

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The business excellence models are used by many organisations around the world as a strategic driver for business improvement and in some cases as the basis for applications for awards based on the models. These include the Baldrige, EFQM, Australian Business Excellence Framework and many other national and regional models. Whilst many award recipients showcase their achievements, comparatively little is known about the challenges and impediments they face in reaching and sustaining high levels of success as evidenced by winning awards. This paper seeks to identify challenges faced by examining the experience of a sample of Australian Business Excellence Award winners. Findings suggest that the primary challenges include; leadership support, drive and consistency throughout the organisation and communicating strategy and making it meaningful for people at all levels. The study also found variability in challenges across organisations.

  15. EPRI-USDOE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT: COFIRING BIOMASS WITH COAL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David A. Tillman

    2001-09-01

    The entire Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) cofiring program has been in existence of some 9 years. This report presents a summary of the major elements of that program, focusing upon the following questions: (1) In pursuit of increased use of renewable energy in the US economy, why was electricity generation considered the most promising target, and why was cofiring pursued as the most effective near-term technology to use in broadening the use of biomass within the electricity generating arena? (2) What were the unique accomplishments of EPRI before the development of the Cooperative Agreement, which made developing the partnership with EPRI a highly cost-effective approach for USDOE? (3) What were the key accomplishments of the Cooperative Agreement in the development and execution of test and demonstration programs-accomplishments which significantly furthered the process of commercializing cofiring?

  16. Predicting word sense annotation agreement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinez Alonso, Hector; Johannsen, Anders Trærup; Lopez de Lacalle, Oier

    2015-01-01

    High agreement is a common objective when annotating data for word senses. However, a number of factors make perfect agreement impossible, e.g. the limitations of the sense inventories, the difficulty of the examples or the interpretation preferences of the annotations. Estimating potential...... agreement is thus a relevant task to supplement the evaluation of sense annotations. In this article we propose two methods to predict agreement on word-annotation instances. We experiment with a continuous representation and a three-way discretization of observed agreement. In spite of the difficulty...

  17. A research-based profile of a Dutch excellent facility manager

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roos-Mink, Anke; Offringa, Johan; de Boer, Esther; Heijne-Penninga, Marjolein; Mobach, Mark P.; Wolfensberger, Marca; Balslev Nielsen, S.; Anker Jensen, P.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose - This paper aims to establish the profile of an excellent facility manager in The Netherlands.Design/methodology/approach − As part of a large-scale study on profiles of excellent professionals, a study was carried out to find the key characteristics of an excellent facility manager. Three

  18. Modular Orbital Demonstration of an Evolvable Space Telescope (MODEST)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldauf, Brian; Conti, Alberto

    2016-01-01

    The "Search for Life" via imaging of exoplanets is a mission that requires extremely stable telescopes with apertures in the 10 m to 20 m range. The High Definition Space Telescope (HDST) envisioned for this mission would have an aperture >10 m, which is a larger payload than what can be delivered to space using a single launch vehicle. Building and assembling the mirror segments enabling large telescopes will likely require multiple launches and assembly in space. Space-based telescopes with large apertures will require major changes to system architectures.The Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA) for HDST is a primary mission cost driver. Enabling and affordable solutions for this next generation of large aperture space-based telescope are needed.This paper reports on the concept for the Modular Orbital Demonstration of an Evolvable Space Telescope (MODEST), which demonstrates on-orbit robotic and/or astronaut assembly of a precision optical telescope in space. It will also facilitate demonstration of active correction of phase and mirror shape. MODEST is proposed to be delivered to the ISS using standard Express Logistics Carriers (ELCs) and can mounted to one of a variety of ISS pallets. Post-assembly value includes space, ground, and environmental studies, and a testbed for new instruments. This demonstration program for next generation mirror technology provides significant risk reduction and demonstrates the technology in a six-mirror phased telescope. Other key features of the demonstration include the use of an active primary optical surface with wavefront feedback control that allows on-orbit optimization and demonstration of precise surface control to meet optical system wavefront and stability requirements.MODEST will also be used to evaluate advances in lightweight mirror and metering structure materials such as SiC or Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer that have excellent mechanical and thermal properties, e.g. high stiffness, high modulus, high thermal

  19. Overcoming Microsoft Excel's Weaknesses for Crop Model Building and Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sung, Christopher Teh Boon

    2011-01-01

    Using spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel for building crop models and running simulations can be beneficial. Excel is easy to use, powerful, and versatile, and it requires the least proficiency in computer programming compared to other programming platforms. Excel, however, has several weaknesses: it does not directly support loops for iterative…

  20. Learning Microsoft Excel 2011 for Mac video training DVD

    CERN Document Server

    Vaccaro, Guy

    2011-01-01

    In this video tutorial for Microsoft Excel 2011 For Mac, expert author Guy Vaccaro teaches you to effectively utilize the features and functions of Excel through project based learning. You will complete various projects, and along they way learn to leverage the power of the most important features Excel 2011 has to offer the Mac user. Starting your training course with the creation of a spreadsheet to record and monitor sales data, you will learn the basics of what you can do with a spreadsheet. You will then move on to creating a Profit and Loss report, learning formulas along the way. Moving to score sheets for a sports day, you will discover conditional based formatting, lookups, and more. You then create a functional expense claim form, advancing your Excel expertise. Moving on to a sales contact management sheet, you will discover how you can manipulate text, and even create mail merges from Excel. Finally, you will utilize all your knowledge thus far to create a sales report, including charts, pivot ta...

  1. Financing petroleum agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robson, C.J.V.

    1994-01-01

    This chapter describes the typical type of financing agreements which are currently used to finance North Sea petroleum projects whether they are in the cause of development or have been developed and are producing. It deals with the agreements which are entered into to finance borrowings for petroleum projects on a non-resource or limited resource basis. (UK)

  2. Agreement Workflow Tool (AWT)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Social Security Administration — The Agreement Workflow Tool (AWT) is a role-based Intranet application used for processing SSA's Reimbursable Agreements according to SSA's standards. AWT provides...

  3. Centers of Excellence Contribution to Knowledge Augmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mignone, O.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: Knowledge management is a key need of the nuclear industry to cope with the knowledge limited augmentation and the risks of knowledge loss due to a number of reasons, such as: staff attrition, organizational changes, upgraded technologies, new projects implementation, and the nuclear power evolution in recent years (i.e., post-Fukushima upgrades). This document describes the contribution of nuclear centers of excellence to knowledge augmentation. The effective implementation of nuclear centers of excellence is a key success factor for the knowledge management programme of nuclear organizations. This document, is based on a real example of operating organization approach in launching such initiative for staff knowledge augmentation and performance improvement. Eventually, any type of organizations in the nuclear sector could apply the proposed technique to reach better knowledge usage. The nuclear centers of excellence are a key knowledge management initiative for the learning organizations that are caring about organizational intellectual capital and striving for performance improvement. The nuclear centers of excellence can be realized as a forum to exchange ideas, knowledge, information, experiences; to collect lessons learned; and to identify areas for improvement where further organizational competence building is needed. Usual realization of this initiative is going through an active staff involvement in knowledge sharing in a form of different technical communities of practice focusing on specific knowledge domains. (author

  4. Level of Agreement and Factors Associated With Discrepancies Between Nationwide Medical History Questionnaires and Hospital Claims Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yeon-Yong Kim

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Objectives The objectives of this study were to investigate the agreement between medical history questionnaire data and claims data and to identify the factors that were associated with discrepancies between these data types. Methods Data from self-reported questionnaires that assessed an individual’s history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, stroke, heart disease, and pulmonary tuberculosis were collected from a general health screening database for 2014. Data for these diseases were collected from a healthcare utilization claims database between 2009 and 2014. Overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values were calculated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with discrepancies and was adjusted for age, gender, insurance type, insurance contribution, residential area, and comorbidities. Results Agreement was highest between questionnaire data and claims data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires and was lowest for claims data based on primary and secondary codes up to 5 years before the completion of self-reported questionnaires. When comparing data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires, the overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values ranged from 93.2 to 98.8%, 26.2 to 84.3%, 95.7 to 99.6%, and 0.09 to 0.78, respectively. Agreement was excellent for hypertension and diabetes, fair to good for stroke and heart disease, and poor for pulmonary tuberculosis and dyslipidemia. Women, younger individuals, and employed individuals were most likely to under-report disease. Conclusions Detailed patient characteristics that had an impact on information bias were identified through the differing levels of agreement.

  5. Level of Agreement and Factors Associated With Discrepancies Between Nationwide Medical History Questionnaires and Hospital Claims Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yeon-Yong; Park, Jong Heon; Kang, Hee-Jin; Lee, Eun Joo; Ha, Seongjun; Shin, Soon-Ae

    2017-09-01

    The objectives of this study were to investigate the agreement between medical history questionnaire data and claims data and to identify the factors that were associated with discrepancies between these data types. Data from self-reported questionnaires that assessed an individual's history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, stroke, heart disease, and pulmonary tuberculosis were collected from a general health screening database for 2014. Data for these diseases were collected from a healthcare utilization claims database between 2009 and 2014. Overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values were calculated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with discrepancies and was adjusted for age, gender, insurance type, insurance contribution, residential area, and comorbidities. Agreement was highest between questionnaire data and claims data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires and was lowest for claims data based on primary and secondary codes up to 5 years before the completion of self-reported questionnaires. When comparing data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires, the overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values ranged from 93.2 to 98.8%, 26.2 to 84.3%, 95.7 to 99.6%, and 0.09 to 0.78, respectively. Agreement was excellent for hypertension and diabetes, fair to good for stroke and heart disease, and poor for pulmonary tuberculosis and dyslipidemia. Women, younger individuals, and employed individuals were most likely to under-report disease. Detailed patient characteristics that had an impact on information bias were identified through the differing levels of agreement.

  6. Creating single-subject design graphs in Microsoft Excel 2007.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Mark R; Jackson, James W; Small, Stacey L; Horner-King, Mollie J; Lik, Nicholas Mui Ker; Garcia, Yors; Rosales, Rocio

    2009-01-01

    Over 10 years have passed since the publication of Carr and Burkholder's (1998) technical article on how to construct single-subject graphs using Microsoft Excel. Over the course of the past decade, the Excel program has undergone a series of revisions that make the Carr and Burkholder paper somewhat difficult to follow with newer versions. The present article provides task analyses for constructing various types of commonly used single-subject design graphs in Microsoft Excel 2007. The task analyses were evaluated using a between-subjects design that compared the graphing skills of 22 behavior-analytic graduate students using Excel 2007 and either the Carr and Burkholder or newly developed task analyses. Results indicate that the new task analyses yielded more accurate and faster graph construction than the Carr and Burkholder instructions.

  7. Implementing an excellence in teaching recognition system: needs analysis and recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schindler, Nancy; Corcoran, Julia C; Miller, Megan; Wang, Chih-Hsiung; Roggin, Kevin; Posner, Mitchell; Fryer, Jonathan; DaRosa, Debra A

    2013-01-01

    Teaching awards have been suggested to serve a variety of purposes. The specific characteristics of teaching awards and the associated effectiveness at achieving planned purposes are poorly understood. A needs analysis was performed to inform recommendations for an Excellence in Teaching Recognition System to meet the needs of surgical education leadership. We performed a 2-part needs analysis beginning with a review of the literature. We then, developed, piloted, and administered a survey instrument to General Surgery program leaders. The survey examined the features and perceived effectiveness of existing teaching awards systems. A multi-institution committee of program directors, clerkship directors, and Vice-Chairs of education then met to identify goals and develop recommendations for implementation of an "Excellence in Teaching Recognition System." There is limited evidence demonstrating effectiveness of existing teaching awards in medical education. Evidence supports the ability of such awards to demonstrate value placed on teaching, to inspire faculty to teach, and to contribute to promotion. Survey findings indicate that existing awards strive to achieve these purposes and that educational leaders believe awards have the potential to do this and more. Leaders are moderately satisfied with existing awards for providing recognition and demonstrating value placed on teaching, but they are less satisfied with awards for motivating faculty to participate in teaching or for contributing to promotion. Most departments and institutions honor only a few recipients annually. There is a paucity of literature addressing teaching recognition systems in medical education and little evidence to support the success of such systems in achieving their intended purposes. The ability of awards to affect outcomes such as participation in teaching and promotion may be limited by the small number of recipients for most existing awards. We propose goals for a Teaching Recognition

  8. The incongruity of workplace bullying victimization and inclusive excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzurec, Laura Cox; Kennison, Monica; Gillen, Patricia

    Bullying occurs frequently-and with significant negative outcomes-in workplace settings. Once established, bullying endures in the workplace, requiring the interaction of a bully perpetrator and an intended target who takes on the role of victim. Not every target becomes a victim, however. The purpose of this study is to investigate the processes by which targets, intended objects of bullies' affronts, become victims, those individuals who experience ongoing emotional injury in response to bullies' affronts, and to clarify how bullying victimization impedes inclusive excellence in the workplace. The design for this study was pragmatic utility, an inductive research approach grounded in assumptions of hermeneutics. The pragmatic utility process involved the investigators' synthesis of descriptions from a broad, interdisciplinary published literature. Integrating knowledge from their previous research and practice experiences with the pragmatic utility process, they derived qualitative features of victims' experiences, differentiating target from victim in bullying encounters. For those targets who ultimately are victimized, response to bullies' affronts extends far beyond the immediate present. Redolence of personal, lived experience revives bygone vulnerabilities, and naïve communication and relationship expectations reinforce a long-standing, impoverished sense. That sense couples with workplace dynamics to augment a context of exclusion. Findings suggest that, as Heidegger contended, we are our histories. Personal history demonstrates a significance influence on the manifestation of bullying victimization, acting to distance them from their workplace peers and to impede inclusive excellence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Proposal to amend a partner project agreement with ISTC for the CMS collaboration

    CERN Document Server

    2000-01-01

    This document concerns an amendment to a partner project agreement with the ISTC, namely the Partner Project Agreement 1718p for "Technology Reliability Demonstration and Precise CMS Electromagnetic Calorimetry Performance at LHC on a Base of Specified Tungstate (PbWO4) Scintillation Crystals". This Partner Project was approved by Council on 17 December 1999 (cf. CERN/2312). For reasons set out in this document the Finance Committee is invited to authorise CERN to negotiate an amendment to the Partner Project Agreement 1718p. The purpose of the amendment is to increase the production rate of crystals through the acquisition, installation and commissioning of 33 additional crystal growth ovens for a total amount of 1 500 000 US dollars.

  10. Why are Trade Agreements Regional?

    OpenAIRE

    Zissimos, Ben

    2007-01-01

    This paper shows how distance may be used to coordinate on a unique equilibrium in which trade agreements are regional. Trade agreement formation is modeled as coalition formation. In a standard trade model with no distance between countries, a familiar problem of coordination failure arises giving rise to multiple equilibria; any one of many possible trade agreements can form. With distance between countries, and through strategic interaction in tariff setting, regional trade agreements gene...

  11. Promoting Excellence in Nursing Education (PENE): Pross evaluation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pross, Elizabeth A

    2010-08-01

    The purpose of this article is to examine the Promoting Excellence in Nursing Education (PENE) Pross evaluation model. A conceptual evaluation model, such as the one described here, may be useful to nurse academicians in the ongoing evaluation of educational programs, especially those with goals of excellence. Frameworks for evaluating nursing programs are necessary because they offer a way to systematically assess the educational effectiveness of complex nursing programs. This article describes the conceptual framework and its tenets of excellence. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Agreement between clinical estimation and a new quantitative analysis by Photoshop software in fundus and angiographic image variables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramezani, Alireza; Ahmadieh, Hamid; Azarmina, Mohsen; Soheilian, Masoud; Dehghan, Mohammad H; Mohebbi, Mohammad R

    2009-12-01

    To evaluate the validity of a new method for the quantitative analysis of fundus or angiographic images using Photoshop 7.0 (Adobe, USA) software by comparing with clinical evaluation. Four hundred and eighteen fundus and angiographic images of diabetic patients were evaluated by three retina specialists and then by computing using Photoshop 7.0 software. Four variables were selected for comparison: amount of hard exudates (HE) on color pictures, amount of HE on red-free pictures, severity of leakage, and the size of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ). The coefficient of agreement (Kappa) between the two methods in the amount of HE on color and red-free photographs were 85% (0.69) and 79% (0.59), respectively. The agreement for severity of leakage was 72% (0.46). In the two methods for the evaluation of the FAZ size using the magic and lasso software tools, the agreement was 54% (0.09) and 89% (0.77), respectively. Agreement in the estimation of the FAZ size by the lasso magnetic tool was excellent and was almost as good in the quantification of HE on color and on red-free images. Considering the agreement of this new technique for the measurement of variables in fundus images using Photoshop software with the clinical evaluation, this method seems to have sufficient validity to be used for the quantitative analysis of HE, leakage, and FAZ size on the angiograms of diabetic patients.

  13. Advance Power Technology Demonstration on Starshine 3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, Phillip; Scheiman, David; Wilt, David; Raffaelle, Ryne; Button, Robert; Smith, Mark; Kerslake, Thomas; Miller, Thomas

    2002-01-01

    The Starshine 3 satellite will carry several power technology demonstrations. Since Starshine 3 is primarily a passive experiment and does not need electrical power to successfully complete its mission, the requirement for a highly reliable power system is greatly reduced. This creates an excellent opportunity to test new power technologies. Several government and commercial interests have teamed up to provide Starshine 3 with a small power system using state-of-the-art components. Starshine 3 will also fly novel integrated microelectronic power supplies (IMPS) for evaluation.

  14. Managing Excellence in Sports Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyle, John W. B.

    1997-01-01

    Conceptualizes excellence in sports performance and suggests that there is a failure to distinguish between community recreation and performance sports as well as lack of knowledge about talent identification. Proposes a structure for management and investment in education and training in the field. (SK)

  15. Excellence and evidence in staffing: a data-driven model for excellence in staffing (2nd edition).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baggett, Margarita; Batcheller, Joyce; Blouin, Ann Scott; Behrens, Elizabeth; Bradley, Carol; Brown, Mary J; Brown, Diane Storer; Bolton, Linda Burnes; Borromeo, Annabelle R; Burtson, Paige; Caramanica, Laura; Caspers, Barbara A; Chow, Marilyn; Christopher, Mary Ann; Clarke, Sean P; Delucas, Christine; Dent, Robert L; Disser, Tony; Eliopoulos, Charlotte; Everett, Linda Q; Garcia, Amy; Glassman, Kimberly; Goodwin, Susan; Haagenson, Deb; Harper, Ellen; Harris, Kathy; Hoying, Cheryl L; Hughes-Rease, Marsha; Kelly, Lesly; Kiger, Anna J; Kobs-Abbott, Ann; Krueger, Janelle; Larson, Jackie; March, Connie; Martin, Deborah Maust; Mazyck, Donna; Meenan, Penny; McGaffigan, Patricia; Myers, Karen K; Nell, Kate; Newcomer, Britta; Cathy, Rick; O'Rourke, Maria; Rosa, Billy; Rose, Robert; Rudisill, Pamela; Sanford, Kathy; Simpson, Roy L; Snowden, Tami; Strickland, Bob; Strohecker, Sharon; Weems, Roger B; Welton, John; Weston, Marla; Valentine, Nancy M; Vento, Laura; Yendro, Susan

    2014-01-01

    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, 2010) and the Institute of Medicine's (IOM, 2011) Future of Nursing report have prompted changes in the U.S. health care system. This has also stimulated a new direction of thinking for the profession of nursing. New payment and priority structures, where value is placed ahead of volume in care, will start to define our health system in new and unknown ways for years. One thing we all know for sure: we cannot afford the same inefficient models and systems of care of yesterday any longer. The Data-Driven Model for Excellence in Staffing was created as the organizing framework to lead the development of best practices for nurse staffing across the continuum through research and innovation. Regardless of the setting, nurses must integrate multiple concepts with the value of professional nursing to create new care and staffing models. Traditional models demonstrate that nurses are a commodity. If the profession is to make any significant changes in nurse staffing, it is through the articulation of the value of our professional practice within the overall health care environment. This position paper is organized around the concepts from the Data-Driven Model for Excellence in Staffing. The main concepts are: Core Concept 1: Users and Patients of Health Care, Core Concept 2: Providers of Health Care, Core Concept 3: Environment of Care, Core Concept 4: Delivery of Care, Core Concept 5: Quality, Safety, and Outcomes of Care. This position paper provides a comprehensive view of those concepts and components, why those concepts and components are important in this new era of nurse staffing, and a 3-year challenge that will push the nursing profession forward in all settings across the care continuum. There are decades of research supporting various changes to nurse staffing. Yet little has been done to move that research into practice and operations. While the primary goal of this position paper is to generate research

  16. International Technology-Oriented Agreements to Address Climate Change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Coninck, H.C.; Fischer, C.; Newell, R.G.; Ueno, T.

    2007-01-01

    Much discussion has surrounded possible alternatives for international agreements on climate change, particularly post-2012. Among these alternatives, technology-oriented agreements (TOAs) are perhaps the least well defined. We explore what TOAs may consist of, why they might be sensible, which TOAs already exist in international energy and environmental governance, and whether they have the potential to make a valuable contribution to addressing climate change. We conclude that TOAs aimed at knowledge sharing and coordination, research, development, or demonstration could increase the overall efficiency and effectiveness of international climate cooperation, but have limited environmental effectiveness on their own. Technology transfer agreements are likely to have similar properties unless the level of resources expended on them is large, in which case they could be environmentally significant. Technology mandates, standards, or incentives can be environmentally effective, within the applicable sector. However, they are likely to be less cost-effective than broad-based, flexible approaches that place a price on emissions. These results indicate that TOAs have the potential to improve the effectiveness of the global response to climate change. The success of specific TOAs will depend on their design, implementation, and the role they are expected to play relative to other components of the climate policy portfolio

  17. Designing organizational excellence model for cellulose industry of Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Abbas Kazemi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays organizational excellence is regarded as the world’s most effective and progressive issue and many countries and organizations are attempting in the way of applying excellence. In this way, they attempt to improve such models and according to culture and sociopolitical conditions of each country, they attempt to design several models. The present research has been conducted with principal goal of designing organizational excellence model at cellulose industry of Iran. The study determines its components and aspects, priorities the aspects and components and analyzes relationship among different aspects of organizational excellence model at cellulose industry of Iran. The present research is an applied research with respect to goal and it is a descriptive-analytical method in terms of method. Statistical population of the present research covers all experts in the field of cellulose industry of Iran in which on this basis, the number of statistical sample was 207 people from managers to specialists. Results of research indicate that organizational excellence pattern of cellulose industry is a mixture of different aspects of technical, economic, inner environment, outer environment, motivation and behavioral processes.

  18. Proposing an Environmental Excellence Self-Assessment Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meulengracht Jensen, Peter; Johansen, John; Wæhrens, Brian Vejrum

    2013-01-01

    that the EEA model can be used in global organizations to differentiate environmental efforts depending on the maturity stage of the individual sites. Furthermore, the model can be used to support the decision-making process regarding when organizations should embark on more complex environmental efforts......This paper presents an Environmental Excellence Self-Assessment (EEA) model based on the structure of the European Foundation of Quality Management Business Excellence Framework. Four theoretical scenarios for deploying the model are presented as well as managerial implications, suggesting...

  19. Systems management of facilities agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blundell, A.

    1998-01-01

    The various types of facilities agreements, the historical obstacles to implementation of agreement management systems and the new opportunities emerging as industry is beginning to make an effort to overcome these obstacles, are reviewed. Barriers to computerized agreement management systems (lack of consistency, lack of standards, scarcity of appropriate computer software) are discussed. Characteristic features of a model facilities agreement management system and the forces driving the changing attitudes towards such systems (e.g. mergers) are also described

  20. Demonstration of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism in a non-equilibrium phase transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, Yogesh S.; Cheung, Hil F. H.; Date, Aditya G.; Vengalattore, Mukund

    2017-04-01

    We describe the experimental realization of a driven-dissipative phase transition (DPT) in a mechanical parametric amplifier and demonstrate key signatures of a critical point in the system, where the susceptibilities and relaxation time scales diverge and coincide with the spontaneous breaking of symmetry and the emergence of macroscopic order. While these observations are reminiscent of equilibrium phase transitions, it is presently an open question whether such DPTs are amenable to the conventional Landau-Ginsburg-Wilson paradigm that relies on concepts of scale invariance and universality - Indeed, recent theoretical work has predicted that DPTs can exhibit phenomenology that departs from these conventional paradigms. By quenching the system past the critical point, we measure the dynamics of the emergent ordered phase and its departure from adiabaticity, and find that our measurements are in excellent agreement with the Kibble-Zurek hypothesis. In addition to validating the KZ mechanism in a DPT for the first time, we also uniquely show that the measured critical exponents accurately reflect the interplay between the intrinsic coherent dynamics and the environmental correlations, with a clear departure from mean field exponents in the case of non-Markovian system-bath interactions. We also discuss how the techniques of reservoir engineering and the imposition of artificial environmental correlations can result in the stabilization of novel many-body quantum phases and exotic non-equilibrium states of matter.

  1. Self-scheduling with Microsoft Excel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irvin, S A; Brown, H N

    1999-01-01

    Excessive time was being spent by the emergency department (ED) staff, head nurse, and unit secretary on a complex 6-week manual self-scheduling system. This issue, plus inevitable errors and staff dissatisfaction, resulted in a manager-lead initiative to automate elements of the scheduling process using Microsoft Excel. The implementation of this initiative included: common coding of all 8-hour and 12-hour shifts, with each 4-hour period represented by a cell; the creation of a 6-week master schedule using the "count-if" function of Excel based on current staffing guidelines; staff time-off requests then entered by the department secretary; the head nurse, with staff input, then fine-tuned the schedule to provide even unit coverage. Outcomes of these changes included an increase in staff satisfaction, time saved by the head nurse, and staff work time saved because there was less arguing about the schedule. Ultimately, the automated self-scheduling method was expanded to the entire 700-bed hospital.

  2. USDOE/EPRI BIOMASS COFIRING COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D. Tillman; E. Hughes

    1999-04-01

    During the period of January 1, 1999 through March 31, 1999, construction was performed in support of two major demonstrations. Major progress was made on several projects including cofiring at Seward (GPU Genco), and Bailly (NIPSCO). Most of the work was focused on construction and system commissioning activities at the Seward and Bailly Generating Stations. Additionally, petroleum coke cofiring testing was completed at the Bailly Generating Station. This report summarizes the activities during the first calendar quarter in 1999--the fourth contract quarter in 1998--of the USDOE/EPRI Biomass Cofiring Cooperative Agreement. It focuses upon reporting the results of construction activities and related events.

  3. Managing service excellence. Internal customer service training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McAnulty, P.C.

    1991-01-01

    WHO ARE OUR CUSTOMERS? Electric Users, regulators, vendors, suppliers, or our own employees? The answer is ALL exclamation point They are all customers. Regardless if they are external or internal customers, one must focus on quality of service delivery in order to maintain customer satisfaction. The most successful companies are quickly realizing that managing SERVICE EX NCE is our only future. For the next decade, the issue of service quality will exceed the issue of productivity. It is very easy to see that the business behind a utility is serving our electric consumers. However, internal customer service - service excellence to employees inside a company is the foundation for success. This paper describes a training program that is being implemented across Duke Power for employees on internal customer service. How we provide service to each other within a company impacts service quality to our external customers. This training refocuses behaviors and perceptions so to concentrate on quality service delivery to our internal customers - our employees. We all have positive and negative experiences with obtaining quality service by either external organizations or internal employees. Therefore, we start with a common foundation. Whether it be a supplier, vendor, or a station administrative group, we have experienced either excellent or poor customer service. All of us have potential in managing the delivery of excellent customer service. However, many of us may need new perspectives so to add depth with which we view and manage service excellence to our internal customers

  4. Evidence-based policy learning: the case of the research excellence indicat

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hardeman, S.; Vertesy, D.

    2016-07-01

    Excellence is arguably the single most important concept in academia today, especially when it comes to science policy making. At the same time, however, excellence leads to a great amount of discomfort, leading some to plea for an overall rejection of the concept. The discomfort with excellence reaches its heights whenever proposals are made for measuring it. Yet, especially given the period of professionalization science policy making finds itself in, these same metrics are frequently called upon to legitimate policy interventions. Excellence and its measurement, it seems therefore, is something we can neither life with nor without. This paper offers some middle ground in the debate on excellence and its measurement for science policy purposes. Using the case of the European Commission’s Research Excellence Indicator as an example, we show how the development and use of indicators offers an opportunity for learning in science policy making. Ultimately, therefore, we show how and in what ways measuring excellence can contribute to evidence-based science policy learning in practice. (Author)

  5. FFTF Authorization Agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DAUTEL, W.A.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of the Authorization Agreement is to serve as a mechanism whereby the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL) and Fluor Hanford (FH) jointly clarify and agree to key conditions for conducting work safely and efficiently in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). Work must be accomplished in a manner that achieves high levels of quality while protecting the environment and the safety and health of workers and the public, and complying with applicable contractual and regulatory requirements. It is the intent of this Agreement to address those items of significant importance in establishing and supporting the FFTF Authorization Envelope, but this Agreement in no way alters the terms and conditions of the Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC), Contract Number DE-AC06-96RL13200

  6. Signalling in international environmental agreements. Using pre-agreement emission level as a signalling device

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steiner, U.

    1997-12-31

    This paper addresses the question about strategic incentives in international environmental agreements and tries to give a positive description of how the design of the agreement influences the strategic behaviour of potential participants before they enter the treaty. A common feature of the design of agreements is that the reduction obligations (RO) are made contingent on a pre-agreement or baseline emission. As it is assumed that countries posses better information about their reduction costs than does the international body in charge of deciding the RO, countries might have incentives to signal higher costs by increasing their baseline emission, and thereby reducing the costs of entering the agreement. The appropriate analytical framework is to use a signalling game approach, where the pre-agreement emission level conveys information about the privately informed country`s reduction cost. In this paper two types of agreement design are considered, one with uniform obligations, and one with differentiated obligations. This enables us to make a comparison between two different reduction regimes. The result is that the predicted outcomes vary with regard to both the environmental effectiveness and the associated expected costs for the participating countries. This means that when private information is considered, the anticipation of a given institutional framework has significant impact on the resulting distortion of the total emission level, highlighting the necessity of taking this into consideration when future designs are proposed. (au)

  7. Signalling in international environmental agreements: Using pre-agreement emission level as a signalling device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steiner, U.

    1997-01-01

    This paper addresses the question about strategic incentives in international environmental agreements and tries to give a positive description of how the design of the agreement influences the strategic behaviour of potential participants before they enter the treaty. A common feature of the design of agreements is that the reduction obligations (RO) are made contingent on a pre-agreement or baseline emission. As it is assumed that countries posses better information about their reduction costs than does the international body in charge of deciding the RO, countries might have incentives to signal higher costs by increasing their baseline emission, and thereby reducing the costs of entering the agreement. The appropriate analytical framework is to use a signalling game approach, where the pre-agreement emission level conveys information about the privately informed country's reduction cost. In this paper two types of agreement design are considered, one with uniform obligations, and one with differentiated obligations. This enables us to make a comparison between two different reduction regimes. The result is that the predicted outcomes vary with regard to both the environmental effectiveness and the associated expected costs for the participating countries. This means that when private information is considered, the anticipation of a given institutional framework has significant impact on the resulting distortion of the total emission level, highlighting the necessity of taking this into consideration when future designs are proposed. (au)

  8. Report of the remote-handled transuranic waste mock retrieval demonstration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-05-01

    This report documents the results of the mock, onsite retrieval demonstration that was conducted on May 19 and 20, 1987, for representatives of the New Mexico Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG). Demonstration of the retrievability of remote-handled transuranic (RH TRU) waste is part of a milestone included in the Agreement for Consultation and Cooperation between the state of New Mexico and the United States Department of Energy. Retrieval equipment design documents and a retrievability demonstration plan for RH TRU waste were previously transmitted to the EEG. This report documents the results of the demonstration by evaluating the demonstration against the acceptance criteria that were established in the Demonstration Plan. 1 fig., 2 tabs

  9. A multihop key agreement scheme for wireless ad hoc networks based on channel characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Zhuo; Zhong, Sheng; Yu, Nenghai

    2013-01-01

    A number of key agreement schemes based on wireless channel characteristics have been proposed recently. However, previous key agreement schemes require that two nodes which need to agree on a key are within the communication range of each other. Hence, they are not suitable for multihop wireless networks, in which nodes do not always have direct connections with each other. In this paper, we first propose a basic multihop key agreement scheme for wireless ad hoc networks. The proposed basic scheme is resistant to external eavesdroppers. Nevertheless, this basic scheme is not secure when there exist internal eavesdroppers or Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) adversaries. In order to cope with these adversaries, we propose an improved multihop key agreement scheme. We show that the improved scheme is secure against internal eavesdroppers and MITM adversaries in a single path. Both performance analysis and simulation results demonstrate that the improved scheme is efficient. Consequently, the improved key agreement scheme is suitable for multihop wireless ad hoc networks.

  10. ASEAN’s Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guanyi Leu

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a diversification explanation in order understand the development of PTAs in Southeast Asia. I argue that an important reason why ASEAN states participate in PTAs has been to diversify existing trade ties and to reduce overdependence on a narrow range of export markets. Southeast Asian countries have formed PTAs with markets with which they had weak or unexplored economic relations, as demonstrated by three case analyses: the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA and the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (AJCEP. To maximise the economic gains and the diversification effects of PTA participation, ASEAN countries have pursued a strategy of strengthening economic unity while keeping external economic linkages as diversified as possible. Although East Asia, and especially China, was an important alternative market to reduce ASEAN’s dependence on trade with America, ASEAN countries have also pursued PTAs with a number of other trading partners. This paper explains how PTAs have helped ASEAN states to develop more policy autonomy in their trading environment.

  11. Excellent fruits of national research and development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-12-01

    This book introduces 100 excellent fruits of research and development in Korea. Such as. It show the titles of 100 excellent fruits about technology of hope to give people healthy life, technology of product and abundance to enrich resource, technology to make green growth and sound society, next service technology to communicate with network, new electron technology to brings life change, technology to draw innovation of industrial fields, technology to build higher value-added product with new fusion materials and technology to share and to create future knowledge.

  12. Defining learning goals in Honours education : what makes an excellent professional?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Robbe, Patricia; Heijne-Penninga, Marjolein; Wijkamp, Inge; Wolfensberger, Marca

    2016-01-01

    Honours programs prepare talented students to become the excellent professionals of the future. However, the behavioral aspects which define an excellent professional have not been elucidated yet. We therefore performed a research study on how professionals characterize an excellent professional in

  13. The Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Classification System: an external agreement validation study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Middendorp, J.J. van; Audige, L.; Bartels, R.H.M.A.; Bolger, C.; Deverall, H.; Dhoke, P.; Diekerhof, C.H.; Govaert, G.A.; Guimera, V.; Koller, H.; Morris, S.A.; Setiobudi, T.; Hosman, A.J.F.

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND CONTEXT: In 2007, the Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Classification (SLIC) system was introduced demonstrating moderate reliability in an internal validation study. PURPOSE: To assess the agreement on the SLIC system using clinical data from a spinal trauma population and whether the SLIC

  14. The Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Classification System : an external agreement validation study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Middendorp, Joost J.; Audige, Laurent; Bartels, Ronald H.; Bolger, Ciaran; Deverall, Hamish; Dhoke, Priyesh; Diekerhof, Carel H.; Govaert, Geertje A. M.; Guimera, Vicente; Koller, Heiko; Morris, Stephen A. C.; Setiobudi, Tony; Hosman, Allard J. F.

    BACKGROUND CONTEXT: In 2007, the Subaxial Cervical Spine Injury Classification (SLIC) system was introduced demonstrating moderate reliability in an internal validation study. PURPOSE: To assess the agreement on the SLIC system using clinical data from a spinal trauma population and whether the SLIC

  15. Good things come to those who wait: late first offers facilitate creative agreements in negotiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinaceur, Marwan; Maddux, William W; Vasiljevic, Dimitri; Perez Nückel, Ricardo; Galinsky, Adam D

    2013-06-01

    Although previous research has shown that making the first offer leads to a distributive advantage in negotiations, the current research explored how the timing of first offers affects the creativity of negotiation agreements. We hypothesized that making the first offer later rather than earlier in the negotiation would facilitate the discovery of creative agreements that better meet the parties' underlying interests. Experiment 1 demonstrated that compared with early first offers, late first offers facilitated creative agreements that better met the parties' underlying interests. Experiments 2a and 2b controlled for the duration of the negotiation and conceptually replicated this effect. The last two studies also demonstrated that the beneficial effect of late first offers was mediated by greater information exchange. Thus, negotiators need to consider the timing of first offers to fully capitalize on the first offer advantage. Implications for our understanding of creativity, motivated information exchange, and timing in negotiations are discussed.

  16. NUCLA Circulating Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Demonstration Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1992-02-01

    The objective of this DOE Cooperative Agreement is to conduct a cost-shared clean coal technology project to demonstrate the feasibility of circulating fluidized bed combustion technology and to evaluate economic, environmental, and operational benefits of CFB steam generators on a utility scale. At the conclusion of the Phase 2 program, testing related to satisfying these objectives was completed. Data analysis and reporting are scheduled for completion by October 1991. (VC)

  17. Multilateral and bilateral agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koponen, H.

    1993-01-01

    Finland has made both multilateral and bilateral agreements on the exchange of information related to radiation safety. The first arrangements for international agreements and exchange of information were made after the Chernobyl accident. In 1987, Finland joined the convention on early notification of a nuclear power accident coordinated by International Atomic Energy Agency. The convention is applied to accidents that cause of may cause emissions of radioactive substances that might affect the radiation safety of another country. Besides the convention on early notification, some other individual agreements have also been made. These include the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) system and power companies own information exchange systems. Finland has conducted bilateral agreements with the Nordic countries and the Soviet Union on the notification of accidents and exchange of nuclear power plant information. Today, Russia answers for the Soviet Union's contractual obligations. (orig.)

  18. 48 CFR 1642.7001 - Management agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Management Agreement (in Lieu of Novation Agreement) 1642.7001 Management agreement. When it is in the best interest of... day-to-day performance of the contract. Examples of situations in which a Management Agreement may be...

  19. Advancing diversity through inclusive excellence in nursing education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleich, Michael R; MacWilliams, Brent R; Schmidt, Bonnie J

    2015-01-01

    Nurse leaders call for a more diverse nursing workforce, but too few address the concept of inclusion as a recruitment and retention strategy or as part of improving the academic learning milieu. This article addresses organizational considerations of diversity and inclusion as part of the agenda established by the Association of American Colleges and Universities for inclusive excellence, building on the idea that academic environments only become excellent when an inclusive climate is reached. Six organizational strategies to inclusion are presented from the authors' experiences, some structural and others behavioral: admissions processes, invisibility, absence of community, promotion and tenure, exclusion, and tokenism. A call for structural and behavioral adaptions within nursing education to advance an inclusive excellence agenda is presented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The culture of excellence. Challenges and opportunities during changing times

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suciu Marta-Christina

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of the paper is to highlight the importance of supporting the promotion of the culture of excellence among people involved in a way or another in contemporary business. In order to support business excellence, the culture of excellence have to empower and engage all the people within an organization to think out of the box in a modern vision suitable to the challenging and changing times we are facing now. All over the world, in the most competitive countries, regions and sectors of activities there is a paradigmatic change of business strategies and policies oriented more and more towards performance and excellence. The paper highlights the importance of promoting the culture of excellence in the contemporary changing business environment. It suggests an important shift from a perspective that focuses on the so called ‘hero of excellence’ towards promoting the culture of excellence among the whole organization. Within modern business, in order to face challenges of the changing times and to explore their opportunities all the people from an organization are considered to manifest as ‘heroes of excellence’ by co-creating and co-working together within creative and innovative teams. They have to contribute and to participate actively to assure, preserve and develop the competitiveness and well being of the whole organization. The paper supports a holistic, cross disciplinary and integrated vision. It is structured into three parts including: a brief literature review based on an overview of the current state of the literature dedicated to the topic of culture of excellence (part 1; presentation of the main steps of the process of building a sustainable high performance organization (part 2; a brief presentation of examples of best practice and case studied identified internationally (part 3; conclusions that highlight the importance of culture of excellence in changing and challenging times.

  1. Comparative Analysis Of Three Largest World Models Of Business Excellence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasminka Samardžija

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Business excellence has become the strongest means of achieving competitive advantage of companies while total management of quality has become the road that ensures support of excellent results recognized by many world companies. Despite many differences, we can conclude that models have many common elements. By the audit in 2005, the DP and MBNQA moved the focus from excellence of product, i.e service, onto the excellence of quality of the entire organization process. Thus, the quality got strategic dimension instead of technical one and the accent passed from the technical quality on the total excellence of all organization processes. The joint movement goes to the direction of good management and appreciation of systems thinking. The very structure of EFOM model criteria itself is adjusted to strategic dimension of quality and that is why the model underwent only short audits within the criteria themselves. Essentially, the model remained unchanged. In all models, the accent is on the satisfaction of buyers, employees and community. National rewards for quality have an important role in promotion and giving a prize to excellence in organization performances. Moreover, they raise quality standards of companies and the country profile as a whole. Considering the GDP per capita and the percentage of certification level of companies, Croatia has all the predispositions for introduction the EFQM model of business excellence with the basic aim of deficit decrease in foreign trade balance and strengthening of competitiveness as the necessary preliminary work for the entrance in the competitive market of the EU. Quality management was introduced in many organizations. The methods used at that time developed in the course of years, and what are to predict is the continuation of the evolution road model as well as the method of business excellence.

  2. Competition for Assistance Agreements

    Science.gov (United States)

    It is EPA policy to promote competition in the award of assistance agreements to the maximum extent practicable.When assistance agreements are awarded competitively, it is EPA policy that the competitive process be fair and open & that no applicant receive

  3. Predictors of excellent early outcome after total hip arthroplasty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smith George H

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Not all patients gain the same degree of improvement from total hip replacement and the reasons for this are not clear. Many investigators have assessed predictors of general outcome after hip surgery. This study is unique in its quest for the predictors of the best possible early outcome. Methods We prospectively collected data on 1318 total hip replacements. Prior to surgery patient characteristics, demographics and co-morbidities were documented. Hip function and general health was assessed using the Harris Hip score (HHS and the Short-Form 36 respectively. The HHS was repeated at three years. We took a maximal HHS of 100 to represent an excellent outcome (102 patients. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of excellent outcome. Results The two strongest predictive factors in achieving an excellent result were young age and a high pre-operative HHS (p = 0.001. Conclusions It was the young and those less disabled from their arthritis that excelled at three years. When making a decision about the timing of hip arthroplasty surgery it is important to take into account the age and pre-operative function of the patient. Whether these patients continue to excel however will be the basis of future research.

  4. 29 CFR 1908.10 - Cooperative Agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... CONSULTATION AGREEMENTS § 1908.10 Cooperative Agreements. (a) Who may make Agreements. The Assistant Secretary... consultation services to private sector employers. (3) Renegotiation of existing Agreements funded under this part shall be initiated within 30 days of the effective date of these revisions. (c) Contents of...

  5. Multi-party quantum key agreement with five-qubit brown states

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Tao; Jiang, Min; Cao, Gang

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, we propose a multi-party quantum key agreement protocol with five-qubit brown states and single-qubit measurements. Our multi-party protocol ensures each participant to contribute equally to the agreement key. Each party performs three single-qubit unitary operations on three qubits of each brown state. Finally, by measuring brown states and decoding the measurement results, all participants can negotiate a shared secret key without classical bits exchange between them. With the analysis of security, our protocol demonstrates that it can resist against both outsider and participant attacks. Compared with other schemes, it also possesses a higher information efficiency. In terms of physical operation, it requires single-qubit measurements only which weakens the hardware requirements of participant and has a better operating flexibility.

  6. Role modeling excellence in clinical nursing practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, R N Beth

    2009-01-01

    Role modeling excellence in clinical nursing practice is the focus of this paper. The phenomenological research study reported involved a group of 8 nurses identified by their colleagues as exemplary. The major theme revealed in this study was that these exemplary nurses were also excellent role models in the clinical setting. This paper details approaches used by these nurses that made them excellent role models. Specifically, the themes of attending to the little things, making connections, maintaining a light-hearted attitude, modeling, and affirming others are presented. These themes are discussed within the framework of Watson [Watson, J., 1989. Human caring and suffering: a subjective model for health services. In: Watson, J., Taylor, R. (Eds.), They Shall Not Hurt: Human Suffering and Human Caring. Colorado University, Boulder, CO] "transpersonal caring" and [Bandura, A., 1997. Social Learning Theory. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ] "Social Learning Theory." Particular emphasis in the discussion is on how positive role modeling by exemplary practitioners can contribute to the education of clinical nurses in the practice setting.

  7. Nuclear arbitration: Interpreting non-proliferation agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tzeng, Peter

    2015-01-01

    At the core of the nuclear non-proliferation regime lie international agreements. These agreements include, inter alia, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, nuclear co-operation agreements and nuclear export control agreements.1 States, however, do not always comply with their obligations under these agreements. In response, commentators have proposed various enforcement mechanisms to promote compliance. The inconvenient truth, however, is that states are generally unwilling to consent to enforcement mechanisms concerning issues as critical to national security as nuclear non-proliferation.3 This article suggests an alternative solution to the non-compliance problem: interpretation mechanisms. Although an interpretation mechanism does not have the teeth of an enforcement mechanism, it can induce compliance by providing an authoritative interpretation of a legal obligation. Interpretation mechanisms would help solve the non-compliance problem because, as this article shows, in many cases of alleged non-compliance with a non-proliferation agreement, the fundamental problem has been the lack of an authoritative interpretation of the agreement, not the lack of an enforcement mechanism. Specifically, this article proposes arbitration as the proper interpretation mechanism for non-proliferation agreements. It advocates the establishment of a 'Nuclear Arbitration Centre' as an independent branch of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and recommends the gradual introduction of arbitration clauses into the texts of non-proliferation agreements. Section I begins with a discussion of international agreements in general and the importance of interpretation and enforcement mechanisms. Section II then discusses nuclear non-proliferation agreements and their lack of interpretation and enforcement mechanisms. Section III examines seven case studies of alleged non-compliance with non-proliferation agreements in order to show that the main problem in many cases

  8. 48 CFR 2831.109 - Advance agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... proposed agreement. The approved determination will be placed in the contract file. (c) All advance... the agreements. Advance agreements will be signed by both the contractor and the contracting officer, and made a part of the contract file. Copies of executed advance agreements will be distributed to the...

  9. EPRI-USDOE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT: COFIRING BIOMASS WITH COAL; FINAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David A. Tillman

    2001-01-01

    The entire Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) cofiring program has been in existence of some 9 years. This report presents a summary of the major elements of that program, focusing upon the following questions: (1) In pursuit of increased use of renewable energy in the US economy, why was electricity generation considered the most promising target, and why was cofiring pursued as the most effective near-term technology to use in broadening the use of biomass within the electricity generating arena? (2) What were the unique accomplishments of EPRI before the development of the Cooperative Agreement, which made developing the partnership with EPRI a highly cost-effective approach for USDOE? (3) What were the key accomplishments of the Cooperative Agreement in the development and execution of test and demonstration programs-accomplishments which significantly furthered the process of commercializing cofiring?

  10. Learning with animation as a framework for educational excellence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gjedde, Lisa

    and the refinement of the expression. For some of the learners this type of learning environment, did present potentials for the experience of accomplishment, success and excellence, which they had rarely enjoyed in other types of learning environments. The notion of excellence will be reconsidered in relation...

  11. Centre of Excellence For Simulation Education and Innovation (CESEI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qayumi, A Karim

    2010-01-01

    Simulation is becoming an integral part of medical education. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) was the first organization to recognize the value of simulation-based learning, and to award accreditation for educational institutions that aim to provide simulation as part of the experiential learning opportunity. Centre of Excellence for Simulation Education and Innovation (CESEI) is a multidisciplinary and interprofessional educational facility that is based at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Vancouver Costal Health Authority (VCH). Centre of Excellence for Simulation Education and Innovation's goal is to provide excellence in education, research, and healthcare delivery by providing a technologically advanced environment and learning opportunity using simulation for various groups of learners including undergraduate, postgraduate, nursing, and allied health professionals. This article is an attempt to describe the infrastructure, services, and uniqueness of the Centre of Excellence for Simulation Education and Innovation. Copyright 2010 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Excel 2016 for engineering statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2016-01-01

    This book shows the capabilities of Microsoft Excel in teaching engineering statistics effectively. Similar to the previously published Excel 2013 for Engineering Statistics, this book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical engineering problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in engineering courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However,Excel 2016 for Engineering Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and...

  13. Excel 2016 for business statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2016-01-01

    This book shows the capabilities of Microsoft Excel in teaching business statistics effectively. Similar to the previously published Excel 2010 for Business Statistics, this book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical business problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in business courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2016 for Business Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Each ch...

  14. Ovulation Statuses of Surrogate Gilts Are Associated with the Efficiency of Excellent Pig Cloning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanjun Huan

    Full Text Available Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT is an assisted reproductive technique that can produce multiple copies of excellent livestock. However, low cloning efficiency limits the application of SCNT. In this study, we systematically investigated the major influencing factors related to the overall cloning efficiency in pigs. Here, 13620 cloned embryos derived from excellent pigs were transferred into 79 surrogate gilts, and 119 live cloned piglets were eventually generated. During cloning, group of cloned embryos derived from excellent Landrace or Large white pigs presented no significant differences of cleavage and blastocyst rates, blastocyst cell numbers, surrogate pregnancy and delivery rates, average numbers of piglets born and alive and cloning efficiencies, and group of 101-150, 151-200 or 201-250 cloned embryos transferred per surrogate also displayed a similar developmental efficiency. When estrus stage of surrogate gilts was compared, group of embryo transfer on Day 2 of estrus showed significantly higher pregnancy rate, delivery rate, average number of piglets born, average alive piglet number or cloning efficiency than group on Day 1, Day 3, Day 4 or Day 5, respectively (P<0.05. And, in comparison with the preovulation and postovulation groups, group of surrogate gilts during periovulation displayed a significantly higher overall cloning efficiency (P<0.05. Further investigation of surrogate estrus stage and ovulation status displayed that ovulation status was the real factor underlying estrus stage to determine the overall cloning efficiency. And more, follicle puncture for preovulation, not transfer position shallowed for preovulation or deepened for postovulation, significantly improved the average number of piglets alive and cloning efficiency (P<0.05. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that ovulation status of surrogate gilts was the fundamental factor determining the overall cloning efficiency of excellent pigs, and follicle

  15. Enterprise-Wide Process & Performance Excellence:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edgeman, Rick; Kristensen, Kai; Eskildsen, Jacob Kjær

    2013-01-01

    Program value proposition, content, organization, and strategy are elaborated herein. This elaboration is the result of careful study of business and social trends, along with careful listening to collaborating enterprises. It is in this latter sense that the Enterprise-Wide Process & Performance...... Excellence certificate program is a product of a co-creation process....

  16. Understanding Research Excellence at IDRC

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    KFerguson

    2009-01-18

    Jan 18, 2009 ... The primary intended users of this study are IDRC program staffand the ... type of framework, and some parameters that anchor the concepts.” ... (e.g., the complex health care delivery system), we have little reason to ..... defines or views research excellence and related concepts such as rigor and impact;.

  17. An integrated service excellence model for military test and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this article is to introduce an Integrated Service Excellence Model (ISEM) for empowering the leadership core of the capital-intensive military test and evaluation facilities to provide strategic military test and evaluation services and to continuously improve service excellence by ensuring that all activities ...

  18. Interobserver and intraobserver agreement of ligamentous injuries on conventional MRI after simple elbow dislocation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc Schnetzke

    2017-02-01

    conventional MRI technique as demonstrated by a weak inter- and intraobserver agreement. This should be the basis to develop new MRI quality standards with special focus on coronal oblique reconstructions to improve the evaluation of ligament injuries after simple elbow dislocations.

  19. Canadian seismic agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wetmiller, R.J.; Lyons, J.A.; Shannon, W.E.; Munro, P.S.; Thomas, J.T.; Andrew, M.D.; Lamontagne, M.; Wong, C.; Anglin, F.M.; Plouffe, M.; Lapointe, S.P.; Adams, J.; Drysdale, J.A.

    1990-04-01

    This is the twenty-first progress report under the agreement entitled Canadian Seismic Agreement between the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Canadian Commercial Corporation. Activities undertaken by the Geophysics Division of the Geological Survey of Canada (GD/GSC) during the period from July 01, 1988 to June 30, 1989 and supported in part by the NRC agreement are described below under four headings; Eastern Canada Telemetred Network and local network developments, Datalab developments, strong motion network developments and earthquake activity. In this time period eastern Canada experienced its largest earthquake in over 50 years. This earthquake, which has been christened the Saguenay earthquake, has provided a wealth of new data pertinent to earthquake engineering studies in eastern North America and is the subject of many continuing studies, which are presently being carried out at GD and elsewhere. 41 refs., 21 figs., 7 tabs

  20. SCEW: a Microsoft Excel add-in for easy creation of survival curves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Haseeb Ahmad

    2006-07-01

    Survival curves are frequently used for reporting survival or mortality outcomes of experimental pharmacological/toxicological studies and of clinical trials. Microsoft Excel is a simple and widely used tool for creation of numerous types of graphic presentations however it is difficult to create step-wise survival curves in Excel. Considering the familiarity of clinicians and biomedical scientists with Excel, an algorithm survival curves in Excel worksheet (SCEW) has been developed for easy creation of survival curves directly in Excel worksheets. The algorithm has been integrated in the form of Excel add-in for easy installation and usage. The program is based on modification of frequency data for binary break-up using the spreadsheet formula functions whereas a macro subroutine automates the creation of survival curves. The advantages of this program are simple data input, minimal procedural steps and the creation of survival curves in the familiar confines of Excel.

  1. Assessing excellence in translational cancer research: a consensus based framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajan, Abinaya; Caldas, Carlos; van Luenen, Henri; Saghatchian, Mahasti; van Harten, Wim H

    2013-10-29

    It takes several years on average to translate basic research findings into clinical research and eventually deliver patient benefits. An expert-based excellence assessment can help improve this process by: identifying high performing Comprehensive Cancer Centres; best practices in translational cancer research; improving the quality and efficiency of the translational cancer research process. This can help build networks of excellent Centres by aiding focused partnerships. In this paper we report on a consensus building exercise that was undertaken to construct an excellence assessment framework for translational cancer research in Europe. We used mixed methods to reach consensus: a systematic review of existing translational research models critically appraised for suitability in performance assessment of Cancer Centres; a survey among European stakeholders (researchers, clinicians, patient representatives and managers) to score a list of potential excellence criteria, a focus group with selected representatives of survey participants to review and rescore the excellence criteria; an expert group meeting to refine the list; an open validation round with stakeholders and a critical review of the emerging framework by an independent body: a committee formed by the European Academy of Cancer Sciences. The resulting excellence assessment framework has 18 criteria categorized in 6 themes. Each criterion has a number of questions/sub-criteria. Stakeholders favoured using qualitative excellence criteria to evaluate the translational research "process" rather than quantitative criteria or judging only the outputs. Examples of criteria include checking if the Centre has mechanisms that can be rated as excellent for: involvement of basic researchers and clinicians in translational research (quality of supervision and incentives provided to clinicians to do a PhD in translational research) and well designed clinical trials based on ground-breaking concepts (innovative

  2. Leveraging Trade Agreements to Meet U.S. Security Aims

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-08

    President George H.W. Bush sought means to influence the policies of Latin American states more effectively. Mexico , particularly in the post-Cold War era...security goals. A review of the U.S. trade policy, and its nesting with the National Security Strategy, demonstrates how President Barack Obama’s... President Barack Obama’s strategic “pivot to Asia,” and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement facilitate U.S. enduring national

  3. Visual Processing in Generally Gifted and Mathematically Excelling Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paz-Baruch, Nurit; Leikin, Roza; Leikin, Mark

    2016-01-01

    Little empirical data are available concerning the cognitive abilities of gifted individuals in general and especially those who excel in mathematics. We examined visual processing abilities distinguishing between general giftedness (G) and excellence in mathematics (EM). The research population consisted of 190 students from four groups of 10th-…

  4. Agreement Execution Process Study: CRADAs and NF-WFO Agreements and the Speed of Business

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harrer, Bruce J.; Cejka, Cheryl L.; Macklin, Richard; Miksovic, Ann

    2011-02-01

    This report summarizes the findings of a study on the execution of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and Non-Federal Work for Others (NF-WFO) agreements across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory complex. The study provides quantitiative estimates of times required to negotiate and execute these agreements across the DOE complex. It identifies factors impacting on cycle times and describes best practicies used at various laboratories and site offices that reduce cycle times.

  5. Analysis of agreement between cardiac risk stratification protocols applied to participants of a center for cardiac rehabilitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana A. S. Santos

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Background Cardiac risk stratification is related to the risk of the occurrence of events induced by exercise. Despite the existence of several protocols to calculate risk stratification, studies indicating that there is similarity between these protocols are still unknown. Objective To evaluate the agreement between the existing protocols on cardiac risk rating in cardiac patients. Method The records of 50 patients from a cardiac rehabilitation program were analyzed, from which the following information was extracted: age, sex, weight, height, clinical diagnosis, medical history, risk factors, associated diseases, and the results from the most recent laboratory and complementary tests performed. This information was used for risk stratification of the patients in the protocols of the American College of Sports Medicine, the Brazilian Society of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the protocol designed by Frederic J. Pashkow, the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the Société Française de Cardiologie, and the Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample and the analysis of agreement between the protocols was calculated using the Kappa coefficient. Differences were considered with a significance level of 5%. Results Of the 21 analyses of agreement, 12 were considered significant between the protocols used for risk classification, with nine classified as moderate and three as low. No agreements were classified as excellent. Different proportions were observed in each risk category, with significant differences between the protocols for all risk categories. Conclusion The agreements between the protocols were considered low and moderate and the risk proportions differed between protocols.

  6. Escape Excel: A tool for preventing gene symbol and accession conversion errors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welsh, Eric A; Stewart, Paul A; Kuenzi, Brent M; Eschrich, James A

    2017-01-01

    Microsoft Excel automatically converts certain gene symbols, database accessions, and other alphanumeric text into dates, scientific notation, and other numerical representations. These conversions lead to subsequent, irreversible, corruption of the imported text. A recent survey of popular genomic literature estimates that one-fifth of all papers with supplementary gene lists suffer from this issue. Here, we present an open-source tool, Escape Excel, which prevents these erroneous conversions by generating an escaped text file that can be safely imported into Excel. Escape Excel is implemented in a variety of formats (http://www.github.com/pstew/escape_excel), including a command line based Perl script, a Windows-only Excel Add-In, an OS X drag-and-drop application, a simple web-server, and as a Galaxy web environment interface. Test server implementations are accessible as a Galaxy interface (http://apostl.moffitt.org) and simple non-Galaxy web server (http://apostl.moffitt.org:8000/). Escape Excel detects and escapes a wide variety of problematic text strings so that they are not erroneously converted into other representations upon importation into Excel. Examples of problematic strings include date-like strings, time-like strings, leading zeroes in front of numbers, and long numeric and alphanumeric identifiers that should not be automatically converted into scientific notation. It is hoped that greater awareness of these potential data corruption issues, together with diligent escaping of text files prior to importation into Excel, will help to reduce the amount of Excel-corrupted data in scientific analyses and publications.

  7. 48 CFR 1642.1204 - Agreement to recognize a successor in interest (novation agreement).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... that the corporate name of (insert old corporate name) was changed to (insert new corporate name) on... MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Novation and Change-of-Name Agreements 1642.1204 Agreement to recognize a... corporate name) (Transferor), a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of (insert State...

  8. Promoting sustainable excellence through diversity in research careers

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva; Dr. Vinkenburg, Claartje; Guinot, Genevieve

    2015-01-01

    Excellence is a non-negotiable in science, a necessary condition for a successful careers as well as the funding of research projects. Scientific excellence is the sole criterion used by the European Research Council (ERC) to award frontier research grants. However, statistics show that there are still persistent inequalities between men and women scientists in ERC funding success as well as other career outcomes. Dr. Claartje Vinkenburg, of the VU University of Amsterdam, will illustrate two projects commissioned by the ERC Gender Balance Working Group to uncover and address this phenomenon. The first project [ERCAREER (Vinkenburg PI, 2012-2014)] is about unconventional careers and career breaks, and studies the gendered nature of career paths of ERC applicants. Findings show that “conventional careers” in science are inextricably tied to normative beliefs about the ideal academic, mobility, independence, and excellence. Allowing unconventional careers to address the issue results in ir...

  9. Excel in the Accounting Curriculum: Perceptions from Accounting Professors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramachandran Rackliffe, Usha; Ragland, Linda

    2016-01-01

    Public accounting firms emphasize the importance of accounting graduates being proficient in Excel. Since many accounting graduates often aspire to work in public accounting, a question arises as to whether there should be an emphasis on Excel in accounting education. The purpose of this paper is to specifically look at this issue by examining…

  10. Cooperative monitoring of regional security agreements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pregenzer, A.L.; Vannoni, M.; Biringer, K.L.

    1995-08-01

    This paper argues that cooperative monitoring plays a critical role in the implementation of regional security agreements and confidence building measures. A framework for developing cooperative monitoring options is proposed and several possibilities for relating bilateral and regional monitoring systems to international monitoring systems are discussed. Three bilateral or regional agreements are analyzed briefly to illustrate different possibilities: (1) the demilitarization of the Sinai region between Israel and Egypt in the 1970s; (2) the 1991 quadripartite agreement for monitoring nuclear facilities among Brazil, Argentina, The Argentine-Brazilian Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials and the International Atomic Energy Agency; and (3) a bilateral Open Skies agreement between Hungary and Romania in 1991. These examples illustrate that the relationship of regional or bilateral arms control or security agreements to international agreements depends on a number of factors: the overlap of provisions between regional and international agreements; the degree of interest in a regional agreement among the international community; efficiency in implementing the agreement; and numerous political considerations.Given the importance of regional security to the international community, regions should be encouraged to develop their own infrastructure for implementing regional arms control and other security agreements. A regional infrastructure need not preclude participation in an international regime. On the contrary, establishing regional institutions for arms control and nonproliferation could result in more proactive participation of regional parties in developing solutions for regional and international problems, thereby strengthening existing and future international regimes. Possible first steps for strengthening regional infrastructures are identified and potential technical requirements are discussed.

  11. Preparing data for analysis using microsoft Excel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Alan C; Hynan, Linda S; Reisch, Joan S; Smith, Janet P

    2006-09-01

    A critical component essential to good research is the accurate and efficient collection and preparation of data for analysis. Most medical researchers have little or no training in data management, often causing not only excessive time spent cleaning data but also a risk that the data set contains collection or recording errors. The implementation of simple guidelines based on techniques used by professional data management teams will save researchers time and money and result in a data set better suited to answer research questions. Because Microsoft Excel is often used by researchers to collect data, specific techniques that can be implemented in Excel are presented.

  12. Empowering boards to become instruments of innovation and excellence

    OpenAIRE

    Coulson-Thomas, Colin

    2016-01-01

    Examines the roles of directors, boards and CEOs in relation to excellence, innovation, innovative business models, leadership and human capital and the digital economy, aspects of leadership and the new, collective and shared leadership required for creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. Written to encourage discussion at the 2016 Dubai Global Convention and 26th World Congress for Business Excellence & Innovation.

  13. The Texts of The Agency's Agreements with the Republic of Austria. I. Headquarters Agreement. Amendments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1970-09-04

    The text of the Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Republic of Austria Amending the Agreement of 11 December 1957 Regarding the Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was signed on 4 June 1970, is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. Members will be informed of the entry into force of the Amendments to the Headquarters Agreement.

  14. The Texts of The Agency's Agreements with the Republic of Austria. I. Headquarters Agreement. Amendments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1970-01-01

    The text of the Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Republic of Austria Amending the Agreement of 11 December 1957 Regarding the Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was signed on 4 June 1970, is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. Members will be informed of the entry into force of the Amendments to the Headquarters Agreement

  15. Agreement and reproducibility in identification of endometriosis using magnetic resonance imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saba, Luca; Sulcis, Rosa; Mallarini, Giorgio; Guerriero, Stefano; Ajossa, Silvia; Melis, Gianbenedetto

    2010-01-01

    Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising technique in the study of endometriosis, allowing a complete mapping of lesions before surgery. However, the value of MRI in the diagnosis of endometriosis in the bladder, in superficial peritoneal lesions, and in ovarian foci and uterosacral ligaments is still under debate. Purpose: To assess inter- and intra-observer agreement in the evaluation of endometriosis in different anatomical locations using MRI. Material and Methods: From June 2006 to February 2008, 83 female patients (mean age 39, range 19-49 years) who had undergone MRI examination for suspected endometriosis were evaluated by two radiologists. MRI at 1.5 Tesla was performed with SE and TSE sequences, T1- and T2-weighted with and without fat suppression. Each examination was completed with gadolinium administration. Each dataset was independently evaluated by the radiologists for the presence or absence of endometriosis. The location (ovaries, uterosacral ligaments (USLs), pouch of Douglas, vagina, rectosigmoid, rectovaginal septum, and bladder) of suspected lesions was recorded. Cohen kappa statistical analysis was performed to calculate agreement between measurements. After 2 months the data were analyzed again by the two observers to assess intra-observer agreement. Results: Of the 83 MRI examinations performed, 12 patients demonstrated no evidence of endometriosis. In the remaining 71 studies, 157 endometriotic lesions ranging in size from 0.4 to 6.2 cm were detected. Of the 157 lesions, 53 (33.75% incidence) were smaller than 1 cm. In the ovaries, the inter-observer agreement was 92.77% and the kappa value was 0.802 (95% CI, 0.695-0.91). In the bladder the inter-observer agreement was 96.39% and the kappa value was 0.553 (95% CI 0.056-1). In the USLs the inter-observer agreement was 90.96% and the kappa value 0.583 (95% CI, 0.381-0.784). In the rectovaginal septum the inter-observer agreement was 94.58% and the kappa value 0.739 (95% CI

  16. Agreement and reproducibility in identification of endometriosis using magnetic resonance imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saba, Luca; Sulcis, Rosa; Mallarini, Giorgio (Dept. of Science of the Images, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy)), e-mail: lucasaba@tiscali.it; Guerriero, Stefano; Ajossa, Silvia; Melis, Gianbenedetto (Dept. of Gynaecology, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria di Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy))

    2010-06-15

    Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising technique in the study of endometriosis, allowing a complete mapping of lesions before surgery. However, the value of MRI in the diagnosis of endometriosis in the bladder, in superficial peritoneal lesions, and in ovarian foci and uterosacral ligaments is still under debate. Purpose: To assess inter- and intra-observer agreement in the evaluation of endometriosis in different anatomical locations using MRI. Material and Methods: From June 2006 to February 2008, 83 female patients (mean age 39, range 19-49 years) who had undergone MRI examination for suspected endometriosis were evaluated by two radiologists. MRI at 1.5 Tesla was performed with SE and TSE sequences, T1- and T2-weighted with and without fat suppression. Each examination was completed with gadolinium administration. Each dataset was independently evaluated by the radiologists for the presence or absence of endometriosis. The location (ovaries, uterosacral ligaments (USLs), pouch of Douglas, vagina, rectosigmoid, rectovaginal septum, and bladder) of suspected lesions was recorded. Cohen kappa statistical analysis was performed to calculate agreement between measurements. After 2 months the data were analyzed again by the two observers to assess intra-observer agreement. Results: Of the 83 MRI examinations performed, 12 patients demonstrated no evidence of endometriosis. In the remaining 71 studies, 157 endometriotic lesions ranging in size from 0.4 to 6.2 cm were detected. Of the 157 lesions, 53 (33.75% incidence) were smaller than 1 cm. In the ovaries, the inter-observer agreement was 92.77% and the kappa value was 0.802 (95% CI, 0.695-0.91). In the bladder the inter-observer agreement was 96.39% and the kappa value was 0.553 (95% CI 0.056-1). In the USLs the inter-observer agreement was 90.96% and the kappa value 0.583 (95% CI, 0.381-0.784). In the rectovaginal septum the inter-observer agreement was 94.58% and the kappa value 0.739 (95% CI

  17. Repeatability, interocular correlation and agreement of quantitative swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography macular metrics in healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Danqi; Tang, Fang Yao; Huang, Haifan; Cheung, Carol Y; Chen, Haoyu

    2018-05-29

    To investigate the repeatability, interocular correlation and agreement of quantitative swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) metrics in healthy subjects. Thirty-three healthy normal subjects were enrolled. The macula was scanned four times by an SS-OCTA system using the 3 mm×3 mm mode. The superficial capillary map images were analysed using a MATLAB program. A series of parameters were measured: foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, FAZ perimeter, FAZ circularity, parafoveal vessel density, fractal dimension and vessel diameter index (VDI). The repeatability of four scans was determined by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Then the averaged results were analysed for intereye difference, correlation and agreement using paired t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), ICC and Bland-Altman plot. The repeatability assessment of the macular metrics exported high ICC values (ranged from 0.853 to 0.996). There is no statistically significant difference in the OCTA metrics between the two eyes. FAZ area (ICC=0.961, r=0.929) and FAZ perimeter (ICC=0.884, r=0.802) showed excellent binocular correlation. Fractal dimension (ICC=0.732, r=0.578) and VDI (ICC=0.707, r=0.547) showed moderate binocular correlation, while parafoveal vessel density had poor binocular correlation. Bland-Altman plots showed the range of agreement was from -0.0763 to 0.0954 mm 2 for FAZ area and from -0.0491 to 0.1136 for parafoveal vessel density. The macular metrics obtained using SS-OCTA showed excellent repeatability in healthy subjects. We showed high intereye correlation in FAZ area and perimeter, moderate correlation in fractal dimension and VDI, while vessel density had poor correlation in normal healthy subjects. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  18. Bronson Methodist Hospital: journey to excellence in quality and safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knapp, Cheryl

    2006-10-01

    Bronson Healthcare Group, a 343-bed not-for-profit health care system serving all of southwest Michigan and northern Indiana, has as its flagship Bronson Methodist Hospital, the recipient of the 2005 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Baldrige criteria were used to formalize Bronson's approach to performance excellence. The strategic plan is condensed and communicated via a "Plan for Excellence" focused on three strategies: clinical excellence, customer and service excellence, and corporate effectiveness. Initiatives include clinical scene investigation (a system for reporting and investigating sentinel and atypical events), a strategy for educating staff in the Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendations (SBAR) communication technique, and mandatory influenza immunization for health care staff (safety), patient health literacy needs and a health information center (patient centeredness); methods to reduce bloodstream and ventilator-acquired pneumonia infections (effectiveness); a physician portal for access to forms, test results, and patient information (efficiency); restaurant-style pagers for patients and families while waiting (timeliness); and community outreach (equity). Bronson's journey to excellence continues with more accountability for hand-off communication and teamwork, enhancing a non-punitive environment for patient safety reporting, and further incorporating patient and family involvement.

  19. Indicators for constructing scientific excellence: ‘Independence’ in the ERC Starting Grant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schiffbaenker, H.; Holzinger, F.

    2016-07-01

    Scientific excellence is of increasing relevance for assessing and funding research. Yet the definition of excellence is unclear and excellence difficult to measure. Classical indicators like scientific outcome and impact have been identified to have various limitations, in particular from a gender perspective. So other indicators are applied, like independence. In this paper we discuss various aspects of applying independence as indicator for excellence in ERC peer review panels. In core we analyse how independence is formally defined and how it is applied in practice, with focus on its gendered effects. Further, potential and limitations of independence as criterion for excellence are discussed. (Author)

  20. Agreements on emission of greenhouse gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aulstad, Johan Greger

    2001-01-01

    Agreements on emission of greenhouse gases is one of the instruments used by Norwegian authorities to meet their obligations with respect to the Climate Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. This book discusses the legal issues raised by these agreements. A main topic is how the industrial emissions conform to the Pollution Act. Does the Pollution Act apply to these emissions? What is the impact of the sanction rules in this act on the emissions? The book also deals with the following general questions that arise in connection with the application of public authority: (1) Can the administration grant concessions and permits in the form of agreements? (2) What commitments can be imposed on a private party by the administration by agreement? (3) Should the procedures set down in the Pollution Act and in the Public Administration Act be followed fully when the pollution authorities make agreements? Is the opportunity of the administration to reverse more restricted when they make agreements than when they make one-sided decisions? Although this discussion primarily deals with the emission of greenhouse gases, the reasoning and conclusions are relevant in many other types of agreements in which the public administration is one of the parties. The agreement that regulates the emissions of greenhouse gases from the Norwegian aluminium industry is described in a special section. The book also gives a brief account of how agreements are used in the Danish climate policy

  1. Cooperative monitoring of regional security agreements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pregenzer, A.L.; Vannoni, M.; Biringer, K.L. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Nonproliferation and Arms Control Analysis Dept.

    1996-11-01

    This paper argues that cooperative monitoring plays a critical role in the implementation of regional security agreements and confidence building measures. A framework for developing cooperative monitoring options is proposed and several possibilities for relating bilateral and regional monitoring systems to international monitoring systems are discussed. Three bilateral or regional agreements are analyzed briefly to illustrate different possibilities. These examples illustrate that the relationship of regional or bilateral arms control or security agreements to international agreements depends on a number of factors: the overlap of provisions between regional and international agreements; the degree of interest in a regional agreement among the international community; efficiency in implementing the agreement; and numerous political considerations. Given the importance of regional security to the international community, regions should be encouraged to develop their own infrastructure for implementing regional arms control and other security agreements. A regional infrastructure need not preclude participation in an international regime. On the contrary, establishing regional institutions for arms control and nonproliferation could result in more proactive participation of regional parties in developing solutions for regional and international problems, thereby strengthening existing and future international regimes. Possible first steps for strengthening regional infrastructures are identified and potential technical requirements are discussed.

  2. Combining agreement and frequency rating scales to optimize psychometrics in measuring behavioral health functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marfeo, Elizabeth E; Ni, Pengsheng; Chan, Leighton; Rasch, Elizabeth K; Jette, Alan M

    2014-07-01

    The goal of this article was to investigate optimal functioning of using frequency vs. agreement rating scales in two subdomains of the newly developed Work Disability Functional Assessment Battery: the Mood & Emotions and Behavioral Control scales. A psychometric study comparing rating scale performance embedded in a cross-sectional survey used for developing a new instrument to measure behavioral health functioning among adults applying for disability benefits in the United States was performed. Within the sample of 1,017 respondents, the range of response category endorsement was similar for both frequency and agreement item types for both scales. There were fewer missing values in the frequency items than the agreement items. Both frequency and agreement items showed acceptable reliability. The frequency items demonstrated optimal effectiveness around the mean ± 1-2 standard deviation score range; the agreement items performed better at the extreme score ranges. Findings suggest an optimal response format requires a mix of both agreement-based and frequency-based items. Frequency items perform better in the normal range of responses, capturing specific behaviors, reactions, or situations that may elicit a specific response. Agreement items do better for those whose scores are more extreme and capture subjective content related to general attitudes, behaviors, or feelings of work-related behavioral health functioning. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. TRIPs Agreement, Important Multilateral WTO Treaty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oana-Maria Florescu

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available This article aims at presenting the content and the frame of the TRIPs. Agreement. It starts by introducing the reader to the terms that defined the world economical climate by the time of the Agreement negociation. Also, it explains the need of having an Agreement on intellectual property rights with impact on the business world. Moreover, the article reviews the main provisions of the Agreement and the most important intellectual property rights.

  4. EDCTP regional networks of excellence: initial merits for planned clinical trials in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miiro, George M; Oukem-Boyer, Odile Ouwe Missi; Sarr, Ousmane; Rahmani, Maerangis; Ntoumi, Francine; Dheda, Keertan; Pym, Alexander; Mboup, Souleymane; Kaleebu, Pontiano

    2013-03-22

    Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and combating hotspots with escalating but preventable communicable diseases remain major challenges in Africa. The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) intervened to combat poverty-related diseases including malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and to conduct multi-centre clinical trials and multi-disciplinary health research through an innovative model of regional Networks of Excellence (NoEs). We participated in a quasi-formative evaluation between October and December 2011 on the 4 regional-led research networks. These included the: Central Africa Network on Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria (CANTAM); East African Consortium for Clinical Research (EACCR); West African Network of Excellence for TB, AIDS and Malaria (WANETAM), and the Trials of Excellence for Southern Africa (TESA) launched between 2009 and 2010. We shared a participatory appraisal of field reports, progress reports and presentations from each network to jointly outline the initial experiences of the merits, outputs and lessons learnt. The self-regulating democratic networks, with 64 institutions in 21 African countries, have trained over 1, 000 African scientists, upgraded 36 sites for clinical trials, leveraged additional € 24 million and generated 38 peer-reviewed publications through networking and partnerships. The shared initial merits and lessons learnt portray in part the strengthened capacity of these networks for improved research coordination and conduct of planned multi-center clinical trials in Africa. Increased funding by African agencies, governments and international health partners will ensure sustainability of these networks for research capacity development and demonstrate their commitment to achieving the MDGs in Africa.

  5. LICSS - a chemical spreadsheet in microsoft excel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Kevin R; Lawson, Jonty

    2012-02-02

    Representations of chemical datasets in spreadsheet format are important for ready data assimilation and manipulation. In addition to the normal spreadsheet facilities, chemical spreadsheets need to have visualisable chemical structures and data searchable by chemical as well as textual queries. Many such chemical spreadsheet tools are available, some operating in the familiar Microsoft Excel environment. However, within this group, the performance of Excel is often compromised, particularly in terms of the number of compounds which can usefully be stored on a sheet. LICSS is a lightweight chemical spreadsheet within Microsoft Excel for Windows. LICSS stores structures solely as Smiles strings. Chemical operations are carried out by calling Java code modules which use the CDK, JChemPaint and OPSIN libraries to provide cheminformatics functionality. Compounds in sheets or charts may be visualised (individually or en masse), and sheets may be searched by substructure or similarity. All the molecular descriptors available in CDK may be calculated for compounds (in batch or on-the-fly), and various cheminformatic operations such as fingerprint calculation, Sammon mapping, clustering and R group table creation may be carried out.We detail here the features of LICSS and how they are implemented. We also explain the design criteria, particularly in terms of potential corporate use, which led to this particular implementation. LICSS is an Excel-based chemical spreadsheet with a difference:• It can usefully be used on sheets containing hundreds of thousands of compounds; it doesn't compromise the normal performance of Microsoft Excel• It is designed to be installed and run in environments in which users do not have admin privileges; installation involves merely file copying, and sharing of LICSS sheets invokes automatic installation• It is free and extensibleLICSS is open source software and we hope sufficient detail is provided here to enable developers to add their

  6. Key components when teaching for excellence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wolfensberger, Marca; Wolfensberger, Marca; Drayer, Lyndsay; Volker, Judith

    2014-01-01

    The Research Centre for Talent Development in Higher Education and Society, based at Hanze University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, organised the first international conference “Evoking Excellence in Higher Education and Beyond”. This conference brought together scholars and educators from

  7. Fourier Analysis: Graphical Animation and Analysis of Experimental Data with Excel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margarida Oliveira

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available According to Fourier formulation, any function that can be represented in a graph may be approximated by the “sum” of infinite sinusoidal functions (Fourier series, termed as “waves”.The adopted approach is accessible to students of the first years of university studies, in which the emphasis is put on the understanding of mathematical concepts through illustrative graphic representations, the students being encouraged to prepare animated Excel-based computational modules (VBA-Visual Basic for Applications.Reference is made to the part played by both trigonometric and complex representations of Fourier series in the concept of discrete Fourier transform. Its connection with the continuous Fourier transform is demonstrated and a brief mention is made of the generalization leading to Laplace transform.As application, the example presented refers to the analysis of vibrations measured on engineering structures: horizontal accelerations of a one-storey building deriving from environment noise. This example is integrated in the curriculum of the discipline “Matemática Aplicada à Engenharia Civil” (Mathematics Applied to Civil Engineering, lectured at ISEL (Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa. In this discipline, the students have the possibility of performing measurements using an accelerometer and a data acquisition system, which, when connected to a PC, make it possible to record the accelerations measured in a file format recognizable by Excel.

  8. Le choix de l'excellence

    CERN Document Server

    Collins, Jim

    2012-01-01

    Dix ans après le succès mondial de De la performance à l'excellence (Good to Great), Jim Collins et son associé Morten T. Hansen s'interrogent ici sur la nature de l excellence en période d incertitude. Pourquoi, dans un contexte chaotique, certaines entreprises sont florissantes et d autres non ? Comment, en ces temps troublés, réussir à diriger et vaincre l adversité pour dominer son marché ? La chance peut-elle sérieusement être envisagée comme un facteur de réussite ? À l issue d un programme de recherche ambitieux et rigoureux qui a duré neuf ans, les auteurs exposent dans cet ouvrage les nouveaux principes pour bâtir une entreprise réellement excellente. Leurs conclusions sont, comme toujours, étonnantes. Ils soulignent notamment que la course à l innovation n est pas toujours la meilleure voie à suivre, que discipline et créativité peuvent aller de concert et que malgré le changement permanent, les meilleures décisions sont rarement prises dans l urgence. Quant aux leaders, on...

  9. Agreement between ultrasonography and computed tomography in detecting intracranial calcifications in congenital toxoplasmosis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lago, E.G. [Department of Pediatrics, Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul School of Medicine, Sao Lucas Hospital, Porto Alegre (Brazil)], E-mail: eglago@pucrs.br; Baldisserotto, M.; Hoefel Filho, J.R.; Santiago, D. [Department of Radiology, Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul School of Medicine, Sao Lucas Hospital, Porto Alegre (Brazil); Jungblut, R. [Department of Pediatrics, Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul School of Medicine, Sao Lucas Hospital, Porto Alegre (Brazil)

    2007-10-15

    Aim: To evaluate the agreement between ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) in detecting intracranial calcification in infants with congenital toxoplasmosis. Materials and methods: Forty-four infants referred for investigation of congenital toxoplasmosis were prospectively evaluated, and the diagnosis was confirmed or ruled out by serological testing and by follow-up in the first year of life. The investigation protocol included cranial US and cranial CT, and examinations were conducted and interpreted by two radiologists blinded to the results of the other imaging test and to the diagnostic confirmation. Results: The diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis was confirmed in 33 patients, and agreement between US and CT findings was found in 31 of these cases. Both methods detected calcifications in 18 patients, and neither detected calcifications in 13 patients. Overall agreement was 94% and the kappa coefficient was 0.88 (95% confidence interval: 0.71, 1; p < 0.001), which revealed almost perfect agreement between the two diagnostic methods. Conclusion: In this study, US and CT demonstrated equal sensitivity in the detection of intracranial calcification in infants with congenital toxoplasmosis.

  10. 76 FR 67440 - Market Access Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-01

    ... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION Market Access Agreement AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION: Notice of Draft Second Amended and Restated Market Access Agreement; request for comments. SUMMARY: The... Market Access Agreement (the ``Restated MAA'') is entered into among AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, AgriBank...

  11. 50 CFR 81.3 - Cooperative Agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ...) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE-WILDLIFE SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM CONSERVATION OF ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES OF FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PLANTS-COOPERATION WITH THE STATES § 81.3 Cooperative Agreement. Upon... Project Agreement can be approved for endangered or threatened species projects. A cooperative agreement...

  12. Room-temperature Pd-catalyzed C-H chlorination by weak coordination: one-pot synthesis of 2-chlorophenols with excellent regioselectivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xiuyun; Sun, Yonghui; Zhang, Chao; Rao, Yu

    2014-02-07

    A room-temperature Pd(II)-catalyzed regioselective chlorination reaction has been developed for a facile one-pot synthesis of a broad range of 2-chlorophenols. The reaction demonstrates an excellent regioselectivity and reactivity for C-H chlorination. This reaction represents one of the rare examples of mild C-H functionalization at ambient temperature.

  13. Diffusion tensor imaging of the median nerve: intra-, inter-reader agreement, and agreement between two software packages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guggenberger, Roman; Nanz, Daniel; Puippe, Gilbert; Andreisek, Gustav; Rufibach, Kaspar; White, Lawrence M.; Sussman, Marshall S.

    2012-01-01

    To assess intra-, inter-reader agreement, and the agreement between two software packages for magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measurements of the median nerve. Fifteen healthy volunteers (seven men, eight women; mean age, 31.2 years) underwent DTI of both wrists at 1.5 T. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the median nerve were measured by three readers using two commonly used software packages. Measurements were repeated by two readers after 6 weeks. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis were used for statistical analysis. ICCs for intra-reader agreement ranged from 0.87 to 0.99, for inter-reader agreement from 0.62 to 0.83, and between the two software packages from 0.63 to 0.82. Bland-Altman analysis showed no differences for intra- and inter-reader agreement and agreement between software packages. The intra-, inter-reader, and agreement between software packages for DTI measurements of the median nerve were moderate to substantial suggesting that user- and software-dependent factors contribute little to variance in DTI measurements. (orig.)

  14. Analyzing rater agreement manifest variable methods

    CERN Document Server

    von Eye, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    Agreement among raters is of great importance in many domains. For example, in medicine, diagnoses are often provided by more than one doctor to make sure the proposed treatment is optimal. In criminal trials, sentencing depends, among other things, on the complete agreement among the jurors. In observational studies, researchers increase reliability by examining discrepant ratings. This book is intended to help researchers statistically examine rater agreement by reviewing four different approaches to the technique.The first approach introduces readers to calculating coefficients that allow one to summarize agreements in a single score. The second approach involves estimating log-linear models that allow one to test specific hypotheses about the structure of a cross-classification of two or more raters'' judgments. The third approach explores cross-classifications or raters'' agreement for indicators of agreement or disagreement, and for indicators of such characteristics as trends. The fourth approach compa...

  15. VHA Data Sharing Agreement Repository

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — The VHA Data Sharing Agreement Repository serves as a centralized location to collect and report on agreements that share VHA data with entities outside of VA. It...

  16. Designing a Knowledge Management Excellence Model Based on Interpretive Structural Modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirza Hassan Hosseini

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Despite the development of appropriate academic and experiential background knowledge management and its manifestation as a competitive advantage, many organizations have failed in its effective utilization. Among the reasons for this failure are some deficiencies in terms of methodology in inappropriate recognition and translation of KM dimensions and lack of systematic approach in establishment of causal relationships among KM factors. This article attempts to design an Organizational Knowledge Management Excellence Model. To design an organizational knowledge management excellence model based on library researches, interviews with experts and interpretive-structural modeling (ISM was used in order to identify and determine the relationships between the factors of km excellence. Accordingly, 9 key criteria of KM Excellence as well as 29 sub-criteria were extracted and the relationships and sequence of factors were defined and developed in 5 levels for designing an organizational KM excellence Model. Finally, the concepts were applied in Defense Organizations to illustrate the proposed methodology.

  17. Excel 2016 for marketing statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2016-01-01

    This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel in teaching marketing statistics effectively. It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical marketing problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in marketing courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2016 for Marketing Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Each chapter explains statistical formulas and directs the reader t...

  18. Excel 2013 for engineering statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2015-01-01

    This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel to teach engineering statistics effectively.  It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical engineering problems.  If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in engineering courses.  Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past.  However, Excel 2013 for Engineering Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Each chapter explains statistical formulas and directs...

  19. 40 CFR 35.3010 - Delegation agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Delegation agreement. 35.3010 Section... STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE Construction Grants Program Delegation to States § 35.3010 Delegation agreement. (a) Before execution of the delegation agreement, the Regional Administrator must determine that...

  20. 7 CFR 900.109 - Mediation agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mediation agreement. 900.109 Section 900.109 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing... Mediation agreement. An agreement arrived at by mediation shall not become effective until approved by the...

  1. Flexible climate agreements after 2012

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vevatne, Jonas

    2004-01-01

    The Kyoto agreement is only a small step towards much stronger and broader commitments and new creativity is needed to further develop a really global climate policy. A flexible approach is necessary to obtain broad participation and substantial reduction of the emissions of greenhouse gases. Flexibility is also important to ease negotiations, to ensure cost-effectiveness and implement a global climate agreement. The US withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol has rendered the agreement much less effective than the original goal of five per cent reduction of the emission from the industrialized countries. In addition the emissions are increasing much faster in countries that have not committed themselves to the agreement. The agreement runs out in 2012 and should be followed by a new agreement, the negotiations about which are to start up no later than 2005. Attempts by the European Union to begin a discussion about future commitments were very quickly wrecked by the G77 group with strong support from the U.S.A. To formulate a practical climate policy the general goal in the Climate Convention must be interpreted and specified. It may seem impossible to agree upon a long-term goal. But the clarity it provides will be very useful. It will be a guide for short-term goals and a reference for evaluation of success

  2. Leadership, excellence, creativity and innovation

    OpenAIRE

    Coulson-Thomas, Colin

    2016-01-01

    Raises questions about the meaning, purpose and practice of contemporary leadership in relation to excellence, creativity and innovation, covering leadership qualities, the context and requirements of leadership, leadership at different stages of development, creativity and innovation, CEOs and top down leadership, entrepreneurship and shared leadership, leading the network organisation, shared and collective leadership, the role and contribution of boards, key questions for boards, leadershi...

  3. Evaluation of Business Excellence among Halal Certified Food Manufacturers in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Masrom Nor Ratna binti; Mohd Rasi Raja Zuraidah binti Raja; Daut Badru At Tamam bin

    2017-01-01

    Business excellence is a key tool to improve the efficiency of the company. Through the business excellence model, the organization can execute their strategies to determine, forecast and survive in highly competitive market. This paper presents on identifying those elements in business excellence model (leadership, strategy and planning, customer focus, measurement, analysis, and knowledge management, operation focus) this paper provides empirical support for halal food certified companies r...

  4. Achieving Business Excellence Prize: The Case Of Trimo Trebnje d.d.

    OpenAIRE

    Metka Tekavcic; Darja Peljhan

    2011-01-01

    The late 1980s and early 1990s saw a global realization of the strategic importance of quality, and many countries established programmes to recognize quality and excellence. Companies pursuing an excellence strategy soon recognized that the award frameworks offered more than just a vehicle for recognition. The frameworks were seen to be best-practice models for implementing excellence strategies, performing self-assessments, benchmarking and, ultimately, delivering improved performance. The ...

  5. Professional excellence and career advancement in nursing: a conceptual framework for clinical leadership development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adeniran, Rita Kudirat; Bhattacharya, Anand; Adeniran, Anthony A

    2012-01-01

    Increasingly, stakeholders in the health care community are recognizing nursing as key to solving the nation's health care issues. This acknowledgment provides a unique opportunity for nursing to demonstrate leadership by developing clinical nurse leaders to collaborate with the multidisciplinary care team in driving evidence-based, safe quality, cost-effective health care services. One approach for nursing success is standardizing the entry-level education for nurses and developing a uniform professional development and career advancement trajectory with appropriate incentives to encourage participation. A framework to guide and provide scientific evidence of how frontline nurses can be engaged will be paramount. The model for professional excellence and career advancement provides a framework that offers a clear path for researchers to examine variables influencing nurses' professional development and career advancement in a systematic manner. Professional Excellence and Career Advancement in Nursing underscores professional preparedness of a registered nurse as central to leadership development. It also describes the elements that influence nurses' participation in professional development and career advancement under 4 main categories emphasizing mentorship and self-efficacy as essential variables.

  6. Walt Disney World`s utility efficiency awards and environmental circles of excellence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allen, P.J.; Kivler, W.B.

    1996-05-01

    This paper describes an innovative approach to energy conservation that has been started at WALT DISNEY WORLD. The program that was established was designed to heighten the awareness of energy usage in our Management and Cast Members, establish a method for recognizing and rewarding positive energy conservation efforts and, most importantly, keeping the effort simple and fun. Two programs work together to meet this goal: Utility Efficiency Awards and the Environmental Circles of Excellence. The Utility Efficiency Awards are given to the top areas that have demonstrated a reduction in utility consumption relative to the same period in prior years. More importantly, a report is generated that shows a best-to-worst ranking. Relying on the idea that {open_quotes}nobody wants to be on the bottom of the list{close_quotes}, conservation is enhanced by focusing attention on improving efficiency. To encourage direct cast member involvement in our environmental program, the Environmental Circles of Excellence were created. These groups, made up of hourly and salaried cast members, discuss their location`s environmental commitments, set goals and implement programs. This paper describes these initiatives in detail and presents some initial results that have heightened the awareness of energy conservation at WALT DISNEY WORLD.

  7. ITMO Photonics: center of excellence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voznesenskaya, Anna; Bougrov, Vladislav; Kozlov, Sergey; Vasilev, Vladimir

    2016-09-01

    ITMO University, the leading Russian center in photonics research and education, has the mission to train highlyqualified competitive professionals able to act in conditions of fast-changing world. This paradigm is implemented through creation of a strategic academic unit ITMO Photonics, the center of excellence concentrating organizational, scientific, educational, financial, laboratory and human resources. This Center has the following features: dissemination of breakthrough scientific results in photonics such as advanced photonic materials, ultrafast optical and quantum information, laser physics, engineering and technologies, into undergraduate and graduate educational programs through including special modules into the curricula and considerable student's research and internships; transformation of the educational process in accordance with the best international educational practices, presence in the global education market in the form of joint educational programs with leading universities, i.e. those being included in the network programs of international scientific cooperation, and international accreditation of educational programs; development of mechanisms for the commercialization of innovative products - results of scientific research; securing financial sustainability of research in the field of photonics of informationcommunication systems via funding increase and the diversification of funding sources. Along with focusing on the research promotion, the Center is involved in science popularization through such projects as career guidance for high school students; interaction between student's chapters of international optical societies; invited lectures of World-famous experts in photonics; short educational programs in optics, photonics and light engineering for international students; contests, Olympics and grants for talented young researchers; social events; interactive demonstrations.

  8. The OPG/Kincardine hosting agreement for a deep geologic repository for OPG's low- and intermediate-level waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castellan, A.G.; Barker, D.E.

    2006-01-01

    A Hosting Agreement has been reached between Ontario Power Generation and the Municipality of Kincardine for the purpose of siting a long-term management facility for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste at the Western Waste Management Facility. Following an independent review of the feasibility of three options for a long-term facility at the site, including a review of the safety, geotechnical feasibility, social and economic effects and potential environmental effects, Kincardine passed a resolution indicating their preference for a Deep Geologic Repository. A Host Community Agreement has been negotiated based on this preference, and on information that had been gathered from municipal authorities at other locations that have hosted similar facilities. The Hosting Agreement includes financial compensation, totalling $35.7 million (Canadian 2004) to the Municipality of Kincardine and to four surrounding municipalities. The financial aspects include lump sum payments based on achieving specific project milestones as well as annual payments to each of the municipalities. The payments are indexed to inflation, and are also contingent on the municipalities acting reasonably and in good faith during the licencing process of the proposed facility. In addition to the fees, the Agreement includes provision for a Property Value Protection Plan that would provide residents with compensation in the event that there is depreciation in property value shown to directly result from a release from the proposed facility. New permanent OPG jobs supporting the project would be located at the site. OPG and Kincardine will support a centre of nuclear excellence. (author)

  9. "Trickle-Down" Reform: Hispanics, Higher Education, and the Excellence Movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halcon, John J.; de la Luz Reyes, Maria

    1991-01-01

    Recent excellence-in-education reform measures have created greater restrictions on the access of Hispanics to higher education. Suggests that reformers expect reform benefits to "trickle down" to minorities after first benefiting mainstream students. The idea of excellence must include that of educational equity. (CJS)

  10. Leadership Excellence in East and West: Reports from the Trenches

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hofstede, G.J.; Dooley, R.M.

    2017-01-01

    This article shows that leadership excellence is not uniformly perceived in one multinational. This study was done in a company active mainly in the USA, Malaysia and Singapore, half the management population (414 managers) joined in 39 focus sessions to define leadership excellence. This provided

  11. Excel 2013 for physical sciences statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J; Horton, Howard F

    2016-01-01

    This book shows the capabilities of Microsoft Excel in teaching physical sciences statistics effectively. Similar to the previously published Excel 2010 for Physical Sciences Statistics, this book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical science problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in science courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2013 for Physical Sciences Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their ...

  12. Excel 2016 for social science statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2016-01-01

    This book shows the capabilities of Microsoft Excel in teaching social science statistics effectively. Similar to the previously published Excel 2013 for Social Sciences Statistics, this book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical social science problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in social science courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2016 for Social Science Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in ...

  13. 25 CFR 502.5 - Collateral agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Collateral agreement. 502.5 Section 502.5 Indians NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GENERAL PROVISIONS DEFINITIONS OF THIS CHAPTER § 502.5 Collateral agreement. Collateral agreement means any contract, whether or not in writing...

  14. 75 FR 76729 - Market Access Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-09

    ... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION Market Access Agreement AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION: Notice of approval of the draft amendment to the amended and restated market access agreement. SUMMARY... Credit Bank of Wichita and the Western Farm Credit Bank under Section 7.12 of the Market Access Agreement...

  15. 43 CFR 24.5 - International agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... WILDLIFE POLICY: STATE-FEDERAL RELATIONSHIPS § 24.5 International agreements. (a) International conventions... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false International agreements. 24.5 Section 24... shall be to recommend that the United States negotiate and accede to only those international agreements...

  16. PowerPivot for Business Intelligence Using Excel and SharePoint

    CERN Document Server

    Ralston, Barry

    2011-01-01

    PowerPivot comprises a set of technologies for easy access to data mining and business intelligence analysis from Microsoft Excel and SharePoint. Power users and developers alike can create sophisticated, online analytic processing (OLAP) solutions using PowerPivot for Excel, and then share those solutions with other users via PowerPivot for SharePoint. Data can be pulled in from any of the leading database platforms, as well as from spreadsheets and flat files. PowerPivot for Business Intelligence Using Excel and SharePoint is your key to mastering PowerPivot. The book takes a scenario-based

  17. Agreement between gonioscopy and ultrasound biomicroscopy in detecting iridotrabecular apposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkana, Yaniv; Dorairaj, Syril K; Gerber, Yariv; Liebmann, Jeffrey M; Ritch, Robert

    2007-10-01

    To assess the agreement between findings obtained at dark-room gonioscopy and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) in the diagnosis of iridotrabecular apposition in light and dark conditions. We enrolled patients with appositional angle closure at dark-room gonioscopy performed using a 1-mm slitlamp beam that did not cross the pupil. Ultrasound biomicroscopic images were acquired in normal room light and subsequently with all room lights off. Images were evaluated for the presence or absence of iris-cornea contact. The angle opening distance at 500 microm was calculated. Iridotrabecular apposition in at least 1 angle quadrant was demonstrated in all 18 eyes at dark-room gonioscopy, 17 eyes (94%) at dark-room UBM, and only 10 eyes (56%) at UBM in room light. Of 18 superior angles that were appositionally closed at dark-room gonioscopy, apposition was demonstrated on UBM images in 16 (89%) in a dark room but only 6 (33%) in room light. Angle opening distance was less during dark-room gonioscopy in all but the nasal quadrant. We found high agreement between gonioscopy and UBM when both are performed in a completely dark room. Our findings support the recommendation that, in routine clinical practice, gonioscopy be performed in a dark room to avoid misdiagnosis of treatable iridotrabecular apposition.

  18. SPSS Macros for Assessing the Reliability and Agreement of Student Evaluations of Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morley, Donald D.

    2009-01-01

    This article reports and demonstrates two SPSS macros for calculating Krippendorff's alpha and intraclass reliability coefficients in repetitive situations where numerous coefficients are needed. Specifically, the reported SPSS macros were used to evaluate the interrater agreement and reliability of student evaluations of teaching in thousands of…

  19. 76 FR 63618 - Notice of Agreements Filed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-13

    ...; Washington, DC 20036. Synopsis: The amendment removes Korea from the geographic scope of them agreement and... geographic scope of the Agreement to include Taiwan. The parties requested expedited review. Agreement No... and Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore. Agreement No.: 012138. Title: CSAV/CCNI...

  20. 22 CFR 120.23 - Distribution agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Distribution agreement. 120.23 Section 120.23... § 120.23 Distribution agreement. An agreement (e.g., a contract) to establish a warehouse or distribution point abroad for defense articles exported from the United States for subsequent distribution to...

  1. Novel Multi-Party Quantum Key Agreement Protocol with G-Like States and Bell States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Shi-Qi; Chen, Hua-Ying; Gong, Li-Hua

    2018-06-01

    A significant aspect of quantum cryptography is quantum key agreement (QKA), which ensures the security of key agreement protocols by quantum information theory. The fairness of an absolute security multi-party quantum key agreement (MQKA) protocol demands that all participants can affect the protocol result equally so as to establish a shared key and that nobody can determine the shared key by himself/herself. We found that it is difficult for the existing multi-party quantum key agreement protocol to withstand the collusion attacks. Put differently, it is possible for several cooperated and untruthful participants to determine the final key without being detected. To address this issue, based on the entanglement swapping between G-like state and Bell states, a new multi-party quantum key agreement protocol is put forward. The proposed protocol makes full use of EPR pairs as quantum resources, and adopts Bell measurement and unitary operation to share a secret key. Besides, the proposed protocol is fair, secure and efficient without involving a third party quantum center. It demonstrates that the protocol is capable of protecting users' privacy and meeting the requirement of fairness. Moreover, it is feasible to carry out the protocol with existing technologies.

  2. Novel Multi-Party Quantum Key Agreement Protocol with G-Like States and Bell States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Shi-Qi; Chen, Hua-Ying; Gong, Li-Hua

    2018-03-01

    A significant aspect of quantum cryptography is quantum key agreement (QKA), which ensures the security of key agreement protocols by quantum information theory. The fairness of an absolute security multi-party quantum key agreement (MQKA) protocol demands that all participants can affect the protocol result equally so as to establish a shared key and that nobody can determine the shared key by himself/herself. We found that it is difficult for the existing multi-party quantum key agreement protocol to withstand the collusion attacks. Put differently, it is possible for several cooperated and untruthful participants to determine the final key without being detected. To address this issue, based on the entanglement swapping between G-like state and Bell states, a new multi-party quantum key agreement protocol is put forward. The proposed protocol makes full use of EPR pairs as quantum resources, and adopts Bell measurement and unitary operation to share a secret key. Besides, the proposed protocol is fair, secure and efficient without involving a third party quantum center. It demonstrates that the protocol is capable of protecting users' privacy and meeting the requirement of fairness. Moreover, it is feasible to carry out the protocol with existing technologies.

  3. Inter-rater agreement on PIVC-associated phlebitis signs, symptoms and scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, Nicole; Mihala, Gabor; Ray-Barruel, Gillian; Webster, Joan; Wallis, Marianne C; Rickard, Claire M

    2015-10-01

    Many peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) infusion phlebitis scales and definitions are used internationally, although no existing scale has demonstrated comprehensive reliability and validity. We examined inter-rater agreement between registered nurses on signs, symptoms and scales commonly used in phlebitis assessment. Seven PIVC-associated phlebitis signs/symptoms (pain, tenderness, swelling, erythema, palpable venous cord, purulent discharge and warmth) were observed daily by two raters (a research nurse and registered nurse). These data were modelled into phlebitis scores using 10 different tools. Proportions of agreement (e.g. positive, negative), observed and expected agreements, Cohen's kappa, the maximum achievable kappa, prevalence- and bias-adjusted kappa were calculated. Two hundred ten patients were recruited across three hospitals, with 247 sets of paired observations undertaken. The second rater was blinded to the first's findings. The Catney and Rittenberg scales were the most sensitive (phlebitis in >20% of observations), whereas the Curran, Lanbeck and Rickard scales were the most restrictive (≤2% phlebitis). Only tenderness and the Catney (one of pain, tenderness, erythema or palpable cord) and Rittenberg scales (one of erythema, swelling, tenderness or pain) had acceptable (more than two-thirds, 66.7%) levels of inter-rater agreement. Inter-rater agreement for phlebitis assessment signs/symptoms and scales is low. This likely contributes to the high degree of variability in phlebitis rates in literature. We recommend further research into assessment of infrequent signs/symptoms and the Catney or Rittenberg scales. New approaches to evaluating vein irritation that are valid, reliable and based on their ability to predict complications need exploration. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Agreement processing and attraction errors in aging: evidence from subject-verb agreement in German.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reifegerste, Jana; Hauer, Franziska; Felser, Claudia

    2017-11-01

    Effects of aging on lexical processing are well attested, but the picture is less clear for grammatical processing. Where age differences emerge, these are usually ascribed to working-memory (WM) decline. Previous studies on the influence of WM on agreement computation have yielded inconclusive results, and work on aging and subject-verb agreement processing is lacking. In two experiments (Experiment 1: timed grammaticality judgment, Experiment 2: self-paced reading + WM test), we investigated older (OA) and younger (YA) adults' susceptibility to agreement attraction errors. We found longer reading latencies and judgment reaction times (RTs) for OAs. Further, OAs, particularly those with low WM scores, were more accepting of sentences with attraction errors than YAs. OAs showed longer reading latencies for ungrammatical sentences, again modulated by WM, than YAs. Our results indicate that OAs have greater difficulty blocking intervening nouns from interfering with the computation of agreement dependencies. WM can modulate this effect.

  5. Excel-Based Tool for Pharmacokinetically Guided Dose Adjustment of Paclitaxel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraff, Stefanie; Lindauer, Andreas; Joerger, Markus; Salamone, Salvatore J; Jaehde, Ulrich

    2015-12-01

    Neutropenia is a frequent and severe adverse event in patients receiving paclitaxel chemotherapy. The time above a paclitaxel threshold concentration of 0.05 μmol/L (Tc > 0.05 μmol/L) is a strong predictor for paclitaxel-associated neutropenia and has been proposed as a target pharmacokinetic (PK) parameter for paclitaxel therapeutic drug monitoring and dose adaptation. Up to now, individual Tc > 0.05 μmol/L values are estimated based on a published PK model of paclitaxel by using the software NONMEM. Because many clinicians are not familiar with the use of NONMEM, an Excel-based dosing tool was developed to allow calculation of paclitaxel Tc > 0.05 μmol/L and give clinicians an easy-to-use tool. Population PK parameters of paclitaxel were taken from a published PK model. An Alglib VBA code was implemented in Excel 2007 to compute differential equations for the paclitaxel PK model. Maximum a posteriori Bayesian estimates of the PK parameters were determined with the Excel Solver using individual drug concentrations. Concentrations from 250 patients were simulated receiving 1 cycle of paclitaxel chemotherapy. Predictions of paclitaxel Tc > 0.05 μmol/L as calculated by the Excel tool were compared with NONMEM, whereby maximum a posteriori Bayesian estimates were obtained using the POSTHOC function. There was a good concordance and comparable predictive performance between Excel and NONMEM regarding predicted paclitaxel plasma concentrations and Tc > 0.05 μmol/L values. Tc > 0.05 μmol/L had a maximum bias of 3% and an error on precision of 0.05 μmol/L values between both programs was 1%. The Excel-based tool can estimate the time above a paclitaxel threshold concentration of 0.05 μmol/L with acceptable accuracy and precision. The presented Excel tool allows reliable calculation of paclitaxel Tc > 0.05 μmol/L and thus allows target concentration intervention to improve the benefit-risk ratio of the drug. The easy use facilitates therapeutic drug monitoring in

  6. Vienna Agreement law 15.986 it approve Vienna Agreement for Protection ozone layer and annex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    The Agreement of Vienna is approved with respect to the protection of the Layer of Ozono, definitions,general duties, research and observations systematics, co-operation in the Spheres Scientific Juridical, and information, Technological Conference, transmission from the protocols, amends, secretariat, adoption to the agreement or the protocols, adoption and amendment of controversy, signing, ratify, approve annexes, solution or vote, relation approving, adhesion, rights between the present agreement and its protocols, entrance in vigor, reserves, retirement, deposition, exchange of information [es

  7. The Business Excellence Model for CSR Implementation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neergaard Peter

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Most of the Fortune 500 companies address Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR on their websites. However, CSR remains a fluffy concept difficult to implement in organization. The European Business Excellence Model has since the introduction in 1992 served as a powerful tool for integrating quality in organizations. CSR was first introduced in the model in 2002. From 2004 the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM has been eager to promote the model as an effective tool for implementing CSR.. The article discusses the potentials of the model for this end and illustrates how a 2006 European Award winning company has used the model to integrate CSR. The company adapted the Business Excellence model to improve performance, stimulate innovation and consensus.

  8. 76 FR 553 - Notice of Agreements Filed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-05

    ... obsolete language on the duration of Agreement, and changes the name and restates the Agreement. By Order... agreement's governing board and would update the corporate addresses of American President Lines, Ltd.; APL.... as a party to the agreement and updates the corporate addresses of American President Lines, Ltd...

  9. The quid-pro-quo of environmental agreements: Reflections on industrial energy efficiency agreements from five countries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Helby, Peter

    2001-10-01

    This workshop paper reflects on the exchange of values between the government side and the business side, which is a core logic of environmental agreements. The reflections refer to case studies of industrial energy efficiency agreements from Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden, originating from the VAIE project (Voluntary Agreements, Implementation and Efficiency). The government bargaining chips discussed are monetary rewards, help to gain competitive advantage, regulatory flexibility and political protection. The business side bargaining chips are emission limits, organisational change, investments, information, submission to control and political pain reduction. The discussion underlines the need for substantial commitments by the government side, as a precondition for achieving effective agreements.

  10. Microstructural characterization of EXCEL alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oroza Z E, Celiz; Saumell M, Lani; Versaci, R A; Bozzano, P B

    2012-01-01

    The microstructure of Excel alloy was studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction was used to analyze the present phases. Characteristic peaks of α-Zr (HCP), β-Zr (BCC) and δhydride (FCC) were identified. The high relatives intensities of certain peaks suggest that samples are textured. Basal poles were dominant in radial-longitudinal planes and prismatic poles have the highest concentration in radial-tangential planes (author)

  11. Excel Spreadsheets for Algebra: Improving Mental Modeling for Problem Solving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engerman, Jason; Rusek, Matthew; Clariana, Roy

    2014-01-01

    This experiment investigates the effectiveness of Excel spreadsheets in a high school algebra class. Students in the experiment group convincingly outperformed the control group on a post lesson assessment. The student responses, teacher observations involving Excel spreadsheet revealed that it operated as a mindtool, which formed the users'…

  12. Improving the Pedagogy of Capital Structure Theory: An Excel Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baltazar, Ramon; Maybee, Bryan; Santos, Michael R.

    2012-01-01

    This paper uses Excel to enhance the pedagogy of capital structure theory for corporate finance instructors and students. We provide a lesson plan that utilizes Excel spreadsheets and graphs to develop understanding of the theory. The theory is introduced in three scenarios that utilize Modigliani & Miller's Propositions and…

  13. Review article: teaching, learning, and the pursuit of excellence in anesthesia education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Anne

    2012-02-01

    Excellence in anesthesia education has been advocated to meet the future needs and direction of the specialty. The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to review the current medical education literature and theory in order to inform teaching and learning in anesthesia; and second, to advocate for excellence in anesthesia education. This review considers the general education, educational psychology, and medical education literature based on a search of the MEDLINE and ERIC databases, educational Web sites, and library catalogues. Excellent teaching is considered that which facilitates and maximizes learning. A conceptual framework of learning as a convergence of teacher, learner, assessment, and context is proposed. The contribution of each component to learning is examined in order to enable anesthesia teachers to choose and adapt the most appropriate educational approaches for their particular contexts. The relationship of excellent teaching, scholarly teaching, and the scholarship of teaching is explored. Strategies for promoting excellence in anesthesia education are suggested. The call for excellence in anesthesia has become an important theme, particularly with respect to education. While excellent teaching is a goal to which all anesthesia faculty should aspire, scholarly teaching and scholarship in teaching should also be promoted in order to advance anesthesia education for the benefit of the profession and ultimately for patient care.

  14. MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS AND THE TRADE MEASURES CONTAINED IN THESE AGREEMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margareta Timbur

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The environmental problems which the society is facing, ozone depletion, biodiversity loss, the spread of persistent organic pollutants, are a result of human activity with a worldwide impact, requiring immediate resolution. In this context, negotiation, signing and implementation of several multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs are one of the best solutions, affordable and reliable. The aim of this study is to analyze the commercial measures, which to some extent, ensure stability, security, and expansion of MEAs. The paper discusses, also, the efficiency, necessity and the influences of trade measures in MEAs and the WTO role in signing these agreements.

  15. 77 FR 42310 - Notice of Agreements Filed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-18

    ...; Washington, DC 20006-4007. Synopsis: The agreement would provide for delivery of data to the Port of Oakland... delivery. Agreement No.: 201217. Title: Port of Long Beach Data Services Agreement. Parties: Port of Long... 1100; Washington, DC 20006-4007. Synopsis: The agreement would provide for delivery of data to the Port...

  16. Client/consultant model services agreement

    CERN Document Server

    International Federation of Consulting Engineers

    2006-01-01

    The terms of the Client Consultant Model Services agreement (The White Book) have been prepared by the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils (FIDIC) and are recommended for general use for the purposes of pre-investment and feasibility studies, designs and administration of construction and project management, where proposals for such services are invited on an international basis. They are equally adaptable for domestic agreements. - See more at: http://fidic.org/books/clientconsultant-model-services-agreement-4th-ed-2006-white-book#sthash.3Uxy5qT3.dpuf

  17. [Innovative medicines and market access agreements].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toumi, M; Zard, J; Duvillard, R; Jommi, C

    2013-09-01

    Market Access Agreements (MAA) for drugs have emerged in response to the need to control health expenditures, as well as to the uncertainty about the true benefit of a drug. It is possible to group MAA in two types of agreements: financial agreements and outcome-based agreements. MAA is a growing trend and is shifting towards conditional access. However, the willingness to use these contracts and their implementation differ across countries, and some are still resistant to put them in place. The MAA challenges to overcome encompass the complexity of the schemes, the administrative burden and the difficulty of evaluating MAA. It is likely that these agreements might experience further evolution in the future to become a faster pathway for therapeutic innovations, at a fair price. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. A introdução da concepção de excelência gerencial nos institutos e centros de pesquisa brasileiros: o projeto excelência na pesquisa tecnológica Managerial excellence in brazilian research institutes and centers: the experience of 'excellence in technological research program'

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marconi Edson Esmeraldo Albuquerque

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Programas de excelência em desempenho organizacional têm se proliferado mundo afora, transbordando sua filosofia e diretivas para além da indústria. O interesse de diferentes organizações por processos de avaliação se deve à evolução dos modelos de excelência gerencial (MEGs americano e europeu. No Brasil, o MEG do Prêmio Nacional da Qualidade (PNQ vem se propagando como referência para a constituição de programas de premiação em várias áreas. Os institutos e centros de pesquisa (ICPs brasileiros, destacadamente os de natureza pública, têm enfrentado nas últimas décadas uma forte pressão em relação à necessidade de gerarem recursos que garantam sua manutenção e sobrevivência. Isso tem exigido dessas organizações um reposicionamento estratégico, de forma a obter vantagens a partir das interações que estabelecem com os demais atores do sistema de inovação. Dessas instituições têm sido demandadas uma maior capacidade de resposta e a formulação de suas ações com base em diretrizes estratégicas consistentes. Evidentemente, os mecanismos de gestão passam a ter uma importância singular para que se alcancem os objetivos traçados. Este artigo tem por objetivo analisar o movimento pela excelência gerencial nos ICPs brasileiros, capitaneado pela Associação Brasileira das Instituições de Pesquisa Tecnológica (ABIPTI e materializado no Projeto Excelência na Pesquisa Tecnológica (PEPT. Para tanto, buscam-se referenciais: i que permitam a descrição e análise da evolução da qualidade na sociedade contemporânea, tendo como marcos os modelos de produção americano e o japonês; ii que possibilitem a compreensão da criação e desenvolvimento dos principais prêmios de qualidade, inclusive o brasileiro; e iii que ajudem a compreender as transformações na área da pesquisa científica e tecnológica. Além de revisão bibliográfica sobre o assunto, foram examinados documentos referentes ao PEPT, o

  19. Inverse simulated annealing: Improvements and application to amorphous InSb

    OpenAIRE

    Los, Jan H.; Gabardi, Silvia; Bernasconi, Marco; Kühne, Thomas D.

    2014-01-01

    An improved inverse simulated annealing method is presented to determine the structure of complex disordered systems from first principles in agreement with available experimental data or desired predetermined target properties. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated by revisiting the structure of amorphous InSb. The resulting network is mostly tetrahedral and in excellent agreement with available experimental data.

  20. 23 CFR 140.606 - Project agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Reimbursement for Bond Issue Projects § 140.606 Project agreements. Project Agreements, Form PR-2, shall be... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Project agreements. 140.606 Section 140.606 Highways... projects. 1 The text of FHWA Form PR-2 is found in 23 CFR part 630, subpart C, appendix A. ...

  1. 14 CFR 1274.909 - Term of agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Agreement, which, by their express terms or by necessary implication, apply for periods of time other than... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Term of agreement. 1274.909 Section 1274... COMMERCIAL FIRMS Other Provisions and Special Conditions § 1274.909 Term of agreement. Term of Agreement July...

  2. Analysis of international negotiations and trade agreements

    OpenAIRE

    Górriz Gonzalo, Verónica

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to analyze international trade agreements and negotiations. For that purpose, two agreements made by the United States are chosen to be analyzed. In the first place, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) agreement, that was signed by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 1994 in order to create a free trade area. In addition, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be analyze, an agreement that is still being negotiated between the United Stat...

  3. Microsoft Excel Software Usage for Teaching Science and Engineering Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Gurmukh; Siddiqui, Khalid

    2009-01-01

    In this article, our main objective is to present the use of Microsoft Software Excel 2007/2003 for teaching college and university level curriculum in science and engineering. In particular, we discuss two interesting and fascinating examples of interactive applications of Microsoft Excel targeted for undergraduate students in: 1) computational…

  4. Mobile-media pragmatism: innovation excellences and encumbrances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chen-Ju

    2017-10-01

    Establishing two pragmatic models of enhancing entertainment and job-performance, this study aims to elaborate on how people adopt and perceive innovation excellences and encumbrances of modern mobile-media services through reflecting on their intrinsic expectancy. A survey methodology was executed to examine the hypothesised variable relationships using the purposive sampling method. CHT's Taipei think-tank head-office provided this study with a representative sampling frame and assisted to collect data from 725 focused subjects (with normative characteristics) who subscribed to HiNet or MOD, or predominantly used 4G telecommunication services. As a result of adopting the structural equation modelling test, the models of perceived innovation excellences and innovation encumbrances were affirmatively established to interpret the two applicative scenarios: entertainment and job-performance enhancement. Several valuable findings were generated. When a consumer targets entertainment technology pragmatism, he or she may stress the importance of innovative excellences, especially on product novelty. For the sake of pursuing job-performance enhancement, a customer was actively willing to invest his or her energy to meet and deal with the learning cost, customer unfamiliarity and complexity of telecom products and services. Importantly, the adopter's previous experiences with telecom products in the IT domain could effectively moderate the effect of pursuing new telecom innovation, adopting the product, and then strengthening self-evaluation.

  5. Safeguards agreements - Their legal and conceptual basis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanders, B.; Rainer, R.H.

    1977-01-01

    The application of Agency safeguards requires treaty arrangements (Safeguards Agreements) between the State or States concerned and the Agency. The authority for the Agency to conclude such agreements and to implement them is provided for in the Agency's Statute. On the basis of the statutory provisions safeguards principles and procedures have been elaborated. These have been laid down in: The Agency's Safeguards System 1965, extended in 1966 and 1968; and the basis for negotiating safeguards agreements with NNWS pursuant to NPT. The verification of the undertaking by the State concerned not to use items subject to safeguards for purposes contrary to the terms of the agreement is ensured through the application of various safeguards measures. Containment and surveillance measures are expected to play an increasingly important role. One of the specific features of NPT Safeguards Agreements is the establishment of national systems of accounting and control of nuclear material. The majority of the agreements concluded under the non-NPT safeguards agreements implement obligations undertaken under co-operation agreements between States for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. These agreements naturally reflect approaches adopted by the parties, in particular regarding the circumstances under which safeguards should be applied. Thus, the concepts used in the non-NPT safeguards agreements and the Safeguards System document, which is incorporated in these agreements by reference, are in continuous evolution. The Agency's Safeguards System document (INFCIRC/66/Rev.2) continues to be supplemented in practical application and through explicit decision by the Board. The non-NPT safeguards agreements contain, besides technical safeguards provisions from this document, and further provision for notification, inventories and financial matters, legal and political provisions such as sanctions in the case of non-compliance, and privileges and immunities. The paper discusses the

  6. The Text of the Fifth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA). Extension of Agreement. Latest Status

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2012-01-01

    The Text of the Fifth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA). Extension of Agreement. Latest Status [es

  7. Intraobserver and interobserver agreement on the radiographical diagnosis of canine cranial cruciate ligament rupture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogaerts, Evelien; Van der Vekens, Elke; Verhoeven, Geert; de Rooster, Hilde; Van Ryssen, Bernadette; Samoy, Yves; Putcuyps, Ingrid; Van Tilburg, Johan; Devriendt, Nausikaa; Weekers, Frederik; Bertal, Mileva; Houdellier, Blandine; Scheemaeker, Stephanie; Versteken, Jeroen; Lamerand, Maryline; Feenstra, Laurien; Peelman, Luc; Nieuwerburgh, Filip Van; Saunders, Jimmy H; Broeckx, Bart J G

    2018-04-28

    Even though radiography is one of the most frequently used imaging techniques for orthopaedic disorders, it has been demonstrated that the interpretation can vary between assessors. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine the intraobserver and interobserver agreement and the influence of level of expertise on the interpretation of radiographs of the stifle in dogs with and without cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR). Sixteen observers, divided in four groups according to their level of experience, evaluated 30 radiographs (15 cases with CCLR and 15 control stifles) twice. Each observer was asked to evaluate joint effusion, presence and location of degenerative joint disease, joint instability and whether CCLR was present or absent. Overall, intraobserver and interobserver agreement ranged from fair to almost perfect with a trend towards increased agreement for more experienced observers. Additionally, it was found that stifles that were classified with high agreement have either overt disease characteristics or no disease characteristics at all, in comparison to the ones that are classified with a low agreement. Overall, the agreement on radiographic interpretation of CCLR was high, which is important, as it is the basis of a correct diagnosis and treatment. © British Veterinary Association (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  8. Schools of Excellence AND Equity? Using Equity Audits as a Tool to Expose a Flawed System of Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen M Brown

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how equity audits can be used as a tool to expose disparate achievement in schools that, on the surface and to the public, appear quite similar. To that end, the researcher probed beyond surface-level performance composite scores into deeper, more hidden data associated with state-recognized "Honor Schools of Excellence." How is "excellence" defined and operationalized in these schools? Are these schools "excellent" for all students? Can a school really be classified by the state as "excellent" and yet still have significant "gaps" and disparities? If so, is the state's formula used to identify exemplary schools too simple, dogmatic, and institutionally flawed? Through the use of equity audits, quantitative data was collected to scan for systemic patterns of equity and inequity across multiple domains of student learning and activities within 24 elementary schools. The intent was to document and distinguish between schools that are promoting and supporting both academic excellence (small gap schools; SGS and systemic equity and schools that are not (large gap schools; LGS. Results reveal that although demographic, teacher quality, and programmatic audits all indicated a fair amount of equity between SGS and LGS, the achievement audit between both types of schools indicated great disparities. By controlling for or eliminating some of the external variables and internal factors often cited for the achievement gaps between white middle-class children and children of color or children from low-income families, the findings from this study raise more questions than answers. Results do indicate that equity audits are a practical, easy-to-apply tool that educators can use to identify inequalities objectively.

  9. Intelligent Processing Equipment Developments Within the Navy's Manufacturing Technology Centers of Excellence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanzetta, Philip

    1992-01-01

    The U.S. Navy has had an active Manufacturing Technology (MANTECH) Program aimed at developing advanced production processes and equipment since the late-1960's. During the past decade, however, the resources of the MANTECH program were concentrated in Centers of Excellence. Today, the Navy sponsors four manufacturing technology Centers of Excellence: the Automated Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF); the Electronics Manufacturing Productivity Facility (EMPF); the National Center for Excellence in Metalworking Technology (NCEMT); and the Center of Excellence for Composites Manufacturing Technology (CECMT). This paper briefly describes each of the centers and summarizes typical Intelligent Equipment Processing (IEP) projects that were undertaken.

  10. A Survey of Level of Excellence in National Library and Archives of I.R. of Iran Based on EFQM Excellence Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elaheh Hassanzadeh

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available EFQM excellence model as a framework for evaluation and improvement in organizations indicates some advantages which an excellent organization should achieve. Furthermore, based on its position and the type of service it offers, NLAI needs an all-out study using EFQM model. So the current research aimed at determining level of excellence in NLAI based on EFQM excellence model. The research method was descriptive. Statistical society consisted of top and middle managers of NLAI. Data was gathered through the proportionate EFQM's 90 questions questionnaire. The results from descriptive statistics showed that the mean of NLAI performance self-assessment was acquired in 9 criteria of EFQM model: leadership 56 out of 100, policy and strategy 34 out of 80, people 52 out of 90, partnership and resources 62 out of 90, processes 41 out of 140, customer results 80 out of 200, people results40 out of 90, society results 31 out of 60, key performance results 96 out of 150. Finally, the NLAI gained 492 out of 1000 points. Among all the criteria of the model, partnership criteria and resources have achieved the highest score (62 points of 90 and process criteria lowest score (41 points of 140. Therefore NLAI should be improving the process to meet the complete satisfaction and added value for users and other stakeholders. The results also showed that the EFQM was a good framework for self-assessment on of the EFQM model at NLAI and a good system for identifying strengths and areas for improvement.

  11. Silicon oxynitrides of KCC-1, SBA-15 and MCM-41 for CO 2 capture with excellent stability and regenerability

    KAUST Repository

    Patil, Umesh

    2012-01-01

    We report the use of silicon oxynitrides as novel adsorbents for CO 2 capture. Three series of functionalized materials based on KCC-1, SBA-15 and MCM-41 with Si-NH 2 groups were prepared using a simple one-step process via thermal ammonolysis using ammonia gas, and they demonstrated excellent CO 2 capture capabilities. These materials overcome several limitations of conventional amine-grafted mesoporous silica. They offer good CO 2 capture capacity, faster adsorption-desorption kinetics, efficient regeneration and reuse, more crucially excellent thermal and mechanical stability even in oxidative environments, and a clean and green synthesis route, which allows the overall CO 2 capture process to be practical and sustainable. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012.

  12. The Y-12 Plant - a model for environmental excellence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-11-01

    The Department of Energy`s Y-12 Plant, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, occupies more than 800 acres and has a work force of over 4,000 employees. The Y-12 Plant is managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Martin Marietta Corporation. Although mission emphases at the Y-12 Plant have evolved and changed with the easing of international tensions, the Plant continues to serve as a key manufacturing unit and technology demonstration center for the Department of Energy and the nation. The Y-12 Plant has undergone many changes in the last 14 years. One of the most dramatic changes has occurred in the environmental programs with measurable improvements in environmental quality, the development of an award-winning pollution prevention program, and the institution of an environmentally-conscious work ethic among the work force. Because the plant is committed to achieving excellence, not just compliance with laws and regulations, a highly structured, multimedia environmental management program is in place. This program, combined with a commitment to protect the environment while striving for continued improvement, has placed Y-12 in the position to reach excellence. As a result of the Y-12 Plant`s changing mission, they are now working closely with American industry through technology transfer to share their experiences and {open_quotes}lessons learned{close_quotes}--including environmental and pollution prevention technology. To facilitate this effort, the Oak Ridge Centers for Manufacturing Technology has been established at the Y-12 Plant. Through the Centers, the Oak Ridge staff applies skills, capabilities, and facilities developed over a 50-year history of the Oak Ridge Complex to a variety of peacetime missions. The services found at the Centers are a key to helping America`s businesses--both small and large--compete in the global marketplace while protecting the nations environment and conserving its resources.

  13. Samuel P. Massie Chair of Excellence Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, James H. [Howard Univ., Washington, DC (United States)

    2014-12-01

    Abstract In 1994 the Department of Energy established the DOE Chair of Excellence Professorship in Environmental Disciplines Program. In 2004, the Massie Chair of Excellence Professor at Howard University transitioned from Dr. Edward Martin to Dr. James H. Johnson, Jr. At the time of his appointment Dr. Johnson served as professor of civil engineering and Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Sciences. Program activities under Dr. Johnson were in the following areas: • Increase the institution’s capacity to conduct scientific research and technical investigations at the cutting-edge. • Promote interactions, collaborations and partnerships between the private sector, Federal agencies, majority research institutes and other HBCUs. • Assist other HBCUs in reaching parity in engineering and related fields. • Mentor young investigators and be a role model for students.

  14. Discussion on 'Centres of excellence' in Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riad, S.

    1999-01-01

    In Africa, Centres of Excellence should be oriented to build up scientific and technological capacity in the four topics of international Monitoring System related technologies, namely, seismic monitoring, hydro acoustic monitoring, infrasound monitoring and radionuclides monitoring. Training programs on these topics should be a major objective. A network of such centres should be established in a number of African countries. Centres should be equipped with means and materials for on-line course dispatch to interested training centres or research institutions. African centres should develop strong relationship among themselves through information and data exchange and sharing, harmonization of training programs. National data centres may be established as a component of the African Centre of Excellence. States Signatories may authorize the establishment of a specific fund to support the activities of the African center

  15. 23 CFR 630.110 - Modification of original agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Modification of original agreement. 630.110 Section 630... OPERATIONS PRECONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES Project Authorization and Agreements § 630.110 Modification of original agreement. (a) When changes are needed to the original project agreement, a modification of agreement shall...

  16. Radioactive waste incineration system cold demonstration test, (2)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hozumi, Masahiro; Seike, Yasuhiko; Takaoku, Yoshinobu; Yamanaka, Yasuhiro; Asahara, Masaharu; Katagiri, Keishi; Matsumoto, Kenji; Nagae, Madoka

    1985-12-01

    It is urgently necessary to solve the radioactive waste problem. As an effective means for the volume reduction of low-level radioactive wastes, an improved incineration system is greatly required. SHI's Waste Incineration (WIS) licensed by Combustion Engineering, Inc., has the significant advantage of processing a variety of wastes. We started a cold demonstration test in April, 1984 to verify the excellent performance of WIS. The test was successfully completed in September, 1985 with the record of more than 1000 hours of incineration testing time. In the present paper, we describe the test results during one and half years of test period.

  17. Inter-radiologist agreement for CT scoring of pediatric splenic injuries and effect on an established clinical practice guideline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leschied, Jessica R; Mazza, Michael B; Davenport, Matthew; Chong, Suzanne T; Smith, Ethan A; Hoff, Carrie N; Ladino-Torres, Maria F; Khalatbari, Shokoufeh; Ehrlich, Peter F; Dillman, Jonathan R

    2016-02-01

    The American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) advocates for the use of a clinical practice guideline to direct management of hemodynamically stable pediatric spleen injuries. The clinical practice guideline is based on the CT score of the spleen injury according to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) CT scoring system. To determine the potential effect of radiologist agreement for CT scoring of pediatric spleen injuries on an established APSA clinical practice guideline. We retrospectively analyzed blunt splenic injuries occurring in children from January 2007 to January 2012 at a single level 1 trauma center (n = 90). Abdominal CT exams performed at clinical presentation were reviewed by four radiologists who documented the following: (1) splenic injury grade (AAST system), (2) arterial extravasation and (3) pseudoaneurysm. Inter-rater agreement for AAST injury grade was assessed using the multi-rater Fleiss kappa and Kendall coefficient of concordance. Inter-rater agreement was assessed using weighted (AAST injury grade) or prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted (binary measures) kappa statistics; 95% confidence intervals were calculated. We evaluated the hypothetical effect of radiologist disagreement on an established APSA clinical practice guideline. Inter-rater agreement was good for absolute AAST injury grade (kappa: 0.64 [0.59–0.69]) and excellent for relative AAST injury grade (Kendall w: 0.90). All radiologists agreed on the AAST grade in 52% of cases. Based on an established clinical practice guideline, radiologist disagreement could have changed the decision for intensive care management in 11% (10/90) of children, changed the length of hospital stay in 44% (40/90), and changed the time to return to normal activity in 44% (40/90). Radiologist agreement when assigning splenic AAST injury grades is less than perfect, and disagreements have the potential to change management in a substantial number of pediatric patients.

  18. Inter-radiologist agreement for CT scoring of pediatric splenic injuries and effect on an established clinical practice guideline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leschied, Jessica R.; Smith, Ethan A.; Ladino-Torres, Maria F.; Dillman, Jonathan R.; Mazza, Michael B.; Chong, Suzanne T.; Hoff, Carrie N.; Davenport, Matthew S.; Khalatbari, Shokoufeh; Ehrlich, Peter F.

    2016-01-01

    The American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) advocates for the use of a clinical practice guideline to direct management of hemodynamically stable pediatric spleen injuries. The clinical practice guideline is based on the CT score of the spleen injury according to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) CT scoring system. To determine the potential effect of radiologist agreement for CT scoring of pediatric spleen injuries on an established APSA clinical practice guideline. We retrospectively analyzed blunt splenic injuries occurring in children from January 2007 to January 2012 at a single level 1 trauma center (n = 90). Abdominal CT exams performed at clinical presentation were reviewed by four radiologists who documented the following: (1) splenic injury grade (AAST system), (2) arterial extravasation and (3) pseudoaneurysm. Inter-rater agreement for AAST injury grade was assessed using the multi-rater Fleiss kappa and Kendall coefficient of concordance. Inter-rater agreement was assessed using weighted (AAST injury grade) or prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted (binary measures) kappa statistics; 95% confidence intervals were calculated. We evaluated the hypothetical effect of radiologist disagreement on an established APSA clinical practice guideline. Inter-rater agreement was good for absolute AAST injury grade (kappa: 0.64 [0.59-0.69]) and excellent for relative AAST injury grade (Kendall w: 0.90). All radiologists agreed on the AAST grade in 52% of cases. Based on an established clinical practice guideline, radiologist disagreement could have changed the decision for intensive care management in 11% (10/90) of children, changed the length of hospital stay in 44% (40/90), and changed the time to return to normal activity in 44% (40/90). Radiologist agreement when assigning splenic AAST injury grades is less than perfect, and disagreements have the potential to change management in a substantial number of pediatric patients. (orig.)

  19. Inter-radiologist agreement for CT scoring of pediatric splenic injuries and effect on an established clinical practice guideline

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leschied, Jessica R.; Smith, Ethan A.; Ladino-Torres, Maria F.; Dillman, Jonathan R. [University of Michigan Health System, Department of Radiology, Section of Pediatric Radiology, C.S. Mott Children' s Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Mazza, Michael B.; Chong, Suzanne T.; Hoff, Carrie N. [University of Michigan Health System, Department of Radiology, Division of Emergency Radiology, C.S. Mott Children' s Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Davenport, Matthew S. [University of Michigan Health System, Department of Radiology, Division of Abdominal Imaging, C.S. Mott Children' s Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Khalatbari, Shokoufeh [University of Michigan, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Ehrlich, Peter F. [University of Michigan Health System, Department of Surgery, Section of Pediatric Surgery, C.S. Mott Children' s Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

    2016-02-15

    The American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) advocates for the use of a clinical practice guideline to direct management of hemodynamically stable pediatric spleen injuries. The clinical practice guideline is based on the CT score of the spleen injury according to the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) CT scoring system. To determine the potential effect of radiologist agreement for CT scoring of pediatric spleen injuries on an established APSA clinical practice guideline. We retrospectively analyzed blunt splenic injuries occurring in children from January 2007 to January 2012 at a single level 1 trauma center (n = 90). Abdominal CT exams performed at clinical presentation were reviewed by four radiologists who documented the following: (1) splenic injury grade (AAST system), (2) arterial extravasation and (3) pseudoaneurysm. Inter-rater agreement for AAST injury grade was assessed using the multi-rater Fleiss kappa and Kendall coefficient of concordance. Inter-rater agreement was assessed using weighted (AAST injury grade) or prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted (binary measures) kappa statistics; 95% confidence intervals were calculated. We evaluated the hypothetical effect of radiologist disagreement on an established APSA clinical practice guideline. Inter-rater agreement was good for absolute AAST injury grade (kappa: 0.64 [0.59-0.69]) and excellent for relative AAST injury grade (Kendall w: 0.90). All radiologists agreed on the AAST grade in 52% of cases. Based on an established clinical practice guideline, radiologist disagreement could have changed the decision for intensive care management in 11% (10/90) of children, changed the length of hospital stay in 44% (40/90), and changed the time to return to normal activity in 44% (40/90). Radiologist agreement when assigning splenic AAST injury grades is less than perfect, and disagreements have the potential to change management in a substantial number of pediatric patients. (orig.)

  20. 78 FR 35270 - Notice of Agreements Filed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-12

    ... Russia from the geographic scope of the agreement. Agreement No.: 012210. Title: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS/Eukor Car Carriers Inc. Space Charter Agreement. Parties: Siem Car Carrier Pacific AS and Eukor...

  1. Automating Partial Period Bond Valuation with Excel's Day Counting Functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicknair, David; Spruell, James

    2009-01-01

    An Excel model for calculating the actual price of bonds under a 30 day/month, 360 day/year day counting assumption by nesting the DAYS360 function within the PV function is developed. When programmed into an Excel spreadsheet, the model can accommodate annual and semiannual payment bonds sold on or between interest dates using six fundamental…

  2. Creating Single-Subject Design Graphs in Microsoft Excel[TM] 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Mark R.; Jackson, James W.; Small, Stacey L.; Horner-King, Mollie J.; Mui Ker Lik, Nicholas; Garcia, Yors; Rosales, Rocio

    2009-01-01

    Over 10 years have passed since the publication of Carr and Burkholder's (1998) technical article on how to construct single-subject graphs using Microsoft Excel. Over the course of the past decade, the Excel program has undergone a series of revisions that make the Carr and Burkholder paper somewhat difficult to follow with newer versions. The…

  3. 18 excel spreadsheets by species and year giving reproduction and growth data. One excel spreadsheet of herbicide treatment chemistry.

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Excel spreadsheets by species (4 letter code is abbreviation for genus and species used in study, year 2010 or 2011 is year data collected, SH indicates data for...

  4. 76 FR 16420 - Notice of Agreements Filed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-23

    .... Title: Hanjin and WHS Transpacific Vessel Sharing and Slot Allocation Agreement. Parties: Hanjin... amendment would add COSCON as a party to the Agreement and revise the name of the Agreement to Hanjin/WHS...

  5. Evaluation of Business Excellence among Halal Certified Food Manufacturers in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masrom Nor Ratna binti

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Business excellence is a key tool to improve the efficiency of the company. Through the business excellence model, the organization can execute their strategies to determine, forecast and survive in highly competitive market. This paper presents on identifying those elements in business excellence model (leadership, strategy and planning, customer focus, measurement, analysis, and knowledge management, operation focus this paper provides empirical support for halal food certified companies reviewing and improvement. Survey has been done and analyzed among halal food certified manufacturers in Malaysia. Thus, seven categories with 35 key elements regarding American MBNQA and eight equations are examined. The main conclusions are that, strategy and measurement, analysis and knowledge management are the main weakness of the halal food certified manufacturers in Malaysia. Overall, halal food certified manufacturers in Malaysia is at the silver level of excellence based on the calculation.

  6. Philanthropic Donor Perspectives on Supporting Nursing Excellence in a Community Hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fickley, Sharon K; Mishler, Ray R; Black, Amelia S; DeGuzman, Pam B

    2016-11-01

    The purpose of this research is to explore donors' perspectives on support of nursing excellence in a community hospital. Philanthropic support is rapidly becoming critical to support nursing excellence in hospitals, including continuing education, nursing research, and professional development. However, no research has examined the experience of private donors who support nursing programs in community hospitals. Structured interviews were conducted with individuals with a history of providing significant financial support (gifts >$50 000) targeted specifically for nursing in a 176- bed community hospital in the southeastern United States. Analysis was performed using descriptive content analysis. Four themes emerged that centered around making a difference, helping nurses meet new challenges, an existing foundation of service, and valuing excellent nursing care received. This research provides specific information that nursing administrators can use when seeking philanthropic gifts to support nursing excellence programs in US community hospitals.

  7. The Text of a Safeguards Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Japan and Australia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1973-01-26

    The text of a Safeguards Agreement between the Agency, Japan and Australia relating to the agreement of 21 February 1972 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members.

  8. Safeguards agreements - their legal and conceptual basis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanders, B.; Rainer, R.

    1977-01-01

    The application of Agency safeguards requires treaty arrangements (''Safeguards Agreements'') between the State or States concerned and the Agency. The authority for the Agency to conclude such agreements and to implement them is provided for in the Agency's Statute (Articles II, III A.5 and XII). On the basis of the statutory provisions safeguards principles and procedures have been elaborated. These have been laid down in: (a) The Agency's Safeguards System 1965, extended in 1966 and 1968 (INFCIRC/66/Rev.2); and (b) The basis for negotiating safeguards agreements with NNWS pursuant to NPT (INFCIRC/153). The verification of the undertaking by the State concerned not to use items subject to safeguards for purposes contrary to the terms of the agreement is verified through the application of various safeguards measures (design review, records, reports and inspection). Containment and surveillance measures are expected to play an increasingly important role. NPT Safeguards Agreements foresee as one of their specific features the establishment of national systems of accounting and control of nuclear material. The majority of the agreements concluded under document INFCIRC/66/Rev.2 - i.e. the non-NPT safeguards agreements - implement obligations undertaken under co-operation agreements between States for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. These agreements naturally reflect approaches adopted by the parties, in particular as to the circumstances under which safeguards should be applied. Thus, the concepts used in the non-NPT safeguards agreements and the safeguards system of document INFCIRC/66/Rev.2 which is incorporated in these agreements by reference are in continuous evolution. Document INFCIRC/66/Rev.2 continues to be supplemented in practical application and through explicit decision by the Board. The non-NPT safeguards agreements contain, besides technical safeguards provisions from document INFCIRC/66/Rev.2, and further provision for notification, inventories

  9. Passing excellence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsoupikova, Daria

    2007-02-01

    This paper describes the research and development of a virtual reality visualization project "Passing excellence" about the world famous architectural ensemble "Kizhi". The Kizhi Pogost is located on an island in Lake Onega in northern Karelia in Russia. It is an authentic museum of an ancient wood building tradition which presents a unique artistic achievement. This ensemble preserves a concentration of masterpieces of the Russian heritage and is included in the List of Most Endangered Sites of the World Monuments Watch protected by World Heritage List of UNESCO. The project strives to create a unique virtual observation of the dynamics of the architectural changes of the museum area beginning from the 15th Century up to the 21st Century. The visualization is being created to restore the original architecture of Kizhi island based on the detailed photographs, architectural and geometric measurements, textural data, video surveys and resources from the Kizhi State Open-Air Museum archives. The project is being developed using Electro, an application development environment for the tiled display high-resolution graphics visualization system and can be shown on the virtual reality systems such as the GeoWall TM and the C-Wall.

  10. Gender Agreement Attraction in Russian: Production and Comprehension Evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slioussar, Natalia; Malko, Anton

    2016-01-01

    Agreement attraction errors (such as the number error in the example "The key to the cabinets are rusty") have been the object of many studies in the last 20 years. So far, almost all production experiments and all comprehension experiments looked at binary features (primarily at number in Germanic, Romance, and some other languages, in several cases at gender in Romance languages). Among other things, it was noted that both in production and in comprehension, attraction effects are much stronger for some feature combinations than for the others: they can be observed in the sentences with singular heads and plural dependent nouns (e.g.,"The key to the cabinets…"), but not in the sentences with plural heads and singular dependent nouns (e.g., "The keys to the cabinet…"). Almost all proposed explanations of this asymmetry appeal to feature markedness, but existing findings do not allow teasing different approaches to markedness apart. We report the results of four experiments (one on production and three on comprehension) studying subject-verb gender agreement in Russian, a language with three genders. Firstly, we found attraction effects both in production and in comprehension, but, unlike in the case of number agreement, they were not parallel (in production, feminine gender triggered strongest effects, while neuter triggered weakest effects, while in comprehension, masculine triggered weakest effects). Secondly, in the comprehension experiments attraction was observed for all dependent noun genders, but only for a subset of head noun genders. This goes against the traditional assumption that the features of the dependent noun are crucial for attraction, showing the features of the head are more important. We demonstrate that this approach can be extended to previous findings on attraction and that there exists other evidence for it. In total, these findings let us reconsider the question which properties of features are crucial for agreement attraction in

  11. Federal Facility Agreement progress report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1993-10-01

    The (SRS) Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) was made effective by the US. Environmental Protection Agency Region IV (EPA) on August 16, 1993. To meet the reporting requirements in Section XXV of the Agreement, the FFA Progress Report was developed. The FFA Progress Report is the first of a series of quarterly progress reports to be prepared by the SRS. As such this report describes the information and action taken to September 30, 1993 on the SRS units identified for investigation and remediation in the Agreement. This includes; rubble pits, runoff basins, retention basin, seepage basin, burning pits, H-Area Tank 16, and spill areas.

  12. Federal Facility Agreement progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-10-01

    The (SRS) Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) was made effective by the US. Environmental Protection Agency Region IV (EPA) on August 16, 1993. To meet the reporting requirements in Section XXV of the Agreement, the FFA Progress Report was developed. The FFA Progress Report is the first of a series of quarterly progress reports to be prepared by the SRS. As such this report describes the information and action taken to September 30, 1993 on the SRS units identified for investigation and remediation in the Agreement. This includes; rubble pits, runoff basins, retention basin, seepage basin, burning pits, H-Area Tank 16, and spill areas

  13. Equilibrator: Modeling Chemical Equilibria with Excel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vander Griend, Douglas A.

    2011-01-01

    Equilibrator is a Microsoft Excel program for learning about chemical equilibria through modeling, similar in function to EQS4WIN, which is no longer supported and does not work well with newer Windows operating systems. Similar to EQS4WIN, Equilibrator allows the user to define a system with temperature, initial moles, and then either total…

  14. Profile of an excellent nurse manager: identifying and developing health care team leaders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kallas, Kathryn D

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to identify the profile of an excellent nurse manager who can lead effective health care teams. Leadership attributes and competencies that characterize an excellent nurse manager and tools to identify them are lacking in the literature but are required to efficiently and effectively address the growing shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in health care team leadership roles and the critical linkage of these roles to patient outcomes. A profile of an excellent nurse manager was developed on the basis of the responses of nurse managers across the United States who had been identified as excellent or competent by chief nurse executive assessment or/and the Nurse Manager Ability, Leadership, and Support of Nurses staff survey to the Kouzes and Posner Leadership Practices Inventory: Self Instrument. Statistically significant distinctions exist between nurse managers who are excellent and those who are competent as assessed by the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, which together comprise the profile of an excellent nurse manager. The Kouzes and Posner Leadership Practices Inventory: Self Instrument can be used to identify, recruit, and develop RNs in the nurse manager role as excellent leaders of effective health care teams.

  15. Excellent lubricating behavior of Brasenia schreberi mucilage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinjin; Liu, Yuhong; Luo, Jianbin; Liu, Pengxiao; Zhang, Chenhui

    2012-05-22

    The present work reports an excellent lubrication property of an aquatic plant called Brasenia schreberi (BS). To investigate the lubrication characteristics of the BS mucilage, a novel measuring system is designed, and an ultralow friction coefficient about 0.005 between the mucilage and glass surface has been obtained. It is found that the ultralow friction is closely related to the structure of mucilage and water molecules in the mucilage. The microstructure analysis indicates that the mucilage surrounding BS forms a kind of polysaccharide gel with many nanosheets. A possible lubrication mechanism is proposed that the formation of hydration layers among these polymer nanosheets with plenty of bonded water molecules causes the ultralow friction. The excellent lubrication property has a potential application for reducing the friction between a glossy pill coated with such layer of mucilage and people's throats.

  16. Current statuses of international cooperation activities, and research and development activities, based on IEA's Implementing Agreement for a Program on Research and Demonstration of Advanced Motor Fuels; EIA jidoshayo senshin nenryo jisshi kyotei ni motozuku kokusai kyoryoku katsudo oyobi kenkyu kaihatsu no genjo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-09-01

    Described herein are current statuses of international cooperation activities, and R and D activities, based on IEA's Implementing Agreement for a Program on Research and Demonstration of Advanced Motor Fuels. This agreement is aimed at efficient implementation of researches, demonstration tests and information exchanges for advanced motor fuels by promoting international cooperation. It raises future environment-compatible diesel fuels and new fuels for new engines as the major R and D themes, which cover information exchanges for engines/vehicles of heavy- duty vehicles, motor fuel information services, toxicity assessments of bio-diesel fuels, feasibility studies on possibility of dimethyl ether as diesel fuel, surveys on barriers in alternative fuel markets, surveys on biodegradable lubricant oils, and effects of new heavy-duty vehicle techniques on the environments. Some of the results reported in FY 1997 are those for comparison between current motor fuels and dimethyl ether in toxicity, analysis of the failure mode effects of dimethyl ether tank in vehicles, and surveys on barriers in alternative fuel markets. (NEDO)

  17. US-India agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    The United States and India acheived a historic agreement for strategic partnership after the completion of negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the agreement of 123. This agreement regulates the civilian nuclear trade between the two countries and opens the door wide to U.S. and Indian companies for a partnership in every other country in the civil nuclear industry. This agreement has opened the door to complete the remaining steps for the the widest American Indian cooperation in the field of civil uses of atomic energy. Critics to the agreement within the United States say that the agreement reflected serious consequences on the ability of the United States to force other countries to comply with the prevention of nuclear proliferation. The global criticism focused on that the agreement strikes at the heart of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and is considered a dangerous precedent to break the laws of the International Tribunal, and especially the laws and rules of the International Group of Suppliers, which includes 45 countries. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that the agreement is an important step towards meeting India's growing energy needs, especially nuclear technology which is the engine of development. Immediately after the completion of the United States and India for their bilateral agreement for nuclear cooperation, Israel announced that it was seeking U.S. help in the establishment of a power reactor while pressing the direction of tightening control over Iran's nuclear program while some Arab countries announced their desire to have nuclear reactors for electricity generation purposes.

  18. Representations of abstract grammatical feature agreement in young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melançon, Andréane; Shi, Rushen

    2015-11-01

    A fundamental question in language acquisition research is whether young children have abstract grammatical representations. We tested this question experimentally. French-learning 30-month-olds were first taught novel word-object pairs in the context of a gender-marked determiner (e.g., un MASC ravole 'a ravole'). Test trials presented the objects side-by-side while one of them was named in new phrases containing other determiners and an adjective (e.g., le MASC joli ravole MASC 'the pretty ravole'). The gender agreement between the new determiner and the non-adjacent noun was manipulated in different test trials (e.g., le MASC __ravole MASC; *la FEM __ravole MASC). We found that online comprehension of the named target was facilitated in gender-matched trials but impeded in gender-mismatched trials. That is, children assigned the determiner genders to the novel nouns during word learning. They then processed the non-adjacent gender agreement between the two categories (Det, Noun) during test. The results demonstrate abstract featural representation and grammatical productivity in young children.

  19. Excel 2013 for social sciences statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2015-01-01

    This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel to teach social science statistics effectively.  It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical social science problems.  If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you.  Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in social science courses.  Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past.  However, Excel 2013 for Social Science Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Each chapter explains statistical formul...

  20. Excel 2010 for environmental sciences statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J; Horton, Howard F

    2015-01-01

    This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel to teach environmental sciences statistics effectively.  It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical environmental sciences problems.  If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you.  Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in environmental science courses.  Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past.  However, Excel 2010 for Environmental Sciences Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Eac...

  1. Excel 2016 for physical sciences statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J; Horton, Howard F

    2016-01-01

    This book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical physical science problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel is an effective learning tool for quantitative analyses in environmental science courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2016 for Physical Sciences Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel 2016 to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Each chapter explains statistical formulas and directs the reader to use Excel commands to solve specific, easy-to-understand physical science problems. Practice problems are provided at the end of each chapter with their s...

  2. Excel 2016 for environmental sciences statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J; Horton, Howard F

    2016-01-01

    This book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical environmental science problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel is an effective learning tool for quantitative analyses in environmental science courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2016 for Environmental Science Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel 2016 to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Each chapter explains statistical formulas and directs the reader to use Excel commands to solve specific, easy-to-understand environmental science problems. Practice problems are provided at the end of each chapte...

  3. Excel 2016 for health services management statistics a guide to solving problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2016-01-01

    This book shows the capabilities of Microsoft Excel in teaching health services management statistics effectively. Similar to the previously published Excel 2013 for Health Services Management Statistics, this book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical health service management problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in health service courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2016 for Health Services Management Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply...

  4. Excel 2013 for environmental sciences statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J; Horton, Howard F

    2015-01-01

    This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel to teach environmentall sciences statistics effectively.  It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical environmental science problems.  If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you.  Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in environmental science courses.  Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past.  However, Excel 2013 for Environmental Sciences Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Each chap...

  5. Climate Justice and the Paris Agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michelot, Agnes

    2016-01-01

    The concept of climate justice has been, for the first time, used in an international agreement - namely, the Paris Agreement. But this recognition of the notion of climate justice is extremely restricted by the very way it is formulated. Preamble of the Paris Agreement 'notes' that climate justice is recognized by 'certain cultures'. Does it mean that particular and concrete stakes of climate justice of the pre-COP21 agenda have been recognized or, on the contrary, that the notion so introduced is actually an empty shell without any genuine legal perspective? Considering this uncertainty, it appears relevant to analyze the Paris Agreement through the claims of various groups and coalitions, which influenced the COP21 negotiations

  6. Excel 2013 for human resource management statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2016-01-01

    This book shows how Microsoft Excel is able to teach human resource management statistics effectively. Similar to the previously published Excel 2010 for Human Resource Management Statistics, it is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical human resource management problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in human resource management courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2013 for Human Resource Management Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to ...

  7. Excel como herramienta docente de las asignaturas de Microeconomía Excel com a eina docent de les assignatures de Microeconomia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vicent Almenar Llongo

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available El presente trabajo trata sobre la utilización del programa Excel® en la docencia de las asignaturas relacionadas con la Microeconomía. Se trata de especificar la forma algebraica de un modelo microeconómico para mostrar al alumno cómo es posible la resolución del problema utilizando la hoja de cálculo Excel. De esta forma, el alumno adquiere competencias específicas del área de estudio al tiempo que competencias transversales basadas en habilidades básicas en el manejo del ordenador o las habilidades informáticas básicas.

  8. Analysis of Knowledge Management Effectiveness on Business Excellence Using System Dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohammad dehghani saryazdi

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available It can be claimed that an organization is approaching excellence when it achieves acceptable results besides providing appropriate infrastructures and following right processes. Excellence models, such as European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM, try to establish a tradeoff between enablers and outcomes in evaluating organizational performance. One of those enablers is Knowledge Management (KM, which is gaining increasing attentions nowadays regarding the soaring significance of knowledge resources. In order to evaluate the KM processes, a comprehensive model is required, which should be able to capture all aspects of KM. One of such models is Knowledge Management Assessment Tool (KMAT. This research is an effort to find the relationship between knowledge and business excellence through system dynamics tool. In other words, this research exploits system dynamics in order to measure the effects of KM on business excellence using a dynamic model based upon a combination of KMAT and EFQM.

  9. REAL ESTATE PURCHASE AGREEMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bujorel FLOREA

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The study presented herein represents a field with good present and future perspectives, especially because real estate property is not under the incidence of a single normative act regarding the sale-purchase agreement of such goods, and given the fact that there are specific legal provisions with respect to various real estate categories and the localization of such property. The article deals with the sale-purchase agreement of various real estate categories, such as fields, buildings, the correspondent lots, urban area, farm, and forests fields, focusing on some particularities. A special care is attributed to examining the applicable laws with regard to the purchase agreements of field lands, the special conditions to be taken into account, the persons that may act as buyers, including foreigners, those without citizenship, and legal persons of a nationality other than Romanian. Finally, a special concern is given to the formalities required for legally exerting the pre-emptive right and the applicable sanctions in that respect.

  10. Customer satisfaction and business excellence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Kai; Martensen, Anne; Grønholdt, Lars

    The topic for this paper is the link between customer satisfaction and business performance, which makes it possible to use customer satisfaction measures as basis for creating business excellence. First, the paper presents microeconomic models for the relationship between customer satisfaction......, customer loyalty and performance, and optimal customer satisfaction is characterized which will help management choose the right quality parameters for improvement. Second, the paper describes empirical evidence that customer satisfaction measures, based on a modelling approach, have impact on economic...

  11. External quality assurance agencies and excellence in higher education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josep Grifoll

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The article presents briefly the complexity of the concept of “excellence” in higher education. Taking into account this reality, the fundamental question is how agencies can consider this complexity in building up criteria on excellence and the use of the concept “excellence” in their improvement strategies and accountability processes in the sector of higher education. Public-private nature of higher education and its growing internationalisation have significant impact on how excellence in education is described and promoted as a tool.

  12. 75 FR 65415 - White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-22

    ... Part II The President Executive Order 13555--White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for... Order 13555 of October 19, 2010 White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics By the... will be substantially enhanced by improving educational outcomes for Hispanics. Sec. 2. White House...

  13. Pursuit of Excellence in a Networked Society. : Theoretical and Practical Approaches.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. J.J.M. Volker; Dr. Marca Wolfensberger; Drs. L. Drayer

    2014-01-01

    Pursuit of Excellence in a Networked Society gives an overview of research and practice, describing and exploring efforts toward continuous improvement in programming to promote excellence. The talent development of students and teachers is a hot topic in today’s knowledge-based society which

  14. 48 CFR 1542.1203 - Processing agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Novation and Change of Name Agreements 1542.1203 Processing agreements. (a... required documentary evidence. (2) Verify the accuracy of the list of contracts through the Contract...

  15. Safety and excellence--is regulation ensuring their achievement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levesque, R.J.A.

    1992-01-01

    Canada has a large, vigorous nuclear industry staffed by competent people, and a vigourous, independent regulatory agency similarly staffed. Nevertheless, there have been many signs over the last few years that the level of operating and engineering excellence needed to ensure a high level of safety was not being achieved in some key sections of the industry. Years of successful, accident-free operation - a hallmark of Canadian nuclear generating stations - are not by themselves a proof of adequate safety. Signs that the level of excellence is not being met in the nuclear reactor business have been seen, for example, in reviews of significant events, in the standard of generating documentation, and in the time taken to implement necessary design modifications. In the radioisotope business, the number of violations of licence conditions has been growing steadily, and there are an unacceptable number of workers exceeding regulatory dose limits. While many of these violations are minor in themselves, their prevalence suggests a degree of complacency has been developing which will be an enemy of excellence. Equally, the level of review, assessment, inspection and confirmatory research carried out in the past by the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) has been clearly inadequate. The paper discusses these and other examples of a lack of excellence, particularly in organization and management within its licensees and its effect on safety,. and identifies some of the performance indicators used. The paper also identifies some of the actions that are being taken by the AECB and the licensees to ensure an adequate level of safety is being maintained. The AECB is increasing, for example, its frequency of inspections in several industrial sectors and increasing its depth of safety review of nuclear generating stations

  16. Trade Agreements PTI

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Homeland Security — The objective of the Trade Agreements PTI is to advance CBP’s mission by working with internal and external stakeholders to facilitate legitimate trade and address...

  17. African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology. Third extension of agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    Pursuant to Article XIV.2, the Agreement 'shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date of its entry into force and may be extended for further periods of five years if the Government Parties so agree'. The third extension of the Agreement entered into force on 4 April 2005, upon expiration of the second extension of the Agreement and will remain in force for an additional period of five years, i.e. through 3 April 2010. As of 10 May 2005, 20 States have notified the Agency of their acceptance of the extension of the Agreement. The status list of the Agreement is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. Members will be notified of further acceptances of the extension of the Agreement by addenda to this information circular

  18. 27 CFR 70.485 - Closing agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Relating to Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Administrative Remedies § 70.485 Closing agreements... disadvantage through consummation of such an agreement. (b) Scope of closing agreement—(1) In general. A...

  19. 23 CFR 635.115 - Agreement estimate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE Contract Procedures § 635.115 Agreement estimate. (a) Following the award of contract, an agreement estimate based on the contract unit prices and estimated quantities shall be...

  20. Community-based naming agreement, familiarity, image agreement and visual complexity ratings among adult Indians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Annamma

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The validity of Snodgrass and Vanderwart pictures and their norms derived on a western population on naming, familiarity, imageability and visual-complexity, is not established on a population with cultural background different from the west. We developed, therefore, a set of culturally appropriate pictures for and derived norms on Indians. Line-drawings of 103 concepts (67 from Snodgrass and Vanderwart, 36 new from 10 semantic-categories were normed on 200 community-based older subjects. Only 31% of the Snodgrass and Vanderwart items showed a concept-agreement on the Indians comparable to western norms. Naming, familiarity and image-agreement mutually correlated but not with visual-complexity. Low-education and rural-residence tended to reduced concept-agreement. The output of this study will be of use in national and cross-national studies.

  1. Interobserver agreement for the spine instability neoplastic score varies according to the experience of the evaluator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William Gemio Jacobsen Teixeira

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the interobserver agreement for the Neoplastic Spine Instability Score (SINS among spine surgeons with or without experience in vertebral metastasis treatment and physicians in other specialties. METHODS: Case descriptions were produced based on the medical records of 40 patients with vertebral metastases. The descriptions were then published online. Physicians were invited to evaluate the descriptions by answering questions according to the Neoplastic Spine Instability Score (SINS. The agreement among physicians was calculated using the kappa coefficient. RESULTS: Seventeen physicians agreed to participate: three highly experienced spine surgeons, seven less-experienced spine surgeons, three surgeons of other specialties, and four general practitioners (n = 17. The agreement for the final SINS score among all participants was fair, and it varied according to the SINS component. The agreement was substantial for the spine location only. The agreement was higher among experienced surgeons. The agreement was nearly perfect for spinal location among the spine surgeons who were highly experienced in vertebral metastases. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the experience of the evaluator has an impact on SINS scale classification. The interobserver agreement was only fair among physicians who were not spine surgeons and among spine surgeons who were not experienced in the treatment of vertebral metastases, which may limit the use of the SINS scale for the screening of unstable lesions by less-experienced evaluators.

  2. Professionalism, professional certification and the achievement of excellence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michelsen, S.J.

    1991-01-01

    Since at least 1985, it seems that many of the articles and speeches directed to the contract management community have moved from a predominantly technical focus to one that is increasing philosophical. Philosophical in that the authors of such pieces attempt to define 'professionalism' and 'professional certification,' and, on occasion even attempt to loosely tie the traits and attributes of both to the achievement of 'excellence.' There is a profound but often misunderstood difference between the development of a professional worker and the establishment of professional qualification standards. In addition, the attainment of 'excellence' is not automatically the result of either. In this presentation these issues are addressed in the context of what contract managers should face and overcome

  3. Performance of the electron energy-loss spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, H.; Huebner, R.H.

    1977-01-01

    Performance characteristics of the electron energy-loss spectrometer incorporating a new high-resolution hemispherical monochromator are reported. The apparatus achieved an energy-resolution of 25 meV in the elastic scattering mode, and angular distributions of elastically scattered electrons were in excellent agreement with previous workers. Preliminary energy-loss spectra for several atmospheric gases demonstrate the excellent versatility and stable operation of the improved system. 12 references

  4. WASP (Write a Scientific Paper) using Excel - 13: Correlation and Regression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grech, Victor

    2018-07-01

    Correlation and regression measure the closeness of association between two continuous variables. This paper explains how to perform these tests in Microsoft Excel and their interpretation, as well as how to apply these tests dynamically using Excel's functions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Unique microstructure and excellent mechanical properties of ADI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jincheng Liu

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Amongst the cast iron family, ADI has a unique microstructure and an excellent, optimised combination of mechanical properties. The main microstructure of ADI is ausferrite, which is a mixture ofextremely fine acicular ferrite and stable, high carbon austenite. There are two types of austenite in ADI:(1 the coarser and more equiaxed blocks of austenite between non-parallel acicular structures, which exist mainly in the last solidified area, and (2 the thin films of ustenite between the individual ferriteplatelets in the acicular structure. It is this unique microstructure, which gives ADI its excellent static and dynamic properties, and good low temperature impact toughness. The effect of microstructure on the mechanical properties is explained in more detail by examining the microstructure at the atomic scale. Considering the nanometer grain sizes, the unique microstructure, the excellent mechanical properties,good castability, (which enables near net shape components to be produced economically and in large volumes, and the fact that it can be 100% recycled, it is not overemphasized to call ADI a high-tech,nanometer and “green” material. ADI still has the potential to be further improved and its production and the number of applications for ADI will continue to grow, driven by the resultant cost savings over alternative materials.

  6. An EFQM excellence model for integrated healthcare governance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Favaretti, Carlo; De Pieri, Paolo; Torri, Emanuele; Guarrera, Giovanni; Fontana, Fabrizio; Debiasi, Franco; Flor, Luciano

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to account for a ten-year experience with the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model implemented in the Trento Healthcare Trust. Since 2000, the EFQM Excellence Model provided an overarching framework to streamline business process governance, to support and improve its enablers and results. From 2000 to 2009, staff performed four internal (self) and four external EFQM-based assessments that provided guidance for an integrated management system. Over the years, key controls and assurances improved service quality through business planning, learning and practice cycles. Rising assessment ratings and improving results characterized the journey. The average self-assessment score (on a 1,000 points scale) was 290 in 2001, which increased to 610 in 2008. Since 2006, the Trust has been Recognized for Excellence (four stars). The organization improved significantly on customer satisfaction, people results and key service delivery and outcomes. The EFQM Model can act as an effective tool to meet governance demands and promote system-level results. The approach to integrated governance discussed here may support similar change processes in comparable organizations. The paper describes a unique experience when implementing EFQM within a large Italian healthcare system, which had a broader reach and lasted longer than any experience in Italian healthcare.

  7. Microsoft Office Excel 2007 data analysis and business modeling

    CERN Document Server

    Winston, Wayne L

    2007-01-01

    Master the analysis and business modeling techniques that help you transform your data into bottom-line results. Award-winning business professor and corporate consultant Wayne Winston shares the best of his real-world experience in this practical guide-now updated for Excel 2007. Use Wayne's proven practices and hands-on exercises to help you work smarter, make better decisions, and gain the competitive edge. Solve real-world business problems with Excel 2007! Maximize profits-determine NPV, optimize your product mix, calculate ROICreate best, worst, and most-likely case scenarios for sal

  8. Unfolding the phenomenon of inter-rater agreement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Slaug, Bjørn; Schilling, Oliver; Helle, Tina

    2011-01-01

    Objective: The overall objective was to unfold the phenomenon of inter-rater agreement: to identify potential sources of variation in agreement data and to explore how they can be statistically accounted for. The ultimate aim was to propose recommendations for in-depth examination of agreement, i...

  9. 75 FR 78245 - Notice of Agreements Filed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-15

    ... Mexico, Panama, Jamaica, Colombia, and the Far East, including China, Hong Kong, and Korea. Agreement No.../CSAV Slot Swap Agreement. Parties: China Shipping Container Lines Co. Ltd., China Shipping Container... trade between United States ports and ports in China and Vietnam. Agreement No.: 201208-001. Title...

  10. 75 FR 14159 - Notice of Agreements Filed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-24

    ... parties to exchange slots in the trade between U.S. East Coast ports and ports in Turkey. Agreement No.: 201048-005. Title: Lease and Operating Agreement between Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and... FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION Notice of Agreements Filed The Commission hereby gives notice of the...

  11. Agency Agreements Process Champion Support Intern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miksa, Ember

    2018-01-01

    This document will provide information on the 2018 Spring semester NIFS Intern who represented the Office of Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) as a Reimbursable Accountant at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This intern supported the Agency Agreements Process Champions and Team Lead, Susan Kroskey, Sandy Massey and Mecca Murphy, with major initiatives to advance the KSC OCFO's vision of creating and innovating healthy financial management practices that maximize the value of resources entrusted to NASA. These initiatives include, but are not limited to: updating the Agency Guidance and NASA Procedural Guidance 9090.1 Agreements, implementing a new budget structure to be utilized across all centers, submitting a Call Request (CRQ) to enhance non-federal customer reporting, initiating a discussion to incorporate a 3-year funding program for NASA agreements, and undertaking the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Audit. In support of these initiatives, this intern identified technical methods to enhance and reduce the workload of financial processes for reimbursable and non-reimbursable agreements, prepared reports in support of accounting functions, and performed administrative work and miscellaneous technical tasks in support of the OCFO as requested. In conclusion of the internship, the intern will become knowledgeable on reimbursable accounting, reimbursable policy, types of reimbursable agreements, the agreements process, estimated pricing reports, and the roles and responsibilities of the Financial Accounting and Financial Services offices.

  12. Improving the Teaching of Microsoft Excel: Traditional Book versus Online Platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, Stoney; Taylor, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    The authors explore the differences between traditional, book-based methods of teaching Excel and online, platform-supported methods by comparing teaching students in different locations, with and without online support. As Excel is a critical skill for business majors, the authors investigate which methods and locations provide the highest…

  13. Analysis of Variance with Summary Statistics in Microsoft® Excel®

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, David A.; Hsu, Ko-Cheng

    2010-01-01

    Students regularly are asked to solve Single Factor Analysis of Variance problems given only the sample summary statistics (number of observations per category, category means, and corresponding category standard deviations). Most undergraduate students today use Excel for data analysis of this type. However, Excel, like all other statistical…

  14. Brewer, Maine Wastewater Treatment Plant Recognized for Excellence

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Brewer Water Pollution Control Facility was recently honored with a 2015 Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant Excellence Award by the US Environmental Protection Agency's New England regional office.

  15. Excel Computational Design Tool: Multifunctional Structure-Battery Materials

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Thomas, James

    2003-01-01

    .... SBDT is implemented in Excel spreadsheet form and is capable of analyzing composite designs with several cross-section geometries including circular-annular rectangular-annular, arbitrary-box, and multilayers...

  16. 12 CFR 533.6 - Disclosure of covered agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 533.6 Disclosure of covered agreements. (a) Applicability date. This... mailing the agreement. (7) Use of CRA public file by insured depository institution or affiliate. An... institution's CRA public file if the institution makes the agreement available in accordance with the...

  17. African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology. Fourth Extension of Agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2010-01-01

    Pursuant to Article XIV.2, the Agreement 'shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date of its entry into force and may be extended for further periods of five years if the Government Parties so agree'. The fourth extension of the Agreement entered into force on 4 April 2010, upon expiration of the third extension of the Agreement and will remain in force for an additional period of five years, i.e. through 3 April 2015. As of 30 April 2010, 8 States have notified the Agency of their acceptance of the extension of the Agreement. The status list of the Agreement is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members [es

  18. Fifth Supply Agreement. Agreement for the Transfer of Low Enriched Uranium for a Research Reactor in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    The text of the Fifth Supply Agreement among the Government of Romania, the Government of the United States of America and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Transfer of Low Enriched Uranium for a Research Reactor in Romania is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members of the Agency. The Agency's Board of Governors approved the text of the Agreement on 20 November 2003, which was signed by the authorized representatives of Romania and the United States, and by the Director General of the IAEA, on 24 November 2003. Pursuant to Article V of the Agreement, the Agreement entered into force on 24 November 2003, upon signature by the representatives of Romania, the United States and the Director General of the IAEA

  19. The Danish agreements on energy efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-05-01

    CO{sub 2}-taxes for industry were introduced in 1993. In 1996, the taxes were increased and an agreement system for energy-intensive companies was implemented. The main purpose of the agreement system has been to allow energy-intensive industry to pay a reduced tax rate, while at the same time improving energy efficiency. The evaluation of the energy tax system has shown that it has been possible to establish an energy tax that has led to a decrease in CO{sub 2}-emissions, without causing a decrease in the competitiveness of trade, industry and services. The agreement system has been a very important element in that it has improved energy efficiency in companies in which taxes would not have been a realistic instrument. In the case of companies with agreements, several studies suggest improvements of approximately 2.7% of the total energy use per agreement (three years). The three sources (concrete projects, special investigation and energy management) contribute approximately one third of this reduction each. The values for special investigation and energy management must be used with great care. It is also predicted that a continuation of the agreement system by 2005, relative to a situation without agreements, can lead to a decrease in CO{sub 2}-emissions corresponding to 6% of total emissions in industry and trade. Of this reduction, the highest amount is due to energy management. However, maintaining the positive effects of energy management systems will require that companies give higher priority to the managerial part of the system and not only focus on energy accounting. Some companies have argued that it is costly to carry out energy audits and to have to audits verified. Therefore, consideration should be given to possibilities for reducing the administrative costs of entering into an agreement, without this causing reduced efforts to save energy. A means of achieving these objectives could be to reduce the requirement for energy audits and verification

  20. 45 CFR 162.915 - Trading partner agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Trading partner agreements. 162.915 Section 162... REQUIREMENTS ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS General Provisions for Transactions § 162.915 Trading partner agreements. A covered entity must not enter into a trading partner agreement that would do any of the...

  1. 10 CFR 603.1340 - Technology investment agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Technology investment agreement. 603.1340 Section 603.1340 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (CONTINUED) ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS Definitions of Terms Used in this Part § 603.1340 Technology investment agreement. A TIA is a special type of...

  2. 24 CFR 266.15 - Risk-Sharing Agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY RISK-SHARING PROGRAM FOR INSURED AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY PROJECT LOANS General Provisions § 266.15 Risk-Sharing Agreement. Execution of a Risk-Sharing Agreement is a prerequisite to... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Risk-Sharing Agreement. 266.15...

  3. 7 CFR 3550.205 - Delinquency workout agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Delinquency workout agreements. 3550.205 Section 3550... Delinquency workout agreements. Borrowers with past due accounts may be offered the opportunity to avoid liquidation by entering into a delinquency workout agreement that specifies a plan for bringing the account...

  4. 22 CFR 120.21 - Manufacturing license agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Manufacturing license agreement. 120.21 Section... DEFINITIONS § 120.21 Manufacturing license agreement. An agreement (e.g., contract) whereby a U.S. person grants a foreign person an authorization to manufacture defense articles abroad and which involves or...

  5. 22 CFR 120.22 - Technical assistance agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Technical assistance agreement. 120.22 Section... DEFINITIONS § 120.22 Technical assistance agreement. An agreement (e.g., contract) for the performance of a... license to manufacture defense articles. Assembly of defense articles is included under this section...

  6. WASP (Write a Scientific Paper) using Excel - 8: t-Tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grech, Victor

    2018-06-01

    t-Testing is a common component of inferential statistics when comparing two means. This paper explains the central limit theorem and the concept of the null hypothesis as well as types of errors. On the practical side, this paper outlines how different t-tests may be performed in Microsoft Excel, for different purposes, both statically as well as dynamically, with Excel's functions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Creating an Excellence Oriented Post-merged Organisational ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article specifically focuses on the importance of a structured approach to the implementation of employee engagement strategies in creating a post-merged organisational culture of excellent work performance. Theoretical insights from existing literature illustrate how a structured approach to the implementation of ...

  8. Marketing and branding your Centers of Excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrod, K G

    2001-01-01

    Branding your Centers of Excellence requires more than simply advertising. Developing a strong brand involves completing your due diligence. Adequate reparation and strategic planning will help your organization successfully navigate looming pitfalls, overcome competitive pressures, and make a direct hit with physicians and consumers.

  9. 25 CFR 225.33 - Assignment of minerals agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Assignment of minerals agreements. 225.33 Section 225.33 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ENERGY AND MINERALS OIL AND GAS, GEOTHERMAL, AND SOLID MINERALS AGREEMENTS Minerals Agreements § 225.33 Assignment of minerals agreements. An...

  10. 12 CFR 346.6 - Disclosure of covered agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... POLICY DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS § 346.6 Disclosure of covered agreements. (a... exceed the cost of copying and mailing the agreement. (7) Use of CRA public file by insured depository... the insured depository institution's CRA public file if the institution makes the agreement available...

  11. The Text of the Safeguards Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between India and the United States of America

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1971-01-01

    The text of the Safeguards Agreement between the Agency, the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America providing for the Agency to apply safeguards in relation to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the civil uses of atomic energy, is reproduced in part I of this document for the information of all Members. The text of the co-operation agreement is reproduced in part II. The Safeguards Agreement entered into force on 27 January 1971

  12. The Text of the Safeguards Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between India and the United States of America

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1971-09-03

    The text of the Safeguards Agreement between the Agency, the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America providing for the Agency to apply safeguards in relation to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the civil uses of atomic energy, is reproduced in part I of this document for the information of all Members. The text of the co-operation agreement is reproduced in part II. The Safeguards Agreement entered into force on 27 January 1971.

  13. Increasing seat belt use through state-level demonstration projects : a compendium of initial findings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-08-01

    This report summarizes the efforts and results from four of six State-level demonstration projects supported with cooperative agreements from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The projects were intended to increase seat belt use sta...

  14. Universities and the Mobilization of Claims of Excellence for Competitive Advantage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wangenge-Ouma, Gerald; Langa, Patricio V.

    2010-01-01

    This study discusses the phenomenon of making claims of excellence by universities, which we interpret as a response, inter alia, to the hitherto unfamiliar context of scarce and diminishing resources. The main objective is to understand how claims of excellence are mobilised by higher education institutions to achieve "competitive advantage". The…

  15. 5 CFR 575.210 - Service agreement requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... agreement must specify that if an employee does not successfully complete the training before the service... employee. (c) The service agreement must specify the total amount of the incentive, the method of paying... incentive, an agency must require the employee to sign a written service agreement to complete a specified...

  16. Name agreement in picture naming : An ERP study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cheng, Xiaorong; Schafer, Graham; Akyürek, Elkan G.

    Name agreement is the extent to which different people agree on a name for a particular picture. Previous studies have found that it takes longer to name low name agreement pictures than high name agreement pictures. To examine the effect of name agreement in the online process of picture naming, we

  17. Team work and collaborative practice agreements among pharmacists and nurse practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, Kylee A; Weaver, Krystalyn K

    The authors share their knowledge about partnering and establishing collaborative practice agreements with nurse practitioners. State laws and regulations were reviewed that affect pharmacists' ability to fully partner with nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners' role in primary care is growing, and, in many states, nurse practitioners practice independently. Collaborative practice agreements (CPAs) enable pharmacists to work with prescribers more efficiently. Pharmacists' and nurse practitioners' scope-of-practice laws and regulations may prevent CPAs between pharmacists and nurse practitioners. State pharmacy practice acts were reviewed to demonstrate which states allow for partnership under a CPA. Pharmacists should consider opportunities to partner more closely with nurse practitioners to provide care, sometimes under a CPA. In states where laws or regulations prevent CPAs between pharmacists and nurse practitioners, pharmacists should advocate for policy change. Copyright © 2018 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. First formal ITER negotiations make excellent progress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnard, P.

    2001-01-01

    November 8 and 9 2001 marked the historic beginning of formal negotiations meetings on the ITER project. Delegations from Canada, the European Union, Japan and the Russian Federation met in Toronto, Canada, for the first in a series of Negotiations that is expected to lead, by the end of 2002, to an agreement on the joint implementation of ITER. This agreement will govern, under international law, the construction, operation and decommissioning of ITER. The Negotiations concluded by issuing a joint news release, reflecting a commitment to share the progress reports on the efforts to implement ITER

  19. Hotel shows health system keys to service excellence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-08-01

    Ritz-Carlton partnership part of broader program pursuing service excellence. Nearly 600 system leaders will participate in day-long seminars. GE, Harvard serve as strategic partners for ongoing educational efforts.

  20. 29 CFR 215.6 - The Model Agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false The Model Agreement. 215.6 Section 215.6 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor OFFICE OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT STANDARDS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR GUIDELINES, SECTION 5333(b), FEDERAL TRANSIT LAW § 215.6 The Model Agreement. The Model (or National) Agreement mentioned in paragraphs...

  1. Form 6 - gas balancing agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1990-01-01

    In 1988, a special Committee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation undertook a project to draft a model from gas balancing agreement. This project was initiated at the request of a number of Foundation members who felt that a model form gas balancing agreement would facilitate the negotiation of operating agreement, since gas balancing issues had become sticking points in the process. The Committee was composed of attorneys representing a wide cross-section of the oil and gas industry including both major and independent oil companies, production companies with interstate pipeline affiliates, and private practitioners. The Committee attempted to address the more controversial issues in gas balancing with optional provisions in the Form. To facilitate the negotiation process, the number of optional provisions was minimized. This form may be used as an Appendix to the new A.A.P.L. Form 610-1989 Model Form Operating Agreement. This book includes provision of this Form which are: Ownership of gas production; Balancing of production accounts; Cash balancing upon depletion; Deliverability tests; Nominations; Statements; Payment of taxes; Operating expenses; Overproducing allowable; Payment of leasehold burdens; Operator's liability; Successors and assigns; Audits; Arbitration; and Operator's fees

  2. MR imaging of silicone breast implants: evaluation of prospective and retrospective interpretations and interobserver agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, S F; Neubauer, N M; Sheley, R C; Demlow, T A; Szumowski, J

    1996-01-01

    MR imaging was used to evaluate the integrity of silicone breast implants in 54 women with 108 implants. MR images were interpreted by relatively inexperienced readers who tried to reproduce the experiences reported in the literature. The study examines the interobserver agreement using different diagnostic signs and the influence of experience on interpretation errors. Prospective and retrospective interpretations were compared with surgical findings at the time of explanation. Diagnostic indicators, including the linguine sign, the inverted tear drop sign, the C sign, water droplets mixed with silicone, and extracapsular globules of silicone, were evaluated for diagnostic efficacy and interobserver agreement. The prospective sensitivity and specificity were 87% and 78%, respectively. With the retrospective interpretations, the sensitivity and specificity increased to 93% and 92%, respectively. Most of the prospective false-positive interpretations were due to misinterpreting radial folds as signs of implant rupture. Six implants interpreted retrospectively as false positives had gross amounts of silicone around the implants at surgery but there were no obvious rents in the implant shells. There was fair to excellent interobserver agreement with the individual diagnostic signs except for extracapsular globules of silicone. All of the signs had specificities of greater than 90%. The sensitivities of the individual signs were less than the overall retrospective sensitivity. With experience, the sensitivity improved from 87% to 93% and the specificity improved from 78% to 92%. This study helps substantiate the use of diagnostic signs used by other authors to detect silicone loss from breast implants by MR imaging; however, questions remain as to the clinical role of MR imaging in evaluating implants for silicone loss.

  3. The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Pakistan and Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1969-11-13

    The text of the Safeguard Transfer Agreement between Pakistan, Canada and the Agency relating to the agreement of 14 May 1959 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members.

  4. The Text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between France and Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1973-01-01

    The text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, France and Japan relating to the agreement of 26 February 1972 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy is reproduced in this document for the information or all Members

  5. The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Pakistan and Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1969-01-01

    The text of the Safeguard Transfer Agreement between Pakistan, Canada and the Agency relating to the agreement of 14 May 1959 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members

  6. The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Canada and Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1966-01-01

    The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Canada and Japan relating to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members

  7. The Text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between France and Japan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1973-01-31

    The text of a Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, France and Japan relating to the agreement of 26 February 1972 between the two Governments for co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy is reproduced in this document for the information or all Members.

  8. 47 CFR 73.1650 - International agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Agreements for the Broadcasting Service in Region 2: (i) MF Broadcasting 535-1605 kHz, Rio de Janeiro, 1981. (ii) MF Broadcasting 1605-1705 kHz, Rio de Janeiro, 1988. (3) Bi-lateral Agreements between the United...

  9. The Plasma Hearth Process demonstration project for mixed waste treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geimer, R.; Dwight, C.; McClellan, G.

    1994-01-01

    The Plasma Hearth Process (PHP) demonstration project is one of the key technology projects in the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Development (OTD) Mixed Waste Integrated Program (MWIP). Testing to date has yielded encouraging results in displaying potential applications for the PHP technology. Early tests have shown that a wide range of waste materials can be readily processed in the PHP and converted to a vitreous product. Waste materials can be treated in their original container as received at the treatment facility, without pretreatment. The vitreous product, when cooled, exhibits excellent performance in leach resistance, consistently exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) requirements. Performance of the Demonstration System during test operations has been shown to meet emission requirements. An accelerated development phase, being conducted at both bench- and pilot-scale on both nonradioactive and radioactive materials, will confirm the viability of the process. It is anticipated that, as a result of this accelerated technology development and demonstration phase, the PHP will be ready for a final field-level demonstration within three years

  10. OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE – A KEY TO WORLD-CLASS BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

    OpenAIRE

    NĂFTĂNĂILĂ Ion; RADU Cătălina; CIOANĂ Georgiana

    2013-01-01

    Continuous improvement implies a focus on solving a series of quality problems, reducing inventories, eliminating waste and increasing productivity. However, it is clear that being lean, cost-effective and of high quality is not enough and it does not guarantee the growth of any business. This paper aims to highlight the importance of operational excellence, which is a concept referring to an effective focus on customers in order to achieve excellence at business level.

  11. Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence for Translational Diagnostics

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence for Translational Diagnostics, which forms the third cycle CCNE Program at Stanford University, is a consortium that has three highly synchronized Projects and three Cores.

  12. The text of the third agreement to extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA). Extension of agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    The text of the Third Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology, 'the 1987 RCA', is reproduced herein for the information of all Members. Pursuant to Article 1 of the Third Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Co-operative Agreement, the 1987 RCA shall continue in force for a further period of five years with effect from 12 June 2002, i.e., through 11 June 2007. As of 15 May 2002, notifications of acceptance had been received by the Director General from the Governments of Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. The latest status list is attached

  13. Power sales contract/energy supply agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wallace, R.B.

    1999-01-01

    The factors involved in negotiating power purchase/sales arrangements in Ontario's newly deregulated electricity market are described, and the ways in which they will evolve in the future are predicted. Indications are that the trends that will govern the changes in the electric power industry will be the same as those that existed in the natural gas industry. For this reason, a comparative evaluation of purchase and sale agreements in the two industries was provided. Traditional power purchase arrangements, including requests for proposals, the seller's response, the memorandum of understanding, and the principal terms of a traditional bilateral power purchase agreement were examined. The author predicted that over time, and probably fairly fast in power pool jurisdictions, the traditional power purchase agreement will give way to the concept of energy as a pure commodity and to a standard form of agreement. 1 appendix

  14. Stepping up Information Infrastructures and Statistical Reporting: Monitoring the German Excellence Initiative

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reinhold, A.

    2016-07-01

    The Excellence Initiative has not only been the most prominent funding scheme in German research policy in recent years, but has also had important side effects on research management. This paper argues that the Excellence Initiative was indeed a “boost” for improving the data infrastructure and statistical reporting of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). The learning effects are now transferred to the line business and serve as a good starting point for the reporting on a potential third phase of the Excellence Initiative. (Author)

  15. 14 CFR 372.24 - Surety bond, depository agreement, escrow agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... (2) which is listed in Best's Insurance Reports (fire and casualty) with a general policyholders... surety to any charter participant shall not exceed the charter operator's applicable tariff fare. Such... not exceed the charter operator's applicable tariff fare; and (ii) Enter into an agreement with a bank...

  16. 12 CFR 207.5 - Related agreements considered a single agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... RESERVE SYSTEM DISCLOSURE AND REPORTING OF CRA-RELATED AGREEMENTS (REGULATION G) § 207.5 Related... of the CRA. (b) Substantively related contracts. All written contracts to which an insured depository... each such contract is in fulfillment of the CRA, if the contracts were negotiated in a coordinated...

  17. 7 CFR 3021.620 - Cooperative agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GOVERNMENTWIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) Definitions § 3021.620 Cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreement means an award of financial assistance...

  18. Symmetrized complex amplitudes for He double photoionization from the time-dependent close coupling and exterior complex scaling methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horner, D.A.; Colgan, J.; Martin, F.; McCurdy, C.W.; Pindzola, M.S.; Rescigno, T.N.

    2004-01-01

    Symmetrized complex amplitudes for the double photoionization of helium are computed by the time-dependent close-coupling and exterior complex scaling methods, and it is demonstrated that both methods are capable of the direct calculation of these amplitudes. The results are found to be in excellent agreement with each other and in very good agreement with results of other ab initio methods and experiment

  19. Production sharing agreements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    This paper, which was presented at the Production Sharing Agreement seminar, discusses economic rent, negotiations, trends in fiscal system development, and concessionary systems. Production sharing contracts, risk service contracts, joint ventures and the global market are examined. (UK)

  20. Agreement analysis comparing iPad LCVA and Sloan testing in multiple sclerosis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sattarnezhad, Neda; Farrow, Samantha; Kimbrough, Dorlan; Glanz, Bonnie; Healy, Brian; Chitnis, Tanuja

    2017-06-01

    Visual symptoms are common in multiple sclerosis (MS). Low-contrast visual acuity (LCVA) testing using Sloan charts has demonstrated increased sensitivity for visual deficits compared to high-contrast acuity testing. Computerized testing of visual acuity may facilitate use in the clinic setting. To evaluate the agreement between an iPad-based and Sloan testing of LCVA in a cohort of MS patients. A total of 38 patients with relapsing-remitting MS were enrolled after providing informed written consent at Partners MS Center, Brigham and Women's hospital. Monocular LCVA was measured using retroilluminated Sloan chart and iPad-based LogMAR chart. Number of correct letters and agreement between two measurements were assessed for each eye using Bland-Altman analysis and paired t-test. For both eyes, there was no significant difference in number correct between the two measurements using a paired t-test, and there was high correlation between two measurements (oculus dextrus (OD) r = 0.89, p iPad-based LCVA test shows good agreement with Sloan testing in MS patients.

  1. Excel 2016 for educational and psychological statistics a guide to solving practical problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2016-01-01

    This book shows the capabilities of Microsoft Excel in teaching educational and psychological statistics effectively. Similar to the previously published Excel 2013 for Educational and Psychological Statistics, this book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical education and psychology problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in education and psychology courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2016 for Educational and Psychological Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and man...

  2. The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Denmark and the United Kingdom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1965-01-01

    The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Denmark and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland relating to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. This Safeguards Transfer Agreement was signed and entered into force on 23 June 1965

  3. The Text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement relating to the Bilateral Agreement between Denmark and the United Kingdom

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1965-07-23

    The text of the Safeguards Transfer Agreement between the Agency, Denmark and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland relating to the agreement between those Governments concerning co-operation in the promotion and development of the peaceful uses of atomic energy is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members. This Safeguards Transfer Agreement was signed and entered into force on 23 June 1965.

  4. 48 CFR 18.118 - Trade agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Trade agreements. 18.118 Section 18.118 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES EMERGENCY ACQUISITIONS Available Acquisition Flexibilities 18.118 Trade agreements...

  5. MELTS_Excel: A Microsoft Excel-based MELTS interface for research and teaching of magma properties and evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gualda, Guilherme A. R.; Ghiorso, Mark S.

    2015-01-01

    thermodynamic modeling software MELTS is a powerful tool for investigating crystallization and melting in natural magmatic systems. Rhyolite-MELTS is a recalibration of MELTS that better captures the evolution of silicic magmas in the upper crust. The current interface of rhyolite-MELTS, while flexible, can be somewhat cumbersome for the novice. We present a new interface that uses web services consumed by a VBA backend in Microsoft Excel©. The interface is contained within a macro-enabled workbook, where the user can insert the model input information and initiate computations that are executed on a central server at OFM Research. Results of simple calculations are shown immediately within the interface itself. It is also possible to combine a sequence of calculations into an evolutionary path; the user can input starting and ending temperatures and pressures, temperature and pressure steps, and the prevailing oxidation conditions. The program shows partial updates at every step of the computations; at the conclusion of the calculations, a series of data sheets and diagrams are created in a separate workbook, which can be saved independently of the interface. Additionally, the user can specify a grid of temperatures and pressures and calculate a phase diagram showing the conditions at which different phases are present. The interface can be used to apply the rhyolite-MELTS geobarometer. We demonstrate applications of the interface using an example early-erupted Bishop Tuff composition. The interface is simple to use and flexible, but it requires an internet connection. The interface is distributed for free from http://melts.ofm-research.org.

  6. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling using microsoft excel and visual basic for applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marino, Dale J

    2005-01-01

    Abstract Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models are mathematical descriptions depicting the relationship between external exposure and internal dose. These models have found great utility for interspecies extrapolation. However, specialized computer software packages, which are not widely distributed, have typically been used for model development and utilization. A few physiological models have been reported using more widely available software packages (e.g., Microsoft Excel), but these tend to include less complex processes and dose metrics. To ascertain the capability of Microsoft Excel and Visual Basis for Applications (VBA) for PBPK modeling, models for styrene, vinyl chloride, and methylene chloride were coded in Advanced Continuous Simulation Language (ACSL), Excel, and VBA, and simulation results were compared. For styrene, differences between ACSL and Excel or VBA compartment concentrations and rates of change were less than +/-7.5E-10 using the same numerical integration technique and time step. Differences using VBA fixed step or ACSL Gear's methods were generally Excel and VBA PBPK model dose metrics differed by no more than -0.013% or -0.23%, respectively, from ACSL results. These differences are likely attributable to different step sizes rather than different numerical integration techniques. These results indicate that Microsoft Excel and VBA can be useful tools for utilizing PBPK models, and given the availability of these software programs, it is hoped that this effort will help facilitate the use and investigation of PBPK modeling.

  7. A framework for nuclear agreement and verification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, A.

    1991-01-01

    This chapter assesses the prospects for a nuclear agreement between India and Pakistan. The chapter opens with a review of past and present political environments of the two countries. The discussion proceeds to describe the linkage of global arms control agreements, prospects for verification of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the role of nuclear power in any agreements, the intrusiveness of verification, and possible post-proliferation agreements. Various monitoring and verification technologies are described (mainly satellite oriented). The chapter concludes with an analysis of the likelihood of persuading India and Pakistan to agree to a nonproliferation arrangement

  8. Excel 2013 for business statistics a guide to solving practical business problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2015-01-01

    This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel to teach business statistics effectively.  It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical business problems.  If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you.  Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in business courses.  Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past.  However, Excel 2013 for Business Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work.                                �...

  9. The nature of excellent clinicians at an academic health science center: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahant, Sanjay; Jovcevska, Vesna; Wadhwa, Anupma

    2012-12-01

    To understand the nature of excellent clinicians at an academic health science center by exploring how and why excellent clinicians achieve high performance. From 2008 to 2010, the authors conducted a qualitative study using a grounded theory approach. Members of the Clinical Advisory Committee in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto nominated peers whom they saw as excellent clinicians. The authors then conducted in-depth interviews with the most frequently nominated clinicians. They audio-recorded and transcribed the interviews and coded the transcripts to identify emergent themes. From interviews with 13 peer-nominated, excellent clinicians, a model emerged. Dominant themes fell into three categories: (1) core philosophy, (2) deliberate activities, and (3) everyday practice. Excellent clinicians are driven by a core philosophy defined by high intrinsic motivation and passion for patient care and humility. They refine their clinical skills through two deliberate activities-reflective clinical practice and scholarship. Their high performance in everyday practice is characterized by clinical skills and cognitive ability, people skills, engagement, and adaptability. A rich theory emerged explaining how excellent clinicians, driven by a core philosophy and engaged in deliberate activities, achieve high performance in everyday practice. This theory of the nature of excellent clinicians provides a holistic perspective of individual performance, informs medical education, supports faculty career development, and promotes clinical excellence in the culture of academic medicine.

  10. Surface Spectroscopy Center Of Excellence Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooden, Diane

    2014-01-01

    We propose to develop a national center of excellence in Regolith Radiative Transfer (RRT), i.e., in modeling spectral reflectivity and emissivity of grainy or structured surfaces. The focus is the regime where the structural elements of grainy surfaces have grain sizes and separations of tens of microns, comparable to the wavelengths carrying diagnostic compositional information. This regime is of fundamental interest to remote sensing of planetary and terrestrial surfaces.

  11. Excel-based scheduling for reallocation of nursing staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-10-19

    Outi Annelli Tuominen and colleagues write in Nursing Management about the use of an Excel-based scheduling system for reallocation of nursing staff, which was trialled on ward managers and assistant ward managers.

  12. Commercial-Scale Demonstration of the Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH(TM)) Process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1996-12-31

    The Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH(TM)) Demonstration Project at Kingsport, Tennessee, is a $213.7 million cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Air Products Liquid Phase Conversion Company, L.P. (the Partnership). The LPMEOIWM Process Demonstration Unit is being built at a site located at the Eastman Chemical Company (Eastman) complex in Kingsport. During this quarter, the Cooperative Agreement was modified (Mod AO11) on 8 October 1996, authorizing the transition born Budget Period No. 2 (Design and Construction) to the . final Budget Period (Commissioning, Start-up, and Operation), A draft Topical Report on Process Economics Studies concludes that methanol coproduction with integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) electric power utilizing the LPMEOW process technology, will be competitive in serving local market needs. Planning for a proof-of- concept test run of the liquid phase dimethyl ether (DME) process at the LaPorte Alternative Fuels Development Unit (AFDU) was recommended; and a deeision to proceed is pending. Construction (Task 2.2) is 97'Mo complete, asof31 December 1996. Completion of pipe pressure testing has taken longer than expected. This will delay completion of construction by about three weeks. Commissioning activities (Task 2.3) commenced in mid-October of 1996, and the demonstration unit is scheduled to be mechanically complete on 24 January 1997.

  13. Excel 2007 for Business Statistics A Guide to Solving Practical Business Problems

    CERN Document Server

    Quirk, Thomas J

    2012-01-01

    This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel to teach business statistics effectively. It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical business problems. If understanding statistics isn't your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in business courses. Its powerful computat

  14. Performance management excellence among the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Winners in Health Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duarte, Neville T; Goodson, Jane R; Arnold, Edwin W

    2013-01-01

    When carefully constructed, performance management systems can help health care organizations direct their efforts toward strategic goals, high performance, and continuous improvement needed to ensure high-quality patient care and cost control. The effective management of performance is an integral component in hospital and health care systems that are recognized for excellence by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in Health Care. Using the framework in the 2011-2012 Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence, this article identifies the best practices in performance management demonstrated by 15 Baldrige recipients. The results show that all of the recipients base their performance management systems on strategic goals, outcomes, or competencies that cascade from the organizational to the individual level. At the individual level, each hospital or health system reinforces the strategic direction with performance evaluations of leaders and employees, including the governing board, based on key outcomes and competencies. Leader evaluations consistently include feedback from internal and external stakeholders, creating a culture of information sharing and performance improvement. The hospitals or health care systems also align their reward systems to promote high performance by emphasizing merit and recognition for contributions. Best practices can provide a guide for leaders in other health systems in developing high-performance work systems.

  15. Neutron activation analysis using Excel files and Canberra Genie-2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landsberger, S.; Jackman, K.; Welch, L.

    2005-01-01

    A method for analyzing neutron activated sample data by using Microsoft Excel as the analysis engine has been developed. A simple technique for inputting data is based on report files generated by Canberra's Genie-2000 spectroscopy system but could be easily modified to support other vendors having report formats with consistent text placement. A batch program handles operating an automatic sample changer, acquiring the data, and analyzing the spectrum to create a report of the peak locations and net area. The entire report is then transferred to within an Excel spreadsheet as the source data for neutron activation analysis. Unique Excel templates have been designed, for example, to accommodate short-lived and long-lived isotopes. This process provides a largely integrated solution to NAA while providing the results in an industry standard spreadsheet format. This software is ideally suited for teaching and training purposes. (author)

  16. Demonstrations of Wave Optics (Interference and Diffraction of Light) for Large Audiences Using a Laser and a Multimedia Projector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, Dragia; Nikolov, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    This article presents a new technique for performing most well-known demonstrations of wave optics. Demonstrations which are normally very hard to show to more than a few people can be presented easily to very large audiences with excellent visibility for everyone. The proposed setup is easy to put together and use and can be very useful for…

  17. The content of arbitration agreement: Facultative elements as an instrument for exercising contractual freedom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janićijević Dejan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The content of an arbitration agreement is of great practical importance, given the effect its provisions may have on the rights and interests of the parties in the arbitration proceedings. Beside the mandatory elements, an arbitration agreement may include numerous facultative provisions, where parties express their contractual freedom, limited only by the imperative law and institutional arbitration rules. Even in cases when contractual provisions are contrary to the imperative law, in many states, the policy of maintaining arbitration agreement would result in ignoring the problematic provisions. The list of facultative elements of an arbitration agreement is practically limitless; among other elements, it may include: time limitations on the validity of an arbitration agreement; determinations referring to the composition of the arbitration tribunal; detailed rules pertaining to the procedure, decision-making processes and content of the arbitration award as well as its annulment; provisions on the choice of law; the right of third parties to intervene; joinder, consolidation and the authority of arbitration tribunal to decide as amiable compositeur or ex aequo et bono. The development of international commerce as well as arbitration legislature and practice, featuring transactions of ever-increasing complexity, have brought about the need to establish dispute resolution mechanisms modulated according to their specific characteristics. The customary practice of concluding arbitration agreements in the form of standardized and simple clauses is being challenged by the growing complexity of international trade. Therefore, not only should a modern arbitration agreement clearly demonstrate the parties' intent to submit a dispute to arbitration but it should also conform the arbitration procedure (as much as possible] to the content of the parties' relationship and the dispute that has emerged or may arise thereof.

  18. FFTF Authorization Agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DAUTEL, W.A.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of the Authorization Agreement is to serve as a mechanism whereby the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (RL) and Fluor Hanford (FH) jointly clarify and agree to key conditions for conducting work safely and efficiently

  19. 76 FR 77998 - Market Access Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-15

    ... FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION Market Access Agreement AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION: Notice of approval of the Draft Second Amended and Restated Market Access Agreement. SUMMARY: The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) announces that it has approved the Draft Second Amended and Restated Market...

  20. Low agreement among 24 doctors using the Neer-classification; only moderate agreement on displacement, even between specialists

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brorson, S; Bagger, J; Sylvest, A

    2002-01-01

    Twenty-four orthopaedic surgeons classified 42 pairs of radiographs according to the Neer system for proximal humeral fractures. Mean kappa value for inter-observer agreement was 0.27 (95% CI 0.26-0.28) with no clinically significant difference between orthopaedic residents ( n=9), fellows ( n=6)......) and specialists ( n=9). Mean kappa for agreement of displacement versus non-displacement was 0.41 (95% CI 0.39-0.43) overall, and 0.50 (95% CI 0.45-0.56) within the specialist group. The agreement found in our study is unsatisfactory from a clinical perspective....