WorldWideScience

Sample records for human services final

  1. FEGS at the inflection point: How linking Ecosystem Services to Human Benefit improves management of coastal ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) are the connection between the ecosystem resources and human stakeholders that benefit from natural capital. The FEGS concept is an extension of the ecosystem services (ES) concept (e.g., Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) and results from...

  2. Work-related threats and violence in human service sectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lars Peter Sønderbo; Hogh, Annie; Biering, Karin

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Threats and violence at work are major concerns for employees in many human service sectors. The prevention of work-related violence is a major challenge for employees and management. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify prospective associations between psycho-social w......BACKGROUND: Threats and violence at work are major concerns for employees in many human service sectors. The prevention of work-related violence is a major challenge for employees and management. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify prospective associations between psycho...... rewards at work, low role clarity, many role conflicts, many work-family conflicts and low organizational justice had statistically significant associations with high levels of work-related threats. Furthermore, high emotional demands, low predictability, low role clarity, many role conflicts, many work......-family conflicts, low supervisor quality and low support from nearest supervisor had statistically significant associations with high levels of work-related violence. Finally, across the four sectors both similar and different associations between psycho-social work environment and work-related violence...

  3. 75 FR 53786 - Senior Community Service Employment Program; Final Rule

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-01

    ... Part IV Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration 20 CFR Part 641 Senior... Administration 20 CFR Part 641 RIN 1205-AB48 and RIN 1205-AB47 Senior Community Service Employment Program; Final... implement changes in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) resulting from the 2006...

  4. Final Environmental Planning Technical Report. Public Services and Facilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-06-01

    Start, coordinates the federal commodities food distribution program for low-income people, and maintains an updated human service resource manual for...organization also publishes a comprehensive resource manual on social services in Laramie County. One-to-One Tutoring provides volunteers to tutor...services by other organizacions . eoresent the total OOr-lati:n. Rate of volunteer ans •" ;rowth is forecast as follcs..: 1983 z 70.467, half tine green

  5. LYNX community advocacy & service engagement (CASE) project final report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-05-14

    This report is a final assessment of the Community Advocacy & Service Engagement (CASE) project, a LYNX-FTA research project designed : to study transit education and public engagement methods in Central Florida. In the Orlando area, as in other part...

  6. Linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services for public policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Christina P; Jiang, Bo; Kinzig, Ann P; Lee, Kai N; Ouyang, Zhiyun

    2015-01-01

    Governments worldwide are recognising ecosystem services as an approach to address sustainability challenges. Decision-makers need credible and legitimate measurements of ecosystem services to evaluate decisions for trade-offs to make wise choices. Managers lack these measurements because of a data gap linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services. The dominant method to address the data gap is benefit transfer using ecological data from one location to estimate ecosystem services at other locations with similar land cover. However, benefit transfer is only valid once the data gap is adequately resolved. Disciplinary frames separating ecology from economics and policy have resulted in confusion on concepts and methods preventing progress on the data gap. In this study, we present a 10-step approach to unify concepts, methods and data from the disparate disciplines to offer guidance on overcoming the data gap. We suggest: (1) estimate ecosystem characteristics using biophysical models, (2) identify final ecosystem services using endpoints and (3) connect them using ecological production functions to quantify biophysical trade-offs. The guidance is strategic for public policy because analysts need to be: (1) realistic when setting priorities, (2) attentive to timelines to acquire relevant data, given resources and (3) responsive to the needs of decision-makers. PMID:25394857

  7. Human Rights and Health Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skitsou, Alexandra; Bekos, Christos; Charalambous, George

    2016-01-01

    Background: It has been observed that health services provided to certain patients in Cyprus do not fully meet their human rights. Objective: This study was conducted to identify the main shortcomings of the Health System in Cyprus. Methodology: The relevant administrative decisions of the Ombuds......Background: It has been observed that health services provided to certain patients in Cyprus do not fully meet their human rights. Objective: This study was conducted to identify the main shortcomings of the Health System in Cyprus. Methodology: The relevant administrative decisions...... and their families to be essential. Conclusions: The paper concludes that implementing guidelines in accordance with international best practices, the establishment of at-home treatment and nursing facilities, counseling the mentally ill in a way that promotes their social integration and occupational rehabilitation......, ongoing education of health professionals along with relevant education of the community and the broad application of triage in the emergency departments will all contribute to delivering health services more effectively. Keywords: Cyprus, health services, patient rights...

  8. Linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services for public policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Christina P; Jiang, Bo; Kinzig, Ann P; Lee, Kai N; Ouyang, Zhiyun

    2015-01-01

    Governments worldwide are recognising ecosystem services as an approach to address sustainability challenges. Decision-makers need credible and legitimate measurements of ecosystem services to evaluate decisions for trade-offs to make wise choices. Managers lack these measurements because of a data gap linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services. The dominant method to address the data gap is benefit transfer using ecological data from one location to estimate ecosystem services at other locations with similar land cover. However, benefit transfer is only valid once the data gap is adequately resolved. Disciplinary frames separating ecology from economics and policy have resulted in confusion on concepts and methods preventing progress on the data gap. In this study, we present a 10-step approach to unify concepts, methods and data from the disparate disciplines to offer guidance on overcoming the data gap. We suggest: (1) estimate ecosystem characteristics using biophysical models, (2) identify final ecosystem services using endpoints and (3) connect them using ecological production functions to quantify biophysical trade-offs. The guidance is strategic for public policy because analysts need to be: (1) realistic when setting priorities, (2) attentive to timelines to acquire relevant data, given resources and (3) responsive to the needs of decision-makers. © 2014 The Authors. Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and CNRS.

  9. Practical Strategies for Integrating Final Ecosystem Goods and Services into Community Decision-Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    The concept of Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS) explicitly connects ecosystem services to the people that benefit from them. This report presents a number of practical strategies for incorporating FEGS, and more broadly ecosystem services, into the decision-making proces...

  10. 75 FR 4451 - Financial Management Service; Proposed Collection of Information: Final Rule-Management of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Fiscal Service Financial Management Service; Proposed Collection of Information: Final Rule--Management of Federal Agency Disbursements. AGENCY: Financial Management Service, Fiscal Service, Treasury. ACTION: Notice and Request for comments. SUMMARY: The Financial Management...

  11. 49 CFR 604.7 - Qualified human service organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Qualified human service organizations. 604.7... organizations. (a) A recipient may provide charter service to a qualified human service organization (QHSO) for... disabilities; or (3) With low income. (b) If an organization serving persons described in paragraph (a) of this...

  12. A Revisit to the Impacts of Land Use Changes on the Human Wellbeing via Altering the Ecosystem Provisioning Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiangzheng Deng

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available It is widely acknowledged that land use changes (LUC associated with climate variations are affecting the human wellbeing. This paper conducted a revisit to relevant researches on the impacts of LUC on human wellbeing via specifically altering the ecosystem provisioning services. First, the explorations on the influences of LUC on ecosystem provisioning services were reviewed, including the researches on the influences of LUC on agroecosystem services and forest and/or grassland ecosystem services. Then the quantitative identification of the impacts of LUC on ecosystem provisioning services was commented on. In the light of enhanced observation and valuation methods, several approaches to ecosystem services and improved models for assessing those ecosystem services were assessed. The major indicators used to uncover the influences of LUC on human wellbeing were summarized including the increase of inputs and the reduction of outputs in production and the augmented health risk induced by the irrational land uses. Finally, this paper uncovered the research gaps and proposed several research directions to address these gaps.

  13. Critical Studies on Integrating Land-Use Induced Effects on Climate Regulation Services into Impact Assessment for Human Well-Being

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhihui Li

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available It is commonly acknowledged that land use changes (LUC and climate changes have exerted significant effects on ecosystem services which are essential and vital to human well-being. Among all the services provided by ecosystem, climate regulation services are relatively sensitive to LUC and climate changes. This study aims to comprehensively review studies on the complex effects of LUC and climate changes on climate regulation services and further integrates the effects on climate regulation services into impact assessment for human well-being. In this study, we firstly introduced research efforts in which the drivers of and their corresponding effects on climate regulation services are briefly identified. Then, we explicitly reviewed the researches on the effects of LUC and climate changes on climate regulation services, especially focused on the certain methods and models used to quantify the effects on the major drivers of climate regulation services. After that, the effects of LUC and climate changes on human well-being via climate regulation services were revisited and commented accordingly. Finally, this paper discussed the current research gaps and proposed some research prospects in future studies.

  14. 76 FR 13329 - Reinstatement of Coverage Pertaining to Final Payment Under Construction and Building Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-11

    ...] RIN 3090-AJ13 Reinstatement of Coverage Pertaining to Final Payment Under Construction and Building.... SUMMARY: GSA is proposing to amend the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to amend the GSAR to restore guidance on making final payments under construction and building service...

  15. Awareness and Use of Social Bookmarking Services by Final Year ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Web is now more interactive than ever before. So many ... To assess the use of social bookmarking services by the final year students of Afe .... Delicious, developed in 2003 is perhaps the best known currently of all such tools (Lund et al,.

  16. 78 FR 25454 - Issuance of Final Guidance Publication

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-01

    ... NIOSH-161-A] Issuance of Final Guidance Publication AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety... Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of issuance of final guidance publication. SUMMARY: The National...), announces the availability of the following publication: ``NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 65...

  17. 76 FR 22106 - Issuance of Final Guidance Publication

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-20

    ... NIOSH-033] Issuance of Final Guidance Publication AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and... Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of issuance of final guidance publication. SUMMARY: The... (CDC) announces the availability of the following publication: NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 63...

  18. 78 FR 78963 - Issuance of Final Guidance Publication

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-27

    ... CDC-2013-0001, NIOSH 134-B] Issuance of Final Guidance Publication AGENCY: National Institute for... Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of issuance of final guidance publication. SUMMARY: The... Prevention (CDC), announces the availability of the following publication: ``Protecting the Nanotechnology...

  19. Special Feature: Ethical Standards of Human Service Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Human Service Education: A Journal of the National Organization for Human Service Education, 1996

    1996-01-01

    Describes a code of ethics that reflects the unique history of the human service profession. Provides a definition for human services and gives guidelines in meeting responsibility to clients, to the community and society, and to colleagues. Also provides statements guiding responsibility to the profession, to employers, and to self. (RJM)

  20. [Ecosystem services supply and consumption and their relationships with human well-being].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Da-Shang; Zheng, Hua; Ouyang, Zhi-Yun

    2013-06-01

    Sustainable ecosystem services supply is the basis of regional sustainable development, and human beings can satisfy and improve their well-being through ecosystem services consumption. To understand the relationships between ecosystem services supply and consumption and human well-being is of vital importance for coordinating the relationships between the conservation of ecosystem services and the improvement of human well-being. This paper summarized the diversity, complexity, and regionality of ecosystem services supply, the diversity and indispensability of ecosystem services consumption, and the multi-dimension, regionality, and various evaluation indices of human well-being, analyzed the uncertainty and multi-scale correlations between ecosystem services supply and consumption, and elaborated the feedback and asynchronous relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being. Some further research directions for the relationships between ecosystem services supply and consumption and human well-being were recommended.

  1. Preface: Ecosystem services, ecosystem health and human communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plag, Hans-Peter

    2018-04-01

    This special issue contains a collection of manuscripts that were originally intended to be included in the special issue on "Physics and Economics of Ecosystem Services Flows" (Volume 101, guest editors H. Su, J. Dong and S. Nagarajan) and "Biogeochemical Processes in the Changing Wetland Environment" (Volume 103, guest editors J. Bai, L. Huang and H. Gao). All of them are addressing issues related to ecosystem services in different settings. Ecosystem services are of high value for both the ecosystems and human communities, and understanding the impacts of environmental processes and human activities on ecosystems is of fundamental importance for the preservation of these services.

  2. Similarity or dissimilarity in the relations between human service organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruynooghe, Kevin; Verhaeghe, Mieke; Bracke, Piet

    2008-01-01

    Exchange theory and homophily theory give rise to counteracting expectations for the interaction between human service organizations. Based on arguments of exchange theory, more interaction is expected between dissimilar organizations having complementary resources. Based on arguments of homophily theory, organizations having similar characteristics are expected to interact more. Interorganizational relations between human service organizations in two regional networks in Flanders are examined in this study. Results indicate that human service organizations tend to cooperate more with similar organizations as several homophily effects but not one effect of dissimilarity were found to be significant. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of interorganizational networks of human service organizations and have implications for the development of integrated care.

  3. Neoliberalism and human services: threat and innovation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swenson, S

    2008-07-01

    The turn to neoliberalism in welfare policy suggests that human services need to be based on a market approach. The problem with this suggestion is that it presupposes marketing information such that service providers can market their services for identified client needs. In the field of intellectual disability (ID) services this type of information is not available. The method is a reflective analysis of the key presupposition of a market-orientated approach to disability services, namely that service providers know who needs what. Using insights from marketing theory the paper engages in a reflective thought experiment to lay out the intricacies of this presupposition. The analysis results in an argument regarding the validation of a market-based approach to disability services. First, this approach has its limits in view of the question of whether the specific and atypical needs of people with ID, as well as their financial position as potential consumers constitute a market. Second, the approach has limited validity both in view of the ability of people with ID to act as consumers, and of the restrictions imposed upon them by the eligibility criteria for welfare and support programmes. A market-based approach to disability services and supports can be helpful to spur innovation and further political and philosophical inquiry in human services, but the neoliberal optimism about the market as the only successful mechanism for service distribution is misplaced.

  4. Expressive Writing: Enhancing the Emotional Intelligence of Human Services Majors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo, Yuleinys; Fischer, Jerome M.

    2017-01-01

    The skills and tasks in the human services field are highly connected to emotional intelligence abilities. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of an expressive writing program involving human service students in an undergraduate rehabilitation services course. The program was developed to enhance their emotional intelligence.…

  5. 75 FR 37812 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... and Human Services (HHS) gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a...

  6. Design strategies for human relations in services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Snelders, H.M.J.J.; Perik, E.M.; Secomandi, F.

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates the degree of control that designers might have over human relations in services. For this purpose, a number of speculative service designs were devised to address work-related stress. We focus on three of the generated designs, where design interventions have made changes to

  7. Human Resources Management and Service Delivery in Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper represents essentially an attempt to analyse and comprehend the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in effective service delivery in Nigeria. The paper advocates that the revamping and transformation of the Nigerian Civil Service to render effective service to the public lies not in the continuous ...

  8. Outsourcing HR Services: The Role of Human Resource Intermediaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kock, Henrik; Wallo, Andreas; Nilsson, Barbro; Hoglund, Cecilia

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: In this article, the area of interest is an emerging type of organisation called human resource intermediaries (HRIs), which focus on delivering human resource (HR) services to public sector organisations and private companies. The purpose of this article is, thus, to explore HRIs as deliverers of HR services. More specifically, the…

  9. Elasticity in ecosystem services: exploring the variable relationship between ecosystems and human well-being

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tim M. Daw

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Although ecosystem services are increasingly recognized as benefits people obtain from nature, we still have a poor understanding of how they actually enhance multidimensional human well-being, and how well-being is affected by ecosystem change. We develop a concept of "ecosystem service elasticity" (ES elasticity that describes the sensitivity of human well-being to changes in ecosystems. ES Elasticity is a result of complex social and ecological dynamics and is context dependent, individually variable, and likely to demonstrate nonlinear dynamics such as thresholds and hysteresis. We present a conceptual framework that unpacks the chain of causality from ecosystem stocks through flows, goods, value, and shares to contribute to the well-being of different people. This framework builds on previous conceptualizations, but places multidimensional well-being of different people as the final element. This ultimately disaggregated approach emphasizes how different people access benefits and how benefits match their needs or aspirations. Applying this framework to case studies of individual coastal ecosystem services in East Africa illustrates a wide range of social and ecological factors that can affect ES elasticity. For example, food web and habitat dynamics affect the sensitivity of different fisheries ecosystem services to ecological change. Meanwhile high cultural significance, or lack of alternatives enhance ES elasticity, while social mechanisms that prevent access can reduce elasticity. Mapping out how chains are interlinked illustrates how different types of value and the well-being of different people are linked to each other and to common ecological stocks. We suggest that examining chains for individual ecosystem services can suggest potential interventions aimed at poverty alleviation and sustainable ecosystems while mapping out of interlinkages between chains can help to identify possible ecosystem service trade-offs and winners and

  10. Perceptions of Human Services Students about Social Change Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herzberg, Judith T.

    2010-01-01

    Human services educators and scholars maintain that they are teaching social change theory and skills that will allow students to engage in large-scale social change. A review of the literature, from a critical theory perspective, offered little evidence that social change is being taught in human services programs. In this collective case study,…

  11. A Soil Service Index: Potential Soil Services to Society under Scenarios of Human Land Use and Population Growth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hugelius, G.; Ahlström, A.; Loisel, J.; Harden, J. W.

    2017-12-01

    Soils provide numerous and indispensable services to ecological systems and human societies. As human populations and human land use changes, the capacity of soils to maintain these services may also change. To investigate this we provide the first global scale study based on the soil service index (SSI; see presentations by Harden et al. and Loisel et al. in this session for more details). In this index multiple soil services are numerically or quantitatively assessed, normalized to a unit-less scale for purposes of intercomparability. Soil services assessed under the SSI include organic matter and/or organic carbon storage; plant productivity; CO2 or GHG exchange with the atmosphere; water storage capacity; and nutrient storage and/or availability. The SSI may be applied at any scale. Here we present a first global application of the SSI and provide broad-scale analyses of soil service spatial distributions. We assess how the SSI will change under projected changes in human societies populations and human land use (following representative concentration pathway scenarios). Present and future potential utilization and vulnerability of soil resources are analyzed in the context of human population distributions and its projected changes. The SSI is designed to be broadly useful across scientific, governance and resource management organizations. To exemplify this, the parameterization of this is global soil service estimate is based on only open source input data.

  12. Teaching Qualitative Research for Human Services Students: A Three-Phase Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goussinsky, Ruhama; Reshef, Arie; Yanay-Ventura, Galit; Yassour-Borochowitz, Dalit

    2011-01-01

    Qualitative research is an inherent part of the human services profession, since it emphasizes the great and multifaceted complexity characterizing human experience and the sociocultural context in which humans act. In the department of human services at Emek Yezreel College, Israel, we have developed a three-phase model to ensure a relatively…

  13. Humanization of the civil service in the context of the European integration of Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. A. Lyndyuk

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available European integration of Ukraine requires new philosophy of governance modernization and organization, an effective functioning of the civil service system. The urgency of the implementation of humanization approach is a priority for modernization of the national civil service system. The problem of humanization of the civil service in the context of the European integration of Ukraine has been studied in the article. The essence of concepts of «humanism» and «humanization of the civil service» has been considered. Humanism is understood as reflected anthropocentrism, with the human being the object with the highest value. The term «humanization of the civil service» means a deliberate reorientation of the civil service and its objects to recognize a human as an absolute value, «a measure of all things» and to meet the vital needs of society, creating conditions for its full self-realization and ensuring sustainable human development. The civil service must guarantee the security and stability of life and protect rights, freedoms and interests of each individual. Humanization of civil service is also determined as strengthening the rights and freedoms of civil servants, special protection of their dignity and the formation of new humanistic principles of civil service. The features of humanization of the national civil service have been analyzed. It has been found that the human is considered to be the highest value and the content and direction of civil servants activity is determined by ensuring his rights and freedoms. The necessity of changing the priorities of civil service modernization on the basis of humanization, orientation on meeting the needs of human and citizen, as well as creating conditions for closer implementation of national civil service standards to those used in the European Union has been proved. Changes in the philosophy of the civil service of Ukraine should be directed to «serving people», functioning of «service

  14. [Urban ecosystem services: A review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Qi-zheng; Huang, Gan-lin; Wu, Jian-guo

    2015-04-01

    Maintaining and improving ecosystem services in urban areas and human well-being are essential for sustainable development and therefore constitute an important topic in urban ecology. Here we reviewed studies on ecosystem services in urban areas. Based on the concept and classification of urban ecosystem services, we summarized characteristics of urban ecosystem services, including the human domination, high demand of ecosystem services in urban areas, spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics of ecosystem services supply and demand in urban areas, multi-services of urban green infrastructures, the socio-economic dimension of ecosystem services supply and ecosystem disservices in urban areas. Among different urban ecosystem services, the regulating service and cultural service are particularly indispensable to benefit human health. We pointed out that tradeoffs among different types of ecosystem services mostly occur between supportive service and cultural service, as well as regulating service and cultural service. In particular, we emphasized the relationship between landscape design (i.e. green infrastructure) and ecosystem services supply. Finally, we discussed current gaps to link urban ecosystem services studies to landscape design and management and pointed out several directions for future research in urban ecosystem services.

  15. ACB Service Final Closure

    CERN Multimedia

    IT Department

    2004-01-01

    As previously announced in CERN weekly Bulletin 18/2004 of 26 April 2004, and following a discussion at the Desktop Forum on 28 October, the Automatic Call Back (ACB) service will be definitely closed on Friday 10 December 2004. If the ACB phone number is dialed after that date over plain telephone or ISDN, the call will remain unanswered. Therefore, the remaining ACB users are encouraged to switch as soon as possible to ISPs (Internet Service Providers) which provide equivalent or better service. Some suggestions on how to make alternative arrangements have been made available on the Remote Access web site. IT Department

  16. ACB Service Final Closure

    CERN Multimedia

    IT Department

    2004-01-01

    As previously announced in CERN weekly Bulletin 18/2004 of 26th April 2004, and following a discussion at the Desktop Forum on 28th October, the Automatic Call Back (ACB) service will be definitely closed on Friday 10th December 2004. If the ACB phone number is dialed after that date over plain telephone or ISDN, the call will remain unanswered. Therefore, the remaining ACB users are encouraged to switch as soon as possible to ISPs (Internet Service Providers) which provide equivalent or better service. Some suggestions on how to make alternative arrangements have been made available on the Remote Access web site: http://www.cern.ch/ras IT Department

  17. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Taeyang; Lee, Seungji; Seomoon, Eunbi; Kim, Sung-Phil

    2018-01-01

    Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1) followed by extended service name (S2) were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori . The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels ( p service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods.

  18. Human-assisted sound event recognition for home service robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Do, Ha Manh; Sheng, Weihua; Liu, Meiqin

    This paper proposes and implements an open framework of active auditory learning for a home service robot to serve the elderly living alone at home. The framework was developed to realize the various auditory perception capabilities while enabling a remote human operator to involve in the sound event recognition process for elderly care. The home service robot is able to estimate the sound source position and collaborate with the human operator in sound event recognition while protecting the privacy of the elderly. Our experimental results validated the proposed framework and evaluated auditory perception capabilities and human-robot collaboration in sound event recognition.

  19. Intelligent Interaction for Human-Friendly Service Robot in Smart House Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Zenn Bien

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The smart house under consideration is a service-integrated complex system to assist older persons and/or people with disabilities. The primary goal of the system is to achieve independent living by various robotic devices and systems. Such a system is treated as a human-in-the loop system in which human- robot interaction takes place intensely and frequently. Based on our experiences of having designed and implemented a smart house environment, called Intelligent Sweet Home (ISH, we present a framework of realizing human-friendly HRI (human-robot interaction module with various effective techniques of computational intelligence. More specifically, we partition the robotic tasks of HRI module into three groups in consideration of the level of specificity, fuzziness or uncertainty of the context of the system, and present effective interaction method for each case. We first show a task planning algorithm and its architecture to deal with well-structured tasks autonomously by a simplified set of commands of the user instead of inconvenient manual operations. To provide with capability of interacting in a human-friendly way in a fuzzy context, it is proposed that the robot should make use of human bio-signals as input of the HRI module as shown in a hand gesture recognition system, called a soft remote control system. Finally we discuss a probabilistic fuzzy rule-based life-long learning system, equipped with intention reading capability by learning human behavioral patterns, which is introduced as a solution in uncertain and time-varying situations.

  20. Ecosystem services of human-dominated watersheds and land use influences: a case study from the Dianchi Lake watershed in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Ying; Li, Bo; Müller, Felix; Chen, Weiping

    2016-11-01

    Watersheds provide multiple ecosystem services. Ecosystem service assessment is a promising approach to investigate human-environment interaction at the watershed scale. The spatial characteristics of ecosystem services are closely related to land use statuses in human-dominated watersheds. This study aims to investigate the effects of land use on the spatial variations of ecosystem services at the Dianchi Lake watershed in Southwest China. We investigated the spatial variations of six ecosystem services-food supply, net primary productivity (NPP), habitat quality, evapotranspiration, water yield, and nitrogen retention. These services were selected based on their significance at the Dianchi Lake watershed and the availability of their data. The quantification of these services was based on modeling, value transference, and spatial analysis in combination with biophysical and socioeconomic data. Furthermore, we calculated the values of ecosystem services provided by different land use types and quantified the correlations between ecosystem service values and land use area proportions. The results show considerable spatial variations in the six ecosystem services associated with land use influences in the Dianchi Lake watershed. The cropland and forest land use types had predominantly positive influences on food productivity and NPP, respectively. The rural residential area and forest land use types reduced and enhanced habitat quality, respectively; these influences were identical to those of evapotranspiration. Urban area and rural residential area exerted significantly positive influences on water yield. In contrast, water yield was negatively correlated with forest area proportion. Finally, cropland and forest had significantly positive and negative influences, respectively, on nitrogen retention. Our study emphasizes the importance of consideration of the influences from land use composition and distribution on ecosystem services for managing the ecosystems of

  1. Impacts of environment on human diseases: a web service for the human exposome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karssenberg, Derek; Vaartjes, Ilonca; Kamphuis, Carlijn; Strak, Maciek; Schmitz, Oliver; Soenario, Ivan; de Jong, Kor

    2017-04-01

    The exposome is the totality of human environmental exposures from conception onwards. Identifying the contribution of the exposome to human diseases and health is a key issue in health research. Examples include the effect of air pollution exposure on cardiovascular diseases, the impact of disease vectors (mosquitos) and surface hydrology exposure on malaria, and the effect of fast food restaurant exposure on obesity. Essential to health research is to disentangle the effects of the exposome and genome on health. Ultimately this requires quantifying the totality of all human exposures, for each individual in the studied human population. This poses a massive challenge to geoscientists, as environmental data are required at a high spatial and temporal resolution, with a large spatial and temporal coverage representing the area inhabited by the population studied and the time span representing several decades. Then, these data need to be combined with space-time paths of individuals to calculate personal exposures for each individual in the population. The Global and Geo Health Data Centre is taking this challenge by providing a web service capable of enriching population data with exposome information. Our web service can generate environmental information either from archived national (up to 5 m spatial and 1 h temporal resolution) and global environmental information or generated on the fly using environmental models running as microservices. On top of these environmental data services runs an individual exposure service enabling health researchers to select different spatial and temporal aggregation methods and to upload space-time paths of individuals. These are then enriched with personal exposures and eventually returned to the user. We illustrate the service in an example of individual exposures to air pollutants calculated from hyper resolution air pollution data and various approaches to estimate space-time paths of individuals.

  2. Do we have to choose between feeding the human population and conserving nature? Modelling the global dependence of people on ecosystem services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cazalis, Victor; Loreau, Michel; Henderson, Kirsten

    2018-09-01

    The ability of the human population to continue growing depends strongly on the ecosystem services provided by nature. Nature, however, is becoming more and more degraded as the number of individuals increases, which could potentially threaten the future well-being of the human population. We use a dynamic model to conceptualise links between the global proportion of natural habitats and human demography, through four categories of ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, cultural recreational and informational) to investigate the common future of nature and humanity in terms of size and well-being. Our model shows that there is generally a trade-off between the quality of life and human population size and identifies four short-term scenarios, corresponding to three long-term steady states of the model. First, human population could experience declines if nature becomes too degraded and regulating services diminish; second the majority of the population could be in a famine state, where the population continues to grow with minimal food provision. Between these scenarios, a desirable future scenario emerges from the model. It occurs if humans convert enough land to feed all the population, while maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services. Finally, we find a fourth scenario, which combines famine and a decline in the population because of an overexploitation of land leading to a decrease in food production. Human demography is embedded in natural dynamics; the two factors should be considered together if we are to identify a desirable future for both nature and humans. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Research into Flexibility Services. Final Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-03-01

    The Dutch Office for Energy Regulation (DTe) is currently investigating the Dutch gas flexibility market. DTe is concerned that Gasunie is dominant in the market. In order to take a view of Gasunie's market position, DTe needs to first define the market for gas flexibility services and then explore whether Gasunie is dominant in the market (or markets). DTe has commissioned Frontier to undertake the respective formal analysis. This report summarises the findings by Frontier. On the basis of this report and a formal consultation process, We follow a three-step approach to the study: (1) We first define the relevant markets for gas flexibility (Section 3); (2) We then analyse the structure of the markets for flexibility that we have defined (Section 4); (3) Finally, we assess whether Gasunie is dominant in the relevant markets, taking account of market shares and other competitive effects (Section 5). This document is the Final Report, which contains our views as to the market definition for gas flexibility and the position of Gasunie in the market. The remainder of this document is set out as follows: Section 2 provides an overview of aspects of the Dutch gas industry relevant to this study; Section 3 sets out our approach to defining the market and de-Mops our conclusions on the markets for gas flexibility; Section 4 provides our view as to the structure of the relevant flexibility markets as defined in Section 3; Section 5 reports our assessment as to whether Gasunie is dominant in the relevant markets, taking account of market shares and other competitive effects; Section 6 sets out our conclusions about the competitive assessment. We include three annexes that set out details related to the market definition and analysis of dominance

  4. 76 FR 9054 - Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for the AREVA Enrichment Services...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-16

    ... Statement for the AREVA Enrichment Services LLC Proposed Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility in Bonneville County... published the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the AREVA Enrichment Services LLC (AES) Proposed Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility (EREF). On December 30, 2008, AES submitted a license application...

  5. Human Trafficking Identification and Service Provision in the Medical and Social Service Sectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, Corinne; Unruh, Erik; Cronin, Katie; Evans-Simpson, Sarah; Britton, Hannah; Ramaswamy, Megha

    2016-06-01

    The medical sector presents a unique opportunity for identification and service to victims of human trafficking. In this article, we describe local and site-specific efforts to develop an intervention tool to be used in an urban hospital's emergency department in the midwestern United States. In the development of our tool, we focused on both identification and intervention to assist trafficked persons, through a largely collaborative process in which we engaged local stakeholders for developing site-specific points of intervention. In the process of developing our intervention, we highlight the importance of using existing resources and services in a specific community to address critical gaps in coverage for trafficked persons. For example, we focus on those who are victims of labor trafficking, in addition to those who are victims of sex trafficking. We offer a framework informed by rights-based approaches to anti-trafficking efforts that addresses the practical challenges of human trafficking victim identification while simultaneously working to provide resources and disseminate services to those victims.

  6. Industrial Buying Behavior Related to Human Resource Consulting Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grünbaum, Niels Nolsøe; Hollensen, Svend; Kahle, Lynn

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to extend the understanding of the industrial buying process in connection with purchasing professional business (B2B) services, specifically human resource (HR) consulting services. Early B2B buying-behavior literature strongly emphasizes the rational aspects...... of buying behavior in B2B services. Based on a comprehensive exploratory study of Danish companies’ purchases of HR consulting services, the authors provide insights into the factors that determine how Danish companies choose a consulting services supplier. Five hypotheses are developed based...

  7. 21 CFR 640.103 - The final product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... manufacturer by the Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration. [38... 21 Food and Drugs 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false The final product. 640.103 Section 640.103 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) BIOLOGICS...

  8. Natural and human impacts on ecosystem services in Guanzhong - Tianshui economic region of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jing; Zhou, Z X

    2016-04-01

    Due to the accelerated growth of society, the gaps between the capacity of ecosystems to provide services and human needs are steadily widening. Natural, semi-natural, or managed ecosystems had been able to provide ecosystem services to meet the needs of social development. Four agricultural ecosystem services (net primary production (NPP), carbon sequestration and oxygen production (CSOP), water interception, soil conservation and agriculture production) were quantified in Guanzhong-Tianshui economic region. Estimates of ecosystem services were obtained from the analysis of satellite imagery and the use of well-known models. Based on the ecological services in Guanzhong-Tianshui economic region, this study mainly analysed the driving mechanism of the changes from the two aspects of natural drivers and human drivers. Natural drivers (climate, soil, elevation, land cover) had incentive to the ecological services. Human activity was quantified by an integrated human activity index (HAI) based on population density, farmland ratio, and the influence of road networks and residential areas. We found relationships between ecosystem services, human activities and many natural factors, however these varied according to the service studied. Human activities were mostly negatively related to each ecosystem services, while population and residential land ware positively related to agricultural production. Land use change had made a contribution to ecosystem services. Based on the selected ecosystem services and HAI, we provided sustainable ecosystem management suggestions.

  9. Positioning the arts for intervention design research in the human services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moxley, David P; Calligan, Holly Feen

    2015-12-01

    The arts have been integral to the human experience fostering innovation in social arrangements, strengthening group cohesion, and merging esthetics with the utilitarian properties of technology. For intervention design research in the human services the arts can harness innovation and creativity in meeting human needs and addressing social issues. Given their capacities to stimulate expression of first person experience through interpretative strategies, the arts can equip people and groups, including researchers, with opportunities to express primary experiential knowledge through creative means, portray useful ways of meeting human needs, educate others about the social issues people experience, and formulate intervention strategies or even models to address the causes and consequences of those issues. In this paper, the authors discuss how the arts can inform and deepen human service intervention design and development and, as a result, advance innovation in the human services. They offer a rationale supporting the inclusion of the arts in the design of human service interventions, examine the contributions of the arts to the formulation of intervention concept and developmental research to further improve interventions, and consider how the arts can advance the reflexivity of intervention designers. The authors draw implications for how researchers can position the arts in the nine steps of intervention design and development the authors offer in this paper. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. 49 CFR 604.15 - Registration of qualified human service organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... low income, advanced age, or with disabilities), shall register on FTA's charter registration Web site... service organization and whether the qualified human service organization is exempt from taxation under...

  11. Human Resources Management within Civil Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Teodor Alistar

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this article is to examine the notion of management, as an area of study which analyses, regulates and renders the theoretical and technical support in order to provide rationality within the processes that unfold in the civil service. In order to accomplish this task, human resources management will be analyzed as a process which relies in exerting four main functions: ensuring, developing, motivating and maintaining the human resources, which are conditioned by external factors that must be taken into consideration, such as: legislative framework, labor force, unions, cultural context (here one includes management practices and philosophy, and economic circumstances. All these factors are considered to have a significant impact on the management of human resources.

  12. Connecting Ecosystem Service Production to Users as a Measure of Realized Benefits in Coastal Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystem goods and services are often produced in locations far away from where humans benefit from them. Human beneficiaries also use specific spatial pathways to access the Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS), the ecological endpoints directly beneficial to human well-b...

  13. 5 CFR 2429.18 - Service of petitions for review of final authority orders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... established in Public Law No. 100-236 for determining the appropriate court of appeals to review an agency... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Service of petitions for review of final authority orders. 2429.18 Section 2429.18 Administrative Personnel FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY...

  14. 76 FR 1437 - Issuance of Final Policy Directive

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-10

    ... assisting low-income families out of poverty. The program assists individuals and families to save earned...: Members of a household that is eligible for assistance under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Issuance of Final...

  15. Quality of IT service delivery — Analysis and framework for human error prevention

    KAUST Repository

    Shwartz, L.

    2010-12-01

    In this paper, we address the problem of reducing the occurrence of Human Errors that cause service interruptions in IT Service Support and Delivery operations. Analysis of a large volume of service interruption records revealed that more than 21% of interruptions were caused by human error. We focus on Change Management, the process with the largest risk of human error, and identify the main instances of human errors as the 4 Wrongs: request, time, configuration item, and command. Analysis of change records revealed that the humanerror prevention by partial automation is highly relevant. We propose the HEP Framework, a framework for execution of IT Service Delivery operations that reduces human error by addressing the 4 Wrongs using content integration, contextualization of operation patterns, partial automation of command execution, and controlled access to resources.

  16. Mask Making in Human Services Education: A Case for Student Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lashewicz, Bonnie; McGrath, Jenny; Smyth, Maria

    2014-01-01

    This article is an examination of strategies for engaging students in programs of human services education. We describe an in class mask-making activity, used by three human services instructors at an undergraduate university in western Canada, as a means of engaging students to grow in individual and collaborative awareness and skills. We present…

  17. Reimagining the Role of Human Services Workers: Staff Experiences of a Social Change Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer-Cavaliere, Nancy; Kingsley, Bethan C.; Norris, Carmen

    2018-01-01

    Despite recognition that social inclusion is a primary goal within the field of human services, people with disabilities continue to live lives of clienthood, marginalisation, and exclusion and human services staff struggle to make social inclusion a priority. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of human services staff about…

  18. Utilizing Service Learning in a College-Level Human Sexuality Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, Dusty D.

    2017-01-01

    Implementing service learning into college courses has been shown to have positive benefits for both students and community members; however, service learning has not been largely evaluated in the literature on human sexuality courses. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to design, implement, and evaluate a service learning project in a…

  19. Conscientious objection to sexual and reproductive health services: international human rights standards and European law and practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zampas, Christina; Andión-Ibañez, Ximena

    2012-06-01

    The practice of conscientious objection often arises in the area of individuals refusing to fulfil compulsory military service requirements and is based on the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as protected by national, international and regional human rights law. The practice of conscientious objection also arises in the field of health care, when individual health care providers or institutions refuse to provide certain health services based on religious, moral or philosophical objections. The use of conscientious objection by health care providers to reproductive health care services, including abortion, contraceptive prescriptions, and prenatal tests, among other services is a growing phenomena throughout Europe. However, despite recent progress from the European Court of Human Rights on this issue (RR v. Poland, 2011), countries and international and regional bodies generally have failed to comprehensively and effectively regulate this practice, denying many women reproductive health care services they are legally entitled to receive. The Italian Ministry of Health reported that in 2008 nearly 70% of gynaecologists in Italy refuse to perform abortions on moral grounds. It found that between 2003 and 2007 the number of gynaecologists invoking conscientious objection in their refusal to perform an abortion rose from 58.7 percent to 69.2 percent. Italy is not alone in Europe, for example, the practice is prevalent in Poland, Slovakia, and is growing in the United Kingdom. This article outlines the international and regional human rights obligations and medical standards on this issue, and highlights some of the main gaps in these standards. It illustrates how European countries regulate or fail to regulate conscientious objection and how these regulations are working in practice, including examples of jurisprudence from national level courts and cases before the European Court of Human Rights. Finally, the article will provide recommendations

  20. Multicultural development in human services agencies: challenges and solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyde, Cheryl A

    2004-01-01

    Comprehensive multicultural organizational development (MCOD) is increasingly necessary in human services agencies. This article presents results from an exploratory study that identified challenges and solutions to MCOD, against the backdrop of daily realities of agency life. The author conducted interviews with 20 consultants and 20 practitioners experienced in MCOD. Qualitative analysis revealed four challenges--socioeconomic environment, organizational dynamics, conceptualization of the change effort, and consultant competence; and four solutions--collaborative environmental relations, leadership development, assessment and planning, and consultant selection. Results suggest the complexities of MCOD and ways that human services agencies can sustain such efforts.

  1. 76 FR 58517 - Public Health Service Guideline for Reducing Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-21

    ...-2011-0011] Public Health Service Guideline for Reducing Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus... public comment on the draft Public Health Service Guideline for Reducing Transmission of Human..., Attn: Public Health Service Guideline for Reducing Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV...

  2. Ecosystem Goods & Services and their Direct Linkages to Human Health & Well-Being

    Science.gov (United States)

    This presentation provides an overview of the SHC 2.61 Community-Based Final Ecosystem Goods and Services Project and other ecosystem services activities in the Office of Research and Development. Specifically, this presentation addressed a series of topics: Provide an overview ...

  3. The Human Service Scale: A New Measure for Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reagles, Kenneth W.; Butler, Alfred S.

    1976-01-01

    The Human Service Scale is an assessment instrument for measuring the progress of the rehabilitation client and the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs. The theory behind the scale is based on Maslow's hierarchy of human needs. The development and some potential uses of the scale are discussed. (EC)

  4. Developing Library GIS Services for Humanities and Social Science: An Action Research Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Ningning; Fosmire, Michael; Branch, Benjamin Dewayne

    2017-01-01

    In the academic libraries' efforts to support digital humanities and social science, GIS service plays an important role. However, there is no general service model existing about how libraries can develop GIS services to best engage with digital humanities and social science. In this study, we adopted the action research method to develop and…

  5. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taeyang Yang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG. A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1 followed by extended service name (S2 were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori. The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels (p < 0.05. The N400 amplitude was more negative for the mid- and high-level fits than the low level. The ERP results of P300 and N400 indicate that the early stage of brain extension evaluation might first detect low-fit brand extension as an improbable target followed by the late stage of the integration of S2 into S1. Along with previous findings, our results demonstrate different cognitive evaluation of service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods.

  6. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Taeyang; Lee, Seungji; Seomoon, Eunbi; Kim, Sung-Phil

    2018-01-01

    Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1) followed by extended service name (S2) were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori. The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels (p < 0.05). The N400 amplitude was more negative for the mid- and high-level fits than the low level. The ERP results of P300 and N400 indicate that the early stage of brain extension evaluation might first detect low-fit brand extension as an improbable target followed by the late stage of the integration of S2 into S1. Along with previous findings, our results demonstrate different cognitive evaluation of service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods. PMID:29479313

  7. Identifying domestic and international sex-trafficking victims during human service provision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macy, Rebecca J; Graham, Laurie M

    2012-04-01

    Children, youth, and adults of both genders are sex trafficked into and throughout the United States every day. Regrettably, little attention has been given to how human service providers might identify the sex-trafficking victims they are likely to encounter. To address this knowledge gap, the authors review 20 documents with the aim of detecting and synthesizing service identification recommendations in the scientific literature, government reports, and documents produced by organizations working with sex-trafficking victims. The review shows consensus regarding identification recommendations, including (a) trafficking indicators, (b) victim interaction strategies, (c) immediate response strategies, and (d) child-specific information. The review also shows consensus regarding screening questions that are important for service providers to use in identifying sex-trafficking victims. These questions relate to the victims' safety, employment, living environment, and travel and immigration status in addition to specific questions used with children and youth. The review results offer human service providers a preliminary set of screening strategies and questions that can be used to identify sex-trafficking victims in the context of human services. Building on the review findings, the authors offer policy and research recommendations.

  8. 77 FR 30536 - Final Notice Regarding Updates and Clarifications of the Implementation of the Scholarships for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-23

    ... dental hygiene and behavioral and mental health discipline (clinical psychology, clinical social work... physical therapy); mental and behavioral health (graduate degree programs in clinical psychology, clinical... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Final Notice...

  9. Human Subjects Protection: A Source for Ethical Service-Learning Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wendler, Rachael

    2012-01-01

    Human subjects research ethics were developed to ensure responsible conduct when university researchers learn by interacting with community members. As service-learning students also learn by interacting with community members, a similar set of principles may strengthen the ethical practice of service-learning. This article identifies ethical…

  10. Human resources for refraction services in Central Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandel, Himal; Murthy, G V S; Bascaran, Covadonga

    2015-07-01

    Uncorrected refractive error is a public health problem globally and in Nepal. Planning of refraction services is hampered by a paucity of data. This study was conducted to determine availability and distribution of human resources for refraction, their efficiency, the type and extent of their training; the current service provision of refraction services and the unmet need in human resources for refraction in Central Nepal. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. All refraction facilities in the Central Region were identified through an Internet search and interviews of key informants from the professional bodies and parent organisations of primary eye centres. A stratified simple random sampling technique was used to select 50 per cent of refraction facilities. The selected facilities were visited for primary data collection. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the managers and the refractionists available in the facilities using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data was collected in 29 centres. All the managers (n=29; response rate 100 per cent) and 50 refractionists (Response rate 65.8 per cent) were interviewed. Optometrists and ophthalmic assistants were the main providers of refraction services (n=70, 92.11 per cent). They were unevenly distributed across the region, highly concentrated around urban areas. The median number of refractions per refractionist per year was 3,600 (IQR: 2,400 - 6,000). Interviewed refractionists stated that clients' knowledge, attitude and practice related factors such as lack of awareness of the need for refraction services and/or availability of existing services were the major barriers to the output of refraction services. The total number of refractions carried out in the Central Region per year was 653,176. An additional 170 refractionists would be needed to meet the unmet need of 1,323,234 refractions. The study findings demand a major effort to develop appropriately trained personnel when planning

  11. 42 CFR 8.34 - Court review of final administrative action; exhaustion of administrative remedies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL PROVISIONS CERTIFICATION OF OPIOID TREATMENT PROGRAMS Procedures for... Withdrawal of Approval of an Accreditation Body § 8.34 Court review of final administrative action...

  12. Going beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: an index system of human dependence on ecosystem services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wu; Dietz, Thomas; Liu, Wei; Luo, Junyan; Liu, Jianguo

    2013-01-01

    The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) estimated that two thirds of ecosystem services on the earth have degraded or are in decline due to the unprecedented scale of human activities during recent decades. These changes will have tremendous consequences for human well-being, and offer both risks and opportunities for a wide range of stakeholders. Yet these risks and opportunities have not been well managed due in part to the lack of quantitative understanding of human dependence on ecosystem services. Here, we propose an index of dependence on ecosystem services (IDES) system to quantify human dependence on ecosystem services. We demonstrate the construction of the IDES system using household survey data. We show that the overall index and sub-indices can reflect the general pattern of households' dependences on ecosystem services, and their variations across time, space, and different forms of capital (i.e., natural, human, financial, manufactured, and social capitals). We support the proposition that the poor are more dependent on ecosystem services and further generalize this proposition by arguing that those disadvantaged groups who possess low levels of any form of capital except for natural capital are more dependent on ecosystem services than those with greater control of capital. The higher value of the overall IDES or sub-index represents the higher dependence on the corresponding ecosystem services, and thus the higher vulnerability to the degradation or decline of corresponding ecosystem services. The IDES system improves our understanding of human dependence on ecosystem services. It also provides insights into strategies for alleviating poverty, for targeting priority groups of conservation programs, and for managing risks and opportunities due to changes of ecosystem services at multiple scales.

  13. Pricing: A Normative Strategy in the Delivery of Human Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Stephen T.

    1995-01-01

    Discusses a normative strategy toward pricing human services, which will allow providers to develop pricing strategies within the context of organizational missions, goals, and values. Pricing is an effective tool for distributing resources and improving efficiency, and can be used as a tool for encouraging desired patterns of service utilization.…

  14. Structural relationships between work environment and service quality perceptions as a function of customer contact intensity: implications for human service strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scotti, Dennis J; Harmon, Joel; Behson, Scott J

    2009-01-01

    This study assesses the importance of customer-contact intensity at the service encounter level as a determinant of service quality assessments. Using data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it shows that performance-driven human resources practices play an important role as determinants of employee customer orientation and service capability in both high-contact (outpatient healthcare) and low-contact (benefits claim processing) human service contexts. However, there existed significant differences across service delivery settings in the salience of customer orientation and the congruence between employee and customer perceptions of service quality, depending on the intensity of customer contact. In both contexts, managerial attention to high-performance work systems and customer-orientation has the potential to favorably impact perceptions of service quality, amplify consumer satisfaction, and enhance operational efficiency.

  15. Linking Biological Responses of Terrestrial N Eutrophication to the Final Ecosystem Goods and Services Classification System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, M. D.; Clark, C.; Blett, T.

    2015-12-01

    The response of a biological indicator to N deposition can indicate that an ecosystem has surpassed a critical load and is at risk of significant change. The importance of this exceedance is often difficult to digest by policy makers and public audiences if the change is not linked to a familiar ecosystem endpoint. A workshop was held to bring together scientists, resource managers, and policy makers with expertise in ecosystem functioning, critical loads, and economics in an effort to identify the ecosystem services impacted by air pollution. This was completed within the framework of the Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS) Classification System to produce a product that identified distinct interactions between society and the effects of nitrogen pollution. From each change in a biological indicator, we created multiple ecological production functions to identify the cascading effects of the change to a measureable ecosystem service that a user interacts with either by enjoying, consuming, or appreciating the good or service, or using it as an input in the human economy. This FEGS metric was then linked to a beneficiary group that interacts with the service. Chains detailing the links from the biological indicator to the beneficiary group were created for aquatic and terrestrial acidification and eutrophication at the workshop, and here we present a subset of the workshop results by highlighting for 9 different ecosystems affected by terrestrial eutrophication. A total of 213 chains that linked to 37 unique FEGS metrics and impacted 15 beneficiary groups were identified based on nitrogen deposition mediated changes to biological indicators. The chains within each ecosystem were combined in flow charts to show the complex, overlapping relationships among biological indicators, ecosystem services, and beneficiary groups. Strength of relationship values were calculated for each chain based on support for the link in the scientific literature. We produced the

  16. The human genome: Some assembly required. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1994-12-31

    The Human Genome Project promises to be one of the most rewarding endeavors in modern biology. The cost and the ethical and social implications, however, have made this project the source of considerable debate both in the scientific community and in the public at large. The 1994 Graduate Student Symposium addresses the scientific merits of the project, the technical issues involved in accomplishing the task, as well as the medical and social issues which stem from the wealth of knowledge which the Human Genome Project will help create. To this end, speakers were brought together who represent the diverse areas of expertise characteristic of this multidisciplinary project. The keynote speaker addresses the project`s motivations and goals in the larger context of biological and medical sciences. The first two sessions address relevant technical issues, data collection with a focus on high-throughput sequencing methods and data analysis with an emphasis on identification of coding sequences. The third session explores recent advances in the understanding of genetic diseases and possible routes to treatment. Finally, the last session addresses some of the ethical, social and legal issues which will undoubtedly arise from having a detailed knowledge of the human genome.

  17. 49 CFR Appendix A to Part 604 - Listing of Human Service Federal Financial Assistance Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Listing of Human Service Federal Financial... (Continued) FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CHARTER SERVICE Pt. 604, App. A Appendix A to Part 604—Listing of Human Service Federal Financial Assistance Programs Federal Programs...

  18. Measuring resilience of coupled human-water systems using ecosystem services compatible indicators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hannah, D. M.; Mao, F.; Karpouzoglou, T.; Clark, J.; Buytaert, W.

    2017-12-01

    To explore the dynamics of socio-hydrological systems under change, the concepts of resilience and ecosystem services serve as useful tools. In this context, resilience refers to the capacity of a socio-hydrological system to retain its structural and functional state despite perturbations, while ecosystem services offer a good proxy of the state that reflects human-water intersections. Efforts are needed to maintain and improve socio-hydrological resilience for future contingencies to secure hydrological ecosystem services supply. This requires holistic indicators of resilience for coupled human-water systems that are essential for quantitative assessment, change tracking, inter-case comparison, as well as resilience management. However, such indicators are still lacking. Our research aims to propose widely applicable resilience indicators that are suitable for the coupled human-water context, and compatible with ecosystem services. The existing resilience indicators for both eco-hydrological and socio-economic sectors are scrutinised, screened and analysed to build these new indicators. Using the proposed indicators, we compare the resilience and its temporal change among a set of example regions, and discusses the linkages between socio-hydrological resilience and hydrological ecosystem services with empirical cases.

  19. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT FOR STAFF INVOLVED IN INSTITUTIONS FROM TERTIARY HEALTH CARE: HEALTH SERVICES AND LABOR WELFARE MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA, 2007

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gladys Irene, Arboleda Posada

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The study describes the conditions of human development according to labor welfare and satisfaction with healthcare services from staff employed with an indefinite term contract before January 1997 in health institutions of tertiary care in the city of Medellin (Colombia. It was performed a cross-sectional study designed to measure these components of human development through surveys applied on the staff with the described conditions, without any difference of academic, socioeconomic status or type of position. It was included a population of 1622 persons from five institutions, with a final sample of 242.Among the key findings is highlighted the high degree of staff satisfaction related to received in healthcare services for both, the worker and their beneficiaries; as well as the supply of medicines and diagnostic aids; besides the satisfaction with the work performed in the company and the feeling of being useful and important to it, they find out it is difficult to have promotions by merit and recognition for their work. As factors to strengthen in these institutions are the establishing clear policies for promotion and recognition.

  20. The UK Human Genome Mapping Project online computing service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rysavy, F R; Bishop, M J; Gibbs, G P; Williams, G W

    1992-04-01

    This paper presents an overview of computing and networking facilities developed by the Medical Research Council to provide online computing support to the Human Genome Mapping Project (HGMP) in the UK. The facility is connected to a number of other computing facilities in various centres of genetics and molecular biology research excellence, either directly via high-speed links or through national and international wide-area networks. The paper describes the design and implementation of the current system, a 'client/server' network of Sun, IBM, DEC and Apple servers, gateways and workstations. A short outline of online computing services currently delivered by this system to the UK human genetics research community is also provided. More information about the services and their availability could be obtained by a direct approach to the UK HGMP-RC.

  1. Human factors that derail extension services delivery in developing countries: implications for policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.N. Ajani

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines human factors derailing extension services delivery in developing countries. Poor management of rewards and incentives; quality of work life; poor assessment system; limited quality of human resource; inadequate extension support training materials; inconsistencies of government programmes; inadequate staff training and poor extension programme evaluation were viewed as major constraints. Considering the role of extension to agricultural development, the paper recommends that efforts should be made by the various stakeholders in agricultural extension services to improve the capability of human resources involved in extension services and highlights the need for government agricultural programmes to be consistent to enable the beneficiaries of such programmes derive the benefits that will boost productivity in agriculture.

  2. Ecosystem Functions Connecting Contributions from Ecosystem Services to Human Wellbeing in a Mangrove System in Northern Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Hwey-Lian; Lin, Hsing-Juh; Shih, Shang-Shu; Chen, Chang-Po

    2015-06-09

    The present study examined a mangrove ecosystem in northern Taiwan to determine how the various components of ecosystem function, ecosystem services and human wellbeing are connected. The overall contributions of mangrove services to specific components of human wellbeing were also assessed. A network was developed and evaluated by an expert panel consisting of hydrologists, ecologists, and experts in the field of culture, landscape or architecture. The results showed that supporting habitats was the most important function to human wellbeing, while water quality, habitable climate, air quality, recreational opportunities, and knowledge systems were services that were strongly linked to human welfare. Security of continuous supply of services appeared to be the key to a comfortable life. From a bottom-up and top-down perspective, knowledge systems (a service) were most supported by ecosystem functions, while the security of continuous supply of services (wellbeing) had affected the most services. In addition, the overall benefits of mangrove services to human prosperity concentrated on mental health, security of continuous supply of services, and physical health.

  3. Ecosystem Functions Connecting Contributions from Ecosystem Services to Human Wellbeing in a Mangrove System in Northern Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hwey-Lian Hsieh

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The present study examined a mangrove ecosystem in northern Taiwan to determine how the various components of ecosystem function, ecosystem services and human wellbeing are connected. The overall contributions of mangrove services to specific components of human wellbeing were also assessed. A network was developed and evaluated by an expert panel consisting of hydrologists, ecologists, and experts in the field of culture, landscape or architecture. The results showed that supporting habitats was the most important function to human wellbeing, while water quality, habitable climate, air quality, recreational opportunities, and knowledge systems were services that were strongly linked to human welfare. Security of continuous supply of services appeared to be the key to a comfortable life. From a bottom-up and top-down perspective, knowledge systems (a service were most supported by ecosystem functions, while the security of continuous supply of services (wellbeing had affected the most services. In addition, the overall benefits of mangrove services to human prosperity concentrated on mental health, security of continuous supply of services, and physical health.

  4. Burnout in Human Service Organizations: Prevention and Remediation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFadden, Hope; Moracco, John

    1980-01-01

    Burnout in human service organizations can be caused by funding problems, overwork, the nature of clients, and ineffective management. A social-professional support group should be a formal part of the organizational structure to provide opportunities for evaluation and feedback, as well as individual help to professionals. (JAC)

  5. Health and human services in an age of maturity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldridge, M G

    1986-12-01

    Catholic health care organizations are experiencing a tension between evangelical mission and expanding competition in medical markets. For the voluntary, not-for-profit health and human services system to survive and grow, hospital communities must find new revenue sources that do not create dependence on state and federal monies. The United States entered the Age of Maturity in 1985 as the "baby boomers" born between 1945 and 1957 became 40 years old, requiring health care providers to begin to plan for their care in old age. This large aging population, combined with a longer life span for Americans, will put increased burdens on health care organizations, particularly for chronic care, up to the year 2020 or beyond. Changes in family structure and social networks will be necessary as more people care for older relatives. The ratio of nonworkers to workers will increase, further burdening national and state tax bases, Social Security, and other worker-contributor programs. Investment banks are one option to finance the older population's increased needs for health and human services. Investment banks are funded by donations from the private sector (local and national businesses), the public sector (state, national, and local agencies), and new for-profit ventures for older persons. The contributions themselves remain in a central fund, with only the interest generated being used to fund local organizations committed to financial self-sufficiency and to helping the elderly. Older persons will carry increased economic and political clout in the Age of Maturity and will constitute a large percentage of hospitals' business. Therefore hospitals will have to develop a strong market position among the elderly. They must consider integrating a new service mix of both health and human services. Candidates for new hospital services for the elderly include housing programs, long-term care and continuum of care programs, employment programs, retirement planning, estate

  6. New trends in medical and service robots human centered analysis, control and design

    CERN Document Server

    Chevallereau, Christine; Pisla, Doina; Bleuler, Hannes; Rodić, Aleksandar

    2016-01-01

    Medical and service robotics integrates several disciplines and technologies such as mechanisms, mechatronics, biomechanics, humanoid robotics, exoskeletons, and anthropomorphic hands. This book presents the most recent advances in medical and service robotics, with a stress on human aspects. It collects the selected peer-reviewed papers of the Fourth International Workshop on Medical and Service Robots, held in Nantes, France in 2015, covering topics on: exoskeletons, anthropomorphic hands, therapeutic robots and rehabilitation, cognitive robots, humanoid and service robots, assistive robots and elderly assistance, surgical robots, human-robot interfaces, BMI and BCI, haptic devices and design for medical and assistive robotics. This book offers a valuable addition to existing literature.

  7. Spatial Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Functions and Services using Human Relating Factors for SDG

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, C.; Lee, W. K.; Jeon, S. W.; Kim, T.; Lim, C. H.

    2015-12-01

    Application of ecosystem service concept in environmental related decision making could be numerical and objective standard for policy maker between preserving and developing perspective of environment. However, pursuing maximum benefit from natural capital through ecosystem services caused failure by losing ecosystem functions through its trade-offs. Therefore, difference between ecosystem functions and services were demonstrated and would apply human relating perspectives. Assessment results of ecosystem functions and services can be divided 3 parts. Tree growth per year set as the ecosystem function factor and indicated through so called pure function map. After that, relating functions can be driven such as water conservation, air pollutant purification, climate change regulation, and timber production. Overall process and amount are numerically quantified. These functional results can be transferred to ecosystem services by multiplying economic unit value, so function reflecting service maps can be generated. On the other hand, above services, to implement more reliable human demand, human reflecting service maps are also be developed. As the validation, quantified ecosystem functions are compared with former results through pixel based analysis. Three maps are compared, and through comparing difference between ecosystem function and services and inversed trends in function based and human based service are analysed. In this study, we could find differences in PF, FRS, and HRS in relation to based ecosystem conditions. This study suggests that the differences in PF, FRS, and HRS should be understood in the decision making process for sustainable management of ecosystem services. Although the analysis is based on in sort existing process separation, it is important to consider the possibility of different usage of ecosystem function assessment results and ecosystem service assessment results in SDG policy making. Furthermore, process based functional approach

  8. Integration of multimodal transportation services : final report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-03-08

    Flexible route paratransit services may complement as well as compete with conventional public transportation services (that : have fixed routes and schedules). Flexible routes are especially suitable for service areas or time periods with low demand...

  9. Human Asset Internalization and Global Sourcing of Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ørberg Jensen, Peter D.; Petersen, Bent

    In this exploratory study we look at human asset aspects of offshore outsourcing of services that over time become more advanced and strategic potent to the outsourcing firms. As a consequence, the outsourcing firms might want to internalize the operations. We focus on the ways that outsourcing......, the internalization process....

  10. Quality of IT service delivery — Analysis and framework for human error prevention

    KAUST Repository

    Shwartz, L.; Rosu, D.; Loewenstern, D.; Buco, M. J.; Guo, S.; Lavrado, Rafael Coelho; Gupta, M.; De, P.; Madduri, V.; Singh, J. K.

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we address the problem of reducing the occurrence of Human Errors that cause service interruptions in IT Service Support and Delivery operations. Analysis of a large volume of service interruption records revealed that more than 21

  11. Creep of OFHC and silver copper at simulated final repository canister-service conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auerkari, P.; Leinonen, H.; Sandlin, S.

    1991-07-01

    Result of high-resolution creep rate measurements are described for estimating very long term creep life of copper and silver alloyed copper at room temperature and at stresses approaching the expected service conditions of final repository canisters. The aim was to assess the limiting service stress levels for potential canister wall materials. The 0.1 % silver alloyed copper showed minimum creep rates of 10 - 9 to 10 - 10 l/h, corresponding to 1 % strain in about 1000 to 10000 years, at room temperature and uniaxial stress level of 50 to 75 MPa. The predicted time to 1 % strain, when extrapolated from literature data, was at least one order of magnitude shorter. From the results of the present work, the 1 % creep life for OFHC copper was at most a few hundreds of years at 50 MPa stress level. The technique developed and used in this work for measuring very low strain rates appears useful for assessing low temperature creep life of practical structures essentially without accelerating the test from the service conditions

  12. Creep of OFHC and silver copper at simulated final repository canister-service conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auerkari, P.; Leinonen, H.; Sandlin, S.

    1991-09-01

    Results of high-resolution creep rate measurements are described for estimating very long term creep life of copper and silver alloyed copper at room temperature and at stresses approaching the expected service conditions of final repository canisters. The aim was to assess the limiting service stress levels for potential canister wall materials. The 0.1% silver alloyed copper showed minimum creep rates of 10 -9 to 10 -10 l/h, corresponding to 1 % strain in about 1000 to 10000 years, at room temperature and uniaxial stress level of 50 to 75 MPa. The predicted time to 1 % strain, when extrapolated from literature data, was at least one order of magnitude shorter. From the results of the present work, the 1 % creep life for OFHC copper was at most a few hundreds of years at 50 MPa stress level. The technique developed and used in this work for measuring very low strain rates appears useful for assessing low temperature creep life of practical structures essentially without accelerating the test from the service conditions. (au)

  13. Achieving HBSE Competencies through Service-learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah E. Twill

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Service-learning pedagogy allows social work educators to create meaningful learning opportunities for students and better prepare them for practicum, while at the same time, meeting a community need. This paper outlines the relevance of incorporating service-learning into the social work curriculum, specifically the human behavior and the social environment (HBSE area. Using Bloom’s taxonomy as a guide, the authors propose how the CSWE competencies and practice behaviors specific to HBSE may be assessed using service-learning pedagogy. An example is reviewed to illustrate how service-learning can assist faculty and students achieve the HBSE competencies and practice behaviors. Finally, implications for service-learning as a pedagogical strategy for social work education are discussed.

  14. Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services, and Human Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutts, Christopher; Hahn, Micah

    2015-08-18

    Contemporary ecological models of health prominently feature the natural environment as fundamental to the ecosystem services that support human life, health, and well-being. The natural environment encompasses and permeates all other spheres of influence on health. Reviews of the natural environment and health literature have tended, at times intentionally, to focus on a limited subset of ecosystem services as well as health benefits stemming from the presence, and access and exposure to, green infrastructure. The sweeping influence of green infrastructure on the myriad ecosystem services essential to health has therefore often been underrepresented. This survey of the literature aims to provide a more comprehensive picture-in the form of a primer-of the many simultaneously acting health co-benefits of green infrastructure. It is hoped that a more accurately exhaustive list of benefits will not only instigate further research into the health co-benefits of green infrastructure but also promote consilience in the many fields, including public health, that must be involved in the landscape conservation necessary to protect and improve health and well-being.

  15. Green Infrastructure, Ecosystem Services, and Human Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutts, Christopher; Hahn, Micah

    2015-01-01

    Contemporary ecological models of health prominently feature the natural environment as fundamental to the ecosystem services that support human life, health, and well-being. The natural environment encompasses and permeates all other spheres of influence on health. Reviews of the natural environment and health literature have tended, at times intentionally, to focus on a limited subset of ecosystem services as well as health benefits stemming from the presence, and access and exposure to, green infrastructure. The sweeping influence of green infrastructure on the myriad ecosystem services essential to health has therefore often been underrepresented. This survey of the literature aims to provide a more comprehensive picture—in the form of a primer—of the many simultaneously acting health co-benefits of green infrastructure. It is hoped that a more accurately exhaustive list of benefits will not only instigate further research into the health co-benefits of green infrastructure but also promote consilience in the many fields, including public health, that must be involved in the landscape conservation necessary to protect and improve health and well-being. PMID:26295249

  16. An exploration of person-centred concepts in human services: A thematic analysis of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waters, Rebecca A; Buchanan, Angus

    2017-10-01

    Being 'person-centred' in the delivery of health and human services has become synonymous with quality care, and it is a core feature of policy reform in Australia and other Western countries. This research aimed to identify the uses, definitions and characteristics of the term 'person-centred' in the ageing, mental health and disability literature. A thematic analysis identified seven common core themes of person-centredness: honouring the person, being in relationship, facilitating participation and engagement, social inclusion/citizenship, experiencing compassionate love, being strengths/capacity focussed, and organisational characteristics. These suggest a set of higher-order experiences for people that are translated differently in different human services. There is no common definition of what it means to be person-centred, despite being a core feature of contemporary health and human service policy, and this suggests that its inclusion facilitates further misunderstanding and misinterpretation. A common understanding and policy conceptualisation of person-centredness is likely to support quality outcomes in service delivery especially where organisations work across human service groups. Further research into the application and service expressions of being 'person-centred' in context is necessary. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Designing for Social Infrastructures in Complex Service Systems: A Human-Centered and Social Systems Perspective on Service Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mieke van der Bijl-Brouwer

    Full Text Available Service design is one of the keys to improving how we target today’s complex societal problems. The predominant view of service systems is mechanistic and linear. A service infrastructure—which includes solutions like service blueprints, scripts, and protocols—is, in some ways, designed to control the behavior of service professionals at the service interface. This view undermines the intrinsic motivation, expertise, and creativity of service professionals. This article presents a different perspective on service design. Using theories of social systems and complex responsive processes, I define service organizations as ongoing iterated patterns of relationships between people, and identify them as complex social service systems. I go on to show how the human-centeredness of design practices contributes to designing for such service systems. In particular, I show how a deep understanding of the needs and aspirations of service professionals through phenomenological themes contributes to designing for social infrastructures that support continuous improvement and adaptation of the practices executed by service professionals at the service interface.

  18. A human-oriented framework for developing assistive service robots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGinn, Conor; Cullinan, Michael F; Culleton, Mark; Kelly, Kevin

    2018-04-01

    Multipurpose robots that can perform a range of useful tasks have the potential to increase the quality of life for many people living with disabilities. Owing to factors such as high system complexity, as-yet unresolved research questions and current technology limitations, there is a need for effective strategies to coordinate the development process. Integrating established methodologies based on human-centred design and universal design, a framework was formulated to coordinate the robot design process over successive iterations of prototype development. An account is given of how the framework was practically applied to the problem of developing a personal service robot. Application of the framework led to the formation of several design goals which addressed a wide range of identified user needs. The resultant prototype solution, which consisted of several component elements, succeeded in demonstrating the performance stipulated by all of the proposed metrics. Application of the framework resulted in the development of a complex prototype that addressed many aspects of the functional and usability requirements of a personal service robot. Following the process led to several important insights which directly benefit the development of subsequent prototypes. Implications for Rehabilitation This research shows how universal design might be used to formulate usability requirements for assistive service robots. A framework is presented that guides the process of designing service robots in a human-centred way. Through practical application of the framework, a prototype robot system that addressed a range of identified user needs was developed.

  19. "I Don't Really Understand Probability at All": Final Year Pre-Service Teachers' Understanding of Probability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maher, Nicole; Muir, Tracey

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports on one aspect of a wider study that investigated a selection of final year pre-service primary teachers' responses to four probability tasks. The tasks focused on foundational ideas of probability including sample space, independence, variation and expectation. Responses suggested that strongly held intuitions appeared to…

  20. Stress markers in relation to job strain in human service organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohlson, C G; Söderfeldt, M; Söderfeldt, B; Jones, I; Theorell, T

    2001-01-01

    Workers in human service organizations are often confronted with conflicting demands in providing care or education. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to relate levels of endocrine stress markers to perceived job strain in two human service organizations. Employees in two local units of the social insurance organization and two local units of the individual and family care sections of the social welfare in Sweden were selected and 103 employees participated (56% participation rate). The perceived job strain was assessed with a standardized questionnaire containing questions of the demand-control model. Questions specially designed to measure emotional demands were also included. The stress markers cortisol, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, testosterone and IgA and IgG were analysed in blood samples. The main finding was an association between high emotional strain and increased levels of prolactin. The levels of cortisol, but none of the other four stress markers, increased slightly with emotional strain. Emotional strain experienced in human service work may cause psychological stress. The increase in prolactin was modest but consistent with findings in other published studies on stress-related endocrine alterations. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  1. Rural and remote speech-language pathology service inequities: An Australian human rights dilemma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Debra M; McAllister, Lindy; Lyle, David M

    2018-02-01

    Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right for all Australians. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges the right to freedom of opinion and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. Capacities for self-expression and effective communication underpin the realisation of these fundamental human rights. For rural and remote Australian children this realisation is compromised by complex disadvantages and inequities that contribute to communication delays, inequity of access to essential speech-language pathology services and poorer later life outcomes. Localised solutions to the provision of civically engaged, accessible, acceptable and sustainable speech-language pathology services within rural and remote Australian contexts are required if we are to make substantive human rights gains. However, civically engaged and sustained healthcare can significantly challenge traditional professionalised perspectives on how best to design and implement speech-language pathology services that seek to address rural and remote communication needs and access inequities. A failure to engage these communities in the identification of childhood communication delays and solutions to address these delays, ultimately denies children, families and communities of their human rights for healthcare access, self-expression, self-dignity and meaningful inclusion within Australian society.

  2. 77 FR 5012 - Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-01

    ..., Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture; Memorandum of Understanding Regarding... Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU will support and encourage cooperation and communication between... Department of Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). HHS's Centers for Disease...

  3. 77 FR 15759 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a...

  4. 78 FR 21955 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a...

  5. 78 FR 70949 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a...

  6. 77 FR 60438 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a...

  7. 75 FR 27784 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... concerning the final effect of the decision to designate a class of employees from Lawrence Livermore...

  8. 77 FR 60437 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a...

  9. 77 FR 69845 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a...

  10. 78 FR 21954 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a...

  11. Organizational change for services integration in public human service organizations: experiences in seven counties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Packard, Thomas; Patti, Rino; Daly, Donna; Tucker-Tatlow, Jennifer

    2012-01-01

    This is a study of organizational change strategies employed in seven county human service agencies to improve the coordination of services through the structural integration of previously free standing organizations or the development of voluntary interagency collaborative service delivery systems. The central question involves the identification of organizational change tactics which contributed to the success of the organizational change initiatives. The literature on organizational change is reviewed, with particular attention to a framework developed by Fernandez and Rainey based on their extensive review and synthesis of the research on successful change strategies in the public and business sectors. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from over 250 individuals and from agency documents. Findings are compared with the success factors identified by Fernandez and Rainey, and refinements to their propositions are suggested. More precise methods for measuring successful and unsuccessful change initiatives are suggested. Implications for practice and research are presented.

  12. Final priority; Rehabilitation Services Administration--Assistive Technology Alternative Financing Program. Final priority.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-08-14

    The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services announces a priority under the Assistive Technology Alternative Financing Program administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). The Assistant Secretary may use this priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2014 and later years. This priority is designed to ensure that the Department funds high-quality assistive technology (AT) alternative financing programs (AFPs) that meet rigorous standards in order to enable individuals with disabilities to access and acquire assistive technology devices and services necessary to achieve education, community living, and employment goals.

  13. 76 FR 72928 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees from Vitro Manufacturing in...

  14. 76 FR 7852 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-11

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees from Texas City Chemicals...

  15. 76 FR 59701 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees from the Sandia National...

  16. 75 FR 67364 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees from the Blockson Chemical...

  17. 75 FR 27785 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... concerning the final effect of the decision to designate a class of employees from Area IV of the Santa...

  18. Ecosystem Services: Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by Natural Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    The module provides a link to an article that is part of a series of articles in Issues in Ecology. This article discusses the many services an ecosystem provides in order to sustain and fulfill human needs.

  19. NBS (National Bureau of Standards) measurement services: Fricke dosimetry in high-energy electron beams. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soares, C.G.; Bright, E.L.; Ehrlich, M.

    1987-07-01

    The NBS Fricke-Dosimetry Service (advertised in NBS Special Publication 250, 1986-1988 and earlier editions) is described in detail. After a brief historical introduction and description of the service, the theoretical basis (including what quantities are measured, how, and why) and the philosophy of internal quality checks are discussed in some detail. This is followed by a description of the physical setup and of the step-by-step operating and reporting procedures. Throughout the section, there is reference to sample records of past performance, in order to facilitate continuity of operation in the case of personnel changes. The document concludes with a discussion of the uncertainties involved in the measurement quality-assurance service, safety considerations, and an appendix containing samples of all form letters and of the final report mailed to the participants

  20. Accessibility of services for early infant diagnosis of Human ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Accessibility of services for early infant diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. ... infants who received a virological test within the first 2 months of life in sub-Saharan Africa varied from 3 to 58%, far below the 80% recommended level by the World Health Organization.

  1. The gap in human resources to deliver the guaranteed package of prevention and health promotion services at urban and rural primary care facilities in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alcalde-Rabanal, Jacqueline Elizabeth; Nigenda, Gustavo; Bärnighausen, Till; Velasco-Mondragón, Héctor Eduardo; Darney, Blair Grant

    2017-08-03

    The purpose of this study was to estimate the gap between the available and the ideal supply of human resources (physicians, nurses, and health promoters) to deliver the guaranteed package of prevention and health promotion services at urban and rural primary care facilities in Mexico. We conducted a cross-sectional observational study using a convenience sample. We selected 20 primary health facilities in urban and rural areas in 10 states of Mexico. We calculated the available and the ideal supply of human resources in these facilities using estimates of time available, used, and required to deliver health prevention and promotion services. We performed descriptive statistics and bivariate hypothesis testing using Wilcoxon and Friedman tests. Finally, we conducted a sensitivity analysis to test whether the non-normal distribution of our time variables biased estimation of available and ideal supply of human resources. The comparison between available and ideal supply for urban and rural primary health care facilities reveals a low supply of physicians. On average, primary health care facilities are lacking five physicians when they were estimated with time used and nine if they were estimated with time required (P human resources in primary health facilities.

  2. Perspectives on Neoliberalism for Human Service Professionals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gray, Mel; Dean, Mitchell; Agllias, Kylie

    2015-01-01

    This article provides an overview of recent perspectives on neoliberalism, which serve as a foundation for the assessment of neoliberalism's influence on human services practice. Conventionally, neoliberalism has been conceived of as an ideology, but more recent perspectives regard neoliberalism...... as an art of government, a thought collective, and an uneven but path-dependent process of regulatory development. We argue that these new perspectives have the potential to contribute to our critical capacity and open avenues for the analysis of contemporary transformations of public policy and its...

  3. Conscientious objection to military service in international human rights instruments

    OpenAIRE

    Kavaliauskaitė, Ernesta

    2010-01-01

    Current debates on conscientious objection to military service reveal a conflict between conscription and individual freedom of conscience; they question the scope of human rights and liberties as well as raise an issue of their extension. The majority of member states of UN and CoE officially recognize a right to conscientious objection. However, the flow of complaints to international human rights monitoring bodies demonstrates absence of a general consensus on the concept, origin and legal...

  4. An Exploration of Human Well-Being Bundles as Identifiers of Ecosystem Service Use Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamann, Maike; Biggs, Reinette; Reyers, Belinda

    2016-01-01

    We take a social-ecological systems perspective to investigate the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being in South Africa. A recent paper identified different types of social-ecological systems in the country, based on distinct bundles of ecosystem service use. These system types were found to represent increasingly weak direct feedbacks between nature and people, from rural "green-loop" communities to urban "red-loop" societies. Here we construct human well-being bundles and explore whether the well-being bundles can be used to identify the same social-ecological system types that were identified using bundles of ecosystem service use. Based on national census data, we found three distinct well-being bundle types that are mainly characterized by differences in income, unemployment and property ownership. The distribution of these well-being bundles approximates the distribution of ecosystem service use bundles to a substantial degree: High levels of income and education generally coincided with areas characterised by low levels of direct ecosystem service use (or red-loop systems), while the majority of low well-being areas coincided with medium and high levels of direct ecosystem service use (or transition and green-loop systems). However, our results indicate that transformations from green-loop to red-loop systems do not always entail an immediate improvement in well-being, which we suggest may be due to a time lag between changes in the different system components. Using human well-being bundles as an indicator of social-ecological dynamics may be useful in other contexts since it is based on socio-economic data commonly collected by governments, and provides important insights into the connections between ecosystem services and human well-being at policy-relevant sub-national scales.

  5. An Exploration of Human Well-Being Bundles as Identifiers of Ecosystem Service Use Patterns.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maike Hamann

    Full Text Available We take a social-ecological systems perspective to investigate the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being in South Africa. A recent paper identified different types of social-ecological systems in the country, based on distinct bundles of ecosystem service use. These system types were found to represent increasingly weak direct feedbacks between nature and people, from rural "green-loop" communities to urban "red-loop" societies. Here we construct human well-being bundles and explore whether the well-being bundles can be used to identify the same social-ecological system types that were identified using bundles of ecosystem service use. Based on national census data, we found three distinct well-being bundle types that are mainly characterized by differences in income, unemployment and property ownership. The distribution of these well-being bundles approximates the distribution of ecosystem service use bundles to a substantial degree: High levels of income and education generally coincided with areas characterised by low levels of direct ecosystem service use (or red-loop systems, while the majority of low well-being areas coincided with medium and high levels of direct ecosystem service use (or transition and green-loop systems. However, our results indicate that transformations from green-loop to red-loop systems do not always entail an immediate improvement in well-being, which we suggest may be due to a time lag between changes in the different system components. Using human well-being bundles as an indicator of social-ecological dynamics may be useful in other contexts since it is based on socio-economic data commonly collected by governments, and provides important insights into the connections between ecosystem services and human well-being at policy-relevant sub-national scales.

  6. Human trafficking and severe mental illness: an economic analysis of survivors' use of psychiatric services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cary, Maria; Oram, Siân; Howard, Louise M; Trevillion, Kylee; Byford, Sarah

    2016-07-19

    Previous studies have found a high prevalence of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among survivors of human trafficking. European countries are required to assist trafficked people in their psychological recovery, but there are no rigorous data on the costs of doing so. The objectives of this study were to quantify the use of secondary mental health services by survivors of human trafficking; to estimate the cost of survivors' use of secondary mental health services provided by the UK National Health Service (NHS); and to identify factors that predict higher costs of mental health service provision. Historical cohort study of psychiatric patients who had experienced human trafficking. The South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM) Biomedical Research Centre Case Register Interactive Search (CRIS) database was used to identify anonymised full patient records of patients who had experienced human trafficking and who had accessed SLaM mental health services between 2007 and 2012. Data were extracted on socio-demographic and trafficking characteristics and contacts with mental health services. Total costs were calculated by multiplying each resource use item by an appropriate unit cost. Factors that predicted high mental health service costs were analysed using regression models. One hundred nineteen patients were included in the analysis. Mean total mental health service costs per patient were £27,293 (sd 80,985) and mean duration of contact with services was 1490 (sd 757) days (approximately 4 years). Regression analysis showed that higher costs were associated with diagnosis of psychotic disorder (p trafficking violence (p = 0.06). Patients diagnosed with psychotic disorders cost approximately £32,635 more than patients with non-psychotic disorders/psychological distress but no formal diagnosis and patients whose clinical notes documented pre-trafficking violence cost £88,633 more than patients for whom pre-trafficking violence was not

  7. Pharmacists’ Attitudes and Perceived Barriers to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Services

    OpenAIRE

    Hastings, Tessa J.; Hohmann, Lindsey A.; McFarland, Stuart J.; Teeter, Benjamin S.; Westrick, Salisa C.

    2017-01-01

    Use of non-traditional settings such as community pharmacies has been suggested to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake and completion rates. The objectives of this study were to explore HPV vaccination services and strategies employed by pharmacies to increase HPV vaccine uptake, pharmacists’ attitudes towards the HPV vaccine, and pharmacists’ perceived barriers to providing HPV vaccination services in community pharmacies. A pre-piloted mail survey was sent to 350 randomly...

  8. Proposal of a methodology to integrate the human factor in the service blueprint

    OpenAIRE

    Barbieri, Silvio; Fragnière, Emmanuel; Sitten, Marshall S.; Zambrano, Gabriel

    2013-01-01

    In the field of service design, modeling is often used to visually represent the structures, flow, and operations of a service. This modeling, usually referred to as a “workflow” or “service blueprint”, is usually conceptualized in a linear or matrix form. These models, while useful for visualizing the structures and processes involved in service production, fail to consider the contribution of human factors – motivation, emotion, satisfaction, etc. – that are also essential elements of servi...

  9. Impact of Service Quality of House Wedding Events on the Service Value and Satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Soungyeon

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available With the current popularity of the newly emerged house wedding events (HWE, this study aims to investigate the impact of service quality of house wedding events on service value and satisfaction of customers. Based on literature review, two main components of HWE service quality attributes were selected: physical service and human service. For service value, three components were chosen: social, aesthetic, and monetary value. The study conducted self-administered questionnaire survey from July 1st to August 31st 2013 targeting 300 male and female over age 20 with experiences of participating in HWE held in Seoul metropolitan areas. The final valid samples were 267 copies. Frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis and regression analysis were conducted on the collected data. The result of this study showed a significant positive impact of HWE’s service quality, which in turn influence satisfaction. In addition, the study found the direct impact of HWE’s service quality on customer satisfaction. Based on the results, this study also discussed practical implications.

  10. Poverty, Access to Health Care Services and Human Capital ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper is aimed at examining the poverty profile of Nigeria and its consequences on access to health care services and human capital development in the country. It is a startling paradox that about two – thirds of Nigerians are poor despite living in a country with vast potential wealth. Apart from looking at the theoretical ...

  11. Autonomous E-Mobility as a Service - Final Report

    OpenAIRE

    Pitera, Kelly; Marinelli, Giuseppe

    2017-01-01

    Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a systems-oriented approach of integration of numerous transport services into a single, seamless mobility service using a technology platform. Building on MaaS to incorporate both electric and autonomous mobility, the concept of Autonomous E-Mobility as a Service (AE-MaaS) is examined within this project as a way to improve the environmental sustainability of urban mobility. Through a series of workshops and meetings, the aim was to understand the feasibility ...

  12. Inequity among human service professionals : Measurement and relation to burnout

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    VanDierendonck, D; Schaufeli, W.B; Buunk, Abraham (Bram)

    1996-01-01

    This research investigated the impact on burnout of inequity experienced by human service professionals. Two studies were conducted, among therapists working with inmates in a forensic psychiatric center (N = 112) and among staff members of an institute for the direct care of mentally disabled (N =

  13. Maryland Family Support Services Consortium. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, James F.; Markowitz, Ricka Keeney

    The Maryland Family Support Services Consortium is a 3-year demonstration project which developed unique family support models at five sites serving the needs of families with a developmentally disabled child (ages birth to 21). Caseworkers provided direct intensive services to 224 families over the 3-year period, including counseling, liaison and…

  14. Exploring resilience and mindfulness as preventative factors for psychological distress burnout and secondary traumatic stress among human service professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harker, Rachel; Pidgeon, Aileen M; Klaassen, Frances; King, Steven

    2016-06-08

    Human service professionals are concerned with the intervention and empowerment of vulnerable social populations. The human service industry is laden with employment-related stressors and emotionally demanding interactions, which can lead to deleterious effects, such as burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Little attention has been given to developing knowledge of what might enable human service workers to persist and thrive. Cultivating and sustaining resilience can buffer the impact of occupational stressors on human service professionals. One of the psychological factors associated with cultivating resilience is mindfulness. The aim of this current research is to improve our understanding of the relationship between resilience, mindfulness, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and psychological distress among human service professionals. The current study surveyed 133 human service professionals working in the fields of psychology, social work, counseling, youth and foster care work to explore the predictive relationship between resilience, mindfulness, and psychological distress. The results showed that higher levels of resilience were a significant predictor of lower levels of psychological distress, burnout and secondary traumatic stress. In addition, higher levels of mindfulness were a significant predictor of lower levels of psychological distress and burnout. The findings suggest that cultivating resilience and mindfulness in human service professionals may assist in preventing psychological distress burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Limitations of this study are discussed together with implications for future research.

  15. Enhancing student perspectives of humanism in medicine: reflections from the Kalaupapa service learning project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Winona K; Harris, Chessa C D; Mortensen, Kawika A; Long, Linsey M; Sugimoto-Matsuda, Jeanelle

    2016-05-09

    Service learning is endorsed by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) as an integral part of U.S. medical school curricula for future physicians. Service learning has been shown to help physicians in training rediscover the altruistic reasons for pursuing medicine and has the potential to enhance students' perspectives of humanism in medicine. The Kalaupapa service learning project is a unique collaboration between disadvantaged post-baccalaureate students with an underserved rural community. This study was conducted to determine whether the Kalaupapa service learning curricula enhanced student perspectives of humanism in medicine at an early stage of their medical training. Program participants between 2008 and 2014 (n = 41) completed written reflections following the conclusion of the service learning project. Four prompts guided student responses. Reflections were thematically analyzed. Once all essays were read, team members compared their findings to condense or expand themes and assess levels of agreement. Emerging themes of resilience and unity were prominent throughout the student reflections. Students expressed respect and empathy for the patients' struggles and strengths, as well as those of their peers. The experience also reinforced students' commitment to service, particularly to populations in rural and underserved communities. Students also gained a deeper understanding of the patient experience and also of themselves as future physicians. To identify and address underserved and rural patients' health care needs, training programs must prepare an altruistic health care workforce that embraces the humanistic element of medicine. The Kalaupapa service learning project is a potential curricular model that can be used to enhance students' awareness and perspectives of humanism in medicine.

  16. Enhancing Human Capital Development and Service Delivery in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions through Effective Academic Staff

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chinyeaka Igbokwe-Ibeto

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Within the framework of bureaucratic and human capital theories, an eclectic approach, the study examines the nexus between academic staff recruitment in Nigerian tertiary institutions and human capital development as well as service delivery with specific reference to universities. It is generally agreed that higher education is a sine-qua-non for human capital development and efficient service delivery. Higher education is a prerequisite for the production of highly competent experts, which in turn, contributes to the development of organizations and the economy at large. For these to be achieved, the right content and academic staff  must be in place to perform this varied function.  However, over the years the quality of human capital coming out of Nigerian universities and its impact on service delivery has become a source of concern to employers of labour and all stakeholders. Inferential opinions have traced the problem to the recruitment of incompetent academic staff. To investigate the issues raised, the study relied heavily on primary and secondary data and multi stage sampling was used to select the sample population. The data collected was presented in pie chart and simple percentage. Similarly, in order to test the hypotheses and establish the degree of dependence or independence of the variables under investigation, the chi-square statistical technique was used. The findings of the study revealed among others, that Nigerian universities do not employ merit, qualification and competency in the academic staff recruitment. It also established that there is a significant relationship between merit, qualification and competency based academic staff recruitment and human capital development and service delivery. To enhance human capital development and service delivery in Nigerian universities, the study recommends among others, that an independent body like the National University Commission (NUC should be given the responsibility of

  17. Knowledge management: implications for human service organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, Michael J; Claassen, Jennette; Vu, Catherine M; Mizrahi, Paola

    2008-01-01

    Knowledge management has recently taken a more prominent role in the management of organizations as worker knowledge and intellectual capital are recognized as critical to organizational success. This analysis explores the literature of knowledge management including the individual level of tacit and explicit knowledge, the networks and social interactions utilized by workers to create and share new knowledge, and the multiple organizational and managerial factors associated with effective knowledge management systems. Based on the role of organizational culture, structure, leadership, and reward systems, six strategies are identified to assist human service organizations with implementing new knowledge management systems.

  18. Assessing human health risk in the USDA forest service

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hamel, D.R. [Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, Washington, DC (United States)

    1990-12-31

    This paper identifies the kinds of risk assessments being done by or for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. Summaries of data sources currently in use and the pesticide risk assessments completed by the agency or its contractors are discussed. An overview is provided of the agency`s standard operating procedures for the conduct of toxicological, ecological, environmental fate, and human health risk assessments.

  19. 75 FR 48683 - Human Studies Review Board (HSRB); Notification of a Public Teleconference To Review Draft Final...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-11

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0617; FRL-9188-3] Human Studies Review Board (HSRB); Notification of a Public Teleconference To Review Draft Final Report From the June 23, 2010 HSRB Meeting AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The EPA Human Studies...

  20. Location-Based Services, Final Report

    OpenAIRE

    Goodchild, Michael F.

    2001-01-01

    In December, 2001 the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (CSISS; http://csiss.org) and the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS; http://www.ucgis.org) held a specialist meeting to explore location-based services, and their implications and significance for the social sciences and for geographic information science. There are a number of reasons for believing that LBS will have significant impact on the social sciences, stemming from three basic arguments...

  1. Human Service Employees Coping with Job Stress, Family Stress and Work-Family Conflict.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbone, Dominic J.

    The intersection of work and family life has always been a popular topic of discussion among family theorists. This study examined human service employees in direct service positions coping with work stress, family stress, and work-family conflict. The effects of work stress, family stress and work-family conflict on depression were examined.…

  2. Burnout in College Seniors Preparing for the Human Services Professions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, James G.

    The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to assess the level and intensity of burnout in 165 California State University at Long Beach college seniors preparing for the human services professions, specifically teaching, nursing, criminal justice, and social welfare. A comparison group of 80 engineering seniors was also assessed. The 40-item…

  3. Cardiovascular services and human resources in Puerto Rico - 2008.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Palmieri, Mario R

    2009-01-01

    Available information (2004-2008) concerning population statistics, the occurrence of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular services and human resources in Puerto Rico is presented. Relevant information concerning life expectancy at birth, death by specific causes in a recent four years period, the commonest causes of death, and the related cardiovascular risk factors prevalence data available is included. The surgical and medical interventional services rendered to cardiovascular patients in different institutions and their locations in Puerto Rico in the year 2008 is presented. Some remarks concerning the productivity of physicians by our Schools of Medicine is included. Information about ACGME accredited postgraduate cardiovascular training programs conducted in Puerto Rico is presented. Data concerning the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, overweight and obesity obtained by BRFSS in presented.

  4. 16 CFR 700.8 - Warrantor's decision as final.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... jurisdiction over suits for breach of warranty and service contract. ... decision as final. A warrantor shall not indicate in any written warranty or service contract either... party is final or binding in any dispute concerning the warranty or service contract. Nor shall a...

  5. Socioeconomic influences on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being: a quantitative application of the DPSIR model in Jiangsu, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Ying; Zhou, Shudong; Burkhard, Benjamin; Müller, Felix

    2014-08-15

    One focus of ecosystem service research is the connection between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being as well as the socioeconomic influences on them. Despite existing investigations, exact impacts from the human system on the dynamics of biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being are still uncertain because of the insufficiency of the respective quantitative analyses. Our research aims are discerning the socioeconomic influences on biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being and demonstrating mutual impacts between these items. We propose a DPSIR framework coupling ecological integrity, ecosystem services as well as human well-being and suggest DPSIR indicators for the case study area Jiangsu, China. Based on available statistical and surveying data, we revealed the factors significantly impacting biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being in the research area through factor analysis and correlation analysis, using the 13 prefecture-level cities of Jiangsu as samples. The results show that urbanization and industrialization in the urban areas have predominant positive influences on regional biodiversity, agricultural productivity and tourism services as well as rural residents' living standards. Additionally, the knowledge, technology and finance inputs for agriculture also have generally positive impacts on these system components. Concerning regional carbon storage, non-cropland vegetation cover obviously plays a significant positive role. Contrarily, the expansion of farming land and the increase of total food production are two important negative influential factors of biodiversity, ecosystem's food provisioning service capacity, regional tourism income and the well-being of the rural population. Our study provides a promising approach based on the DPSIR model to quantitatively capture the socioeconomic influential factors of biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being for human-environmental systems

  6. Applying human rights to improve access to reproductive health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Dorothy; Cook, Rebecca J

    2012-10-01

    Universal access to reproductive health is a target of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5B, and along with MDG 5A to reduce maternal mortality by three-quarters, progress is currently too slow for most countries to achieve these targets by 2015. Critical to success are increased and sustainable numbers of skilled healthcare workers and financing of essential medicines by governments, who have made political commitments in United Nations forums to renew their efforts to reduce maternal mortality. National essential medicine lists are not reflective of medicines available free or at cost in facilities or in the community. The WHO Essential Medicines List indicates medicines required for maternal and newborn health including the full range of contraceptives and emergency contraception, but there is no consistent monitoring of implementation of national lists through procurement and supply even for basic essential drugs. Health advocates are using human rights mechanisms to ensure governments honor their legal commitments to ensure access to services essential for reproductive health. Maternal mortality is recognized as a human rights violation by the United Nations and constitutional and human rights are being used, and could be used more effectively, to improve maternity services and to ensure access to drugs essential for reproductive health. Copyright © 2012 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Design and realization of intelligent tourism service system based on voice interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Lei-di; Long, Yi; Qian, Cheng-yang; Zhang, Ling; Lv, Guo-nian

    2008-10-01

    Voice technology is one of the important contents to improve the intelligence and humanization of tourism service system. Combining voice technology, the paper concentrates on application needs and the composition of system to present an overall intelligent tourism service system's framework consisting of presentation layer, Web services layer, and tourism application service layer. On the basis, the paper further elaborated the implementation of the system and its key technologies, including intelligent voice interactive technology, seamless integration technology of multiple data sources, location-perception-based guides' services technology, and tourism safety control technology. Finally, according to the situation of Nanjing tourism, a prototype of Tourism Services System is realized.

  8. Peace Corps Stateside Teacher Training for Volunteers in Liberia. Volume V: Cross-Cultural Training and Support Services. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    PSI Associates, Inc., Washington, DC.

    The cross-cultural training module and support services for Peace Corps volunteers en route to Liberia make trainees more aware of and sensitive to cultural differences in human behavior and human interaction. In this part of the Peace Corps Stateside Teacher Training Model, the approach to training is both generic and specific, and both native…

  9. Earth Observation Data for Mapping and Evaluation of Ecosystem Services to Improve Human Livelihoods and Conserve Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapiro, Aurelie C.; Bhagabati, Nirmal

    2010-12-01

    Mapping and evaluating ecosystem services is of increasing concern and urgency for conservation organizations such as WWF. Coupling biodiversity assessments with ecosystem services e.g., carbon sequestration, water regulation, sediment reduction, is an effective way to visualize additional financial and human benefits of conservation for decision makers. WWF is eager to apply various Earth Observation data to conservation applications for consistent mapping and monitoring of natural ecosystems and the potential impacts of their loss on humans and wildlife alike. Such examples include forest carbon mapping, integrated evaluation of ecosystem services (via the InVEST tool) and bundling endangered Tiger habitat with various ecosystem services for bundled benefits.

  10. Improving Wellness on Campus: Service Learning in a Human Nutrition Class

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Bonnie

    2003-01-01

    In a human nutrition class, students are paired with university faculty or staff volunteer participants. Students teach their service learning partners how to record their food consumption and physical activity during a typical 7-day period. Using these data, students complete nutritional assessments of their partners. (Contains 2 figures.)

  11. Ecosystem services provided by bats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunz, Thomas H; Braun de Torrez, Elizabeth; Bauer, Dana; Lobova, Tatyana; Fleming, Theodore H

    2011-03-01

    Ecosystem services are the benefits obtained from the environment that increase human well-being. Economic valuation is conducted by measuring the human welfare gains or losses that result from changes in the provision of ecosystem services. Bats have long been postulated to play important roles in arthropod suppression, seed dispersal, and pollination; however, only recently have these ecosystem services begun to be thoroughly evaluated. Here, we review the available literature on the ecological and economic impact of ecosystem services provided by bats. We describe dietary preferences, foraging behaviors, adaptations, and phylogenetic histories of insectivorous, frugivorous, and nectarivorous bats worldwide in the context of their respective ecosystem services. For each trophic ensemble, we discuss the consequences of these ecological interactions on both natural and agricultural systems. Throughout this review, we highlight the research needed to fully determine the ecosystem services in question. Finally, we provide a comprehensive overview of economic valuation of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, few studies estimating the economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats have been conducted to date; however, we outline a framework that could be used in future studies to more fully address this question. Consumptive goods provided by bats, such as food and guano, are often exchanged in markets where the market price indicates an economic value. Nonmarket valuation methods can be used to estimate the economic value of nonconsumptive services, including inputs to agricultural production and recreational activities. Information on the ecological and economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats can be used to inform decisions regarding where and when to protect or restore bat populations and associated habitats, as well as to improve public perception of bats. © 2011 New York Academy of Sciences.

  12. An Evaluation of the Cybersecurity Policies for the United States Health & Human Services Department: Criteria, Regulations, and Improvements

    OpenAIRE

    Derek Mohammed; Ronda Mariani

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines the criteria necessary for the evaluation of the cybersecurity policies for the United States Health and Human Services Department of the Federal Government. The overall purpose of cybersecurity policies and procedures is supported through compliance with Federal mandated regulation and standards, which serve to protect the organizational services and goals of the United States Health and Human Services Department, and to promote the best possible security practices in the...

  13. Commercialization of PV-powered pumping systems for use in utility PV service programs. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    The project described in this report was a commercialization effort focused on cost-effective remote water pumping systems for use in utility-based photovoltaic (PV) service programs. The project combined a commercialization strategy tailored specifically for electric utilities with the development of a PV-powered pumping system that operates conventional ac pumps rather than relying on the more expensive and less reliable PV pumps on the market. By combining these two attributes, a project goal was established of creating sustained utility purchases of 250 PV-powered water pumping systems per year. The results of each of these tasks are presented in two parts contained in this Final Summary Report. The first part summarizes the results of the Photovoltaic Services Network (PSN) as a new business venture, while the second part summarizes the results of the Golden Photon system installations. Specifically, results and photographs from each of the system installations are presented in this latter part.

  14. An Evaluation of the Cybersecurity Policies for the United States Health & Human Services Department: Criteria, Regulations, and Improvements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Derek Mohammed

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the criteria necessary for the evaluation of the cybersecurity policies for the United States Health and Human Services Department of the Federal Government. The overall purpose of cybersecurity policies and procedures is supported through compliance with Federal mandated regulation and standards, which serve to protect the organizational services and goals of the United States Health and Human Services Department, and to promote the best possible security practices in the protection of information systems from unauthorized actors and cyber-threats. The criteria of the cybersecurity evaluation is identified and analyzed for quality, strengths, weaknesses, and future applicability. Topics within the criteria include organizational operation, regulations and industrial standards compliance, service delivery to national customers, and the prevention and mitigation of IT system and security failure. This analysis determines the strengths and weaknesses, and makes recommendations for revising the cybersecurity policies within the United States Health and Human Services Department.

  15. Entrepreneurial training for Human Resource practitioners and potential services rendered to Small Enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. van der Walt

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available This article examines to what extent current South African university courses/programmes in Human Resources Management and Industrial Psychology prepare students for a career in entrepreneurship. It is argued that human resources practitioners have much to offer in the line of services and advice to small enterprises on how to succeed. The data of the survey are analysed through a qualitative approach. The findings indicate that entrepreneurship training currently receives limited attention in the training of human resources practitioners and industrial psychologists.   Key words and phrases: entrepreneurial education, human resources management, industrial psychology

  16. An Approach to Teaching Ethics Courses in Human Services and Counseling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corey, Gerald; Corey, Schneider Marianne; Callanan, Patrick

    2005-01-01

    This article presents multiple facets of a team approach to teaching and facilitating an ethics course for undergraduate human services students and a graduate ethics course for students majoring in counseling. Starting with general points, this article describes a specific, week-to-week approach to a 1-semester course, concluding with sample…

  17. Human Resources Performance in Service Encounters – A Customer Service Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia GRIGORE

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Efficiency is generally defined as the extent to which resources or effort is employed in order to achieve a certain purpose or objective. As per an economic perspective, this term may also mean a minimum quantity of supplies which can generate a maximum result. But can we talk about efficiency in terms of human resources and their allocation to a specific task? And how one asses the activity of the employees when considering service encounters? This study aims to provide an answer to these two questions from an emotional labor perspective: individuals employ their emotional abilities in order to perform a certain job. This is a process under a commercial perspective: the wage represents the exchange value for these competencies.

  18. 45 CFR 61.9 - Reporting civil judgments related to the delivery of a health care item or service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Reporting civil judgments related to the delivery of a health care item or service. 61.9 Section 61.9 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION HEALTHCARE INTEGRITY AND PROTECTION DATA BANK FOR FINAL ADVERSE INFORMATION...

  19. An Evaluation of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) Across Domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilder, David A; Lipschultz, Joshua; Gehrman, Chana

    2018-06-01

    The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) is an informant-based tool designed to assess the environmental variables that contribute to poor employee performance in human service settings. Although the PDC-HS has been shown to effectively identify variables contributing to problematic performance, interventions based on only two of the four PDC-HS domains have been evaluated to date. In addition, the extent to which PDC-HS-indicated interventions are more effective than nonindicated interventions for two domains remains unclear. In the current study, we administered the PDC-HS to supervisors to assess the variables contributing to infrequent teaching of verbal operants and use of a timer by therapists at a center-based autism treatment program. Each of the four PDC-HS domains was identified as contributing to poor performance for at least one therapist. We then evaluated PDC-HS-indicated interventions for each domain. In addition, to assess the predictive validity of the tool, we evaluated various nonindicated interventions prior to implementing a PDC-HS-indicated intervention for two of the four domains. Results suggest that the PDC-HS-indicated interventions were effective across all four domains and were more effective than the nonindicated interventions for the two domains for which they were evaluated. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of the PDC-HS to identify appropriate interventions to manage therapist performance in human service settings.

  20. 75 FR 70114 - Amendment to the Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-17

    ... HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight 45 CFR Part 147 RIN 0950-AA17 [OCIIO-9991-IFC2] Amendment to the Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance... Administration, Department of Labor; Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, Department of Health...

  1. Working Together for Mental Health: Evaluation of a one-day mental health course for human service providers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grootemaat, Pam; Gillan, Cathie; Holt, Gillian; Forward, Wayne; Heywood, Narelle; Willis, Sue

    2006-01-01

    Background The Working Together For Mental Health course is an 8-hour course designed to demystify mental illness and mental health services. The main target group for the course is people working in human service organisations who provide services for people with mental illness. Methods A questionnaire was administered to all participants attending the course during 2003 (n = 165). Participants completed the questionnaire before and immediately after the course, and at three month follow-up. Results A response rate of 69% was achieved with 114 people completing the questionnaire on all three occasions. The responses showed a significant improvement in the self-assessed knowledge and confidence of participants to provide human services to people with a mental health problem or disorder, three months after the course. There was no significant improvement in participants' attitudes or beliefs about people with a mental health problem or disorder at three month follow-up; however, participants' attitudes were largely positive before entering the course. Conclusion The Working Together For Mental Health course was successful in improving participants' confidence and knowledge around providing human services to people with a mental health illness. PMID:17074097

  2. A new framework for assessing river ecosystem health with consideration of human service demand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Zengliang; Zuo, Qiting; Shao, Quanxi

    2018-06-01

    In order to study river health status from harmonic relationship between human and natural environment, a river health evaluation method was proposed from the aspects of ecosystem integrity and human service demand, and the understanding of river health connotation. The proposed method is based on the harmony theory and two types of river health assessment methods (the forecasting model and index evaluation). A new framework for assessing river water health was then formed from the perspective of harmony and dynamic evolution between human service demand and river ecosystem integrity. As a case study, the method and framework were applied to the Shaying River Basin, a tributary of the most polluted Huaihe River Basin in China. The health status of the river's ecosystem and its effect on the mainstream of Huaihe River were evaluated based on water ecological experiment. The results indicated that: (1) the water ecological environment in Shaying River was generally poor and showed a gradual changing pattern along the river. The river health levels were generally "medium" in the upstream but mostly "sub-disease" in the midstream and downstream, indicating that the water pollution in Shaying River were mainly concentrated in the midstream and downstream; (2) the water pollution of Shaying River had great influence on the ecosystem of Huaihe River, and the main influencing factors were TN, followed by TP and COD Mn ; (3) the natural attribute of river was transferring toward to the direction of socialization due to the increasing human activities. The stronger the human activity intervention is, the faster the transfer will be and the more river's attributes will match with human service demand. The proposed framework contributes to the research in water ecology and environment management, and the research results can serve as an important reference for basin management in Shaying River and Huaihe River. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Costing and pricing electric power reserve services. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirsch, L.D.; Rajaraman, R.; Clark, C.

    1997-12-01

    In the competitive electric power markets of the imminent future, reserves will be the second largest generation service in terms of their revenues and profits. Because reserves will be more widely traded than at present, they will be provided by the cheapest available sources regardless of the ownership of those sources. Price will determine the willingness of generators and consumers to provide reserve services; and it may also determine the willingness of reserve users to purchase reserve services. This report presents a methodology by which generation firms and merchant firms can profitably cost and price the reserve services that they offer. The methodology is generally applicable to a wide range of market structures that such firms might face

  4. Identification of Information Needs of the American Indian Community That Can Be Met by Library Services. Final Report, June 1975.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townley, Charles T.

    As the final report on the National Indian Education Association's (NIEA) Library Project, this document presents the following: (1) an introduction (describes the general condition of American Indian library service, the involvement of NIEA, and the project's objectives and time line); (2) the methodology of Phase I: identification of…

  5. Ecosystem Functions Connecting Contributions from Ecosystem Services to Human Wellbeing in a Mangrove System in Northern Taiwan

    OpenAIRE

    Hsieh, Hwey-Lian; Lin, Hsing-Juh; Shih, Shang-Shu; Chen, Chang-Po

    2015-01-01

    The present study examined a mangrove ecosystem in northern Taiwan to determine how the various components of ecosystem function, ecosystem services and human wellbeing are connected. The overall contributions of mangrove services to specific components of human wellbeing were also assessed. A network was developed and evaluated by an expert panel consisting of hydrologists, ecologists, and experts in the field of culture, landscape or architecture. The results showed that supporting habitats...

  6. E-service learning: A pedagogic innovation for healthcare management education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malvey, Donna M; Hamby, Eileen F; Fottler, Myron D

    2006-01-01

    This paper proposes an innovation in service learning that we identify as e-service learning. By adding the "e" to service learning, we create a service learning model that is dynamic, mediated by technology, and delivered online. This paper begins by examining service learning, which is a distinct learning concept. Service learning furnishes students with opportunities for applied learning through participation in projects and activities in community organizations. The authors then define and conceptualize e-service learning, including the anticipated outcomes of implementation such as enhanced access, quality, and cost effectiveness of healthcare management education. Because e-service learning is mediated by technology, we identify state of the art technologies that support e-service learning activities. In addition, possible e-service learning projects and activities that may be included in healthcare management courses such as finance, human resources, quality, service management/marketing and strategy are identified. Finally, opportunities for future research are suggested.

  7. Final report on the Project Research 'Assessment of Human Exposure to Environmental Radiation'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-03-01

    This is the final report of the Project Research, 'Assessment of Human Exposure to Environmental Radiation', which has been conducted during the period 1983-1988. With the objective of assessing risk of environmental radioactivity to the population, the Project was divided into the following five research groups: (1) research for establishing calculation models and parameters in transfer of radionuclides from crop species through the human body; (2) research for analyzing transfer of radionuclides in the ocean and their contributions to exposure doses in the human body; (3) research for surveying accuracy of exposure models for the external body and respiratory organ and the influential factors; (4) research for determining uptake and biokinetics of radionuclides in the body; and (5) research for estimating and evaluating physical and physiological characteristics of reference Japanese man and the populaltion doses. Effluents from nuclear power plants and reprocessing plants were regarded as radionuclide sources in the water and atmosphere. (N.K.)

  8. Family Violence Prevention and Services Programs. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-11-02

    This rule will better prevent and protect survivors of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence, by clarifying that all survivors must have access to services and programs funded under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act. More specifically, the rule enhances accessibility and non-discrimination provisions, clarifies confidentiality rules, promotes coordination among community-based organizations, State Domestic Violence Coalitions, States, and Tribes, as well as incorporates new discretionary grant programs. Furthermore, the rule updates existing regulations to reflect statutory changes made to the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, and updates procedures for soliciting and awarding grants. The rule also increases clarity and reduces potential confusion over statutory and regulatory standards. The rule codifies standards already used by the program in the Funding Opportunity Announcements and awards, in technical assistance, in reporting requirements, and in sub-regulatory guidance.

  9. 78 FR 3897 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or...

  10. 78 FR 3898 - Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or...

  11. 75 FR 34537 - Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-17

    ... 45 CFR Part 147 Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a... for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a Grandfathered Health Plan... and Insurance Oversight, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Interim final rules with...

  12. Enabling Healthcare IT Governance: Human Task Management Service for Administering Emergency Department's Resources for Efficient Patient Flow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Salvador; Aziz, Ayesha; Chatwin, Chris

    2014-01-01

    The use of Health Information Technology (HIT) to improve healthcare service delivery is constantly increasing due to research advances in medical science and information systems. Having a fully automated process solution for a Healthcare Organization (HCO) requires a combination of organizational strategies along with a selection of technologies that facilitate the goal of improving clinical outcomes. HCOs, requires dynamic management of care capability to realize the full potential of HIT. Business Process Management (BPM) is being increasingly adopted to streamline the healthcare service delivery and management processes. Emergency Departments (EDs) provide a case in point, which require multidisciplinary resources and services to deliver effective clinical outcomes. Managed care involves the coordination of a range of services in an ED. Although fully automated processes in emergency care provide a cutting edge example of service delivery, there are many situations that require human interactions with the computerized systems; e.g. Medication Approvals, care transfer, acute patient care. This requires a coordination mechanism for all the resources, computer and human, to work side by side to provide the best care. To ensure evidence-based medical practice in ED, we have designed a Human Task Management service to model the process of coordination of ED resources based on the UK's NICE Clinical guideline for managing the care of acutely ill patients. This functionality is implemented using Java Business process Management (jBPM).

  13. Executive summary and guide to final report: Advisory committee on human radiation experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-01-01

    On January 15, 1994, President Clinton appointed the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments to investigate reports of possibly unethical experiments funded by the government decades ago. The Committee was directed to uncover the history of human radiation experiments during the period 1944 through 1974 and to examine cases in which the government had intentionally released radiation into the environment for research purposes. The Committee was further charged with identifying the ethical and scientific standards for evaluating these events, and with making recommendations to ensure that whatever wrongdoing may have ocurred in the past cannot be repeated. The Committee undertook three projects: A review of how each agency of the federal government that currently conducts or funds research involving human subjects regulates this activity or oversees it; An examination of the documents and consent forms of research projects that are today sponsored by the federal government in order to develop insight into the current status of protections for the rights and interests of human subjects; and, Interviews of nearly 1,900 patients receiving out-patient medical care in private hospitals and federal facilities throughout the country. This booklet provides an overview of the Final Report, summarizing each chapter.

  14. Uncovering configurations of HRM service provider intellectual capital and worker human capital for creating high HRM service value using fsQCA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijerink, Jeroen Gerard; Bondarouk, Tatiana

    Although traditionally applied independently, this study combines two theoretical perspectives – the intellectual capital theory and the consumer perspective – to uncover value-creating configurations of human resource management (HRM) service providers' and workers' knowledge resources. We examined

  15. Discussing Poverty as a Student Issue: Making a Case for Student Human Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cady, Clare

    2012-01-01

    Student poverty is an issue with which far too many students are confronted. Student affairs professionals must increase their awareness of this human dynamic and develop programs, services, and personal knowledge to support students faced with this challenge.

  16. Project Amistad (Friendship), a Joint Venture between DHS and Family Outreach. Final Report: Innovations in Protective Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dennis-Small, Lucretia

    Conducted by the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS), Project Amistad (Friendship) originally set out to recruit and train Black and Hispanic volunteers to conduct lay therapy sessions with Black and Hispanic families in which abuse and neglect of children had occurred. Start-up was significantly delayed due to personnel changes; as a result,…

  17. MALINA: a web service for visual analytics of human gut microbiota whole-genome metagenomic reads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyakht, Alexander V; Popenko, Anna S; Belenikin, Maxim S; Altukhov, Ilya A; Pavlenko, Alexander V; Kostryukova, Elena S; Selezneva, Oksana V; Larin, Andrei K; Karpova, Irina Y; Alexeev, Dmitry G

    2012-12-07

    MALINA is a web service for bioinformatic analysis of whole-genome metagenomic data obtained from human gut microbiota sequencing. As input data, it accepts metagenomic reads of various sequencing technologies, including long reads (such as Sanger and 454 sequencing) and next-generation (including SOLiD and Illumina). It is the first metagenomic web service that is capable of processing SOLiD color-space reads, to authors' knowledge. The web service allows phylogenetic and functional profiling of metagenomic samples using coverage depth resulting from the alignment of the reads to the catalogue of reference sequences which are built into the pipeline and contain prevalent microbial genomes and genes of human gut microbiota. The obtained metagenomic composition vectors are processed by the statistical analysis and visualization module containing methods for clustering, dimension reduction and group comparison. Additionally, the MALINA database includes vectors of bacterial and functional composition for human gut microbiota samples from a large number of existing studies allowing their comparative analysis together with user samples, namely datasets from Russian Metagenome project, MetaHIT and Human Microbiome Project (downloaded from http://hmpdacc.org). MALINA is made freely available on the web at http://malina.metagenome.ru. The website is implemented in JavaScript (using Ext JS), Microsoft .NET Framework, MS SQL, Python, with all major browsers supported.

  18. Provision of ecosystem services by human-made structures in a highly impacted estuary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Layman, Craig A; Jud, Zachary R; Archer, Stephanie K; Riera, David

    2014-01-01

    Water filtration is one of the most important ecosystem services provided by sessile organisms in coastal ecosystems. As a consequence of increased coastal development, human-made shoreline structures (e.g., docks and bulkheads) are now common, providing extensive surface area for colonization by filter feeders. We estimate that in a highly urbanized sub-tropical estuary, water filtration capacity supported by filter feeding assemblages on dock pilings accounts for 11.7 million liters of water h −1 , or ∼30% of the filtration provided by all natural oyster reef throughout the estuary. Assemblage composition, and thus filtration capacity, varied as a function of piling type, suggesting that the choice of building material has critical implications for ecosystem function. A more thorough depiction of the function of coastal ecosystems necessitates quantification of the extensive ecosystem services associated with human-made structures. (paper)

  19. Communication Capacity Research in the Majority World: Supporting the human right to communication specialist services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopf, Suzanne C

    2018-02-01

    Receipt of accessible and appropriate specialist services and resources by all people with communication and/or swallowing disability is a human right; however, it is a right rarely achieved in either Minority or Majority World contexts. This paper considers communication specialists' efforts to provide sustainable services for people with communication difficulties living in Majority World countries. The commentary draws on human rights literature, particularly Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Communication Capacity Research program that includes: (1) gathering knowledge from policy and literature; (2) gathering knowledge from the community; (3) understanding speech, language and literacy use and proficiency; and (4) developing culturally and linguistically appropriate resources and assessments. To inform the development of resources and assessments that could be used by speech-language pathologists as well as other communication specialists in Fiji, the Communication Capacity Research program involved collection and analysis of data from multiple sources including 144 community members, 75 school students and their families, and 25 teachers. The Communication Capacity Research program may be applicable for achieving the development of evidence-based, culturally and linguistically sustainable SLP services in similar contexts.

  20. Identifying Competencies in the Food Service Industry. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Linda M.

    This report documents a research project conducted to ascertain what specific occupational competencies are necessary for employees in the food service industry. Questionnaires were mailed to employers, in restaurants and hospitals and to graduates of high school and postsecondary food service programs. The respondents completed 316 position…

  1. Raising the stakes: assessing the human service response to the advent of a casino.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engel, Rafael J; Rosen, Daniel; Weaver, Addie; Soska, Tracy

    2010-12-01

    This article reports the findings of one county's human service network's readiness to treat gambling related problems in anticipation of the opening of a new casino. Using a cross-sectional survey design, questionnaires were mailed to executive directors of all mental health, family counseling, drug and alcohol, and faith-based, addiction-related organizations in the county (N = 248); 137 (55.2%) agency directors responded to the questionnaire. The survey requested information about agency demographics, training, screening, treatment, and public awareness/education. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were used to summarize the findings. The analyses revealed a lack of human service response to the impending start of casino gambling. More than three-quarters of respondents had not sent staff for training in screening or treating gambling disorders, did not screen for problem gambling, did not treat problem gambling, and did not refer clients to other agencies for treatment of gambling-related problems. The most common reason offered for not engaging in prevention and treatment activities was that problem gambling is not considered an issue for the agency. There were differences between mental health and/or substance abuse focused agencies and other service providers. Based on the findings of this study, specific strategies to enhance the service delivery network's capacity to address problem gambling are suggested.

  2. Data Dictionary Services in XNAT and the Human Connectome Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rick eHerrick

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The XNAT informatics platform is an open source data management tool used by biomedical imaging researchers around the world. An important feature of XNAT is its highly extensible architecture: users of XNAT can add new data types to the system to capture the imaging and phenotypic data generated in their studies. Until recently, XNAT has had limited capacity to broadcast the meaning of these data extensions to users, other XNAT installations, and other software.We have implemented a data dictionary service for XNAT, which is currently being used on ConnectomeDB, the Human Connectome Project (HCP public data sharing website. The data dictionary service provides a framework to define key relationships between data elements and structures across the XNAT installation. This includes not just core data representing medical imaging data or subject or patient evaluations, but also taxonomical structures, security relationships, subject groups, and research protocols. The data dictionary allows users to define metadata for data structures and their properties, such as value types (e.g. textual, integers, floats and valid value templates, ranges, or field lists. The service provides compatibility and integration with other research data management services by enabling easy migration of XNAT data to standards-based formats such as RDF, JSON, and XML. It also facilitates the conversion of XNAT’s native data schema into standard neuroimaging ontology structures and provenances.

  3. Using Multiattribute Utility Theory as a Priority-Setting Tool in Human Services Planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camasso, Michael J.; Dick, Janet

    1993-01-01

    The feasibility of applying multiattribute utility theory to the needs assessment and priority-setting activities of human services planning councils was studied in Essex County (New Jersey). Decision-making and information filtering processes are explored in the context of community planning. (SLD)

  4. Work-related threats and violence in human service sectors: The importance of the psycho-social work environment examined in a multilevel prospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Lars Peter; Hogh, Annie; Biering, Karin; Gadegaard, Charlotte Ann

    2018-01-01

    Threats and violence at work are major concerns for employees in many human service sectors. The prevention of work-related violence is a major challenge for employees and management. The purpose of this study was to identify prospective associations between psycho-social work environment and work-related threats and violence in four high risk human service sectors. Questionnaire data was collected from 3011 employees working at psychiatric wards, in the elder sector, in the Prison and Probation Service and at Special Schools. Associations between psycho-social work environment and work-related violence and threats were then studied using a one-year follow-up design and multilevel logistic regression analyses. The analyses showed that quantitative demands, high emotional demands, low level of influence over own work-situation, low predictability, low rewards at work, low role clarity, many role conflicts, many work-family conflicts and low organizational justice had statistically significant associations with high levels of work-related threats. Furthermore, high emotional demands, low predictability, low role clarity, many role conflicts, many work-family conflicts, low supervisor quality and low support from nearest supervisor had statistically significant associations with high levels of work-related violence. Finally, across the four sectors both similar and different associations between psycho-social work environment and work-related violence and threats were found. The results of the study underline the importance of including the psycho-social work environment as a supplement to existing violence prevention methods and interventions aimed at reducing work-related violence and threats.

  5. Producer services, economic geography, and services tradability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vaal, A; van den Berg, M

    We investigate how the incorporation of producer services linkages affects the outcome of an economic geography model. We specify the production of manufactures such that a variety of producer services is needed to transform tradable unfinished goods into final consumption goods. We find that

  6. LINKING CLASSROOM AND COMMUNITY: A THEORETICAL ALIGNMENT OF SERVICE LEARNING AND A HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN METHODOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATION DESIGN EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anneli Bowie

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The current emphasis on social responsibility and community collaboration within higher education has led to an increased drive to include service learning in the curriculum. With its emphasis on mutually beneficial collaborations, service learning can be meaningful for both students and the community, but is challenging to manage successfully. From a design education perspective, it is interesting to note that contemporary design practice emphasises a similar approach known as a human-centered design, where users are considered and included throughout the design process. In considering both service learning and human-centred design as foundations for design pedagogy, various philosophical and methodological similarities are evident. The paper explores the relationship between a service learning community engagement approach and a human-centered design approach in contemporary communication design education. To this end, each approach is considered individually after which a joint frame of reference is presented. Butin’s service learning typology, namely the four Rs – respect, reciprocity, relevance and reflection – serves as a point of departure for the joint frame of reference. Lastly, the potential value and relevance of a combined understanding of service learning and human-centered design is considered.

  7. Does human resource management improve family planning service quality? Analysis from the Kenya Service Provision Assessment 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thatte, Nandita; Choi, Yoonjoung

    2015-04-01

    Human resource (HR) management is a priority for health systems strengthening in developing countries, yet few studies have empirically examined associations with service quality. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between HR management and family planning (FP) service quality. Data came from the 2010 Kenya Service Provision Assessment, a nationally representative health facility assessment. In total, 912 FP consultations from 301 facilities were analysed. Four indices were created to measure quality on reproductive history taking, physical examination, sexually transmitted infections prevention and pill/injectable specific counselling. HR management variables included training in the past year, any and supportive (i.e. with feedback, technical updates and discussion) in-person supervision in the past 6 months and having a written job description. Multivariate linear regression analyses were conducted to estimate coefficients of HR management variables on each of the four quality indices, adjusting for background characteristics of clients, provider and facilities. The level of service quality ranged from 16 to 53 out of a maximum score of 100 across the indices. Fifty-two per cent of consultations were done by providers who received supportive in-person supervision in the previous 6 months. In 23% and 38% of consultations, the provider was trained in the past year and had a written job description, respectively. Multivariate analyses indicated that having a written job description was associated with higher service quality in history taking, physical examination and the pill/injectable specific counselling. Other HR management variables were not significantly associated with service quality. Having a written job description was significantly associated with higher service quality and may be a useful tool for strengthening management practices. The details of such job descriptions and the quality of other management indicators should be

  8. Employee Self Service-based Human Resources Information System Development and Implementation. Case Study: BCP Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lestari Margatama

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Human Resources Information System is a Decision Support System that provides necessary information regarding human resources in an organization. Web-based e-HR is one of the best practical solution in human resources management that allows employees to focus more on their job instead of HR administration procedures. By implementing Employee Self Service (ESS it is expected that worker satisfaction can be improved and in turn will also improve employees’ performance. The web-based ESS is characterized by personalized information approach which offers personal and management services on information access and structured workflow process. The object covered in this research is HR administration of PT. BCP to create and implement ESS with system prototype development and UML modeling tool. The resulting system is designed to quickly access the information and company procedures to shorten the time for BCP’s employee administration and documentation

  9. Community College Students with Criminal Justice Histories and Human Services Education: Glass Ceiling, Brick Wall, or a Pathway to Success

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Lisa Hale

    2015-01-01

    In spite of open access to community college education, specifically human service associate degree programs, students with criminal justice histories do not necessarily have an unobstructed pathway to obtaining the degree and admission to the baccalaureate programs in human services and social work that are almost always selective. The first…

  10. The Human Appropriation of Ecosystem Service Values (HAESV) in the Sundarban Biosphere Region Using Biophysical Quantification Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sannigrahi, S.; Paul, S. K.; Sen, S.

    2017-12-01

    Human appropriation, especially unusual changes in land-use and land cover, significantly affects ecosystem services and functions. Driven by the growth of the population and the economy, human demands on earth's land surface have increased dramatically in the past 50 - 100 years. The area studied was divided into six major categories; cropland, mangrove forest, sparse vegetation, built-up urban area, water bodies and sandy coast, and the land coverage was calculated for the years 1973, 1988, 2002 and 2013. The spatial explicit value of the primary regulatory and supporting ecosystem services (climate regulation, raw material production, water regulation) were quantified through the indirect market valuation approach. A light use efficiency based ecosystem model, i.e. Carnegie- Ames-Stanford-Approach (CASA) was employed to estimate the carbon sequestration and oxygen production services of the ecosystem. The ArcGIS matrix transform approach calculated LULC dynamics among the classes. Investigation revealed that the built-up urban area increased from 42.9 km2 in 1973 to 308 km2 in 2013 with a 6.6 km2 yr-1 expansion rate. Similarly, water bodies (especially inland water bodies increased dramatically in the north central region) increased from 3392.1 sq.km in 1973 to 5420 sq.km in 2013 at the expense of semi-natural and natural land resulting in significant changes of ecological and ecosystem services. However, the area occupied by dense mangrove forest decreased substantially during the 40 years (1973 -2013); it was recorded to cover 2294 km2 in 1973 and 1820 km2 in 2013. The results showed that the estimated regulatory and supporting ecosystem services respond quite differently to human appropriation across the regions in both the economic and ecological dimensions. While evaluating the trade-of between human appropriation and ecosystem service changes, it has been estimated that the ecosystem service value of organic matter provision services decreased from 755 US

  11. Access to health and human services for drug users: an urban/rural community systems perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivers, J E; Komaroff, E; Kibort, A C

    1999-01-01

    Publicly funded drug-user treatment programs in both urban and rural areas are under unprecedented pressure to adapt to multiple perspectives of their mission, reduced governmental funding, diminished entitlement program resources for clients, managed care reforms, and continuing unmet need for services. This article describe an ongoing health services research study that is investigating how these and related health and human service programs currently serve and cross-refer chronic drug users and how they perceive and are reacting to systemic pressures. Interim analysis on intra-agency diversity and managed care perceptions are reported.

  12. Assessment of chimeric mice with humanized livers in new drug development: generation of pharmacokinetics, metabolism and toxicity data for selecting the final candidate compound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamimura, Hidetaka; Ito, Satoshi

    2016-01-01

    1. Chimeric mice with humanized livers are expected to be a novel tool for new drug development. This review discusses four applications where these animals can be used efficiently to collect supportive data for selecting the best compound in the final stage of drug discovery. 2. The first application is selection of the final compound based on estimated pharmacokinetic parameters in humans. Since chimeric mouse livers are highly repopulated with human hepatocytes, hepatic clearance values in vivo could be used preferentially to estimate pharmacokinetic profiles for humans. 3. The second is prediction of human-specific or disproportionate metabolites. Chimeric mice reproduce human-specific metabolites of drugs under development to conform to ICH guidance M3(R2), except for compounds that were extensively eliminated by co-existing mouse hepatocytes. 4. The third is identifying metabolites with distinct pharmacokinetic profiles in humans. Slow metabolite elimination specifically in humans increases its exposure level, but if its elimination is faster in laboratory animals, the animal exposure level might not satisfy ICH guidance M3(R2). 5. Finally, two examples of reproducing acute liver toxicity in chimeric mice are introduced. Integrated pharmacokinetics, metabolism and toxicity information are expected to assist pharmaceutical scientists in selecting the best candidate compound in new drug development.

  13. 42 CFR 59.7 - What criteria will the Department of Health and Human Services use to decide which family...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What criteria will the Department of Health and Human Services use to decide which family planning services projects to fund and in what amount? 59.7... FOR FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES Project Grants for Family Planning Services § 59.7 What criteria will the...

  14. The use of managerial grid to analyse the relationship between assessment of human and production or service issues in various companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krzysztof Knop

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In the article the results of BOST method usage was presented to analyse the importance of human and production/ services issues in three different companies - a steelworks, a plastic-processing and a retail chain company. The importance of human and production/service issues was analysed by using the concept of the managerial grid. The relation between workers answers with the use of managerial grid after division answers was analysed into four and three areas. The frequency of occurrence of ratings to determine a degree of perception of importance of human and production/service issues in these companies was analysed.

  15. Attitudes of Future Human Service Professionals: The Effects of Victim and Helper Qualities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liebkind, Karmela; Eranen, Liisa

    2001-01-01

    Investigates the attitudes of future members in human service professions toward victims, based on the qualities effected by trauma victims and their helpers. Reports that the high-trauma and poorly adapted victims elicited more negative attitudes than did the low-trauma and well-adapted victims. (CMK)

  16. Enhancing Hubble's vision service missions that expanded our view of the universe

    CERN Document Server

    Shayler, David J

    2016-01-01

    After a 20-year struggle to place a large, sophisticated optical telescope in orbit the Hubble Space Telescope was finally launched in 1990, though its primary mirror was soon found to be flawed. A dramatic mission in 1993 installed corrective optics so that the intended science program could finally begin. Those events are related in a companion to this book, The Hubble Space Telescope: From Concept to Success.   Enhancing Hubble’s Vision: Service Missions That Expanded Our View of the Universe tells the story of the four missions between 1997 and 2009 that repaired, serviced and upgraded the instruments on the telescope to maintain its state-of-the-art capabilities. It draws on first hand interviews with those closely involved in the project. The spacewalking skills and experiences gained from maintaining and upgrading Hubble had direct application to the construction of the International Space Station and help with its maintenance. These skills can be applied to future human and robotic satellite servic...

  17. Data dictionary services in XNAT and the Human Connectome Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrick, Rick; McKay, Michael; Olsen, Timothy; Horton, William; Florida, Mark; Moore, Charles J.; Marcus, Daniel S.

    2014-01-01

    The XNAT informatics platform is an open source data management tool used by biomedical imaging researchers around the world. An important feature of XNAT is its highly extensible architecture: users of XNAT can add new data types to the system to capture the imaging and phenotypic data generated in their studies. Until recently, XNAT has had limited capacity to broadcast the meaning of these data extensions to users, other XNAT installations, and other software. We have implemented a data dictionary service for XNAT, which is currently being used on ConnectomeDB, the Human Connectome Project (HCP) public data sharing website. The data dictionary service provides a framework to define key relationships between data elements and structures across the XNAT installation. This includes not just core data representing medical imaging data or subject or patient evaluations, but also taxonomical structures, security relationships, subject groups, and research protocols. The data dictionary allows users to define metadata for data structures and their properties, such as value types (e.g., textual, integers, floats) and valid value templates, ranges, or field lists. The service provides compatibility and integration with other research data management services by enabling easy migration of XNAT data to standards-based formats such as the Resource Description Framework (RDF), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), and Extensible Markup Language (XML). It also facilitates the conversion of XNAT's native data schema into standard neuroimaging vocabularies and structures. PMID:25071542

  18. 76 FR 47353 - Final Directives for Forest Service Wind Energy Special Use Authorizations, Forest Service Manual...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-04

    ... Forest Management Act (NFMA); Executive Order (E.O.) 13212, which states increased production and... Service Handbooks 2609.13 and 2709.11; Notice #0;#0;Federal Register / Vol. 76 , No. 150 / Thursday..., Forest Service Handbooks 2609.13 and 2709.11 AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of issuance of...

  19. [Ecosystem services valuation of Qinghai Lake].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Bo; Zhang, Lu; Ouyang, Zhi-yun

    2015-10-01

    Qinghai Lake is the largest inland and salt water lake in China, and provides important ecosystem services to beneficiaries. Economic valuation of wetland ecosystem services from Qinghai Lake can reveal the direct contribution of lake ecosystems to beneficiaries using economic data, which can advance the incorporation of wetland protection of Qinghai Lake into economic tradeoffs and decision analyses. In this paper, we established a final ecosystem services valuation system based on the underlying ecological mechanisms and regional socio-economic conditions. We then evaluated the eco-economic value provided by the wetlands at Qinghai Lake to beneficiaries in 2012 using the market value method, replacement cost method, zonal travel cost method, and contingent valuation method. According to the valuation result, the total economic values of the final ecosystem services provided by the wetlands at Qinghai Lake were estimated to be 6749.08 x 10(8) yuan RMB in 2012, among which the value of water storage service and climate regulation service were 4797.57 x 10(8) and 1929.34 x 10(8) yuan RMB, accounting for 71.1% and 28.6% of the total value, respectively. The economic value of the 8 final ecosystem services was ranked from greatest to lowest as: water storage service > climate regulation service > recreation and tourism service > non-use value > oxygen release service > raw material production service > carbon sequestration service > food production service. The evaluation result of this paper reflects the substantial value that the wetlands of Qinghai Lake provide to beneficiaries using monetary values, which has the potential to help increase wetland protection awareness among the public and decision-makers, and inform managers about ways to create ecological compensation incentives. The final ecosystem service evaluation system presented in this paper will offer guidance on separating intermediate services and final services, and establishing monitoring programs for

  20. Testing a measure of organizational learning capacity and readiness for transformational change in human services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bess, Kimberly D; Perkins, Douglas D; McCown, Diana L

    2011-01-01

    Transformative organizational change requires organizational learning capacity, which we define in terms of (1) internal and (2) external organizational systems alignment, and promoting a culture of learning, including (3) an emphasis on exploration and information, (4) open communication, (5) staff empowerment, and (6) support for professional development. We shortened and adapted Watkins and Marsick's Dimensions of Learning Organizations Questionnaire into a new 16-item Organizational Learning Capacity Scale (OLCS) geared more toward nonprofit organizations. The OLCS and its subscales measuring each of the above 6 dimensions are unusually reliable for their brevity. ANOVAs for the OLCS and subscales clearly and consistently confirmed extensive participant observations and other qualitative data from four nonprofit human service organizations and one local human service funding organization.

  1. Handbook for preservation of local railroad service. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patton, E.P.; Langley, C.J. Jr.

    1977-01-01

    Throughout the United States, there is an accelerating abandonment of redundant and/or unprofitable light-density railroad lines. This abandonment can be economically harmful to both the shippers and the communities that were previously served. Although greater dependence upon truck transportation is a viable alternative in many cases, other situations indicate that the greatest priority should be attached to preserving some form of local railroad service. The objective of this research was to develop a handbook to assist shippers, local and state governments, and rail planners when their Class I rail service is scheduled for abandonment. Two major options are detailed in the handbook. The first regards innovative procedures which may be used by local groups in attempting to preserve service by the existing Class I carrier. The second approach considers the alternative of operating the particular line as an independent railroad.

  2. Bridging Services: Drug Abuse, Human Services and the Therapeutic Community. Proceedings of the World Conference of Therapeutic Communities (9th, San Francisco, California, September 1-6, 1985).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acampora, Alfonso P., Ed.; Nebelkopf, Ethan, Ed.

    The World Federation of Therapeutic Communities is an international association of drug treatment centers that use the "Therapeutic Community" (TC) to combat chemical dependency and drug addiction. Their 1985 conference focused on bridging services between the TC and the traditional human service systems. A total of 85 separate papers were…

  3. Human space flight and future major space astrophysics missions: servicing and assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thronson, Harley; Peterson, Bradley M.; Greenhouse, Matthew; MacEwen, Howard; Mukherjee, Rudranarayan; Polidan, Ronald; Reed, Benjamin; Siegler, Nicholas; Smith, Hsiao

    2017-09-01

    Some concepts for candidate future "flagship" space observatories approach the payload limits of the largest launch vehicles planned for the next few decades, specifically in the available volume in the vehicle fairing. This indicates that an alternative to autonomous self-deployment similar to that of the James Webb Space Telescope will eventually be required. Moreover, even before this size limit is reached, there will be significant motivation to service, repair, and upgrade in-space missions of all sizes, whether to extend the life of expensive facilities or to replace outworn or obsolete onboard systems as was demonstrated so effectively by the Hubble Space Telescope program. In parallel with these challenges to future major space astronomy missions, the capabilities of in-space robotic systems and the goals for human space flight in the 2020s and 2030s offer opportunities for achieving the most exciting science goals of the early 21st Century. In this paper, we summarize the history of concepts for human operations beyond the immediate vicinity of the Earth, the importance of very large apertures for scientific discovery, and current capabilities and future developments in robot- and astronaut-enabled servicing and assembly.

  4. Economic benefits of employment transportation services : final report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-06-30

    This report examines the benefits that accrue from employment transportation services implemented as a result of changes in welfare policy, namely the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. Employment transp...

  5. Best practices in transit service planning : final report, March 2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-01

    The provision of cost efficient and effective bus transit service is the basic premise upon which transit service is developed and the goal that all public transportations agencies strive to achieve. To attain this goal, public transit agencies must ...

  6. 31 CFR 223.20 - Final decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Final decisions. 223.20 Section 223.20 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance (Continued) FISCAL SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICE SURETY COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED...

  7. Human Trafficking in Ethiopia: A Scoping Review to Identify Gaps in Service Delivery, Research, and Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Dana C; Choi, Kristen R; Munro-Kramer, Michelle L; Lori, Jody R

    2017-12-01

    The purpose of this review is to integrate evidence on human trafficking in Ethiopia and identify gaps and recommendations for service delivery, research and training, and policy. A scoping literature review approach was used to systematically search nursing, medical, psychological, law, and international databases and synthesize information on a complex, understudied topic. The search yielded 826 articles, and 39 met the predetermined criteria for inclusion in the review. Trafficking in Ethiopia has occurred internally and externally in the form of adult and child labor and sex trafficking. There were also some reports of organ trafficking and other closely related human rights violations, such as child marriage, child soldiering, and exploitative intercountry adoption. Risk factors for trafficking included push factors (poverty, political instability, economic problems, and gender discrimination) and pull factors (demand for cheap labor). Trafficking was associated with poor health and economic outcomes for victims. Key recommendations for service delivery, research and training, and policy are identified, including establishing comprehensive services for survivor rehabilitation and reintegration, conducting quantitative health outcomes research, and reforming policy around migration and trafficking. Implementing the recommendations identified by this review will allow policy makers, researchers, and practitioners to take meaningful steps toward confronting human trafficking in Ethiopia.

  8. HUMAN-INDUCED CHANGES IN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN THE PETROŞANI DEPRESSION (SOUTHERN CARPATHIANS, ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANDRA COSTACHE

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on the changes in ecosystem services in the most important coal field from the Southern Carpathians (Romania. The time horizon considered is the interval 1950-2010, characterized by two major processes: intensive development of the mining industry (1950-1989 and subsequent restructuring of mining, with significant consequences since 1996. Socio-economic phenomena associated with these two stages in the evolution of the region have generated major changes in ecosystem services, leading to increased human vulnerability, both to extreme events (natural hazards and pressure from economic factors.

  9. Resource Aware Intelligent Network Services (RAINS) Final Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehman, Tom; Yang, Xi

    2018-01-16

    The Resource Aware Intelligent Network Services (RAINS) project conducted research and developed technologies in the area of cyberinfrastructure resource modeling and computation. The goal of this work was to provide a foundation to enable intelligent, software defined services which spanned the network AND the resources which connect to the network. A Multi-Resource Service Plane (MRSP) was defined, which allows resource owners/managers to locate and place themselves from a topology and service availability perspective within the dynamic networked cyberinfrastructure ecosystem. The MRSP enables the presentation of integrated topology views and computation results which can include resources across the spectrum of compute, storage, and networks. The RAINS project developed MSRP includes the following key components: i) Multi-Resource Service (MRS) Ontology/Multi-Resource Markup Language (MRML), ii) Resource Computation Engine (RCE), iii) Modular Driver Framework (to allow integration of a variety of external resources). The MRS/MRML is a general and extensible modeling framework that allows for resource owners to model, or describe, a wide variety of resource types. All resources are described using three categories of elements: Resources, Services, and Relationships between the elements. This modeling framework defines a common method for the transformation of cyberinfrastructure resources into data in the form of MRML models. In order to realize this infrastructure datification, the RAINS project developed a model based computation system, i.e. “RAINS Computation Engine (RCE)”. The RCE has the ability to ingest, process, integrate, and compute based on automatically generated MRML models. The RCE interacts with the resources thru system drivers which are specific to the type of external network or resource controller. The RAINS project developed a modular and pluggable driver system which facilities a variety of resource controllers to automatically generate

  10. Identifying a Human Right to Access Sustainable Energy Services in International Human Rights Law (SDG 7)? (LRN Law and Sustainability Conference)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hesselman, Marlies

    2017-01-01

    This paper assessed whether a right to sustainable energy services access can be found in international human rights law, possibly in support of achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 7. According to SDG 7.1, States are expected to strive for the implementation of "universal access to modern,

  11. Human rights and access to healthcare services for indigenous peoples in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durojaye, Ebenezer

    2017-09-20

    In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the sustainable development goals (SDGs) to address among others poverty and inequality within and among countries of the world. In particular, the SDGs aim at ameliorating the position of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in societies. One of the over-arching goals of the SDGs is to ensure that no one is left behind in the realisation of their access to health care. African governments are obligated under international and regional human rights law to ensure access to healthcare services for everyone, including indigenous populations, on a non-discriminatory basis. This requires the governments to adopt appropriate measures that will remove barriers to healthcare services for disadvantaged and marginalised groups such as indigenous peoples.

  12. Ecosystem services altered by human changes in the nitrogen cycle: a new perspective for US decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Compton, Jana E; Harrison, John A; Dennis, Robin L; Greaver, Tara L; Hill, Brian H; Jordan, Stephen J; Walker, Henry; Campbell, Holly V

    2011-08-01

    Human alteration of the nitrogen (N) cycle has produced benefits for health and well-being, but excess N has altered many ecosystems and degraded air and water quality. US regulations mandate protection of the environment in terms that directly connect to ecosystem services. Here, we review the science quantifying effects of N on key ecosystem services, and compare the costs of N-related impacts or mitigation using the metric of cost per unit of N. Damage costs to the provision of clean air, reflected by impaired human respiratory health, are well characterized and fairly high (e.g. costs of ozone and particulate damages of $28 per kg NO(x)-N). Damage to services associated with productivity, biodiversity, recreation and clean water are less certain and although generally lower, these costs are quite variable (ecosystem services provides decision-makers an integrated view of N sources, damages and abatement costs to address the significant challenges associated with reducing N pollution. Published 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  13. Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments. Supplemental Volume 2a, Sources and documentation appendices. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    This large document provides a catalog of the location of large numbers of reports pertaining to the charge of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Research and is arranged as a series of appendices. Titles of the appendices are Appendix A- Records at the Washington National Records Center Reviewed in Whole or Part by DoD Personnel or Advisory Committee Staff; Appendix B- Brief Descriptions of Records Accessions in the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE) Research Document Collection; Appendix C- Bibliography of Secondary Sources Used by ACHRE; Appendix D- Brief Descriptions of Human Radiation Experiments Identified by ACHRE, and Indexes; Appendix E- Documents Cited in the ACHRE Final Report and other Separately Described Materials from the ACHRE Document Collection; Appendix F- Schedule of Advisory Committee Meetings and Meeting Documentation; and Appendix G- Technology Note

  14. Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments. Supplemental Volume 2a, Sources and documentation appendices. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-01-01

    This large document provides a catalog of the location of large numbers of reports pertaining to the charge of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Research and is arranged as a series of appendices. Titles of the appendices are Appendix A- Records at the Washington National Records Center Reviewed in Whole or Part by DoD Personnel or Advisory Committee Staff; Appendix B- Brief Descriptions of Records Accessions in the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE) Research Document Collection; Appendix C- Bibliography of Secondary Sources Used by ACHRE; Appendix D- Brief Descriptions of Human Radiation Experiments Identified by ACHRE, and Indexes; Appendix E- Documents Cited in the ACHRE Final Report and other Separately Described Materials from the ACHRE Document Collection; Appendix F- Schedule of Advisory Committee Meetings and Meeting Documentation; and Appendix G- Technology Note.

  15. Concerning nuclear medicine services. Notes on the practical situation in 1977

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ducassou, Dominique.

    1977-01-01

    Nuclear medicine presents a certain number of teething problems, which are analysed here. An attempt is made first to estimate the worthwhileness or utility/cost ratio of a nuclear medicine service by determining firstly the expenses involved and secondly the services rendered. Problems connected with the running of nuclear medicine services are then discussed: civil and penal responsibility of the nuclear practitioner in relation to the human administration of radioactive preparations for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes; limited availability of scintillation cameras (1 for 500,000 inhabitants, a number considered hopelessly inadequate at the present time); organisation of premises; training of personnel (nuclear doctors, radiopharmacists, paramedical staff, technical staff). Finally the problems encountered in applying the nomenclature are dealt with [fr

  16. Lake and wetland ecosystem services measuring water storage and local climate regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Christina P.; Jiang, Bo; Bohn, Theodore J.; Lee, Kai N.; Lettenmaier, Dennis P.; Ma, Dongchun; Ouyang, Zhiyun

    2017-04-01

    Developing interdisciplinary methods to measure ecosystem services is a scientific priority, however, progress remains slow in part because we lack ecological production functions (EPFs) to quantitatively link ecohydrological processes to human benefits. In this study, we tested a new approach, combining a process-based model with regression models, to create EPFs to evaluate water storage and local climate regulation from a green infrastructure project on the Yongding River in Beijing, China. Seven artificial lakes and wetlands were established to improve local water storage and human comfort; evapotranspiration (ET) regulates both services. Managers want to minimize the trade-off between water losses and cooling to sustain water supplies while lowering the heat index (HI) to improve human comfort. We selected human benefit indicators using water storage targets and Beijing's HI, and the Variable Infiltration Capacity model to determine the change in ET from the new ecosystems. We created EPFs to quantify the ecosystem services as marginal values [Δfinal ecosystem service/Δecohydrological process]: (1) Δwater loss (lake evaporation/volume)/Δdepth and (2) Δsummer HI/ΔET. We estimate the new ecosystems increased local ET by 0.7 mm/d (20.3 W/m2) on the Yongding River. However, ET rates are causing water storage shortfalls while producing no improvements in human comfort. The shallow lakes/wetlands are vulnerable to drying when inflow rates fluctuate, low depths lead to higher evaporative losses, causing water storage shortfalls with minimal cooling effects. We recommend managers make the lakes deeper to increase water storage, and plant shade trees to improve human comfort in the parks.

  17. An Evaluation of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services to Assess an Employee Performance Problem in a Center-Based Autism Treatment Facility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ditzian, Kyle; Wilder, David A.; King, Allison; Tanz, Jeanine

    2015-01-01

    The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) is an informant-based tool designed to assess the environmental variables that contribute to poor employee performance in human services settings. We administered the PDC-HS to 3 supervisors to assess the variables that contributed to poor performance by 4 staff members when securing…

  18. Eco-Health Linkages: evidence base and socio-economic considerations for linking ecosystem goods and services to human health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystem goods and services (EGS) are thought to play a role in protecting human health, but the empirical evidence directly linking EGS to human health outcomes is limited, and our ability to detect Eco-Health linkages is confounded by socio-economic factors. These limitations ...

  19. Speech-Based Human and Service Robot Interaction: An Application for Mexican Dysarthric People

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Santiago Omar Caballero Morales

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder due to weakness or poor coordination of the speech muscles. This condition can be caused by a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or by a degenerative neurological disease. Commonly, people with this disorder also have muscular dystrophy, which restricts their use of switches or keyboards for communication or control of assistive devices (i.e., an electric wheelchair or a service robot. In this case, speech recognition is an attractive alternative for interaction and control of service robots, despite the difficulty of achieving robust recognition performance. In this paper we present a speech recognition system for human and service robot interaction for Mexican Spanish dysarthric speakers. The core of the system consisted of a Speaker Adaptive (SA recognition system trained with normal-speech. Features such as on-line control of the language model perplexity and the adding of vocabulary, contribute to high recognition performance. Others, such as assessment and text-to-speech (TTS synthesis, contribute to a more complete interaction with a service robot. Live tests were performed with two mild dysarthric speakers, achieving recognition accuracies of 90–95% for spontaneous speech and 95–100% of accomplished simulated service robot tasks.

  20. PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 2018 FEDERAL PHYSICAL ACITIVTY GUIDELINES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Title: Public Comment on Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Author: Wayne E. Cascio, Director, Environmental Public Health Division, US EPA Abstract: In the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines, the effects of air pollution and advers...

  1. Medicaid program; state plan home and community-based services, 5-year period for waivers, provider payment reassignment, and home and community-based setting requirements for Community First Choice and home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-16

    This final rule amends the Medicaid regulations to define and describe state plan section 1915(i) home and community-based services (HCBS) under the Social Security Act (the Act) amended by the Affordable Care Act. This rule offers states new flexibilities in providing necessary and appropriate services to elderly and disabled populations. This rule describes Medicaid coverage of the optional state plan benefit to furnish home and community based-services and draw federal matching funds. This rule also provides for a 5-year duration for certain demonstration projects or waivers at the discretion of the Secretary, when they provide medical assistance for individuals dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare benefits, includes payment reassignment provisions because state Medicaid programs often operate as the primary or only payer for the class of practitioners that includes HCBS providers, and amends Medicaid regulations to provide home and community-based setting requirements related to the Affordable Care Act for Community First Choice State plan option. This final rule also makes several important changes to the regulations implementing Medicaid 1915(c) HCBS waivers.

  2. Awareness and use of social bookmarking services by final year ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Social computing is one of the renascent features of the web that has made it highly interactive. One of such social tools in the web is the social bookmarking services. It has been reported that social bookmarking services may be the least known social media network by students. Given that social media has been predicted ...

  3. Socio-cultural and service delivery dimensions of maternal mortality in rural central India: a qualitative exploration using a human rights lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jat, Tej Ram; Deo, Prakash R; Goicolea, Isabel; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; San Sebastian, Miguel

    2015-01-01

    Despite the avoidable nature of maternal mortality, unacceptably high numbers of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Considering its preventability, maternal mortality is being increasingly recognised as a human rights issue. Integration of a human rights perspective in maternal health programmes could contribute positively in eliminating avertable maternal deaths. This study was conducted to explore socio-cultural and service delivery-related dimensions of maternal deaths in rural central India using a human rights lens. Social autopsies were conducted for 22 maternal deaths during 2011 in Khargone district in central India. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The factors associated with maternal deaths were classified by using the 'three delays' framework and were examined by using a human rights lens. All 22 women tried to access medical assistance, but various factors delayed their access to appropriate care. The underestimation of the severity of complications by family members, gender inequity, and perceptions of low-quality delivery services delayed decisions to seek care. Transportation problems and care seeking at multiple facilities delayed reaching appropriate health facilities. Negligence by health staff and unavailability of blood and emergency obstetric care services delayed receiving adequate care after reaching a health facility. The study highlighted various socio-cultural and service delivery-related factors which are violating women's human rights and resulting in maternal deaths in rural central India. This study highlights that, despite the health system's conscious effort to improve maternal health, normative elements of a human rights approach to maternal health (i.e. availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services) were not upheld. The data and analysis suggest that the deceased women and their relatives were unable to claim their entitlements and that the duty bearers were not

  4. Socio-cultural and service delivery dimensions of maternal mortality in rural central India: a qualitative exploration using a human rights lens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tej Ram Jat

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Despite the avoidable nature of maternal mortality, unacceptably high numbers of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Considering its preventability, maternal mortality is being increasingly recognised as a human rights issue. Integration of a human rights perspective in maternal health programmes could contribute positively in eliminating avertable maternal deaths. This study was conducted to explore socio-cultural and service delivery–related dimensions of maternal deaths in rural central India using a human rights lens. Design: Social autopsies were conducted for 22 maternal deaths during 2011 in Khargone district in central India. The data were analysed using the matic analysis. The factors associated with maternal deaths were classified by using the ‘three delays’ framework and were examined by using a human rights lens. Results: All 22 women tried to access medical assistance, but various factors delayed their access to appropriate care. The underestimation of the severity of complications by family members, gender inequity, and perceptions of low-quality delivery services delayed decisions to seek care. Transportation problems and care seeking at multiple facilities delayed reaching appropriate health facilities. Negligence by health staff and unavailability of blood and emergency obstetric care services delayed receiving adequate care after reaching a health facility. Conclusions: The study highlighted various socio-cultural and service delivery–related factors which are violating women's human rights and resulting in maternal deaths in rural central India. This study highlights that, despite the health system's conscious effort to improve maternal health, normative elements of a human rights approach to maternal health (i.e. availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services were not upheld. The data and analysis suggest that the deceased women and their relatives were

  5. Medicare program; appeals of CMS or CMS contractor determinations when a provider or supplier fails to meet the requirements for Medicare billing privileges. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-06-27

    This final rule implements a number of regulatory provisions that are applicable to all providers and suppliers, including durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers. This final rule establishes appeals processes for all providers and suppliers whose enrollment, reenrollment or revalidation application for Medicare billing privileges is denied and whose Medicare billing privileges are revoked. It also establishes timeframes for deciding enrollment appeals by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) or the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB), or Board, within the DHHS; and processing timeframes for CMS' Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) contractors. In addition, this final rule allows Medicare FFS contractors to revoke Medicare billing privileges when a provider or supplier submits a claim or claims for services that could not have been furnished to a beneficiary. This final rule also specifies that a Medicare contractor may establish a Medicare enrollment bar for any provider or supplier whose billing privileges have been revoked. Lastly, the final rule requires that all providers and suppliers receive Medicare payments by electronic funds transfer (EFT) if the provider or supplier, is submitting an initial enrollment application to Medicare, changing their enrollment information, revalidating or re-enrolling in the Medicare program.

  6. Why Change to Active Learning? Pre-Service and In-Service Science Teachers' Perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Grady, Audrey; Simmie, Geraldine Mooney; Kennedy, Therese

    2014-01-01

    This article explores pre-service and in-service science teachers' perceptions on active learning, and examines the effectiveness of active learning by pre-service science teachers in the Irish second level classroom through a two-phase study. In the first phase, data on perceptions were gathered from final year pre-service teachers and in-service…

  7. Quality Function Deployment: Application to Chemotherapy Unit Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neda Hashemi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Today’s healthcare organizations are challenged by pressures to meet growing population demands and enhance community health through improving service quality. Quality function deployment is one of the widely-used customerdriven approaches for health services development. In the current study, quality function deployment is used to improve the quality of chemotherapy unit services. Methods: First, we identified chemotherapy outpatient unit patients as chemotherapy unit customers. Then, the Delphi technique and component factor analysis with orthogonal rotation was employed to determine their expectations. Thereafter, data envelopment analysis was performed to specify user priorities. We determined the relationships between patients’ expectations and service elements through expert group consensus using the Delphi method and the relationships between service elements by Pearson correlation. Finally, simple and compound priorities of the service elements were derived by matrix calculation. Results: Chemotherapy unit patients had four main expectations: access, suitable hotel services, satisfactory and effective relationships, and clinical services. The chemotherapy unit has six key service elements of equipment, materials, human resources, physical space, basic facilities, and communication and training. There were four-level relationships between the patients’ expectations and service elements, with mostly significant correlations between service elements. According to the findings, the functional group of basic facilities was the most critical factor, followed by materials. Conclusion: The findings of the current study can be a general guideline as well as a scientific, structured framework for chemotherapy unit decision makers in order to improve chemotherapy unit services.

  8. Ecosystem services altered by human changes in the nitrogen cycle: A new perspective for assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Human alteration of the nitrogen (N) cycle has produced benefits for health and well-being, but excess N has altered many ecosystems and degraded air and water quality. US regulations mandate protection of the environment in terms that directly connect to ecosystem services. Here...

  9. End-of-Life Inventory Decisions of Service Parts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Pourakbar (Morteza)

    2011-01-01

    textabstractWith the spurt of technology and innovation the life cycles of parts and products have become shorter and service parts enter their final phases earlier. Final phase of a typical service part starts once the part production is ceased and ends when the last service or warranty contract

  10. Fuzzy Modelling for Human Dynamics Based on Online Social Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuenca-Jara, Jesus; Terroso-Saenz, Fernando; Valdes-Vela, Mercedes; Skarmeta, Antonio F

    2017-08-24

    Human mobility mining has attracted a lot of attention in the research community due to its multiple implications in the provisioning of innovative services for large metropolises. In this scope, Online Social Networks (OSN) have arisen as a promising source of location data to come up with new mobility models. However, the human nature of this data makes it rather noisy and inaccurate. In order to deal with such limitations, the present work introduces a framework for human mobility mining based on fuzzy logic. Firstly, a fuzzy clustering algorithm extracts the most active OSN areas at different time periods. Next, such clusters are the building blocks to compose mobility patterns. Furthermore, a location prediction service based on a fuzzy rule classifier has been developed on top of the framework. Finally, both the framework and the predictor has been tested with a Twitter and Flickr dataset in two large cities.

  11. 78 FR 9054 - Issuance of Final Guidance Publication

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-07

    ... NIOSH-144] Issuance of Final Guidance Publication AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and... Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of issuance of final guidance publication. SUMMARY: The National Institute...), announces the availability of the following publication: ``NIOSH Criteria for a Recommended Standard...

  12. 77 FR 74194 - Issuance of Final Guidance Publication

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-13

    ... NIOSH-238] Issuance of Final Guidance Publication AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and... Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of issuance of final guidance publication. SUMMARY: The National Institute...), announces the availability of the following publication: NIOSH Alert entitled ``Preventing Occupational...

  13. 78 FR 66936 - Issuance of Final Guidance Publication

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-07

    ... NIOSH-156] Issuance of Final Guidance Publication AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and... Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of issuance of final guidance publication. SUMMARY: The National Institute...), announces the availability of the following publication: ``Current Intelligence Bulletin 66--Derivation of...

  14. 76 FR 30542 - Adult Signature Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-26

    ... POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Adult Signature Services AGENCY: Postal Service\\TM\\. ACTION: Final..., Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]) 503.8, to add a new extra service called Adult Signature. This new service has two available options: Adult Signature Required and Adult Signature Restricted Delivery. DATES...

  15. Using Service Scenarios to Model Business Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bækgaard, Lars

    The purpose of the paper is to present and evaluate the notion of service scenarios. A service is work done by a service executor in interaction with a service consumer. A service scenario is a model of a service system and the roles that are played by the actors participating and interacting...... during the execution of a service. The model represents the roles and the interactions between the participants. Service scenarios can be used to model specific services and roles played by human beings and IT systems in the execution of services. The use of service scenarios is demonstrated by means...... of a case study in a public library. The case study indicates that service systems should be understood as socio-technical systems in which service executors and service consumers co-create value in mutual interaction with each other and with a set of shared resources....

  16. Bringing humanity into view: action research with Qatar's ambulance service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Gill; Wiggins, Liz

    2017-08-21

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue for the widening of attention in healthcare improvement efforts, to include an awareness of the humanity of people who work in the sector and an appreciation of the part human connection plays in engagement around good quality work. Theoretical frameworks and research approaches which draw on action-based, interpretive and systemic thinking are proposed, as a complement to current practices. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes the early stages of an action research (AR) project, which used the appreciative inquiry "4D" framework to conduct participative inquiry in Hamad Medical Corporation's ambulance service in Qatar, in which staff became co-researchers. Findings The co-researchers were highly motivated to work with improvement goals as a result of their participation in the AR. They, and their managers, saw each other and the work in new ways and discovered that they had much to offer. Research limitations/implications This was a small-scale pilot project, from which findings must be considered tentative. The challenges of establishing good collaboration across language, culture and organisational divides are considerable. Practical implications Appreciative and action-oriented inquiry methods can serve not only to find things out, but also to highlight and give value to aspects of humanity in the workplace that are routinely left invisible in formal processes. This, in turn, can help with quality improvement. Originality/value This paper is a challenge to the orthodox way of viewing healthcare organisations, and improvement processes within them, as reliant on control rather than empowerment. An alternative is to actively include the agency, sense-making capacity and humanity of those involved.

  17. Customer service at MVD field offices : final report 544.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-06-01

    Through the Arizona Transportation Research Center, the Arizona Department of Transportation requested that research be performed to determine how Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) office customer service could be improved and wait times could be reduced....

  18. The 'final order' problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teunter, RH; Haneveld, WKK

    1998-01-01

    When the service department of a company selling machines stops producing and supplying spare parts for certain machines, customers are offered an opportunity to place a so-called final order for these spare parts. We focus on one customer with one machine. The customer plans to use this machine up

  19. Habitat and Recreational Fishing Opportunity in Tampa Bay: Linking Ecological and Ecosystem Services to Human Beneficiaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estimating value of estuarine habitat to human beneficiaries requires that we understand how habitat alteration impacts function through both production and delivery of ecosystem goods and services (EGS). Here we expand on the habitat valuation technique of Bell (1997) with an es...

  20. Tax treatment of cafeteria plans. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. Final regulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-03-23

    This document contains final regulations relating to section 125 cafeteria plans. The final regulations clarify the circumstances under which a section 125 cafeteria plan election may be changed. The final regulations permit an employer to allow a section 125 cafeteria plan participant to revoke an existing election and make a new election during a period of coverage for accident or health coverage or group-term life insurance coverage.

  1. Review of the human resources needed for development of the activity in a service hospital radio physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almansa, J. F.; Burgos, D. E.; Guerrero, R.

    2011-01-01

    The age of the recommendations on minimum human and material resources of the SEFM, along with the emergence of new imaging techniques and new equipment, plus analysis of recent international publications relating to the subject and the establishment of relative value units in several Spanish regions, justify a revision of the minimum necessary human resources to carry out the tasks of Radio physics service with adequate safety and quality.

  2. The marine ecosystem services approach in a fisheries management perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Søren Anker; Lassen, Hans; Frost, Hans Staby

    that the concept of marine ecosystem services is not helpful for the two first mentioned types of analysis and that a cost-benefit analysis that is implied by the marine ecosystem services concept is inadequate for the third. We argue that the discussion needs to be divided into two: (1) finding the boundaries......This paper reviews the concepts of marine ecosystem services and their economic valuation in a European fisheries management perspective. We find that the concept is at best cumbersome for advising on how best to regulate fisheries even in an ecosystem context. We propose that operational fisheries...... management must consider three different types of analysis, the yield of and the effect of fishing on the commercial species, the effects of fishing on habitats and non-commercial species and finally an overall analysis of the combined impact of all human activities on the marine ecosystem. We find...

  3. Ecosystem Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystem goods and services are the many life-sustaining benefits we receive from nature and contribute to environmental and human health and well-being. Ecosystem-focused research will develop methods to measure ecosystem goods and services.

  4. Service Interaction Flow Analysis Technique for Service Personalization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Korhonen, Olli; Kinnula, Marianne; Syrjanen, Anna-Liisa

    2017-01-01

    Service interaction flows are difficult to capture, analyze, outline, and represent for research and design purposes. We examine how variation of personalized service flows in technology-mediated service interaction can be modeled and analyzed to provide information on how service personalization...... could support interaction. We have analyzed service interaction cases in a context of technology-mediated car rental service. With the analysis technique we propose, inspired by Interaction Analysis method, we were able to capture and model the situational service interaction. Our contribution regarding...... technology-mediated service interaction design is twofold: First, with the increased understanding on the role of personalization in managing variation in technology-mediated service interaction, our study contributes to designing service management information systems and human-computer interfaces...

  5. Service loyalty : the effects of service quality and the mediating role of customer satisfaction

    OpenAIRE

    Caruana, Albert

    2002-01-01

    Service loyalty, with its final effect on repurchasing by customers, appears to have received relatively little attention. This study starts by first delineating the concept of service loyalty and proceeds to distinguish between service quality and customer satisfaction. A mediational model that links service quality to service loyalty via customer satisfaction is proposed. Appropriate measures are identified and a postal survey is undertaken among 1,000 retail banking customers. A response r...

  6. Tampa's Well-being: A Demonstration of ORD's Human Well-being Index (web content for the Tampa Bay Ecosystem services website)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystems provide services to humans that support our well-being. Well-being is not only our health but also our quality of life. We rely upon the services provided by nature to help maintain good health and a high quality of life, including clean water, clean air, food and recr...

  7. Analysis of Log File Data to Understand Mobile Service Context and Usage Patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernhard Klein

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Several mobile acceptance models exist today that focus on user interface handling and usage frequency evaluation. Since mobile applications reach much deeper into everyday life, it is however important to better consider user behaviour for the service evaluation. In this paper we introduce the Behaviour Assessment Model (BAM, which is designed to gaining insights about how well services enable, enhance and replace human activities. More specifically, the basic columns of the evaluation framework concentrate on (1 service actuation in relation to the current user context, (2 the balance between service usage effort and benefit, and (3 the degree to which community knowledge can be exploited. The evaluation is guided by a process model that specifies individual steps of data capturing, aggregation, and final assessment. The BAM helps to gain stronger insights regarding characteristic usage hotspots, frequent usage patterns, and leveraging of networking effects showing more realistically the strengths and weaknesses of mobile services

  8. Evaluating the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services to Assess Incorrect Error-Correction Procedures by Preschool Paraprofessionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowe, Melissa; Sellers, Tyra P.

    2018-01-01

    The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) has been used to assess variables contributing to undesirable staff performance. In this study, three preschool teachers completed the PDC-HS to identify the factors contributing to four paraprofessionals' inaccurate implementation of error-correction procedures during discrete trial…

  9. Task sharing in Zambia: HIV service scale-up compounds the human resource crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simbaya Joseph

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Considerable attention has been given by policy makers and researchers to the human resources for health crisis in Africa. However, little attention has been paid to quantifying health facility-level trends in health worker numbers, distribution and workload, despite growing demands on health workers due to the availability of new funds for HIV/AIDS control scale-up. This study analyses and reports trends in HIV and non-HIV ambulatory service workloads on clinical staff in urban and rural district level facilities. Methods Structured surveys of health facility managers, and health services covering 2005-07 were conducted in three districts of Zambia in 2008 (two urban and one rural, to fill this evidence gap. Intra-facility analyses were conducted, comparing trends in HIV and non-HIV service utilisation with staff trends. Results Clinical staff (doctors, nurses and nurse-midwives, and clinical officers numbers and staff population densities fell slightly, with lower ratios of staff to population in the rural district. The ratios of antenatal care and family planning registrants to nurses/nurse-midwives were highest at baseline and increased further at the rural facilities over the three years, while daily outpatient department (OPD workload in urban facilities fell below that in rural facilities. HIV workload, as measured by numbers of clients receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT per facility staff member, was highest in the capital city, but increased rapidly in all three districts. The analysis suggests evidence of task sharing, in that staff designated by managers as ART and PMTCT workers made up a higher proportion of frontline service providers by 2007. Conclusions This analysis of workforce patterns across 30 facilities in three districts of Zambia illustrates that the remarkable achievements in scaling-up HIV/AIDS service delivery has been on the back of

  10. Task sharing in Zambia: HIV service scale-up compounds the human resource crisis

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Walsh, Aisling

    2010-09-17

    Abstract Background Considerable attention has been given by policy makers and researchers to the human resources for health crisis in Africa. However, little attention has been paid to quantifying health facility-level trends in health worker numbers, distribution and workload, despite growing demands on health workers due to the availability of new funds for HIV\\/AIDS control scale-up. This study analyses and reports trends in HIV and non-HIV ambulatory service workloads on clinical staff in urban and rural district level facilities. Methods Structured surveys of health facility managers, and health services covering 2005-07 were conducted in three districts of Zambia in 2008 (two urban and one rural), to fill this evidence gap. Intra-facility analyses were conducted, comparing trends in HIV and non-HIV service utilisation with staff trends. Results Clinical staff (doctors, nurses and nurse-midwives, and clinical officers) numbers and staff population densities fell slightly, with lower ratios of staff to population in the rural district. The ratios of antenatal care and family planning registrants to nurses\\/nurse-midwives were highest at baseline and increased further at the rural facilities over the three years, while daily outpatient department (OPD) workload in urban facilities fell below that in rural facilities. HIV workload, as measured by numbers of clients receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) per facility staff member, was highest in the capital city, but increased rapidly in all three districts. The analysis suggests evidence of task sharing, in that staff designated by managers as ART and PMTCT workers made up a higher proportion of frontline service providers by 2007. Conclusions This analysis of workforce patterns across 30 facilities in three districts of Zambia illustrates that the remarkable achievements in scaling-up HIV\\/AIDS service delivery has been on the back of sustained non

  11. Task sharing in Zambia: HIV service scale-up compounds the human resource crisis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Aisling; Ndubani, Phillimon; Simbaya, Joseph; Dicker, Patrick; Brugha, Ruairí

    2010-09-17

    Considerable attention has been given by policy makers and researchers to the human resources for health crisis in Africa. However, little attention has been paid to quantifying health facility-level trends in health worker numbers, distribution and workload, despite growing demands on health workers due to the availability of new funds for HIV/AIDS control scale-up. This study analyses and reports trends in HIV and non-HIV ambulatory service workloads on clinical staff in urban and rural district level facilities. Structured surveys of health facility managers, and health services covering 2005-07 were conducted in three districts of Zambia in 2008 (two urban and one rural), to fill this evidence gap. Intra-facility analyses were conducted, comparing trends in HIV and non-HIV service utilisation with staff trends. Clinical staff (doctors, nurses and nurse-midwives, and clinical officers) numbers and staff population densities fell slightly, with lower ratios of staff to population in the rural district. The ratios of antenatal care and family planning registrants to nurses/nurse-midwives were highest at baseline and increased further at the rural facilities over the three years, while daily outpatient department (OPD) workload in urban facilities fell below that in rural facilities. HIV workload, as measured by numbers of clients receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) per facility staff member, was highest in the capital city, but increased rapidly in all three districts. The analysis suggests evidence of task sharing, in that staff designated by managers as ART and PMTCT workers made up a higher proportion of frontline service providers by 2007. This analysis of workforce patterns across 30 facilities in three districts of Zambia illustrates that the remarkable achievements in scaling-up HIV/AIDS service delivery has been on the back of sustained non-HIV workload levels, increasing HIV workload and stagnant

  12. City of Raleigh, Wilders Grove Service Center, Solid Waste Services Facility. Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cox, Robert [Jacobs Engineering, NC (United States); Black, Bill [City of Raleigh, NC (United States); Battle, Fred [City of Raleigh, NC (United States)

    2015-07-22

    Final Report for DOE Grant EE0002808. Grant award was for technology demonstration of geothermal energy systems. One of the major objectives identified for the demonstration portion of the grant was to prove the viability of Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems in significantly reducing energy usage of HVAC and domestic water heating systems compared to traditional systems. Data were monitored and conclusions drawn, including estimating payback timeframes and documenting lessons learned.

  13. Vehicle to Vehicle Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brønsted, Jeppe Rørbæk

    2008-01-01

    location aware infotainment, increase safety, and lessen environmental strain. This dissertation is about service oriented architecture for pervasive computing with an emphasis on vehicle to vehicle applications. If devices are exposed as services, applications can be created by composing a set of services...... be evaluated. Service composition mechanisms for pervasive computing are categorized and we discuss how the characteristics of pervasive computing can be supported by service composition mechanisms. Finally, we investigate how to make pervasive computing systems capable of being noticed and understood...

  14. Assessing impacts of payments for watershed services on sustainability in coupled human and natural systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidi Asbjornsen; Alex S. Mayer; Kelly W. Jones; Theresa Selfa; Leonardo Saenz; Randall K. Kolka; Kathleen E. Halvorsen

    2015-01-01

    Payments for watershed services (PWS) as a policy tool for enhancing water quality and supply have gained momentum in recent years, but their ability to lead to sustainable watershed outcomes is uncertain. Consequently, the demand for effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of PWS impacts on coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) and their implications for...

  15. Professional services contract manager development and certification strategy : spr 696 : final report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-27

    SCDOT hires many consultants to provide professional services in support of its planning, design, construction and : maintenance projects. SCDOT personnel responsible for procuring and administering these professional service : contracts, especially ...

  16. Ecosystem services and biogeochemical cycles on a global scale: valuation of water, carbon and nitrogen processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Marcos D.B.; Ortega, Enrique

    2011-01-01

    Ecosystem services (ES) are provided by healthy ecosystems and are fundamental to support human life. However, natural systems have been degraded all over the world and the process of degradation is partially attributed to the lack of knowledge regarding the economic benefits associated with ES, which usually are not captured in the market. To valuate ES without using conventional approaches, such as the human's willingness-to-pay for ecosystem goods and services, this paper uses a different method based on Energy Systems Theory to estimate prices for biogeochemical flows that affect ecosystem services by considering their emergy content converted to equivalent monetary terms. Ecosystem services related to water, carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical flows were assessed since they are connected to a range of final ecosystem services including climate regulation, hydrological regulation, food production, soil formation and others. Results in this paper indicate that aquifer recharge, groundwater flow, carbon dioxide sequestration, methane emission, biological nitrogen fixation, nitrous oxide emission and nitrogen leaching/runoff are the most critical biogeochemical flows in terrestrial systems. Moreover, monetary values related to biogeochemical flows on a global scale could provide important information for policymakers concerned with payment mechanisms for ecosystem services and costs of greenhouse gas emissions.

  17. Implementation an human resources shared services center: Multinational company strategy in fusion context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Paulo Bittencourt

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research was to analyze the process of implementation and management of the Shared Services Center for Human Resources, in a multinational company in the context of mergers and acquisitions. The company analyzed was called here Alpha, and is one of the largest food companies in the country that was born of a merger between Beta and Delta in 2008. The CSC may constitute a tool for strategic management of HR that allows repositioning of the role of the area in order to be more strategic at corporate level and more profitable at the operating level. The research was based on a descriptive and exploratory study of qualitative approach. Among the results, there is the fact that shared services were strategic to support, standardize and ensure the expansion of the company. The challenges found were associated with the development of a culture of service and the relationship with users and the definition of HR activities scope. The following management procedures include the adequacy of wage differences between employees, the career path limitation and the need to attract and retain talent and international expansion.

  18. 45 CFR 1308.20 - Nutrition services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Nutrition services. 1308.20 Section 1308.20 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES, HEAD START...

  19. Do they see eye to eye? Management and employee perspectives of high-performance work systems and influence processes on service quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Hui; Toya, Keiko; Lepak, David P; Hong, Ying

    2009-03-01

    Extant research on high-performance work systems (HPWSs) has primarily examined the effects of HPWSs on establishment or firm-level performance from a management perspective in manufacturing settings. The current study extends this literature by differentiating management and employee perspectives of HPWSs and examining how the two perspectives relate to employee individual performance in the service context. Data collected in three phases from multiple sources involving 292 managers, 830 employees, and 1,772 customers of 91 bank branches revealed significant differences between management and employee perspectives of HPWSs. There were also significant differences in employee perspectives of HPWSs among employees of different employment statuses and among employees of the same status. Further, employee perspective of HPWSs was positively related to individual general service performance through the mediation of employee human capital and perceived organizational support and was positively related to individual knowledge-intensive service performance through the mediation of employee human capital and psychological empowerment. At the same time, management perspective of HPWSs was related to employee human capital and both types of service performance. Finally, a branch's overall knowledge-intensive service performance was positively associated with customer overall satisfaction with the branch's service. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

  20. How Fidelity invests in service professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McColgan, E A

    1997-01-01

    If you're in the business of service delivery, investment in the training and development of your staff is one of the keys to your company's success. But what's the best way to design and implement your investment? In 1994, Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services Company (FIRSCo) needed to ensure that its rapidly expanding staff maintained the company's high levels of customer satisfaction. The solution, according to Ellyn McColgan, formerly an executive vice president of FIRSCo and now the president of Fidelity Investments Tax-Exempt Services Company, was to reach out to its service associates with a powerful new model for training and development called Service Delivery University. SDU is a virtual university with a content-based core curriculum and five colleges that focus on business concepts and skills. It is driven by three principles. First, all training must be directly aligned with the company's strategic and financial objectives and focused on customer needs. Second, service delivery is a profession and should be taught as such. And finally, professional development should be the primary responsibility of line managers rather than the human resources department. McColgan explains how FIRSCo overcame resistance to this sweeping change in employee education. (Time was one obstacle: each associate receives 80 hours of training per year.) In addition, the author discusses the fine art of measuring the success of a program like SDU. She finds that the company's investment has paid dividends to the staff, to the organization as a whole, and to FIRSCo's customers.

  1. 24 CFR 7.37 - Final action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ..., Color Religion, Sex, National Origin, Age, Disability or Reprisal Complaints § 7.37 Final action. (a... consult with the General Counsel, the Assistant Secretary of Administration, the Office of Human Resources... shall contain notice of the right to appeal the final action to the EEOC, the right to file a civil...

  2. Computer-aided resource planning and scheduling for radiological services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Hong-Mei C.; Yun, David Y.; Ge, Yiqun; Khan, Javed I.

    1996-05-01

    There exists tremendous opportunity in hospital-wide resource optimization based on system integration. This paper defines the resource planning and scheduling requirements integral to PACS, RIS and HIS integration. An multi-site case study is conducted to define the requirements. A well-tested planning and scheduling methodology, called Constrained Resource Planning model, has been applied to the chosen problem of radiological service optimization. This investigation focuses on resource optimization issues for minimizing the turnaround time to increase clinical efficiency and customer satisfaction, particularly in cases where the scheduling of multiple exams are required for a patient. How best to combine the information system efficiency and human intelligence in improving radiological services is described. Finally, an architecture for interfacing a computer-aided resource planning and scheduling tool with the existing PACS, HIS and RIS implementation is presented.

  3. The data base management system alternative for computing in the human services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sircar, S; Schkade, L L; Schoech, D

    1983-01-01

    The traditional incremental approach to computerization presents substantial problems as systems develop and grow. The Data Base Management System approach to computerization was developed to overcome the problems resulting from implementing computer applications one at a time. The authors describe the applications approach and the alternative Data Base Management System (DBMS) approach through their developmental history, discuss the technology of DBMS components, and consider the implications of choosing the DBMS alternative. Human service managers need an understanding of the DBMS alternative and its applicability to their agency data processing needs. The basis for a conscious selection of computing alternatives is outlined.

  4. Organizational restructuring, government control and loss of legitimacy following an organizational crisis: the case of Israel's nonprofit human services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mano, Rita; Rosenberg, Dennis

    2014-01-01

    The study explores organizational restructuring following the occurrence of a crisis. Restructuring activities following an intervention are considered here to be indicators of an organization's loss of legitimacy because they have lost their independent status, a basic characteristic of nonprofit human settings. The study shows that according to the Resource Based View of organization restructuring--experienced as downsizing, neglecting and abandoning of projects--organizations are affected by (a) government intervention in decision making; (b) higher demands for accountability; and (c) higher evaluations of performance gaps. On the basis of the study of a sample of 138 Nonprofit Human Services in Israel, the results show that the higher the level of restructuring, the higher the level of legitimacy. However, organization location in metropolitan areas moderates the link between restructuring and legitimacy loss. We conclude that Israel's nonprofit human services being overly dependent on goverhment funding are more prone to restructuring and losing legitimacy following organizational crisis.

  5. Multimedia services in intelligent environments recommendation services

    CERN Document Server

    Virvou, Maria; Jain, Lakhmi

    2013-01-01

    Multimedia services are now commonly used in various activities in the daily lives of humans. Related application areas include services that allow access to large depositories of information, digital libraries, e-learning and e-education, e-government and e-governance, e-commerce and e-auctions, e-entertainment, e-health and e-medicine, and e-legal services, as well as their mobile counterparts (i.e., m-services). Despite the tremendous growth of multimedia services over the recent years, there is an increasing demand for their further development. This demand is driven by the ever-increasing desire of society for easy accessibility to information in friendly, personalized and adaptive environments. In this book at hand, we examine recent Recommendation Services. Recommendation services appear in the mobile environment, medicine/biology, tourism, education, and so on. The book includes ten chapters, which present various recently developed recommendation services. This research book is directed to professors...

  6. Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments. Final report, Supplemental Volume 2. Sources and documentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    This volume and its appendixes supplement the Advisory Committee's final report by reporting how we went about looking for information concerning human radiation experiments and intentional releases, a description of what we found and where we found it, and a finding aid for the information that we collected. This volume begins with an overview of federal records, including general descriptions of the types of records that have been useful and how the federal government handles these records. This is followed by an agency-by-agency account of the discovery process and descriptions of the records reviewed, together with instructions on how to obtain further information from those agencies. There is also a description of other sources of information that have been important, including institutional records, print resources, and nonprint media and interviews. The third part contains brief accounts of ACHRE's two major contemporary survey projects (these are described in greater detail in the final report and another supplemental volume) and other research activities. The final section describes how the ACHRE information-nation collections were managed and the records that ACHRE created in the course of its work; this constitutes a general finding aid for the materials deposited with the National Archives. The appendices provide brief references to federal records reviewed, descriptions of the accessions that comprise the ACHRE Research Document Collection, and descriptions of the documents selected for individual treatment. Also included are an account of the documentation available for ACHRE meetings, brief abstracts of the almost 4,000 experiments individually described by ACHRE staff, a full bibliography of secondary sources used, and other information

  7. Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments. Final report, Supplemental Volume 2. Sources and documentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-01-01

    This volume and its appendixes supplement the Advisory Committee`s final report by reporting how we went about looking for information concerning human radiation experiments and intentional releases, a description of what we found and where we found it, and a finding aid for the information that we collected. This volume begins with an overview of federal records, including general descriptions of the types of records that have been useful and how the federal government handles these records. This is followed by an agency-by-agency account of the discovery process and descriptions of the records reviewed, together with instructions on how to obtain further information from those agencies. There is also a description of other sources of information that have been important, including institutional records, print resources, and nonprint media and interviews. The third part contains brief accounts of ACHRE`s two major contemporary survey projects (these are described in greater detail in the final report and another supplemental volume) and other research activities. The final section describes how the ACHRE information-nation collections were managed and the records that ACHRE created in the course of its work; this constitutes a general finding aid for the materials deposited with the National Archives. The appendices provide brief references to federal records reviewed, descriptions of the accessions that comprise the ACHRE Research Document Collection, and descriptions of the documents selected for individual treatment. Also included are an account of the documentation available for ACHRE meetings, brief abstracts of the almost 4,000 experiments individually described by ACHRE staff, a full bibliography of secondary sources used, and other information.

  8. Dispatching demand response transit service maximizing productivity and service quality guidebook : final report, March 2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-01

    The ability of transit agencies to staff dispatch effectively and use technology to its full advantage is critical : in responding proactively as service changes occur and in making sound routing decisions. Sound routing : decisions result in improve...

  9. How Internet of Things Influences Human Behavior Building Social Web of Services via Agent-Based Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Komarov Mikhail

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper discovers potential human interactions with growing amount of internet of things (IoT via proposed concept of Social Web of Services (classical social web with smart things - daily life objects connected to the internet. To investigate the impact of IoT on user behaviour patterns we modelled human-thing interactions using agent-based simulation (ABM. We have proved that under certain conditions SmartThings, connected to the IoT, are able to change patterns of Human behaviour. Results of this work predict our way of living in the era of caused by viral effects of IoT application (HCI and M2M connections, and could be used to foster business process management in the IoT era.

  10. Investigational new drug safety reporting requirements for human drug and biological products and safety reporting requirements for bioavailability and bioequivalence studies in humans. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-29

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations governing safety reporting requirements for human drug and biological products subject to an investigational new drug application (IND). The final rule codifies the agency's expectations for timely review, evaluation, and submission of relevant and useful safety information and implements internationally harmonized definitions and reporting standards. The revisions will improve the utility of IND safety reports, reduce the number of reports that do not contribute in a meaningful way to the developing safety profile of the drug, expedite FDA's review of critical safety information, better protect human subjects enrolled in clinical trials, subject bioavailability and bioequivalence studies to safety reporting requirements, promote a consistent approach to safety reporting internationally, and enable the agency to better protect and promote public health.

  11. Morocco - Financial Services

    Data.gov (United States)

    Millennium Challenge Corporation — The final evaluation of the Financial Services Project (FSP), undertaken by North South Consultants Exchange (NSCE), was undertaken from 17 April to end of September...

  12. The Development of Consumer-Driven Human Services Information Technology Initiatives: The Lake County Indiana Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas W. Pavkov

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The Family Access Project will deploy innovative community empowerment, education, consensus building, and information system development strategies to strengthen community, ensure the efficient and effective delivery of needed services, and address the unique needs of families requiring public assistance from a host of public and private agencies in Lake County. The goal of the project is to enhance community life through improved care coordination by linking new technologies to the human service delivery process. Upon completion, the project will assist in the enhancement of community-based services through the development of rules of data transaction and data standards and the deploy-ment of a secure messaging/document exchange network. By putting technology in the hands of consumers we also hope to impact the economic development and workforce readiness goals set forth in our community's welfare to work programs. These innovations will require educational innovations in order to facilitate the use of technology by both provider and consumer end-users. Proposed innovations include tutorials related to data standards development, peer train-the-trainer training in the development and use of technology to support service system reforms; and ongoing support through a technical assistance clearinghouse and help desk.

  13. Perspectives of rural health and human service practitioners following suicide prevention training programme in Australia: A thematic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Martin; Ferguson, Monika; Walsh, Sandra; Martinez, Lee; Marsh, Michael; Cronin, Kathryn; Procter, Nicolas

    2018-05-01

    There are well-established training programmes available to support health and human services professionals working with people vulnerable to suicide. However, little is known about involving people with lived experience in the delivery of suicide prevention training with communities with increased rates of suicide. The aim of this paper was to report on a formative dialogical evaluation that explored the views of health and human services workers with regard to a suicide prevention training programme in regional (including rural and remote areas) South Australia which included meaningful involvement of a person with lived experience in the development and delivery of the training. In 2015, eight suicide prevention training workshops were conducted with health and human services workers. All 248 participants lived and worked in South Australian regional communities. We interviewed a subsample of 24 participants across eight sites. A thematic analysis of the interviews identified five themes: Coproduction is key, It is okay to ask the question, Caring for my community, I can make a difference and Learning for future training. The overall meta-theme was "Involvement of a person with lived experience in suicide prevention training supports regional communities to look out for people at risk of suicide." This paper highlights the need for suicide prevention training and other workforce development programmes to include lived experience participation as a core component in development and delivery. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. MARKETING RELATIONSHIP AND TRADING IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVICE PROVIDERS, HEALTH OPERATORS AND FINAL CUSTOMER: THE SEARCH FOR AN INTEGRATING MODEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nilda Catalina, Tañski

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The marketing relationship finds similarities with the concept of cooperative bargaining, the purpose of this is to find solutions to mutual gains with long-term vision. Within this approach, we sought to build an integrative model of relationship marketing and negotiation in the relationship between service providers, health operators and final customers in the health plan market in Brazil, this relationship is complex, full of conflicts and stagnation. It was first used, first, as an exploratory research of direct observation of the phenomenon referred to relationship marketing, trading and health insurance to increase employment opportunities. Then, the method of data collection was in that environment through online questionnaires using the survey method, in the representative sector. The type of sample used, where n = 217 and the confidence level was 95%, not intentional probabilistic. In the final, it was concluded that the initially proposed model was fully accepted, taking into account the choice of methodology, then achieving the main objective of this study.

  15. 76 FR 51257 - First-Class Package Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-18

    ... Services and Parcel Select mailpieces, all mail sent to military addresses within the United States and to...: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Postal Service is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal... Service parcels will receive the same service as First-Class Mail, however, parcels mailed at commercial...

  16. Influence of employees' service-oriented behavior on service quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vučković Jelisaveta

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to constantly improve the quality of service program, organizations in tourism industry, have to pay special attention to managing employees' behavior, especially those in the first line of service provision and their direct superiors. Encouraging the employees towards service-oriented behavior is greatly determined by the adequate and consistent implementation of human resources management instruments. The subject of this research is an empirical examination of relations between employees' behavior in the service providing process and service quality. This research was conducted during 2012, in a five-star hotel 'Izvor', situated in Arandjelovac.

  17. Development of Support Service for Prevention and Recovery from Dementia and Science of Lethe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otake, Mihoko

    Purpose of this study is to explore service design method through the development of support service for prevention and recovery from dementia towards science of lethe. We designed and implemented conversation support service via coimagination method based on multiscale service design method, both were proposed by the author. Multiscale service model consists of tool, event, human, network, style and rule. Service elements at different scales are developed according to the model. Interactive conversation supported by coimagination method activates cognitive functions so as to prevent progress of dementia. This paper proposes theoretical bases for science of lethe. Firstly, relationship among coimagination method and three cognitive functions including division of attention, planning, episodic memory which decline at mild cognitive imparement. Secondly, thought state transition model during conversation which describes cognitive enhancement via interactive communication. Thirdly, Set Theoretical Measure of Interaction is proposed for evaluating effectiveness of conversation to cognitive enhancement. Simulation result suggests that the ideas which cannot be explored by each speaker are explored during interactive conversation. Finally, coimagination method compared with reminiscence therapy and its possibility for collaboration is discussed.

  18. CONCEPTS AND THEORIES REGARDING THE BEHAVIOR OF THE CONSUMER OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

    OpenAIRE

    Rabontu, Cecilia Irina; Boncea, Amelia Georgiana

    2007-01-01

    The essential component of human behavior, the consumer’s behavior restrictively, reflects people’s conduct when it comes to buying and / or consuming material goods and services. At large, it comprises the entire conduct of the final user of material and immaterial goods. The study of the behavior of the consumer is vital for an enterprise in the motivation of the consequences that it carries along regarding all the decisions of marketing : the positioning of the brands, the segmentation of...

  19. [Evaluation of implementation of the protocol for managing tuberculosis/ human immunodeficiency virus coinfection in specialized care services in ceará state].

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Paula, Silvia Helena Bastos; Martins, Telma Alves; Santiago Borges, Sheila Maria; de Oliveira Nogueira, Christiana Maria; Freire, Valderina Ramos

    2017-05-25

    Identify barriers and strategies for implementation of the protocol for managing tuberculosis/ human immunodeficiency virus (TB/HIV) coinfection in specialized care services in Ceará state, through evaluation research. The study followed iPIER methodology, a new initiative to help improve the implementation of health programs through the use of research that is conducted as a part of the implementation process. Data were collected on the structure and processes of 22 services and barriers were explored in four focus groups with 28 participants, from the standpoint of the health team, administrators, and users. The discussions were transcribed and interpreted with regard to the objectives of the study. The information on structure and process revealed that six services manage TB/HIV coinfection and 16 do not. The barriers were: team members were unaware of the protocol; lack of clinical practice guidelines in the services; specialized care services working at all three levels of the health system; inadequate spaces for treatment of airborne diseases; and lack of communication with primary health care sectors for patient transfers. The results were discussed with teams and administrators in seminars held in the services and with program managers for sexually transmitted infections, human immunodeficiency virus, AIDS, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. Direct dialogue between administrators, implementers, users, and researchers generated knowledge about the services and led to joint preparation of modifications in workflow aimed at acceptance and use of the protocol; however, users continue to resist adherence to treatment.

  20. Ecosystem Services are Social-ecological Services in a Traditional Pastoral System: the Case of California's Mediterranean Rangelands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lynn Huntsinger

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available When attempting to value ecosystem services and support their production, two critical aspects may be neglected. The term "ecosystem services" implies that they are a function of natural processes; yet, human interaction with the environment may be key to the production of many. This can contribute to a misconception that ecosystem service production depends on, or is enhanced by, the coercion or removal of human industry. Second, in programs designed to encourage ecosystem service production and maintenance, too often the inter-relationship of such services with social and ecological processes and drivers at multiple scales is ignored. Thinking of such services as "social-ecological services" can reinforce the importance of human culture, perspectives, and economies to the production of ecosystem services. Using a social-ecological systems perspective, we explore the integral role of human activity and decisions at pasture, ranch, and landscape scales. Just as it does for understanding ecosystems, a hierarchical, multiscaled framework facilitates exploring the complexity of social-ecological systems as producers of ecosystem services, to develop approaches for the conservation of such services. Using California's Mediterranean rangelands as a study area, we suggest that using a multiscaled approach that considers the importance of the differing drivers and processes at each scale and the interactions among scales, and that incorporates social-ecological systems concepts, may help avoid mistakes caused by narrow assumptions about "natural" systems, and a lack of understanding of the need for integrated, multiscaled conservation programs.

  1. The undersea location of the Swedish Final Repository for reactor waste, SFR - human intrusion aspects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eng, T.

    1989-01-01

    The Swedish Final Repository for reactor waste, SFR, is built under the Baltic sea close to the Forsmark nuclear power plant. Sixty metres of rock cover the repository caverns under the seabed. The depth of the Baltic sea is about 5-6 m at this location. A human intrusion scenario that in normal inland locations has shown to be of great importance, is a well that is drilled through or in the close vicinity of the repository. Since the land uplift in the SFR area is about 6 mm/year the undersea location of SFR ensures that no well will be drilled at this location for a considerable time while the area is covered by the Baltic sea

  2. Mapping and assessment of ecosystem services to improve resource management and human wellbeing in data-scarce peri-urban ecosystems

    OpenAIRE

    Wangai, Peter Waweru

    2017-01-01

    The ecosystem service (ES) approach acknowledges the fundamental interactions between biodiversity, ecosystems, natural resources and human wellbeing, while substantiating both tangible and intangible benefits of ecosystems to humans. Reflecting on the challenges of rapid population growth and land use changes in Africa’s urban areas on the one hand, and the opportunities provided by the ES approach on the other hand, the thesis adopts suitable ES mapping and assessment methodologies, framewo...

  3. 76 FR 61379 - Final Recovery Plan, Bexar County Karst Invertebrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-04

    ...] Final Recovery Plan, Bexar County Karst Invertebrates AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior... availability of our final recovery plan, for the nine Bexar County Karst Invertebrates under the Endangered... County karst invertebrates were listed as endangered species on December 26, 2000 (65 FR 81419): Rhadine...

  4. Final Progress Report for 'An Abstract Job Handling Grid Service for Dataset Analysis'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David A Alexander

    2005-01-01

    For Phase I of the Job Handling project, Tech-X has built a Grid service for processing analysis requests, as well as a Graphical User Interface (GUI) client that uses the service. The service is designed to generically support High-Energy Physics (HEP) experimental analysis tasks. It has an extensible, flexible, open architecture and language. The service uses the Solenoidal Tracker At RHIC (STAR) experiment as a working example. STAR is an experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). STAR and other experiments at BNL generate multiple Petabytes of HEP data. The raw data is captured as millions of input files stored in a distributed data catalog. Potentially using thousands of files as input, analysis requests are submitted to a processing environment containing thousands of nodes. The Grid service provides a standard interface to the processing farm. It enables researchers to run large-scale, massively parallel analysis tasks, regardless of the computational resources available in their location

  5. A Soil Service Index: a method for quantifying the value, vulnerability, and status of soil resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harden, J. W.; Loisel, J.; Hugelius, G.; Sulman, B. N.; Bond-Lamberty, B. P.; Abramoff, R. Z.; Malhotra, A.; Gill, A. L.

    2017-12-01

    Soils support ecological and human systems by providing a physical and biogeochemical basis for plant growth, ecological functions, water quality, and water storage, and by providing services and functions needed for economic development, human well-being, and conservation of natural resources. Quantitative evaluation of soil services, however, is inconsistent and poorly communicated, in part because we lack a scientific, unified basis for evaluating soils and their potential for serving our needs. We introduce an index of soil service (SSI) in which multiple services are numerically or quantitatively assessed, normalized to a unit-less scale for purposes of intercomparability, and evaluated for a given site or region. Services include organic matter and/or organic carbon storage; plant productivity; CO2 or GHG exchange with the atmosphere; water storage capacity; and nutrient storage and/or availability. The status of SSI can be evaluated by individual services or by a composite index that combines multiple services. The status can be monitored over time; and key services that are more highly valued for a given soil can be weighted accordingly in comparison to other services. As a first step, existing data for each service are captured from a literature and data review in order to establish the full range of values. A site value establishes the ranking relative to the full range. Key services are weighted according to local values. A final index is the sum of the normalized, weighted products. Metrics can be updated and adapted as new data or services are discovered or recognized. Metrics can be used to compare among sites, regions, or time periods.

  6. COGME 1995 Physician Workforce Funding Recommendations for Department of Health and Human Services' Programs. Council on Graduate Medical Education, 7th Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Council on Graduate Medical Education.

    This report presents specific recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services and Congress from the Council on Graduate Medical Education that address Medicare's direct and indirect graduate medical education (GME) payments and the monies allocated by the Public Health Service that is targeted toward physician education and primary…

  7. An Approach to Using Toxicogenomic Data in U.S. EPA Human Health Risk Assessments: A Dibutyl Phthalate Case Study (Final Report, 2010)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA announced the availability of the final report, An Approach to Using Toxicogenomic Data in U.S. EPA Human Health Risk Assessments: A Dibutyl Phthalate Case Study. This report outlines an approach to evaluate genomic data for use in risk assessment and a case study to ...

  8. A comprehensive approach to environmental and human factors into product/service design and development. A review from an ergoecological perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saravia-Pinilla, Martha H; Daza-Beltrán, Carolina; García-Acosta, Gabriel

    2016-11-01

    This article presents the results of a documentary-exploratory review of design methods and concepts associated with human and environmental factors, based on a qualitative-quantitative analysis of coincidences with the fundamentals of ergoecology and in line with sustainable dynamics, with a view to putting the principles of ergoecology into practice in product/service design and development. 61.6% of 696 documents found represent work on conceptual developments, while the remaining 38.4% refer to design methods. Searches were refined using Nvivo-10 software, and 101 documents were obtained about theoretical aspects while 17 focused on the application of methods, and these formed the analysis universe. The results show how little concern there is for working comprehensively on human and environmental aspects, and a trend toward segmentation of human and environmental aspects in the field of product/service design and development can be seen, at both concept and application/methodology levels. It was concluded from the above that comprehensive, simultaneous work is needed on human and environmental aspects, clarity and conceptual unity, in order to achieve sustainability in practical matters and ensure that ergoecology-compatible design methods are applied. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. New Services Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Ciganek

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Dynamic changes in traditional technologies and rising of new technologies call for development of new services. If service providers want to stay on information technologies market, they must keep track with this trend and adjust their services to customer requirements or develop new services. New applications will mainly depend on communication bandwidth and end users ability to handle it. If network providers will be able to ensure necessary bandwidth, there will be nothing that can stop service providers and developers in new service development. People know about growing necessity of new service and ask for them, but they hardly understand that the most important thing for service providers is merchantability and economic return of resources they gave to the developmentand implementation. By the lack of flexible development environment that is able to develop, test and provide final service for operation, new service development is not easy. There are different new service design procedures for various technological and user areas. This is the reason why this paper provides brief description of new service development procedure from technological and administrative point of view.

  10. Navigating the Paradoxes of Neoliberalism: Quiet Subversion in Mentored Service-Learning for the Pre-Health Humanities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Erica Hua; Piemonte, Nicole M

    2017-12-01

    In describing the foundations of our pedagogical approaches to service-learning, we seek to go beyond the navel-gazing-at times, paralyzing-paradoxes of neoliberal forces, which can do "good" for students and their communities, yet which also call students into further calculative frameworks for understanding the "value" of pre-health humanities education and social engagement. We discuss methods to create quiet forms of subversion that call for a moral imagination in extending an ethics of care to students as well as to the communities with which they engage. While we recognize the partiality and limitations of our attempts, framing mentored service-learning in unexpected ways can help students and practitioners to understand their role within broader social, historical, cultural, and emotional contexts and encourage them to act intentionally toward the communities they seek to serve in response to this new self-knowledge. To that end, we outline an academically rigorous service-learning intervention at one of our universities.

  11. Developing human rights based indicators to support country monitoring of rehabilitation services and programmes for people with disabilities: a study protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skempes, Dimitrios; Bickenbach, Jerome

    2015-09-24

    Rehabilitation care is fundamental to health and human dignity and a human right enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The provision of rehabilitation is important for reducing the need for formal support and enabling persons with disabilities to lead an independent life. Increasingly scholars and advocacy groups voice concerns over the significant barriers facing people with disabilities in accessing appropriate and quality rehabilitation. A growing body of research highlights a "respond-need" gap in the provision of rehabilitation and assistive technologies and underscore the lack of indicators for assessing performance of rehabilitation systems and monitoring States compliance with human rights standards in rehabilitation service planning and programming. While research on human rights and health monitoring has increased exponentially over the last decade far too little attention has been paid to rehabilitation services. The proposed research aims to reduce this knowledge gap by developing a human rights based monitoring framework with indicators to support human rights accountability and performance assessment in rehabilitation. Concept mapping, a stakeholder-driven approach will be used as the core method to identify rights based indicators and develop the rehabilitation services monitoring framework. Concept mapping requires participants from various stakeholders groups to generate a list of the potential indicators through on line brainstorming, sort the indicators for conceptual similarity into clusters and rate them against predefined criteria. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster data analysis will be performed to develop the monitoring framework while bridging analysis will provide useful insights about patterns of agreement or disagreement among participants views on indicators. This study has the potential to influence future practices on data collection and measurement of compliance with

  12. Eco-Health Linkages: Assessing the Role of Ecosystem Goods and Services on Human Health Using Causal Criteria Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Objectives In the last decade, we saw an upsurge of studies evaluating the role of ecosystem goods and services (EGS) on human health (Eco-Health). Most of this work consists of observational research of intermediate processes and few address the full pathways from ecosystem to E...

  13. Innovation in Extraterrestrial Service Systems - A Challenge for Service Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergner, David

    2010-01-01

    This presentation was prepared at the invitation of Professor Yukio Ohsawa, Department of Systems Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, for delivery at the International Workshop on Innovating Service Systems, sponsored by the Japanese Society of Artificial Intelligence (JSAI) as part of the JSAI Internation Symposium on AI, 2010. It offers several challenges for Service Science and Service Innovation. the goal of the presentation is to stimulate thinking about how service systems viII evolve in the future, as human society advances from its terrestrial base toward a permanent presence in space. First we will consider the complexity of the International Space Station (ISS) as it is today, with particular emphasis of its research facilities, and focus on a current challenge - to maximize the utilization of ISS research facilities for the benefit of society. After briefly reviewing the basic principles of Service Science, we will discuss the potential application of Service Innovation methodology to this challenge. Then we viII consider how game-changing technologies - in particular Synthetic Biology - could accelerate the pace of sociocultural evolution and consequently, the progression of human society into space. We will use this provocative vision to advance thinking about how the emerging field of Service Science, Management, and Engineering (SSME) might help us anticipate and better handle the challenges of this inevitable evolutionary process.

  14. Aquatic biodiversity in forests: A weak link in ecosystem services resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penaluna, Brooke E.; Olson, Deanna H.; Flitcroft, Rebecca L; Weber, Matthew A.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Wondzell, Steven M.; Dunham, Jason B.; Johnson, Sherri L.; Reeves, Gordon H.

    2017-01-01

    The diversity of aquatic ecosystems is being quickly reduced on many continents, warranting a closer examination of the consequences for ecological integrity and ecosystem services. Here we describe intermediate and final ecosystem services derived from aquatic biodiversity in forests. We include a summary of the factors framing the assembly of aquatic biodiversity in forests in natural systems and how they change with a variety of natural disturbances and human-derived stressors. We consider forested aquatic ecosystems as a multi-state portfolio, with diverse assemblages and life-history strategies occurring at local scales as a consequence of a mosaic of habitat conditions and past disturbances and stressors. Maintaining this multi-state portfolio of assemblages requires a broad perspective of ecosystem structure, various functions, services, and management implications relative to contemporary stressors. Because aquatic biodiversity provides multiple ecosystem services to forests, activities that compromise aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity could be an issue for maintaining forest ecosystem integrity. We illustrate these concepts with examples of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services in forests of northwestern North America, also known as Northeast Pacific Rim. Encouraging management planning at broad as well as local spatial scales to recognize multi-state ecosystem management goals has promise for maintaining valuable ecosystem services. Ultimately, integration of information from socio-ecological ecosystems will be needed to maintain ecosystem services derived directly and indirectly from forest aquatic biota.

  15. Forecast of the energy final consumption for Minas Gerais State

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almeida, P.E.F. de; Bechtlufft, P.C.T.; Araujo, M.E.A.; Vasconcelos, E.C.; Las Casas, H.B. de; Monteiro, M.A.G.

    1990-01-01

    This paper is included among the activities of the Energy Planning of Minas Gerais State and presents a forecast of the energy final consumption for the State up to year 2010. Two Scenarios are presented involving brazilian economy's evolution, the State's demography and its sectors: residential, services, transportation, agriculture and cattle-breeding and industry. Finally, it shows two forecast on energy final consumption for Minas Gerais State. (author)

  16. Forecasting the Future Food Service World of Work. Final Report. Volume II. Centralized Food Service Systems. Service Management Reports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powers, Thomas F., Ed.; Swinton, John R., Ed.

    Volume II of a three-volume study on the future of the food service industry considers the effects that centralized food production will have on the future of food production systems. Based on information from the Fair Acres Project and the Michigan State University Vegetable Processing Center, the authors describe the operations of a centralized…

  17. 42 CFR 415.184 - Psychiatric services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Psychiatric services. 415.184 Section 415.184 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... Psychiatric services. To qualify for physician fee schedule payment for psychiatric services furnished under...

  18. Pharmacists' Attitudes and Perceived Barriers to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hastings, Tessa J; Hohmann, Lindsey A; McFarland, Stuart J; Teeter, Benjamin S; Westrick, Salisa C

    2017-08-07

    Use of non-traditional settings such as community pharmacies has been suggested to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake and completion rates. The objectives of this study were to explore HPV vaccination services and strategies employed by pharmacies to increase HPV vaccine uptake, pharmacists' attitudes towards the HPV vaccine, and pharmacists' perceived barriers to providing HPV vaccination services in community pharmacies. A pre-piloted mail survey was sent to 350 randomly selected community pharmacies in Alabama in 2014. Measures included types of vaccines administered and marketing/recommendation strategies, pharmacists' attitudes towards the HPV vaccine, and perceived system and parental barriers. Data analysis largely took the form of descriptive statistics. 154 pharmacists completed the survey (response rate = 44%). The majority believed vaccination is the best protection against cervical cancer (85.3%), HPV is a serious threat to health for girls (78.8%) and boys (55.6%), and children should not wait until they are sexually active to be vaccinated (80.1%). Perceived system barriers included insufficient patient demand (56.5%), insurance plans not covering vaccination cost (54.8%), and vaccine expiration before use (54.1%). Respondents also perceived parents to have inadequate education and understanding about HPV infection (86.6%) and vaccine safety (78.7%). Pharmacists have positive perceptions regarding the HPV vaccine. Barriers related to system factors and perceived parental concerns must be overcome to increase pharmacist involvement in HPV vaccinations.

  19. Human factors review of power plant maintainability. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Parsons, S.O.

    1981-02-01

    Human factors engineering is an interdisciplinary science and technology concerned with shaping the design of machines, facilities, and operational environments to promote safe, efficient, and reliable performance on the part of operators and maintainers of equipment systems. The human factors aspects of five nuclear power plants and four fossil fuel plants were evaluated using such methods as a check list guided observation system, structured interviews with maintenance personnel, direct observation of maintenance tasks, reviews of procedures, and analyses of maintenance errors or accidents by means of the critical incident technique. The study revealed a wide variety of human factors problem areas, most of which are extensively photodocumented. The study recommends that a more systematic and formal approach to ensure that future power plants are human engineered to the needs of maintenance personnel

  20. Reducing barriers to energy efficiency in the German energy service companies sector. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koewener, D.; Schleich, J.

    2000-12-01

    This report describes the empirical research conducted in the German energy service sector to assess to what extent energy service companies (ESCOs) can help overcome the barriers to energy in the higher education, brewing and mechanical engineering sectors. This report complements the sector for Germany within the BARRIERS project (Sorrell et al., 2000; Schleich/Boede 2000a; Schleich/Boede 2000b; Schleich et al., 2000). The report characterises the German energy service sector, contains a description and analysis of four case studies in the energy service sector, identifies the main barriers and chances for ESCOs in the higher education, brewery and mechanical engineering sectors, and concludes with brief recommendations on how these barriers may be overcome. The results of the study are summarised here under the following headings: Characterising the energy service sector in Germany; - Case studies of energy service companies in Germany; - The role of ESCOs in the case-study sectors; - Policy implications. (orig.)

  1. Unnecessary work tasks and mental health: a prospective analysis of Danish human service workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madsen, Ida E H; Tripathi, Manisha; Borritz, Marianne; Rugulies, Reiner

    2014-11-01

    According to the "stress-as-offense-to-self" perspective, work tasks that are considered unnecessary or unreasonable - so-called "illegitimate work tasks" - are likely to elicit stress-reactions. Previous studies, mostly cross-sectional, have shown that illegitimate tasks are associated with increased self-reported stress, cortisol, and counterproductive work behavior. In this article, we examine the prospective association between unnecessary work tasks, one type of illegitimate work tasks, and mental health among Danish human service workers. Further, we explore whether this association is modified by sex, age, occupational position, and baseline mental health status. The data were obtained from self-administered questionnaires from 1351 Danish human service workers in three waves of data-collection during 1999-2005. We measured unnecessary work tasks by a single item, and assessed mental health using the 5-item mental health inventory from the Short form 36 questionnaire. We analyzed data using multi-level modeling, adjusting for potential confounding by sex, age, cohabitation, occupational position, and baseline mental health. Unnecessary work tasks were prospectively associated with a decreased level of mental health. This association was stronger for employees with poor baseline mental health and tended to be more pronounced among older employees. Among participants with poor baseline mental health, the association was explained by neither psychological demands nor decision latitude. Our findings suggest that the prevention of unnecessary work tasks may benefit employee mental health, particularly among employees with pre-existing mental health problems.

  2. 75 FR 13235 - IP-Enabled Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-19

    ... FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 47 CFR Part 63 [WC Docket No. 04-36; FCC 09-40] IP-Enabled Services AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date... Internet Protocol (VoIP) service the discontinuance obligations that apply to domestic non-dominant...

  3. Peace and development: Nuclear energy in the service of humanity. Address, Cairo, 2 March 1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ElBaradei, M.

    1999-01-01

    In his address at the meeting of representatives from the League of Arab States on the subject 'Peace and Development: Nuclear Energy in the Service of Humanity', the Director General of the IAEA described the role of the Agency for the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, focussing on the four main topics: technology transfer for development, contribution of verification and safeguards to peace and security, the role of nuclear power, and the importance of nuclear safety

  4. Platform thinking for services: the case of human resources

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hofman, Erwin; Meijerink, Jeroen Gerard

    2015-01-01

    This paper tests the utility of platform thinking, a design principle that has so far been applied to product development yet under-researched in service settings, for improving the value of services. A key principle of platform thinking is to balance the reuse of service components with the

  5. Web Services Integration on the Fly

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Leong, Hoe W

    2008-01-01

    .... Given data, software agents and supporting software infrastructure, web services integration on the fly means that human coding is not required to integrate web services into a Web Service Architecture...

  6. The effects of job satisfaction, employee commitment, workplace friendship and team culture on service recovery performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abednego Feehi Okoe

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The existing literature has called for more studies to be conducted on how human resource activities affect service recovery performance. This study therefore ascertains the effects of Job Satisfaction, employee Commitment, Workplace Friendship and Team Culture on Service Recovery Performance. The survey research design was used in this study. The participants were frontline employees from the various service sectors in Ghana. The convenience sampling was used as the sampling technique. A total of 372 responses were used in the final analysis. The scale items were adapted from the existing literature. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the fit of the model. Multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. The findings indicate that Job Satisfaction, Employee Commitment, Workplace Friendship and Team Culture significantly exerts positive influence on Service Recovery Performance of frontline employees. The findings from the study imply that there are several antecedents to Service Recovery Performance. Team Culture, Workplace Commitment, and Employee Commitment can influence Job Satisfaction which in turn will affect Service Recovery Performance resulting in customer satisfaction and retention.

  7. Technology review of commercial food service equipment - final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rahbar, S; Krsikapa, S [Canadian Gas Research Inst., Don Mills, ON (Canada); Fisher, D; Nickel, J; Ardley, S; Zabrowski, D [Fisher Consultants (Canada); Barker, R F [ed.

    1996-05-15

    Technical information on commercial gas cooking appliances was presented. This second volume provided an appliance-by-appliance comprehensive assessment of the energy performance of commercial food service equipment. Energy assessments were made for the following categories of cooking equipment: fryers, griddles, broilers, ranges, Chinese ranges, ovens, steamers, steam kettles, and braising pans. Recommendations were made for improving the energy efficiency and overall performance of gas appliances to support of the Canadian gas utilities marketing and energy conservation initiatives. 71 refs., 37 tabs., 58 figs.

  8. Promoting Service User Inclusion in Risk Assessment and Management: A Pilot Project Developing a Human Rights-Based Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenhill, Beth; Whitehead, Richard

    2011-01-01

    Recent reports highlight the extent to which many people with learning disabilities are not afforded access to their basic human rights. In addition, traditional approaches to risk management often focus on professional assessments of risks and challenging behaviour and exclude service user perspectives. In this paper, we outline what we believe…

  9. Ecosystem Services : In Nordic Freshwater Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magnussen, Kristin; Hasler, Berit; Zandersen, Marianne

    Human wellbeing is dependent upon and benefit from ecosystem services which are delivered by well-functioning ecosystems. Ecosystem services can be mapped and assessed consistently within an ecosystem service framework. This project aims to explore the use and usefulness of the ecosystem service ...

  10. Evosystem Services: Rapid Evolution and the Provision of Ecosystem Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudman, Seth M; Kreitzman, Maayan; Chan, Kai M A; Schluter, Dolph

    2017-06-01

    Evolution is recognized as the source of all organisms, and hence many ecosystem services. However, the role that contemporary evolution might play in maintaining and enhancing specific ecosystem services has largely been overlooked. Recent advances at the interface of ecology and evolution have demonstrated how contemporary evolution can shape ecological communities and ecosystem functions. We propose a definition and quantitative criteria to study how rapid evolution affects ecosystem services (here termed contemporary evosystem services) and present plausible scenarios where such services might exist. We advocate for the direct measurement of contemporary evosystem services to improve understanding of how changing environments will alter resource availability and human well-being, and highlight the potential utility of managing rapid evolution for future ecosystem services. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. KEWB facilities decontamination and disposition. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ureda, B.F.

    1976-01-01

    The decontamination and disposition of the KEWB facilities, Buildings 073, 643, 123, and 793, are complete. All of the facility equipment, including reactor enclosure, reactor vessel, fuel handling systems, controls, radioactive waste systems, exhaust systems, electrical services, and protective systems were removed from the site. Buildings 643, 123, and 793 were completely removed, including foundations. The floor and portions of the walls of Building 073 were covered over by final grading. Results of the radiological monitoring and the final survey are presented. 9 tables, 19 figures

  12. 75 FR 38725 - Service Performance Measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-06

    ... proposed rules against the importance of the information that is being gathered. This would have provided... Commission is adopting a final rule on service perfomance measurement and customer satisfaction. The final... is effective on August 5, 2010. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel...

  13. Civil Service Human Resource Capacity and Information Technology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tesfaye

    2009-01-01

    Jan 1, 2009 ... civil service organizations to make them accountable and responsible for ... changing the structure of the civil service organisations. More generally .... method to measure productivity of IT based on before and after IT investment .... 2000, and the wealth value of office equipment4, of Federal. Offices as a ...

  14. Mapping Ecosystem Services

    OpenAIRE

    Georgiev,Teodor; Burkhard,Benjamin; Maes,Joachim

    2017-01-01

    Ecosystem services are the contributions of ecosystem structure and function (in combination with other inputs) to human well-being. That means, humankind is strongly dependent on well-functioning ecosystems and natural capital that are the base for a constant flow of ecosystem services from nature to society. Therefore ecosystem services have the potential to become a major tool for policy and decision making on global, national, regional and local scales. Possible applications are manifold:...

  15. The art of customer service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Jeni

    2007-10-01

    Strategies for improving the consumer service skills of finance staff include: Hire employees who have a customer service background. Work with your human resources department to provide customer service training. Monitor new hires extensively. Offer front-end employees scripted language for situations they may face on the job. Measure the quality of customer service provided. Provide incentives for performance.

  16. Theoretical backgrounds of investigating of intellectual and human capital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Nikiforovich Belkin

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews the theoretical aspects of a company's intellectual capital. This capital consists of stock and movement of knowledge which is useful for organizing. There are three components of intellectual capital - human, social and organizational capital. The differences of intellectual and human capital are established. In particular, if human capital is characterized by mundane knowledge, the intellectual one - by the new, and if the products of human capital are the usual goods and services, the products of intellectual capital are the result of translating and implementing new knowledge. The coincidence of research subjects of the theory of intellectual capital and the theory of innovative enterprise development is shown. The concept of "intellectual potential of the enterprise" is introduced and the building structure is discussed. This potential consists of intellectual capital, patents and licenses unrealized by the enterprises, formalized ideas and hypotheses and undiscovered creative potential of the staff. Finally, a realization model of the intellectual potential of the company is proposed.

  17. Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-10-01

    When the Advisory Committee began work in April 1994 we were charged with determining whether the radiation experiments design and administration adequately met the ethical and scientific standards, including standards of informed consent, that prevailed at the time of the experiments and that exist today and also to determine the ethical and scientific standards and criteria by which it shall evaluate human radiation experiments. Although this charge seems straightforward, it is in fact difficult to determine what the appropriate standards should be for evaluating the conduct and policies of thirty or fifty years ago. First, we needed to determine the extent to which the standards of that time are similar to the standards of today. To the extent that there were differences we needed to determine the relative roles of each in making moral evaluations. In Chapter 1 we report what we have been able to reconstruct about government rules and policies in the 1940s and 1950s regarding human experiments. We focus primarily on the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense. In Chapter 2 we turn from a consideration of government standards to an exploration of the norms and practices of physicians and medical scientists who conducted research with human subjects during this period. Using the results of our Ethics Oral History Project, and other sources, we also examine how scientists of the time viewed their moral responsibilities to human subjects as well as how this translated into the manner in which they conducted their research

  18. Advisory Committee on human radiation experiments final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-10-01

    When the Advisory Committee began work in April 1994 we were charged with determining whether the radiation experiments design and administration adequately met the ethical and scientific standards, including standards of informed consent, that prevailed at the time of the experiments and that exist today and also to determine the ethical and scientific standards and criteria by which it shall evaluate human radiation experiments. Although this charge seems straightforward, it is in fact difficult to determine what the appropriate standards should be for evaluating the conduct and policies of thirty or fifty years ago. First, we needed to determine the extent to which the standards of that time are similar to the standards of today. To the extent that there were differences we needed to determine the relative roles of each in making moral evaluations. In Chapter 1 we report what we have been able to reconstruct about government rules and policies in the 1940s and 1950s regarding human experiments. We focus primarily on the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense. In Chapter 2 we turn from a consideration of government standards to an exploration of the norms and practices of physicians and medical scientists who conducted research with human subjects during this period. Using the results of our Ethics Oral History Project, and other sources, we also examine how scientists of the time viewed their moral responsibilities to human subjects as well as how this translated into the manner in which they conducted their research.

  19. IRIS Toxicological Review of Trichloroacetic Acid (Tca) (Final Report)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA has finalized the Toxicological Review of Trichloroacetic Acid: in support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Now final, this assessment may be used by EPA’s program and regional offices to inform decisions to protect human health.

  20. Radioassay services in developing countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belcher, E.H.

    1978-01-01

    The findings and recommendations of an advisory group convened by the IAEA to give guidance relating to the development of IAEA projects involving radioassay are presented. The current status of radioassay services in different countries is reviewed; guiding principles relating to the organization of such services are affirmed, with particular reference to services in developing countries; the needs of services at various levels as regards accommodation, staff, equipment, supporting services and running costs, including minimum initial needs, are specified; operational problems are identified and indications given how they may be solved; facilities for training in radioassay are reviewed; finally, reference is made to IAEA activities in the field in question. (author)

  1. IRIS Toxicological Review of Thallium and Compounds (Final Report)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA has finalized the Toxicological Review of Thallium and Compounds: in support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Now final, this assessment may be used by EPA’s program and regional offices to inform decisions to protect human health.

  2. Strategies for communicating quality expectations for environmental service contracts : final report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-01

    This study explores the communication of quality expectations between the Office of Environment Services (OES) and environmental consulting firms contributing to the Plan Development Process of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). The ove...

  3. Determination of service stresses in pretensioned beams, final report, December 2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-12-01

    This report presents research on the evaluation of service flexural stresses and cracking moment in prestressed concrete members and on the minimum reinforcement requirements that are currently controlled by the flexural cracking moment. In prestress...

  4. Stable isotopes in human nutrition research. Final report on an IAEA co-ordinated research programme, Vienna, Austria, 1993

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    The Co-ordinated Research Programme (CRP) on Applications of Stable Isotope Tracers in Human Nutrition Research was established by the Agency in October 1988 and was completed in 1992. At various times during this period the CRP encompassed 16 participants in 16 countries. Its general objective was to help establish competence in the use of stable isotope techniques, particularly in developing countries, and particularly with reference to applications of 2 H, 13 C, 15 N, and 18 O in human nutrition research. Thereby it was hoped that it would be possible (i) to identify centres and scientists throughout the developing world who could use stable isotopes in human nutrition research, (ii) to assess the need for methodological adaptations for isotope-based methods in developing countries, and (iii) to advance the competence of the participants in using stable isotopes as tracers of human metabolism. In addition it was expected that the CRP would make a study of some major questions which have been identified by international groups of nutrition experts, particularly in areas relating to energy and protein metabolism. This document comprises copies of the working papers submitted by all CRP participants who contributed a final report on their project. These reports include details of the rationale, methods, results and interpretations from each of the respective studies. Refs, figs and tabs

  5. Corporate Funding of Human Services Agencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zippay, Allison

    1992-01-01

    Conducted case study of philanthropic giving among 29 companies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Found that most corporations used informal rather than formal process for making funding decisions, with many firms relying on tradition, social contacts, and intuition to guide allocations. Findings suggest ways that social services administrators can…

  6. Does J-style “Kaizen” management create the joy of service? -Exploring the Co-creative Human Development Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oba Hiroyuki

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper tries to develop a new foundation for the Co-creative Human Development Model (CCHD. CCHD aims at creating a platform for the exercise of freewill, a space that serves as a point of departure to open up the path to Truth and so divert us from the sinful route to self-destruction. CCHD differs from A. Sen’s capability theory of human development, most markedly in its conception of the nature of development; Sen views this as expanding the capability (freedom to choose, whereas CCHD sees it as awakening and activating the freewill to choose freedom. Taking our place on the CCHD platform of freewill allows the linkage between practicing Kaizen (J-style continuous improvement and the joy of service to be captured in visible form and made known to us through our experience. The exercises connected with CCHD shed light on our mind-set, so we can become aware of the true meaning of Kaizen in our working lives and lifestyles as a whole, which can then be linked with the joy of service.

  7. Specified radioactive waste final disposal act

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yasui, Masaya

    2001-01-01

    Radioactive wastes must be finally and safely disposed far from human activities. Disposal act is a long-range task and needs to be understood and accepted by public for site selection. This paper explains basic policy of Japanese Government for final disposal act of specified radioactive wastes, examination for site selection guidelines to promote residential understanding, general concept of multi-barrier system for isolating the specific radioactive wastes, and research and technical development for radioactive waste management. (S. Ohno)

  8. 78 FR 15797 - Service Delivery Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-12

    ... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION [Docket No. SSA-2012-0048] Service Delivery Plan AGENCY: Social... input as we finalize our Service Delivery Plan (SDP). We designed our SDP as a roadmap for how we will... Plan. DATES: To ensure that we consider your comments, we must receive them no later than April 11...

  9. A Classification of Landscape Services to Support Local Landscape Planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Vallés-Planells

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The ecosystem services approach has been proven successful to measure the contributions of nature and greenery to human well-being. Ecosystems have an effect on quality of life, but landscapes also, as a broader concept, may contribute to people's well-being. The concept of landscape services, compared to ecosystem services, involves the social dimension of landscape and the spatial pattern resulting from both natural and human processes in the provision of benefits for human-well being. Our aim is to develop a classification for landscape services. The proposed typology of services is built on the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES and on a critical review of existing literature on human well-being dimensions, existing ecosystem service classifications, and landscape perception. Three themes of landscape services are defined, each divided into several groups: provisioning, regulation and maintenance, cultural and social life fulfillment, with the latter focusing on health, enjoyment, and personal and social fulfillment. A special emphasis is made on cultural services, which are especially important when applied to landscape and which have received less attention.

  10. Expansion of Medicaid Covered Smoking Cessation Services

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Expansionof Medicaid Covered Smoking Cessation Services - Maternal Smoking and Birth Outcomes. To assess whether Medicaid coverage of smoking cessation services...

  11. Human Rights and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: How Does a Large Funder of Basic Health Services Meet the Challenge of Rights-Based Programs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jürgens, Ralf; Csete, Joanne; Lim, Hyeyoung; Timberlake, Susan; Smith, Matthew

    2017-12-01

    The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was created to greatly expand access to basic services to address the three diseases in its name. From its beginnings, its governance embodied some human rights principles: civil society is represented on its board, and the country coordination mechanisms that oversee funding requests to the Global Fund include representatives of people affected by the diseases. The Global Fund's core strategies recognize that the health services it supports would not be effective or cost-effective without efforts to reduce human rights-related barriers to access and utilization of health services, particularly those faced by socially marginalized and criminalized persons. Basic human rights elements were written into Global Fund grant agreements, and various technical support measures encouraged the inclusion in funding requests of programs to reduce human rights-related barriers. A five-year initiative to provide intensive technical and financial support for the scaling up of programs to reduce these barriers in 20 countries is ongoing.

  12. 42 CFR 403.768 - Excluded services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... a RNHCI. (c) A nurse who is not providing RNHCI home nursing services under arrangement with a RNHCI... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Excluded services. 403.768 Section 403.768 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL...

  13. Indicators for mapping ecosystem services: a review

    OpenAIRE

    EGOH BENIS NCHINE; DRAKOU EVANGELIA; DUNBAR MARTHA BONNET; MAES JOACHIM; WILLEMEN LOUISE

    2012-01-01

    Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems, such as food provisioning, water regulating and provisioning, soil productivity, and use of natural areas for recreation. The current challenge is to mainstream ecosystem services into policies and practices in order to ensure the continuous provision of these benefits to humans. The European Union has adopted an EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 in which the target of safeguarding ecosystem services is explicitly include...

  14. 76 FR 76122 - Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-06

    ... CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARD INVESTIGATION BOARD Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board... change in the membership of the Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board for the Chemical Safety... Senior Executive Service (SES) and makes recommendations as to final annual performance ratings for...

  15. 78 FR 57837 - Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-20

    ... CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARD INVESTIGATION BOARD Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board... change in the membership of the Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board for the Chemical Safety... Senior Executive Service (SES) and makes recommendations as to final annual performance ratings for...

  16. Quality of service and customer satisfaction on arterial streets : final report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-06-13

    This report presents the results of a qualitative study of driver perception of quality of service (QOS) on urban arterial streets. The purpose of the study was to identify the factors that are important to drivers of personal automobiles (non-commer...

  17. SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE DESIGN OF GIS WEB SERVICE AGGREGATION BASED ON SERVICE GROUP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.-C. Liu

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Based on the analysis of research status of domestic and international GIS web service aggregation and development tendency of public platform of GIS web service, the paper designed software architecture of GIS web service aggregation based on GIS web service group. Firstly, using heterogeneous GIS services model, the software architecture converted a variety of heterogeneous services to a unified interface of GIS services, and divided different types of GIS services into different service groups referring to description of GIS services. Secondly, a service aggregation process model was designed. This model completed the task of specific service aggregation instance, by automatically selecting member GIS Web services in the same service group. Dynamic capabilities and automatic adaptation of GIS Web services aggregation process were achieved. Thirdly, this paper designed a service evaluation model of GIS web service aggregation based on service group from three aspects, i.e. GIS Web Service itself, networking conditions and service consumer. This model implemented effective quality evaluation and performance monitoring of GIS web service aggregation. It could be used to guide the execution, monitor and service selection of aggregation process. Therefore, robustness of aggregated GIS web service was improved. Finally, the software architecture has been widely used in public platform of GIS web service and a number of geo-spatial framework constructions for digital city in Sichuan Province, and aggregated various GIS web services such as World Map(National Public Platform of Geo-spatial Service, ArcGIS, SuperMap, MapGIS, NewMap etc. Applications of items showed that this software architecture was practicability.

  18. ServiceBlueprinting as a service management tool in radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maurer, Martin H.; Hamm, Bernd; Teichgraeber, Ulf

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: To describe the ServiceBlueprint model as a suitable method of service management in clinical medicine using the example of the routine clinical setting of a radiological department. Materials and methods: ServiceBlueprinting is a concept for the analysis, visualization, and optimization of service processes. To investigate whether the model will also provide a suitable representation of medical services, particularly the provision of radiological services, ServiceBlueprints were created for the modality computed tomography (CT). To this end, an independent observer analyzed the workflow of 40 consecutive CT examinations. Results: The ServiceBlueprint provided an analysis of the status quo of the service processes in CT imaging modality. Weak points in the processes thus became immediately apparent. The model could also be used for personnel management in that it helped to define the roles of staff members from different categories in the value-added process. It served as a basis for the implementation of quality management systems according to Total Quality Management (TQM) and DIN-EN-ISO-9001:2000. Conclusions: The ServiceBlueprint model is a service management concept that is also suitable to visualize medical service processes in routine clinical settings like in a radiology department and has a multifarious potential in process optimization, implementation of quality management systems, and human resources management.

  19. Design of Service Net based Correctness Verification Approach for Multimedia Conferencing Service Orchestration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng Bo

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Multimedia conferencing is increasingly becoming a very important and popular application over Internet. Due to the complexity of asynchronous communications and handle large and dynamically concurrent processes for multimedia conferencing, which confront relevant challenge to achieve sufficient correctness guarantees, and supporting the effective verification methods for multimedia conferencing services orchestration is an extremely difficult and challenging problem. In this paper, we firstly present the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL based conferencing service orchestration, and mainly focus on the service net based correction verification approach for multimedia conferencing services orchestration, which can automatically translated the BPEL based service orchestration into a corresponding Petri net model with the Petri Net Markup Language (PNML, and also present the BPEL service net reduction rules and multimedia conferencing service orchestration correction verification algorithms. We perform the correctness analysis and verification using the service net properties as safeness, reachability and deadlocks, and also provide an automated support tool for the formal analysis and soundness verification for the multimedia conferencing services orchestration scenarios. Finally, we give the comparison and evaluations.

  20. Linking an agency strategic review to increase knowledge management: San Francisco County Human Service Agency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Lindsay

    2012-01-01

    Led by the agency director, the agency engaged in a Strategic Review, based on a comprehensive assessment of agency performance that identified strategies to improve organizational effectiveness through increased data-informed practice and knowledge management. The Strategic Review gathered information on staff perceptions, perceptions of external stakeholders, changing citywide and neighborhood demographics, policy mandates, and budget and workload issues. The need for the review was based upon multiple, substantial changes not addressed in the 2000 Strategic Plan, including the 2004 merger of the Department of Human Services and the Department of Aging and Adult Services, changes among the executive management team, transitions among key political entities, new policy mandates and changing budget allocations. This case study describes the Strategic Review process and content, summarizing key challenges and lessons related to addressing workload demands, fostering positive staff attitudes, balancing internal and external information needs, and integrating data use and planning processes across the agency. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

  1. ChemSpell Web Service API

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The ChemSpell Web Service API provides chemical name spell checking and chemical name synonym look-up. ChemSpell contains more than 1.3 million chemical names...

  2. Rivers and streams in the media: a content analysis of ecosystem services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew A. Weber

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Although ecosystem services research has become common, few efforts are directed toward in-depth understanding of the specific ecological quantities people value. The theoretical framework of final ecosystem services focuses attention on such measurable attributes, as a common currency for social-ecological systems research. Environmental communications as well as ecological monitoring and analysis efforts could be enhanced through increased documentation of final ecosystem services. For example, small changes in the way ecosystems are described could strongly influence relevance to the public and improve the foundation for environmental decision making. Focusing on rivers and streams, we conducted a content analysis of existing publications to document the breadth and frequency with which various measurable attributes, such as flooding, water quality characteristics, and wildlife appeared in different news sources over a multiyear timeline. In addition to attributes, motivations for human interest in river-related resources were also coded, such as recreation or preservation for future generations. To allow testing of differences between materials written for different audiences, three sources were sampled: a blog hosted by National Geographic, New York Times articles, and Wall Street Journal articles. The coding approach was rigorously tested in a pilot phase, with measures developed to ensure high data quality, including use of two independent coders. Results show numerous similarities across sources with some notable differences in emphasis. Significant relationships between groups of attribute and motivation codes were also found, one outcome of which is further support for the importance of nonuse values for fish and wildlife. Besides offering insight on ecosystem services, the project demonstrates an in-depth quantitative approach to analyzing preexisting qualitative data.

  3. The Role of Herbivory in Structuring Tropical Seagrass Ecosystem Service Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Abigail L.; York, Paul H.; Duncan, Clare; Macreadie, Peter I.; Connolly, Rod M.; Ellis, Megan T.; Jarvis, Jessie C.; Jinks, Kristin I.; Marsh, Helene; Rasheed, Michael A.

    2018-01-01

    Seagrass meadows support key ecosystem services, via provision of food directly for herbivores, and indirectly to their predators. The importance of herbivores in seagrass meadows has been well-documented, but the links between food webs and ecosystem services in seagrass meadows have not previously been made explicit. Herbivores interact with ecosystem services – including carbon sequestration, cultural values, and coastal protection. Interactions can be positive or negative and depend on a range of factors including the herbivore identity and the grazing type and intensity. There can be unintended consequences from management actions based on a poor understanding of trade-offs that occur with complex seagrass-herbivore interactions. Tropical seagrass meadows support a diversity of grazers spanning the meso-, macro-, and megaherbivore scales. We present a conceptual model to describe how multiple ecosystem services are influenced by herbivore pressure in tropical seagrass meadows. Our model suggests that a balanced ecosystem, incorporating both seagrass and herbivore diversity, is likely to sustain the broadest range of ecosystem services. Our framework suggests the pathway to achieve desired ecosystem services outcomes requires knowledge on four key areas: (1) how size classes of herbivores interact to structure seagrass; (2) desired community and management values; (3) seagrass responses to top–down and bottom–up controls; (4) the pathway from intermediate to final ecosystem services and human benefits. We suggest research should be directed to these areas. Herbivory is a major structuring influence in tropical seagrass systems and needs to be considered for effective management of these critical habitats and their services. PMID:29487606

  4. Bringing service design to manufacturing companies: integrating PSS and service design approaches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Costa, Nina; Patrício, Lia; Morelli, Nicola

    2018-01-01

    in a manufacturing industry. This paper details how the application supports the design of product–service system solutions from the exploration to the implementation stages, highlighting the physical evidence of service, and contributes to advance design research at the intersection of PSS and Service Design.......Manufacturing companies increasingly try to innovate in their offers to consumers by creating more complete solutions that combine product and service components. However, shifting from a product-centric perspective to a solution-oriented perspective is challenging. The present study adopted...... a design research methodology and built on Service-Dominant logic, integrating the human-oriented perspective of Service Design with an organizational network-oriented perspective of Product–Service System. It creates a new Integrative PSS approach, evolves design models, and provides an application...

  5. Tele-operated service robots : ROSE

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Osch, van M.P.W.J.; Bera, D.; Hee, van K.M.; Koks, Y.; Zeegers, H.

    2014-01-01

    Service robots are robots that are intended to perform tasks normally done by humans in an environment in which humans work as well. However, they are neither required to accomplish these tasks in the same way as humans nor need to look like a human being. A tele-operated robot is controlled from a

  6. Embedding ecosystem services in coastal planning leads to better outcomes for people and nature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arkema, Katie K; Verutes, Gregory M; Wood, Spencer A; Clarke-Samuels, Chantalle; Rosado, Samir; Canto, Maritza; Rosenthal, Amy; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Guannel, Gregory; Toft, Jodie; Faries, Joe; Silver, Jessica M; Griffin, Robert; Guerry, Anne D

    2015-06-16

    Recent calls for ocean planning envision informed management of social and ecological systems to sustain delivery of ecosystem services to people. However, until now, no coastal and marine planning process has applied an ecosystem-services framework to understand how human activities affect the flow of benefits, to create scenarios, and to design a management plan. We developed models that quantify services provided by corals, mangroves, and seagrasses. We used these models within an extensive engagement process to design a national spatial plan for Belize's coastal zone. Through iteration of modeling and stakeholder engagement, we developed a preferred plan, currently under formal consideration by the Belizean government. Our results suggest that the preferred plan will lead to greater returns from coastal protection and tourism than outcomes from scenarios oriented toward achieving either conservation or development goals. The plan will also reduce impacts to coastal habitat and increase revenues from lobster fishing relative to current management. By accounting for spatial variation in the impacts of coastal and ocean activities on benefits that ecosystems provide to people, our models allowed stakeholders and policymakers to refine zones of human use. The final version of the preferred plan improved expected coastal protection by >25% and more than doubled the revenue from fishing, compared with earlier versions based on stakeholder preferences alone. Including outcomes in terms of ecosystem-service supply and value allowed for explicit consideration of multiple benefits from oceans and coasts that typically are evaluated separately in management decisions.

  7. 75 FR 1028 - Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-08

    ... CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARD INVESTIGATION BOARD Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board... change in the membership of the Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board for the Chemical Safety... performance ratings of members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and makes recommendations as to final...

  8. Controlling the delivery of outsourced services in asymmetrical supply chains

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Iwaarden, van J.; Valk, van der W.; Aalders, L.; Brown, S.W.

    2009-01-01

    Services are increasingly outsourced. When outsourced services are directly delivered to the final customer by the supplier, the buying company lacks direct control over the delivery of the service. The purpose of this study is to expand theory on control over service delivery in supply chains. A

  9. Developing positive leadership in health and human services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth A. Shannon

    2013-10-01

    Research purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether staff from the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services (Australia experienced increased levels of self-efficacy, social support within the workplace and positive affect, following participation in a leadership development programme. Research design, approach and method: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used, allowing for triangulation of results. The General Self-Efficacy Scale and the Berlin Social-Support Scale (perceived available support, instrumental were applied in an online survey administered before and nine months following the programme. Participant satisfaction surveys captured immediate responses and semi-structured interviews captured longer-term reflections. Main findings: Descriptive statistics indicated a moderate overall increase in self-efficacy, with strong increases in resilience, dealing with opposition, resourcefulness and problem solving. There was some evidence of greater overall social support and a strong increase in the development of social support networks. There was no support for an increase in participants’ positive orientation towards their jobs in the quantitative data. The impact of adverse environmental factors on participants’ perceptions also became evident through the interviews. Practical implications: Leadership development programmes that strengthen positive psychological resources provide participants with confidence and resilience in times of change. Organisations benefit from increased levels of employee self-efficacy as engagement and problem-solving abilities are enhanced. Contribution/value-add: These results contribute to the body of knowledge associated with effective leadership development.

  10. Beyond the Embodied Digital Service Encounter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jannick Kirk

    2018-01-01

    When a digital service encounter develops differently than anticipated, the client becomes a user. This transformation reveals the ambiguous nature of digital service encounter being neither well-functioning tools, nor having the same sensitivity to and tolerance for service failures as in human ...

  11. Using benefit indicators to evaluate ecosystem services resulting from restoration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecological restoration can reestablish ecosystem services that provide valuable social and environmental benefits. Final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) are the goods and services that directly benefit people. Explicitly identifying the people who benefit and characterizing w...

  12. 78 FR 8577 - Final Environmental Impact Statement; Izembek National Wildlife Refuge Proposed Land Exchange...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-06

    ... the threatened Steller's eider, threatened sea otter, threatened Steller sea lion, tundra swan, black... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS-R7-R-2012-N206; FXRS12650700000-134.... SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the availability of a final...

  13. 75 FR 69851 - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule; Correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-16

    ...] RIN 1615-AB80 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule; Correction AGENCY: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS. ACTION: Final rule; correction. SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security corrects an inadvertent error in the amendatory language of the final rule U.S. Citizenship and...

  14. Ecosystem Services Flows: Why Stakeholders' Power Relationships Matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felipe-Lucia, María R; Martín-López, Berta; Lavorel, Sandra; Berraquero-Díaz, Luis; Escalera-Reyes, Javier; Comín, Francisco A

    2015-01-01

    The ecosystem services framework has enabled the broader public to acknowledge the benefits nature provides to different stakeholders. However, not all stakeholders benefit equally from these services. Rather, power relationships are a key factor influencing the access of individuals or groups to ecosystem services. In this paper, we propose an adaptation of the "cascade" framework for ecosystem services to integrate the analysis of ecological interactions among ecosystem services and stakeholders' interactions, reflecting power relationships that mediate ecosystem services flows. We illustrate its application using the floodplain of the River Piedra (Spain) as a case study. First, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) to model the dependence relationships among ecosystem services. Second, we performed semi-structured interviews to identify formal power relationships among stakeholders. Third, we depicted ecosystem services according to stakeholders' ability to use, manage or impair ecosystem services in order to expose how power relationships mediate access to ecosystem services. Our results revealed that the strongest power was held by those stakeholders who managed (although did not use) those keystone ecosystem properties and services that determine the provision of other services (i.e., intermediate regulating and final services). In contrast, non-empowered stakeholders were only able to access the remaining non-excludable and non-rival ecosystem services (i.e., some of the cultural services, freshwater supply, water quality, and biological control). In addition, land stewardship, access rights, and governance appeared as critical factors determining the status of ecosystem services. Finally, we stress the need to analyse the role of stakeholders and their relationships to foster equal access to ecosystem services.

  15. Scenarios for Ecosystem Services: An Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen R. Carpenter

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA scenarios address changes in ecosystem services and their implications for human well-being. Ecological changes pose special challenges for long-term thinking, because of the possibility of regime shifts that occur rapidly yet alter the availability of ecosystem services for generations. Moreover, ecological feedbacks can intensify human modification of ecosystems, creating a spiral of poverty and ecosystem degradation. Such complex dynamics were evaluated by a mixture of qualitative and quantitative analyses in the MA scenarios. Collectively, the scenarios explore problems such as the connections of poverty reduction and ecosystem services, and trade-offs among ecosystem services. Several promising approaches are considered by the scenarios, including uses of biodiversity to build resilience of ecosystem services, actively adaptive management, and green technology. Although the scenarios do not prescribe an optimal path, they illuminate the consequences of different policies toward ecosystem services.

  16. 78 FR 52431 - Amendments to ONRR's Service of Official Correspondence

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-23

    ... service is effected; (3) Private mailing service (e.g., United Parcel Service, or Federal Express), with...-2013-0001; DS63610300 DR2PS0000.CH7000 134D0102R2] RIN 1012-AA14 Amendments to ONRR's Service of...), Interior. ACTION: Direct final rule. SUMMARY: This rule will update the Service of Official Correspondence...

  17. Final Report for DOE Project: Portal Web Services: Support of DOE SciDAC Collaboratories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mary Thomas, PI; Geoffrey Fox, Co-PI; Gannon, D; Pierce, M; Moore, R; Schissel, D; Boisseau, J

    2007-10-01

    Grid portals provide the scientific community with familiar and simplified interfaces to the Grid and Grid services, and it is important to deploy grid portals onto the SciDAC grids and collaboratories. The goal of this project is the research, development and deployment of interoperable portal and web services that can be used on SciDAC National Collaboratory grids. This project has four primary task areas: development of portal systems; management of data collections; DOE science application integration; and development of web and grid services in support of the above activities.

  18. User Requirements & Demand for Services and Applications in PNs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Bo

    This paper focuses on the methodology for analyses of user requirements and demand for specific services and applications in relation to personal networks (PNs). The paper has a strong user-centric approach to service and application development based on the widely accepted fact that future servi...... demand for services and applications in a PN setting. This further includes discussion of service categorization, service description and human-value issues as personalization, security and privacy, billing and price and human-computer interaction paradigms....

  19. Medicare Preventive Services Quick Reference Tool

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This educational tool provides the following information on Medicare preventive services Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS)-Current Procedural...

  20. Medicare and Social Security: fraud and abuse; civil money penalties for misuse of certain terms, symbols and emblems--HHS. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-08-28

    This final rule implements section 428(a) of Public Law 100-360 which authorizes the imposition of civil money penalties for the use--in advertising, solicitations or other communications--of certain words, letters, symbols or emblems associated with the Department of Health and Human Services' Social Security and Medicare programs in a manner that the user knows, or should know, would convey a false impression that (1) the communicated item was approved, endorsed or authorized by the Department or its programs, or (2) the responsible person or organization has some connection with, or authorization from, the Department or these programs. This rulemaking is designed to assist in protecting citizens from misrepresentations concerning the services offered and programs administered by the Social Security Administration and the Health Care Financing Administration.

  1. The shift to services : a review of the literature

    OpenAIRE

    Schettkat, Ronald; Yocarini, Lara

    2003-01-01

    The present paper provides an overview of literature on the shift to services. It follows the three dimensions of structural change - final demand, the inter-industry division of labor and inter-industry productivity differences. It first looks at the ?classics?, however (Fisher (1935), Clark (1940), Fourastié (1949), Baumol (1967, 2001), and Fuchs (1968)). Next, it treats studies analyzing differences in service-industry employment, and offers a discussion of studies focussing on final deman...

  2. Need, Awareness, and Use of Career Services for College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fouad, Nadya A.; Guillen, Amy; Harris-Hodge, Elizabeth; Henry, Caroline; Novakovic, Alexandra; Terry, Sarah; Kantamneni, Neeta

    2006-01-01

    This study examined whether university students were psychologically distressed or had difficulties with career decisions to indicate whether they needed career services, whether they were aware of the services offered by the campus counseling and career services, and finally, whether they had used the services. Findings indicated that students…

  3. Removing financial barriers to access reproductive, maternal and newborn health services: the challenges and policy implications for human resources for health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McPake, Barbara; Witter, Sophie; Ensor, Tim; Fustukian, Suzanne; Newlands, David; Martineau, Tim; Chirwa, Yotamu

    2013-09-22

    The last decade has seen widespread retreat from user fees with the intention to reduce financial constraints to users in accessing health care and in particular improving access to reproductive, maternal and newborn health services. This has had important benefits in reducing financial barriers to access in a number of settings. If the policies work as intended, service utilization rates increase. However this increases workloads for health staff and at the same time, the loss of user fee revenues can imply that health workers lose bonuses or allowances, or that it becomes more difficult to ensure uninterrupted supplies of health care inputs.This research aimed to assess how policies reducing demand-side barriers to access to health care have affected service delivery with a particular focus on human resources for health. We undertook case studies in five countries (Ghana, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe). In each we reviewed financing and HRH policies, considered the impact financing policy change had made on health service utilization rates, analysed the distribution of health staff and their actual and potential workloads, and compared remuneration terms in the public sectors. We question a number of common assumptions about the financing and human resource inter-relationships. The impact of fee removal on utilization levels is mostly not sustained or supported by all the evidence. Shortages of human resources for health at the national level are not universal; maldistribution within countries is the greater problem. Low salaries are not universal; most of the countries pay health workers well by national benchmarks. The interconnectedness between user fee policy and HRH situations proves difficult to assess. Many policies have been changing over the relevant period, some clearly and others possibly in response to problems identified associated with financing policy change. Other relevant variables have also changed.However, as is now well

  4. Human resources for health in southeast Asia: shortages, distributional challenges, and international trade in health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanchanachitra, Churnrurtai; Lindelow, Magnus; Johnston, Timothy; Hanvoravongchai, Piya; Lorenzo, Fely Marilyn; Huong, Nguyen Lan; Wilopo, Siswanto Agus; dela Rosa, Jennifer Frances

    2011-02-26

    In this paper, we address the issues of shortage and maldistribution of health personnel in southeast Asia in the context of the international trade in health services. Although there is no shortage of health workers in the region overall, when analysed separately, five low-income countries have some deficit. All countries in southeast Asia face problems of maldistribution of health workers, and rural areas are often understaffed. Despite a high capacity for medical and nursing training in both public and private facilities, there is weak coordination between production of health workers and capacity for employment. Regional experiences and policy responses to address these challenges can be used to inform future policy in the region and elsewhere. A distinctive feature of southeast Asia is its engagement in international trade in health services. Singapore and Malaysia import health workers to meet domestic demand and to provide services to international patients. Thailand attracts many foreign patients for health services. This situation has resulted in the so-called brain drain of highly specialised staff from public medical schools to the private hospitals. The Philippines and Indonesia are the main exporters of doctors and nurses in the region. Agreements about mutual recognition of professional qualifications for three groups of health workers under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Framework Agreement on Services could result in increased movement within the region in the future. To ensure that vital human resources for health are available to meet the needs of the populations that they serve, migration management and retention strategies need to be integrated into ongoing efforts to strengthen health systems in southeast Asia. There is also a need for improved dialogue between the health and trade sectors on how to balance economic opportunities associated with trade in health services with domestic health needs and equity issues. Copyright © 2011

  5. Socio-Ecohydrologic Agents And Services: Integrating Human And Natural Components To Address Coupled System Resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavao-zuckerman, M.; Pope, A.; Chan, D.; Curl, K.; Gimblett, H. R.; Hough, M.; House-Peters, L.; Lee, R.; Scott, C. A.

    2012-12-01

    Riparian corridors in arid regions are highly valued for their relative scarcity, and because healthy riparian systems support high levels of biodiversity, can meet human demand for water and water-related resources and functions. Our team is taking a transdiciplinary social-ecological systems approach to assessing riparian corridor resilience in two watersheds (the San Pedro River in USA and Mexico, and the Rio San Miguel in Mexico) through a project funded by the NSF CNH program ("Strengthening Resilience of Arid Region Riparian Corridors"). Multiple perspectives are integrated in the project, including hydrology, ecology, institutional dynamics, and decision making (at the level of both policy and individual choice), as well as the perspectives of various stakeholder groups and individuals in the watersheds. Here we discuss initial findings that center around linking changes in ecohydrology and livelihoods related to decisions in response to climatic, ecological, and social change. The research team is implementing two approaches to integrate the disparate disciplines participating in the research (and the varied perspectives among the stakeholders in this binational riparian context): (1) ecosystem service assessment, and (2) agent based model simulation. We are developing an ecosystem service perspective that provides a bridge between ecological dynamics in the landscape and varied stakeholder perspectives on the implications of ecohydrology for well-being (economic, cultural, ecological). Services are linked on one hand to the spatial patterns of traits of individuals within species (allowing a more predictive application of ecosystem services as they vary with community change in time), and to stakeholder perspectives (facilitating integration of ecosystem services into our understanding of decision making processes) in a case study in the San Pedro River National Conservation Area. The agent- based model (ABM) approach incorporates the influence of human

  6. Human reliability impact on in-service inspection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spanner, J.C. Sr.

    1986-01-01

    This paper describes a study conducted to identify, characterize, and evaluate the human reliability aspects of ultrasonic testing/inservice inspection (UT/ISI). Recent measurements of UT/ISI system effectiveness have revealed wide variations in performance; suggesting that insufficient emphasis is being placed on the human reliability aspects of nondestructive examination. It appears that NDE performance can be improved through application of the human factors principles relating to the task, training, procedure, environmental, and individual difference variables. These variables are collectively referred to as performance-shaping factors. A man-machine systems model was developed to describe the UT/ISI process using functional task descriptors. The relative operating characteristic (ROC) analysis method, which is derived from signal detection theory, offers unique attributes for analyzing NDT performance. The results of a limited human factors evaluation conducted in conjunction with a mini-round robin test are also described

  7. HIV/AIDS testing sites and locator services

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The HIV Testing Sites & Care Services Locator is a first-of-its-kind, location-based search tool that allows you to search for testing services, housing...

  8. Practical Strategies for Integrating Final Ecosystem Goods and ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    The concept of Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS) explicitly connects ecosystem services to the people that benefit from them. This report presents a number of practical strategies for incorporating FEGS, and more broadly ecosystem services, into the decision-making process. Whether a decision process is in early or late stages, or whether a process includes informal or formal decision analysis, there are multiple points where ecosystem services concepts can be integrated. This report uses Structured Decision Making (SDM) as an organizing framework to illustrate the role ecosystem services can play in a values-focused decision-process, including: • Clarifying the decision context: Ecosystem services can help clarify the potential impacts of an issue on natural resources together with their spatial and temporal extent based on supply and delivery of those services, and help identify beneficiaries for inclusion as stakeholders in the deliberative process. • Defining objectives and performance measures: Ecosystem services may directly represent stakeholder objectives, or may be means toward achieving other objectives. • Creating alternatives: Ecosystem services can bring to light creative alternatives for achieving other social, economic, health, or general well-being objectives. • Estimating consequences: Ecosystem services assessments can implement ecological production functions (EPFs) and ecological benefits functions (EBFs) to link decision alt

  9. Job Demands and Job Resources in Human Service Managerial Work An External Assessment ThroughWork Content Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Corin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Managers’ psychosocial working conditions are important for managerial sustainability in the public sector. The job demands-resources (JD-R model is a widely applied and well-recognized framework for measuring psychosocial working conditions. However, there is still a need for methodological contributions including more objective as well as qualitative ways to assess these conditions. In this study, job demands and job resources as well as the balance between them was qualitatively and externally assessed for first-line human service managers using a work content analysis method. Conditions and actions were focused upon with an external perspective. Special attention was paid to concrete examples and consequences of work characteristics with predefined criteria and cut-off points to guide the assessments. The results reveal an imbalance for human service managers between high levels of job demands and the lack of job resources available to meet these demands. Work overload, conflicting and unclear goals and tasks, emotional demands, restricted control, and lack of supervisory and organizational support generally characterized the managerial assignment. The analysis provided concrete explanations of the current work strain in this group of employees, thereby giving both short-term and long-term possibilities for improvement of managerial work and sustainability.

  10. Service Learning and STEM Education Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parichart Prasertsang

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Community service allowed learners to meet their real Competency in leadership classroom. Thinking and doing by problem Solving togethers among learners, teacher, and Community seem to be STEM education. It aimed to create and innovate thing for supporting Community. STEM education as a final stage that meet service learning and community based knowledge.

  11. Jatropha cultivation in Malawi and Mozambique: impact on ecosystem services, local human well-being, and poverty alleviation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graham P. von Maltitz

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Jatropha-based biofuels have undergone a rapid boom-and-bust cycle in southern Africa. Despite strong initial support by governments, donors, and the private sector, there is a lack of empirical studies that compare the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of Jatropha's two dominant modes of production: large plantations and smallholder-based projects. We apply a rapid ecosystem services assessment approach to understand the impact of two Jatropha projects that are still operational despite widespread project collapse across southern Africa: a smallholder-based project (BERL, Malawi and a large plantation (Niqel, Mozambique. Our study focuses on changes in provisioning ecosystem services such as biofuel feedstock, food, and woodland products that can have important effects on human well-being locally. Qualitative information is provided for other regulating and cultural ecosystem services. Although at this stage no impact is tremendously positive or negative, both projects show some signs of viability and local poverty alleviation potential. However, their long-term sustainability is not guaranteed given low yields, uncertain markets, and some prevailing management practices.

  12. Performance improvement plan in customer technical services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lachambre, L.

    1995-01-01

    This presentation centred around the philosophy, goals, and initiatives associated with Gaz Metropolitain's performance improvement plan. Various aspects of the plan including customer surveys, new customer service policies, the creation of small working units, the decentralization of the Montreal service department, and customer-harmonized shift schedules were explored. Implementation of new service plans and contracts, the formation of improvement groups related to human resources, human resource and productivity management, leadership training, and the use of performance indicators were also explained

  13. Innovative generativity of digital service encounters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henten, Anders; Sørensen, Jannick Kirk

    2018-01-01

    The research question examined in this chapter is how service encounters, based on digital interfaces, differ from face-to-face (f2f) encounters in terms of potential innovative generativity. New computer technologies facilitating big data processing and the development of advanced recommender...... systems and the recent developments of artificial intelligence with respect to cognitive and affective computing will certainly enhance the potential for innovations to be created on the basis of digital service encounters. However, the empathetic understanding of the needs and wants of the service users...... that can be part of the f2f service encounters cannot automatically result from digital service encounters. Digital tools can be developed and used to supplement the impressions that f2f encounters initiate. However, human interpretations and even human f2f encounters will also be needed to maintain...

  14. 42 CFR 460.98 - Service delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Service delivery. 460.98 Section 460.98 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED..., national origin, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, or source of...

  15. The Flight Service Station Training Program : 1981-1985.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1986-06-01

    This report describes the performance of the ATC classes in the Flight Service Station Training Program 1981 to 1985 on the skills tests and laboratory exercises in Preflight (pilot briefing), Inflight, and Emergency Services. Over 80% of the final g...

  16. Service availability during the annual closure 2014/2015

    CERN Multimedia

    GS & IT Departments

    2014-01-01

    Please note that the Service Desk will be closed, however in case of urgent requests, you can call/contact (+41 22 76) 77777. Calls will be redirected to the relevant support groups.   General Services As always, like the security service, the emergency and fire service remain operational 24/7 and reachable via 74444. However, the services provided by the GS department requiring human presence (such as CERN hotel, the car sharing service, the shuttle service, etc.) will not be operational during the annual closure. Services that do not depend on a continuous human presence will remain available offering a reduced level of support during this period. In general, the response time to normal problems will be a half day (no guarantee), but in case of serious failure, the reaction time will depend on the arrangements that have been made with the supported services. Any incidents will be documented on the CERN Service Status Board. For more information, please consult the CERN Services Po...

  17. Reframing landscape fragmentation's effects on ecosystem services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Matthew G E; Suarez-Castro, Andrés F; Martinez-Harms, Maria; Maron, Martine; McAlpine, Clive; Gaston, Kevin J; Johansen, Kasper; Rhodes, Jonathan R

    2015-04-01

    Landscape structure and fragmentation have important effects on ecosystem services, with a common assumption being that fragmentation reduces service provision. This is based on fragmentation's expected effects on ecosystem service supply, but ignores how fragmentation influences the flow of services to people. Here we develop a new conceptual framework that explicitly considers the links between landscape fragmentation, the supply of services, and the flow of services to people. We argue that fragmentation's effects on ecosystem service flow can be positive or negative, and use our framework to construct testable hypotheses about the effects of fragmentation on final ecosystem service provision. Empirical efforts to apply and test this framework are critical to improving landscape management for multiple ecosystem services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Industrial Buying Behavior Related to Human Resource Consulting Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hollensen, Svend; Grünbaum, Niels Nolsøe; Andresen, Marc

    2013-01-01

    Early B2B buying-behavior literature strongly emphasizes the rational aspects of buying behavior in B2B services. Based on a comprehensive exploratory study of Danish companies’ purchases of HR consulting services, the authors provide insights into the factors that determine how Danish companies ...

  19. Ecosystem Services Flows: Why Stakeholders’ Power Relationships Matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felipe-Lucia, María R.; Martín-López, Berta; Lavorel, Sandra; Berraquero-Díaz, Luis; Escalera-Reyes, Javier; Comín, Francisco A.

    2015-01-01

    The ecosystem services framework has enabled the broader public to acknowledge the benefits nature provides to different stakeholders. However, not all stakeholders benefit equally from these services. Rather, power relationships are a key factor influencing the access of individuals or groups to ecosystem services. In this paper, we propose an adaptation of the “cascade” framework for ecosystem services to integrate the analysis of ecological interactions among ecosystem services and stakeholders’ interactions, reflecting power relationships that mediate ecosystem services flows. We illustrate its application using the floodplain of the River Piedra (Spain) as a case study. First, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) to model the dependence relationships among ecosystem services. Second, we performed semi-structured interviews to identify formal power relationships among stakeholders. Third, we depicted ecosystem services according to stakeholders’ ability to use, manage or impair ecosystem services in order to expose how power relationships mediate access to ecosystem services. Our results revealed that the strongest power was held by those stakeholders who managed (although did not use) those keystone ecosystem properties and services that determine the provision of other services (i.e., intermediate regulating and final services). In contrast, non-empowered stakeholders were only able to access the remaining non-excludable and non-rival ecosystem services (i.e., some of the cultural services, freshwater supply, water quality, and biological control). In addition, land stewardship, access rights, and governance appeared as critical factors determining the status of ecosystem services. Finally, we stress the need to analyse the role of stakeholders and their relationships to foster equal access to ecosystem services. PMID:26201000

  20. Access to abortion services: the impact of the European convention on human rights in Ireland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daly, Brenda

    2011-06-01

    Abortion is unlawful in Ireland except where it is necessary to save the life of the mother. The right to life of the unborn child is safeguarded under Article 40.3.3 degrees of Bunreacht na hEireann (the Irish Constitution). In 2003 the European Convention on Human Rights was incorporated into Irish domestic legislation, subject to the provisions of the Irish Constitution. The aim of this paper is to consider the potential impact of the ECHR on access to abortion services within the State. This paper commences with discussion of the statutory prohibition on abortion and the Constitutional provisions concerning the protection afforded to the unborn child. It will then be necessary to examine the implications for Ireland of recent European Court of Human Rights' decisions, in particular the recent judgment in A, B & C v Ireland, regarding the right to legal abortions given the unique nature of the legal status of the ECHR and its relationship with the Irish Constitution.

  1. Analysis of pavement serviceability for the Aashto Design Method: The Chilean Case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solminihac, Hernan De; Salsilli, R.; Bengoa, E.; Kohler, E.

    2003-01-01

    Serviceability is an indicator that represents the level of service a pavement provides to the users. This subjective opinion is closely related to objective aspects, which can be measured on the pavement's surface. This research aims specifically at relating serviceability results obtained by a 9-member evaluation panel, representing general public as closely as possible to parameters (particularly of roughness) measured within instruments on 30, 25 and 11 road sections of asphalt concrete, Portland cement concrete and asphalt overlay respectively. Results show that prediction of serviceability is quite accurate based on roughness evaluation, while also revealing that, by comparison to studies in more developed countries, Chileans are seemingly more tolerant, in that they assign a somewhat high rating to ride quality. Furthermore, visible distress does not have a significant influence on serviceability values for Chilean users. A ratio between International Roughness Index (IRI) and Serviceability, as defined by AASHTO, was developed and may be used in this design method. Results for the final pavement condition of urban pavements were obtained (IRI-asphalt final=5.9, IRI-concrete final=8.1). (author)

  2. Provider Customer Service Program - Performance Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — CMS is continuously analyzing performance and quality of the Provider Customer Service Programs (PCSPs) of the contractors and will be identifying trends and making...

  3. Changing job-related burnout after intervention--a quasi-experimental study in six human service organizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Ingelise; Borritz, Marianne; Christensen, Karl Bang

    2010-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: In a longitudinal study design to analyze the development of burnout at worksites and to study the effect of interventions intended to reduce the level of burnout at individual level. METHODS: At baseline the study, sample consisted of 1024 individuals divided at six organizations and 18...... worksites in the human service sector. Four different types of interventions were identified: external and internal reorganizations, educational days, and consultancy. Burnout defined as work related, client related, and personal burnout was measured by means of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory at baseline...... of interventions did not reduce the level of burnout in our study....

  4. IRIS Toxicological Review of Trichloroacetic Acid (Tca) (Final ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA has finalized the Toxicological Review of Trichloroacetic Acid: in support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Now final, this assessment may be used by EPA’s program and regional offices to inform decisions to protect human health. The draft Toxicological Review of Trichloroacetic Acid provides scientific support and rationale for the hazard identification and dose-response assessment pertaining to chronic exposure to trichloroacetic acid.

  5. 77 FR 62243 - Health Resources and Services Administration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National... Services Administration (HRSA), Parklawn Building (and via audio conference call), 5600 Fishers Lane, Room... and Services Administration, Parklawn Building, Room 13-64, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland...

  6. Image selection as a service for cloud computing environments

    KAUST Repository

    Filepp, Robert

    2010-12-01

    Customers of Cloud Services are expected to choose specific machine images to instantiate in order to host their workloads. Unfortunately very little information is provided to the users to enable them to make intelligent choices. We believe that as the number of images proliferates it will become increasingly difficult for users to decide effectively. Cloud service providers often allow their customers to instantiate standard system images, to modify their instances, and to store images of these customized instances for public or private future use. Storing modified instances as images enables customers to avoid re-provisioning and re-configuration of required resources thereby reducing their future costs. However Cloud service providers generally do not expose details regarding the configurations of the images in a rigorous canonical fashion nor offer services that assist clients in the best target image selection to support client transformation objectives. Rather, they allow customers to enter a free-form description of an image based on client\\'s best effort. This means in order to find a "best fit" image to instantiate, a human user must review potentially thousands of image descriptions, reading each description to evaluate its suitability as a platform to host their source application. Furthermore, the actual content of the selected image may differ greatly from its description. Finally, even images that have been customized and retained for future use may need additional provisioning and customization to accommodate specific needs. In this paper we propose a service that accumulates image configuration details in a canonical fashion and a further service that employs an algorithm to order images per best fit /least cost in conformance to user-specified policies. These services collectively facilitate workload transformation into enterprise cloud environments.

  7. Illustrating the Interaction of Nature and People in Ecosystem Services: The Case of Terroir in Wine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholas, K. A.

    2014-12-01

    The ecosystem services (ES) approach is increasingly used in research and policy, with the Common International Framework on Ecosystem Services (CICES) "cascade" gaining traction as a framework for conceptualizing the production of ecosystem services by the natural environment, and then people consuming these services and obtaining benefits depending on their values. However, uptake of the ES concept on the ground by ecosystem managers, and understanding by everyday citizens, is still limited. One barrier is the challenge of providing tangible, examples of everyday benefits and values that people can readily connect with the biophysical structures and functions that underlie their provision. Winegrowing offers one promising case to illustrate the linkages all along the chain of production and consumption of ecosystem services. The sensitive winegrape has long been known for its properties of terroir, where the taste of wine reflects the environmental conditions of the place where it is grown, a feature valued by consumers. Here the CICES framework is illustrated with the case of winegrowing, demonstrating that the current linear model of natural production and human consumption of ES needs to be modified for this case because people influence each of the five stages by shaping and responding to their environment, producing a two-way interaction between people and the environment throughout. For example, while natural drivers such as climate and soils are key to the provision of the service of winegrape yields, landowners modify the biophysical environment through site selection and growers modify plant ecophysiological function through farming practices such as pruning and irrigation in order to influence the final service. Similarly, winemakers' expertise is needed to transform the service of winegrape yields into the product of wine that can be enjoyed and valued by consumers, whose preferences shape wine styles as well. This case illustrates how incorporating

  8. Service availability during CERN annual closure 2015/2016

    CERN Multimedia

    2015-01-01

    Please note that the Service Desk will be closed, however in case of urgent requests, you can call/contact (+41 22 76) 77777. Calls will be redirected to the relevant support groups.   General Services As always, like the security service, the emergency and fire service remain operational 24/7 and reachable via 74444. However, the services provided by the GS department requiring human presence (such as CERN hotel, the car sharing service, the shuttle service, etc.) will not be operational during the annual closure. Services that do not depend on a continuous human presence will remain available offering a reduced level of support during this period. In general, the response time to normal problems will be a half day (no guarantee), but in case of serious failure, the reaction time will depend on the arrangements that have been made with the supported services. Any incidents will be documented on the CERN Service Status Board. For more information, please ...

  9. Mental Health Service Delivery Systems and Perceived Qualifications of Mental Health Service Providers in School Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, Decia Nicole

    2009-01-01

    Latest research on the mental health status of children indicates that schools are key providers of mental health services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). The push for school mental health services has only increased as stakeholders have begun to recognize the significance of sound mental health as an essential part of…

  10. Buried waste integrated demonstration human engineered control station. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-09-01

    This document describes the Human Engineered Control Station (HECS) project activities including the conceptual designs. The purpose of the HECS is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of remote retrieval by providing an integrated remote control station. The HECS integrates human capabilities, limitations, and expectations into the design to reduce the potential for human error, provides an easy system to learn and operate, provides an increased productivity, and reduces the ultimate investment in training. The overall HECS consists of the technology interface stations, supporting engineering aids, platform (trailer), communications network (broadband system), and collision avoidance system.

  11. Buried waste integrated demonstration human engineered control station. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-09-01

    This document describes the Human Engineered Control Station (HECS) project activities including the conceptual designs. The purpose of the HECS is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of remote retrieval by providing an integrated remote control station. The HECS integrates human capabilities, limitations, and expectations into the design to reduce the potential for human error, provides an easy system to learn and operate, provides an increased productivity, and reduces the ultimate investment in training. The overall HECS consists of the technology interface stations, supporting engineering aids, platform (trailer), communications network (broadband system), and collision avoidance system

  12. TADS Final Evaluation Report, 1980-81. Appendix S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suarez, Tanya M.; And Others

    The document contains the final report of the Technical Assistance Development System (TADS), a program which provided technical assistance (TA) services to 53 Handicapped Children's Early Education Program (HCEEP) demonstration projects and 13 State Implementation Grants (SIGs). The evaluation report is divided into five sections. Section 1…

  13. Practical Theology and providing service: The service through love ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    known sight in society. Despite the larger picture of inadequate service, there are those who serve their fellow humans and society every day. The Mamas Africa utilising the minimum resources available, are examples of people who make a ...

  14. 22 CFR 11.20 - Foreign Service specialist career candidate appointments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ..., background investigation, and final review process required of career candidates, but normally they will not... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Foreign Service specialist career candidate... SERVICE OFFICERS § 11.20 Foreign Service specialist career candidate appointments. (a) General...

  15. Connecting nitrogen deposition and ecosystem services

    Science.gov (United States)

    There are tremendous human health and well-being consequences of nitrogen release to the atmosphere, land and water. The effects on human health are related to the fundamental ecosystem services providing clean air and water for human consumption. Among the highest available da...

  16. The Role of Information Technology as Moderating Variable and Internal Control Effectiveness as intervening in the Relationship between Human Resource Competency and Internal Auditor Service Quality on of Report

    OpenAIRE

    Haliah, Hamid,Irdam

    2015-01-01

    in general, this research is intended to investigate factors that effect quality of report of local government in west Sulawesi province, Indonesia. Human resource competence and quality of services of internal auditor have indirect effect through the effectiveness of internal control to the quality of the report. These results indicate that the effectiveness of internal control serves as an intervening variable on the relationship of competence of human resources and internal auditor service...

  17. Final report on CCQM-K80: Comparison of value-assigned CRMs and PT materials: Creatinine in human serum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camara, Johanna E.; Duewer, David L.; Gasca Aragon, Hugo; Lippa, Katrice A.; Toman, Blaza

    2013-01-01

    The 2009 CCQM-K80 'Comparison of value-assigned CRMs and PT materials: creatinine in human serum' is the first in a series of key comparisons directly testing the chemical measurement services provided to customers by National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and Designated Institutes. CCQM-K80 compared the assigned serum creatinine values of certified reference materials (CRMs) using measurements made on these materials under repeatability conditions. Six NMIs submitted 17 CRM materials for evaluation, all intended for sale to customers. These materials represent nearly all of the higher-order CRMs then available for this clinically important measurand. The certified creatinine mass fraction in the materials ranged from 3 mg/kg to 57 mg/kg. All materials were stored and prepared according the specifications provided by each NMI. Samples were processed and analyzed under repeatability conditions by one analyst using isotope dilution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The instrumental repeatability imprecision, expressed as a percent relative standard deviation, was 1.2%. Given the number of materials and the time required for each analysis, the measurements were made in two measurement campaigns ('runs'). In both campaigns, replicate analyses (two injections of one preparation separated in time) were made on each of two or three independently prepared aliquots from one randomly selected unit of each of the 17 materials. The mean value, between-campaign, between-aliquot and between-replicate variance components, standard uncertainty of the mean value, and the number of degrees of freedom associated with the standard uncertainty were estimated using a linear mixed model. Since several of the uncertainties estimated using this traditional frequentist approach were associated with a single degree of freedom, Markov Chain Monte Carlo Bayesian analysis was used to estimate 95% level-of-confidence coverage intervals, U95. Uncertainty-weighted generalized distance

  18. Web Service Growing Pains : Understanding Services and Their Clients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Espinha, T.

    2015-01-01

    At an implementation level, web services serve the basic purpose of message exchange between potentially heterogeneous software systems. Through abstracting language- and platform-specific implementations into text-based, human-readable XML and JSON-based formats, different software systems are able

  19. Building Service Provider Capabilities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandl, Kristin; Jaura, Manya; Ørberg Jensen, Peter D.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we study whether and how the interaction between clients and the service providers contributes to the development of capabilities in service provider firms. In situations where such a contribution occurs, we analyze how different types of activities in the production process...... process. We find that clients influence the development of human capital capabilities and management capabilities in reciprocally produced services. While in sequential produced services clients influence the development of organizational capital capabilities and management capital capabilities....... of the services, such as sequential or reciprocal task activities, influence the development of different types of capabilities. We study five cases of offshore-outsourced knowledge-intensive business services that are distinguished according to their reciprocal or sequential task activities in their production...

  20. Adaptive software architecture based on confident HCI for the deployment of sensitive services in Smart Homes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vega-Barbas, Mario; Pau, Iván; Martín-Ruiz, María Luisa; Seoane, Fernando

    2015-03-25

    Smart spaces foster the development of natural and appropriate forms of human-computer interaction by taking advantage of home customization. The interaction potential of the Smart Home, which is a special type of smart space, is of particular interest in fields in which the acceptance of new technologies is limited and restrictive. The integration of smart home design patterns with sensitive solutions can increase user acceptance. In this paper, we present the main challenges that have been identified in the literature for the successful deployment of sensitive services (e.g., telemedicine and assistive services) in smart spaces and a software architecture that models the functionalities of a Smart Home platform that are required to maintain and support such sensitive services. This architecture emphasizes user interaction as a key concept to facilitate the acceptance of sensitive services by end-users and utilizes activity theory to support its innovative design. The application of activity theory to the architecture eases the handling of novel concepts, such as understanding of the system by patients at home or the affordability of assistive services. Finally, we provide a proof-of-concept implementation of the architecture and compare the results with other architectures from the literature.

  1. The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Education, Support, and Services for Persons Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephens, Teresa M

    2018-03-01

    Faith-based organizations are in a unique position to provide resilience-enhancing efforts for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS. Many persons living with human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS report having a strong faith or religious affiliation, with a large percentage attending church services on a regular basis. Faith-based organizations can use these factors to reach out to these individuals and effectively promote health, well-being, education, and support. Faith-based organizations can contribute to the reduction of stigma and isolation for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Availability of services during CERN's Annual Closure 2012/2013

    CERN Multimedia

    2012-01-01

    General Services As every year, all the services provided by the GS Department requiring human presence (like the CERN hotel, car sharing service, shuttle service, etc.) will ceased during the annual closure. Services that do not depend on continuous human presence will remain available.  Support levels are reduced during this period. In general, the target reaction time for problems will be half a day (no guaranteed). In case of failure, the reaction time for restoration of services depends on the arrangements that have been made on a service-by-service basis. Service outages will be documented on the status board. For more detailed information please consult the service portal. Please also note that this year, unlike previous years, the heating will not be cut but idle. This reduced level is equal to weekend operation and should be relatively comfortable. Computing Services Most of the services provided by the IT Department - including WLCG production services - will rem...

  3. Reducing Math Anxiety: Findings from Incorporating Service Learning into a Quantitative Reasoning Course at Seattle University

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allison Henrich

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available How might one teach mathematics to math-anxious students and at the same time reduce their math anxiety? This paper describes what we found when we incorporated a service learning component into a quantitative reasoning course at Seattle University in Fall 2010 (20 students and Spring 2011 (28 students. The course is taken primarily by humanities majors, many of whom would not take a course in math if they didn’t need to satisfy the university’s core requirement. For the service learning component, each student met with and tutored children at local schools for 1-2 hours per week (total about 15 service hours, kept a weekly journal reflecting on the experience, and wrote a five-page final paper on the importance and reasonable expectations of mathematics literacy. The autobiographies, self-description at the beginning of the class, focus group interviews at the end of the term, journal entries, final essays, and student evaluations indicated that the students gained confidence in their mathematical abilities, a greater interest in mathematics, and a broader sense of the importance of math literacy in modern society. One notable finding was that students discovered that the act of manufacturing enthusiasm about math as a tool for tutoring the children made them more enthusiastic about math in their own courses.

  4. Human performance in nondestructive inspections and functional tests: Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, D.H.

    1988-10-01

    Human performance plays a vital role in the inspections and tests conducted to assure the physical integrity of nuclear power plants. Even when technically-sophisticated equipment is employed, the outcome is highly dependent on human control actions, calibrations, observations, analyses, and interpretations. The principal consequences of inadequate performance are missed or falsely-reported defects. However, the cost-avoidance that stems from addressing potential risks promptly, and the increasing costs likely with aging plants, emphasize that timeliness and efficiency are important inspection-performance considerations also. Human performance issues were studied in a sample of inspections and tests regularly conducted in nuclear power plants. These tasks, selected by an industry advisory panel, were: eddy-current inspection of steam-generator tubes; ultrasonic inspection of pipe welds; inservice testing of pumps and valves; and functional testing of shock suppressors. Information was obtained for the study from industry and plant procedural documents; training materials; research reports and related documents; interviews with training specialists, inspectors, supervisory personnel, and equipment designers; and first-hand observations of task performance. Eleven recommendations are developed for improving human performance on nondestructive inspections and functional tests. Two recommendations were for the more-effective application of existing knowledge; nine recommendations were for research projects that should be undertaken to assure continuing improvements in human performance on these tasks. 25 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab

  5. Accounting for ecosystem services and biodiversity in Limburg province, the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Remme, R.P.

    2016-01-01

    Ecosystem services and biodiversity are important for human well-being. Ecosystem services are the contributions of ecosystems to benefits used in economic and other human activity. This thesis aims to empirically assess how spatial models for ecosystem service flows and biodiversity can be

  6. Provision of Early Intervention and Special Education Services to Eligible DoD Dependents. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-06-25

    This rule reissues the current regulations and: Establishes policy, assigns responsibilities, and implements the non-funding and non-reporting provisions in DoD for: Provision of early intervention services (EIS) to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, as well as special education and related services to children with disabilities entitled under this part to receive education services from the DoD; implementation of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program of EIS for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families who, but for age, are eligible to be enrolled in DoD schools; provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE), including special education and related services, for children with disabilities, as specified in their individualized education programs (IEP), who are eligible to enroll in DoD schools; and monitoring of DoD programs providing EIS, and special education and related services for compliance with this part. This rule also establishes a DoD Coordinating Committee to recommend policies and provide compliance oversight for early intervention and special education.

  7. Providing quality reference services at a special library

    OpenAIRE

    Semertzaki, Eva

    2006-01-01

    The paper deals with the traditional vs. modern reference service and with the reference interview and its value. It analyzes new channels of communication: the virtual reference service. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face vs. virtual reference and touches issues of user education, information literacy, user satisfaction and evaluation of reference services. Finally, it highlights the competencies of the reference librarian.

  8. Dynamics of final sectoral energy demand and aggregate energy intensity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lescaroux, Francois

    2011-01-01

    This paper proposes a regional and sectoral model of global final energy demand. For the main end-use sectors of consumption (industrial, commercial and public services, residential and road transportation), per-capita demand is expressed as an S-shaped function of per-capita income. Other variables intervene as well, like energy prices, temperatures and technological trends. This model is applied on a panel of 101 countries and 3 aggregates (covering the whole world) and it explains fairly well past variations in sectoral, final consumption since the beginning of the 2000s. Further, the model is used to analyze the dynamics of final energy demand, by sector and in total. The main conclusion concerns the pattern of change for aggregate energy intensity. The simulations performed show that there is no a priori reason for it to exhibit a bell-shape, as reported in the literature. Depending on initial conditions, the weight of basic needs in total consumption and the availability of modern commercial energy resources, various forms might emerge. - Research Highlights: → The residential sector accounts for most of final energy consumption at low income levels. → Its share drops at the benefit of the industrial, services and road transportation sectors in turn. → Sectoral shares' pattern is affected by changes in geographic, sociologic and economic factors. → Final energy intensity may show various shapes and does not exhibit necessarily a bell-shape.

  9. Remote information service access system based on a client-server-service model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konrad, A.M.

    1996-08-06

    A local host computing system, a remote host computing system as connected by a network, and service functionalities: a human interface service functionality, a starter service functionality, and a desired utility service functionality, and a Client-Server-Service (CSS) model is imposed on each service functionality. In one embodiment, this results in nine logical components and three physical components (a local host, a remote host, and an intervening network), where two of the logical components are integrated into one Remote Object Client component, and that Remote Object Client component and the other seven logical components are deployed among the local host and remote host in a manner which eases compatibility and upgrade problems, and provides an illusion to a user that a desired utility service supported on a remote host resides locally on the user`s local host, thereby providing ease of use and minimal software maintenance for users of that remote service. 16 figs.

  10. Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-11-15

    On July 1, 2014, the HEAL Program was transferred from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department). To reflect this transfer and to facilitate the servicing of all HEAL loans that are currently held by the Department, the Secretary adds the HEAL Program regulations to the Department's chapter in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

  11. Servicom in the user services of federal univerisyt of technology ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... using counting, tables and simple percentages. Finally, the conclusion and recommendations on how best to serve her users, for example by commending the automation and provision of Internet services and urging them to go on and automate all her services. Key words: SERVICOM, User, Services, Univeristy, Library ...

  12. Improving human reliability through better nuclear power plant system design. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golay, Michael W.

    1998-01-01

    Increasing task complexity is claimed to be responsible for causing human operating errors, while a significant number of system failures are due to operating errors. An experimental study reported here was conducted to isolate varying task complexity as an important factor affecting human performance quality. Earlier work concerning problems of nuclear power plants has shown that human capability declined when dealing with increasing system complexity. The goal of this study was to investigate further the relationship between human operator performance quality and the complexity of tasks served to human operators. This was done by using a simple, interactive, dynamic and generalizable computer model to simulate the behavior of a human-operated dynamic fluid system. Twenty-two human subjects participated

  13. The process approach to service quality management

    OpenAIRE

    Kamila Kowalik; Dorota Klimecka-Tatar

    2018-01-01

    In this paper a model of service quality management based on the process approach has been presented. The first part of the article contains the theoretical framework of service quality and the process approach in management. Next, quality of service process has been presented in reference to a process-based definition in quoted literature. Finally, the outcomes of a customer questionnaire concerning the validity of particular quality attributes has been presented. The collected data in relat...

  14. Embedding Knowledge Processes to Maintain Service Levels and Efficiency in a Growing Software Service Firm

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oostdam, M.; Verburg, R.M.; Lobbezoo, M.

    2013-01-01

    Software service firms are challenged to maintain high service levels and to innovate at the same time. Therefore, valuable human resources need often to be balanced between innovation and operations related activities. In this paper we describe how such as a firm deals with these issues by

  15. Social-ecological drivers of multiple ecosystem services: what variables explain patterns of ecosystem services across the Norrström drainage basin?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan Meacham

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In human dominated landscapes many diverse, and often antagonistic, human activities are intentionally and inadvertently determining the supply of various ecosystem services. Understanding how different social and ecological factors shape the availability of ecosystem services is essential for fair and effective policy and management. In this paper, we evaluate how well alternative social-ecological models of human impact on ecosystems explain patterns of 16 ecosystem services (ES across the 62 municipalities of the Norrström drainage basin in Sweden. We test four models of human impact on ecosystems, land use, ecological modernization, ecological footprint, and location theory, and test their ability to predict both individual ES and bundles of ES. We find that different models do best to predict different types of individual ES. Land use is the best model for predicting provisioning services, standing water quality, biodiversity appreciation, and cross-country skiing, while other models work better for the remaining services. However, this range of models is not able to predict some of the cultural ES. ES bundles are predicted worse than individual ES by these models, but provide a clear picture of variation in multiple ecosystem services based on limited information. Based on our results, we offer suggestions on how social-ecological modeling and assessments of ecosystems can be further developed.

  16. Control of communicable disease; foreign--requirements for importers of nonhuman primates (NHP). Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-15

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), located within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is amending regulations for the importation of live nonhuman primates (NHPs) by extending existing requirements for the importation of Macaca fascicularis (cynomolgus), Chlorocebus aethiops (African green), and Macaca mulatta (rhesus) monkeys to all NHPs with the exception of the filovirus testing requirement. Filovirus testing will only be required for Old World NHPs in quarantine that have illness consistent with filovirus infection or that die for any reason other than trauma during quarantine. HHS/CDC is also finalizing a provision to reduce the frequency at which importers of cynomolgus, African green, and rhesus monkeys are required to renew their special permits (from every 180 days to every 2 years). HHS/CDC is incorporating existing guidelines into the regulations and adding new provisions to address the following: NHPs imported as part of an animal act; NHPs imported or transferred by zoological societies; the transfer of NHPs from approved laboratories; and non-live imported NHP products. Finally, HHS/CDC is also requiring that all NHPs be imported only through ports of entry where a HHS/CDC quarantine station is located.

  17. The contribution of the psychosocial work environment to sickness absence in human service workers : Results of a 3-year follow-up study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rugulies, Reiner; Christensen, Karl B.; Borritz, Marianne; Villadsen, Ebbe; Bultmann, Ute; Kristensen, Tage S.

    2007-01-01

    We investigated to what extent psychosocial. work characteristics predict sickness absence in a cohort of 890 human service professionals (84% women), followed-up for 3 years. We measured 16 different psychosocial work characteristics at baseline and analysed their associations with number of

  18. Can we do better? Economic analysis of human resource investment to improve home care service for the elderly in Serbia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mihic, Marko M; Todorovic, Marija Lj; Obradovic, Vladimir Lj; Mitrovic, Zorica M

    2016-01-01

    Social services aimed at the elderly are facing great challenges caused by progressive aging of the global population but also by the constant pressure to spend funds in a rational manner. This paper focuses on analyzing the investments into human resources aimed at enhancing home care for the elderly since many countries have recorded progress in the area over the past years. The goal of this paper is to stress the significance of performing an economic analysis of the investment. This paper combines statistical analysis methods such as correlation and regression analysis, methods of economic analysis, and scenario method. The economic analysis of investing in human resources for home care service in Serbia showed that the both scenarios of investing in either additional home care hours or more beneficiaries are cost-efficient. However, the optimal solution with the positive (and the highest) value of economic net present value criterion is to invest in human resources to boost the number of home care hours from 6 to 8 hours per week and increase the number of the beneficiaries to 33%. This paper shows how the statistical and economic analysis results can be used to evaluate different scenarios and enable quality decision-making based on exact data in order to improve health and quality of life of the elderly and spend funds in a rational manner.

  19. Managing service quality: Human resource management strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. K. Govender

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available This article reports the results of an empirical evaluation of a conceptual service encounter management model (Govender, 1999. The various hypotheses proposed to show a relationship between formal and informal socialisation strategies, and the bank employees' perception of the organisational climate and their role are empirically evaluated. Furthermore, the mediated effects of these socialization tactics on the bank customers perception of the service quality was also ascertained by matching a random sample of 210 bank employees with 1050 customers. Opsomming Hierdie artikel rapporteer die resultate van n empiriese evaluering van n konseptuele dienservaringsbestuursmodel (Govender, 1999. Verskeie hipoteses word voorgehou om n verband tussen formele en informele sosialise- ringstrategiee aan te toon, en die bankwerkers se persepsie van die organisatoriese klimaat en hulle rolle word empirics geevalueer.Verder word die modererende effek van hierdie sosialiseringstrategie op die bankkliente se persepsie van dienskwaliteit bepaal deur 'n ewekansige steekproefvan 210 bankwerkers met 1050 kliente af te paar.

  20. 75 FR 40842 - Public Health Service Act (PHS), Delegation of Authority

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-14

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Service Act (PHS), Delegation of Authority Notice is hereby given that I have delegated to the Director... Secretary of Health and Human Services under the following section under Title XXVI of the Public Health...

  1. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant disposal phase final supplemental environmental impact statement. Volume 2: Appendices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-09-01

    The purpose of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS-II) is to provide information on environmental impacts regarding the Department of Energy's (DOE) proposed disposal operations at WIPP. The Proposed Action describes the treatment and disposal of the Basic inventory of TRU waste over a 35-year period. The Action Alternatives proposed the treatment of the Basic Inventory and an Additional Inventory as well as the transportation of the treated waste to WIPP for disposal over a 150- to 190-year period. The three Action Alternatives include the treatment of TRU waste at consolidation sites to meet WIPP planning-basic Waste Acceptance Criteria, the thermal treatment of TRU waste to meet Land Disposal Restrictions, and the treatment of TRU waste by a shred and grout process. SEIS-II evaluates environmental impacts resulting from the various treatment options; the transportation of TRU waste to WIPP using truck, a combination of truck and regular rail service, and a combination of truck and dedicated rail service; and the disposal of this waste in the repository. Evaluated impacts include those to the general environment and to human health. Additional issues associated with the implementation of the alternatives are discussed to provide further understanding of the decisions to be reached and to provide the opportunity for public input on improving DOE's Environmental Management Program. This volume contains the following appendices: Waste inventory; Summary of the waste management programmatic environmental impact statement and its use in determining human health impacts at treatment sites; Air quality; Life-cycle costs and economic impacts; Transportation; Human health; Facility accidents; Long-term consequence analysis for proposed action and action alternatives; Long-term consequence analysis for no action alternative 2; and Updated estimates of the DOE's transuranic waste volumes

  2. IRIS Toxicological Review of Hydrogen Cyanide and Cyanide Salts (Final Report)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA has finalized the Toxicological Review of Hydrogen Cyanide and Cyanide Salts: in support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Now final, this assessment may be used by EPA’s program and regional offices to inform decisions to protect human health.

  3. Service-oriented Software Defined Optical Networks for Cloud Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yuze; Li, Hui; Ji, Yuefeng

    2017-10-01

    With the development of big data and cloud computing technology, the traditional software-defined network is facing new challenges (e.g., ubiquitous accessibility, higher bandwidth, more flexible management and greater security). This paper proposes a new service-oriented software defined optical network architecture, including a resource layer, a service abstract layer, a control layer and an application layer. We then dwell on the corresponding service providing method. Different service ID is used to identify the service a device can offer. Finally, we experimentally evaluate that proposed service providing method can be applied to transmit different services based on the service ID in the service-oriented software defined optical network.

  4. Specification and Verification of Context-dependent Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naseem Ibrahim

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Current approaches for the discovery, specification, and provision of services ignore the relationship between the service contract and the conditions in which the service can guarantee its contract. Moreover, they do not use formal methods for specifying services, contracts, and compositions. Without a formal basis it is not possible to justify through formal verification the correctness conditions for service compositions and the satisfaction of contractual obligations in service provisions. We remedy this situation in this paper. We present a formal definition of services with context-dependent contracts. We define a composition theory of services with context-dependent contracts taking into consideration functional, nonfunctional, legal and contextual information. Finally, we present a formal verification approach that transforms the formal specification of service composition into extended timed automata that can be verified using the model checking tool UPPAAL.

  5. 42 CFR 486.326 - Condition: Human resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition: Human resources. 486.326 Section 486.326 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... Organizations Organ Procurement Organization Process Performance Measures § 486.326 Condition: Human resources...

  6. Achilles tests finally nail PWR fuel clad ballooning fears

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dore, P.; McMinn, K.

    1992-01-01

    A conclusive series of experiments carried out by AEA Reactor Services at its Achilles rig in the UK has finally allayed fears that fuel clad ballooning is a major safety problem for Sizewell B, Britain's first Pressurized Water Reactor. The experiments are described in this article. (author)

  7. 25 CFR 20.403 - What do protective services include?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ....403 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HUMAN SERVICES FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS Services to Children, Elderly, and Families § 20.403 What do protective services include? Protective services provided to a child, family or elderly person will be documented in...

  8. 75 FR 17763 - National Park Service Benefits-Sharing Final Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-07

    ... management in connection with the allocation of benefits from valuable discoveries, inventions, and other... share the benefits with the National Park Service. Another alternative prohibits scientific research... Service and researchers who study material associated with a Scientific Research and Collecting Permit to...

  9. Developing Cultural Competence in Human Service Providers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krajewski-Jaime, Elvia R.; And Others

    Cultural competence assumes greater importance in the United States as international relations shift and the United States changes its own demographic makeup. Hispanics have significant health care needs and cultural beliefs that influence their acceptance of service. As part of an effort to build cultural competence in undergraduate social work…

  10. Amendments to excepted benefits. Final rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-10-01

    This document contains final regulations that amend the regulations regarding excepted benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), and the Public Health Service Act. Excepted benefits are generally exempt from the health reform requirements that were added to those laws by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In addition, eligibility for excepted benefits does not preclude an individual from eligibility for a premium tax credit under section 36B of the Code if an individual chooses to enroll in coverage under a Qualified Health Plan through an Affordable Insurance Exchange. These regulations finalize some but not all of the proposed rules with minor modifications; additional guidance on limited wraparound coverage is forthcoming.

  11. IRIS Toxicological Review of Methanol (Noncancer) (Final Report)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA conducted a peer review and public comment of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of Methanol (noncancer) , this is finalized and posted on the IRIS Web site.

  12. An audio-visual dataset of human-human interactions in stressful situations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lefter, I.; Burghouts, G.J.; Rothkrantz, L.J.M.

    2014-01-01

    Stressful situations are likely to occur at human operated service desks, as well as at human-computer interfaces used in public domain. Automatic surveillance can help notifying when extra assistance is needed. Human communication is inherently multimodal e.g. speech, gestures, facial expressions.

  13. Impact of anthropogenic climate change and human activities on environment and ecosystem services in arid regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmoud, Shereif H; Gan, Thian Y

    2018-08-15

    The implications of anthropogenic climate change, human activities and land use change (LUC) on the environment and ecosystem services in the coastal regions of Saudi Arabia were analyzed. Earth observations data was used to drive land use categories between 1970 and 2014. Next, a Markov-CA model was developed to characterize the dynamic of LUC between 2014 and 2100 and their impacts on regions' climate and environment. Non-parametric change point and trend detection algorithms were applied to temperature, precipitation and greenhouse gases data to investigate the presence of anthropogenic climate change. Lastly, climate models were used to project future climate change between 2014 and 2100. The analysis of LUC revealed that between 1970 and 2014, built up areas experienced the greatest growth during the study period, leading to a significant monotonic trend. Urban areas increased by 2349.61km 2 between 1970 and 2014, an average increase of >53.4km 2 /yr. The projected LUC between 2014 and 2100 indicate a continued increase in urban areas and irrigated cropland. Human alteration of land use from natural vegetation and forests to other uses after 1970, resulted in a loss, degradation, and fragmentation, all of which usually have devastating effects on the biodiversity of the region. Resulting in a statistically significant change point in temperature anomaly after 1968 with a warming trend of 0.24°C/decade and a downward trend in precipitation anomaly of 12.2mm/decade. Total greenhouse gas emissions including all anthropogenic sources showed a statistically significant positive trend of 78,090Kt/decade after 1991. This is reflected in the future projection of temperature anomaly between 1900 and 2100 with a future warming trend of 0.19°C/decade. In conclusion, human activities, industrial revelation, deforestation, land use transformation and increase in greenhouse gases had significant implications on the environment and ecosystem services of the study area

  14. 78 FR 14806 - Health Resources and Services Administration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Statement of Organization, Functions and Delegations of Authority; Correction AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS. ACTION: Notice; correction. SUMMARY: HRSA published a document in the Federal...

  15. Mapping service quality : measuring and comparing quality of experience and quality of service for Internet-based map services

    OpenAIRE

    Eriksén, Sara; Eliasson, Charlott; Fiedler, Markus; Chevul, Stefan; Ekelin, Annelie

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, we present an on-going research project in which we are focusing on examining how users of map-based services on-line experience the quality of these services when the traffic load is high, and how the users' experiences of acceptable or not acceptable quality can be related to measurable parameters which can be used to manage network traffic and improve technical solutions. The project is a multi- and interdisciplinary project in cooperation between researchers within human wo...

  16. With Due Consideration: Australian Human Service Practitioners' Understandings of Confidentiality and Disclosure Obligations in Regard to Cases Concerning Gambling-Related Theft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patford, Janet; Tranent, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Preserving confidentiality is problematic for human service practitioners if they know that a client is seriously harming a third party or could do so in the future. The present study concerned financial harm, as generated by gambling-related theft. Clients who disclose gambling-related theft potentially create a dilemma for practitioners, who may…

  17. EnviroAtlas Connects Urban Ecosystem Services and Human ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystem services in urban areas can improve public health and well-being by mitigating natural and anthropogenic pollution, and by promoting healthy lifestyles that include engagement with nature and enhanced opportunities for physical activity and social interaction. EPA’s EnviroAtlas online mapping tool identifies urban environmental features linked in the scientific and medical literature to specific aspects of public health and well-being. EnviroAtlas researchers have synthesized newly-generated one-meter resolution landcover data, downscaled census population data, and other existing datasets such as roads and parks. Resulting geospatial metrics represent health-related indicators of urban ecosystem services supply and demand by census block-group and finer scales. EnviroAtlas maps include percent of the population with limited window views of trees, tree cover along walkable roads, overall neighborhood green space, and proximity to parks. Demographic data can be overlaid to perform analyses of disproportionate distribution of urban ecosystem services across population groups. Together with the Eco-Health Relationship Browser, EnviroAtlas data can be linked to numerous aspects of public health and well-being including school performance, physical fitness, social capital, and longevity. EnviroAtlas maps have been developed using consistent methods to allow for comparisons between neighborhoods and across multiple U.S. communities. To feature eco-heal

  18. 45 CFR 1303.5 - Service of process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Service of process. 1303.5 Section 1303.5 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES... § 1303.5 Service of process. Whenever documents are required to be filed or served under this part, or...

  19. 42 CFR 405.2446 - Scope of services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... nursing facility or a nursing facility or other institution used as a patient's home. (d) Federally... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Scope of services. 405.2446 Section 405.2446 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEDICARE PROGRAM...

  20. GnRHa trigger for final oocyte maturation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Humaidan, Peter; Alsbjerg, Birgit

    2014-01-01

    Since the introduction of the gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa) protocol, it has become possible to trigger final oocyte maturation with a bolus of GnRHa. This leads to a significant reduction or complete elimination of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome compared with human chorion...

  1. Availability of Services during the 2013/2014 CERN annual closure

    CERN Multimedia

    2013-01-01

    General Services: As every year, all the services provided by the GS Department requiring a human presence (such as the CERN hotel, car sharing service, shuttle service, etc.) will cease during the annual closure. Services that do not depend on continuous human presence will remain available. Support levels are reduced during this period. In general, the target reaction time for problems will be half a day (not guaranteed). In the event of failure, the reaction time for restoration of services depends on the arrangements that have been made on a service-by-service basis. Service outages will be documented on the status board. For more detailed information please consult the service portal. Please also note that this year heating will not be cut, but will be switched to an energy-saving mode. This reduced level is equal to weekend operation and should be relatively comfortable. Computing Services: Most of the services provided by the IT Department - including WLCG production services - will remain avai...

  2. Program grants for black lung clinics--PHS. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1985-02-27

    The Public Health Service hereby revises the regulations governing the grants program for black lung clinics established under section 427(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The revision is in keeping with the Department of Health and Human Services' desire to remove as many programmatic burdens and restrictions from grantees as possible, while maintaining program integrity.

  3. 76 FR 68503 - Winter Use Plan, Final Environmental Impact Statement, Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, Montana...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Winter Use Plan, Final Environmental Impact.... ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Winter Use Plan... Winter Use Plan for Yellowstone National Park, located in Idaho, Montana, and [[Page 68504

  4. Management to Insulate Ecosystem Services from the Effects of Catchment Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gell, Peter

    2018-02-01

    Natural ecosystems provide amenity to human populations in the form of ecosystem services. These services are grouped into four broad categories: provisioning - food and water production; regulating - control of climate and disease; supporting - crop pollination; and cultural - spiritual and recreational benefits. Aquatic systems provide considerable service through the provision of potable water, fisheries and aquaculture production, nutrient mitigation and the psychological benefits that accrue from the aesthetic amenity provided from lakes, rivers and other wetlands. Further, littoral and riparian ecosystems, and aquifers, protect human communities from sea level encroachment, and tidal and river flooding. Catchment and water development provides critical resources for human consumption. Where these provisioning services are prioritized over others, the level and quality of production may be impacted. Further, the benefits from these provisioning services comes with the opportunity cost of diminishing regulating, supporting and cultural services. This imbalance flags concerns for humanity as it exceeds recognised safe operating spaces. These concepts are explored by reference to long term records of change in some of the world's largest river catchments and lessons are drawn that may enable other communities to consider the balance of ecosystems services in natural resource management.

  5. Can we do better? Economic analysis of human resource investment to improve home care service for the elderly in Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihic MM

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Marko M Mihic, Marija Lj Todorovic, Vladimir Lj Obradovic, Zorica M Mitrovic Department for Management and Specialised Management Disciplines, Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia Background: Social services aimed at the elderly are facing great challenges caused by progressive aging of the global population but also by the constant pressure to spend funds in a rational manner.Purpose: This paper focuses on analyzing the investments into human resources aimed at enhancing home care for the elderly since many countries have recorded progress in the area over the past years. The goal of this paper is to stress the significance of performing an economic analysis of the investment.Methods: This paper combines statistical analysis methods such as correlation and regression analysis, methods of economic analysis, and scenario method.Results: The economic analysis of investing in human resources for home care service in Serbia showed that the both scenarios of investing in either additional home care hours or more beneficiaries are cost-efficient. However, the optimal solution with the positive (and the highest value of economic net present value criterion is to invest in human resources to boost the number of home care hours from 6 to 8 hours per week and increase the number of the beneficiaries to 33%.Conclusion: This paper shows how the statistical and economic analysis results can be used to evaluate different scenarios and enable quality decision-making based on exact data in order to improve health and quality of life of the elderly and spend funds in a rational manner. Keywords: home care, social investment, human resources, economic analysis, elderly

  6. Civil Service Human Resource Capacity and Information Technology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tesfaye

    2009-01-01

    Jan 1, 2009 ... had no impact on the size of jobs that require high-level of human resource capacity. Furthermore ... level human resource capacity has an effect on the size of supervisors, which is the main ...... depreciation. 5 This indicates ...

  7. Evolution of ESA's SSA Conjunction Prediction Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar, D.; Sancho, A. Tirado, J.; Agueda, A.; Martin, L.; Luque, F.; Fletcher, E.; Navarro, V.

    2013-08-01

    This paper presents the recent evolution of ESA's SSA Conjunction Prediction Service (CPS) as a result of an on-going activity in the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) Segment of ESA's Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Programme. The CPS is one of a number of precursor services being developed as part of the SST segment. It has been implemented as a service to provide external users with web-based access to conjunction information and designed with a service-oriented architecture. The paper encompasses the following topics: service functionality enhancements, integration with a live objects catalogue, all vs. all analyses supporting an operational concept based on low and high fidelity screenings, and finally conjunction detection and probability algorithms.

  8. Studies of microstructure-property relationships in austenitic stainless steels. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spruiell, J.E.

    1977-01-01

    A final review is presented of the research carried out to provide better understanding of elevated temperature service of austenitic stainless steels, and especially the microstructural stability of both wrought-annealed steels and welded joints

  9. Service Degradation in Context Management Frameworks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shawky, Ahmed; Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Pedersen, Jens Myrup

    2011-01-01

    information. The paper considers a developed framework from the ICT project, OPEN, and investigates the impact of applying Differentiated Services (DiffServ) Quality of Services (QoS). The paper finally provides insight in how the insight gained can be utilized to ensure reliable remote accessed context......Context aware network services are a new and inter-esting way to enhance network users experience. A context aware application/service enhances network performance in relation to dynamic context information, e.g. mobility, location and device information as it senses and reacts to environment...... changes. The reliability of the information accessed is a key factor in achieving reliable context aware application. This paper will review the service degradation in Context Management Frameworks (CMF) and the effect of high network utilization, with particular focus on the reliability of the accessed...

  10. Final Design Report for the RH LLW Disposal Facility (RDF) Project, Revision 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Austad, Stephanie Lee

    2015-01-01

    The RH LLW Disposal Facility (RDF) Project was designed by AREVA Federal Services (AFS) and the design process was managed by Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) for the Department of Energy (DOE). The final design report for the RH LLW Disposal Facility Project is a compilation of the documents and deliverables included in the facility final design.

  11. Operational forecasting of human-biometeorological conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giannaros, T. M.; Lagouvardos, K.; Kotroni, V.; Matzarakis, A.

    2018-03-01

    This paper presents the development of an operational forecasting service focusing on human-biometeorological conditions. The service is based on the coupling of numerical weather prediction models with an advanced human-biometeorological model. Human thermal perception and stress forecasts are issued on a daily basis for Greece, in both point and gridded format. A user-friendly presentation approach is adopted for communicating the forecasts to the public via the worldwide web. The development of the presented service highlights the feasibility of replacing standard meteorological parameters and/or indices used in operational weather forecasting activities for assessing the thermal environment. This is of particular significance for providing effective, human-biometeorology-oriented, warnings for both heat waves and cold outbreaks.

  12. "In Your Face" Reference Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipow, Anne Grodzins

    1999-01-01

    Discusses changes in library reference service that have occurred with growing Internet use. Topics include the human factor that is still needed; the nature of reference questions; the goal of user self-sufficiency; the invisible nature of much of librarians' work; and providing real-time, interactive point-of-need service to remote users. (LRW)

  13. Service-Oriented Strategies for Manufacturing Firms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, Adrian; McAloone, Tim C.; Matzen, Detlef

    2009-01-01

    This chapter establishes PSS (Product/Service-Systems) approaches in the context of manufacturing firms and their existing product-oriented business. PSS can be seen as a strategy for manufacturing firms to gain competitive advantage in the market, but what market conditions and organisational......, customers and partners in business planning and strategy to reap the full benefits. Finally a path to how manufacturers can make the change from product to service-orientation is traced....

  14. 77 FR 76052 - Health Resources and Services Administration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Agency..., Public Law 104-13), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries... Administration (HRSA) plans to conduct a survey of the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Healthcare...

  15. Occupational Health Services Integrated in Primary Health Care in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rafiei, Masoud; Ezzatian, Reza; Farshad, Asghar; Sokooti, Maryam; Tabibi, Ramin; Colosio, Claudio

    2015-01-01

    A healthy workforce is vital for maintaining social and economic development on a global, national and local level. Around half of the world's people are economically active and spend at least one third of their time in their place of work while only 15% of workers have access to basic occupational health services. According to WHO report, since the early 1980s, health indicators in Iran have consistently improved, to the extent that it is comparable with those in developed countries. In this paper it was tried to briefly describe about Health care system and occupational Health Services as part of Primary Health care in Iran. To describe the health care system in the country and the status of occupational health services to the workers and employers, its integration into Primary Health Care (PHC) and outlining the challenges in provision of occupational health services to the all working population. Iran has fairly good health indicators. More than 85 percent of the population in rural and deprived regions, for instance, have access to primary healthcare services. The PHC centers provide essential healthcare and public-health services for the community. Providing, maintaining and improving of the workers' health are the main goals of occupational health services in Iran that are presented by different approaches and mostly through Workers' Houses in the PHC system. Iran has developed an extensive network of PHC facilities with good coverage in most rural areas, but there are still few remote areas that might suffer from inadequate services. It seems that there is still no transparent policy to collaborate with the private sector, train managers or provide a sustainable mechanism for improving the quality of services. Finally, strengthening national policies for health at work, promotion of healthy work and work environment, sharing healthy work practices, developing updated training curricula to improve human resource knowledge including occupational health

  16. [Being treated as a human being. Experiences of patients in a prenatal service of a philanthropic institution].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonadio, I C

    1998-04-01

    This paper reports a qualitative study conducted in an anthropological perspective using the ethnografic research methodology. It had has the objective of knowing and understanding the needs, antenatal care values and beliefs of pregnant women in the context of Prenatal Service of a Philanthropic Institution. The central theme "be treated as a Human Being", identified from the analysis of the cultural themes, revealed that, in the women experience, the most significant element is represented either by the effective interaction or by the establishment on bond of trust between them and nurse.

  17. 75 FR 68613 - Part C Early Intervention Services Grant

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-08

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Part C Early Intervention Services Grant AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS. ACTION: Notice of non-competitive transfer of Part C funds from North General Hospital to the Institute for Family...

  18. Context-Aware HCI Service Selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yao Shen

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Context-awareness has become a key issue in Human-Computer Interaction(HCI to provide better user experience under multi-device and multi-modal environment. With this intuition, we have proposed a web service based framework, which associates interactions with services, and provided service selection mechanism using context knowledge to achieve smart interaction migration [1]. A fundamental problem of such a service-oriented framework for interaction migration is to design an effective while scalable algorithm for service selection. In this paper, we propose a service selection algorithm considering not only context information and user preferences but also inter-service relations such as relative location. Our algorithm detects interaction hot spots within user active scope and presents the best service combination based on evaluation of interaction effectiveness. We also conduct simulation and the results illustrate that our algorithm is effective and scalable for interaction service selection.

  19. Analysis of Reptile Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services within ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    A focus for resource management, conservation planning, and environmental decision analysis has been mapping and quantifying biodiversity and ecosystem services. The challenge has been to integrate ecology with economics to better understand the effects of human policies and actions and their subsequent impacts on human well-being and ecosystem function. Biodiversity is valued by humans in varied ways, and thus is an important input to include in assessing the benefits of ecosystems to humans. Some biodiversity metrics more clearly reflect ecosystem services (e.g., game species, threatened and endangered species), whereas others may indicate indirect and difficult to quantify relationships to services (e.g., taxa richness and cultural value). In the present study, we identify and map reptile biodiversity and ecosystem services metrics. The importance of reptiles to biodiversity and ecosystems services is not often described. We used species distribution models for reptiles in the conterminous United States from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Gap Analysis Program. We focus on species richness metrics including all reptile species richness, taxa groupings of lizards, snakes and turtles, NatureServe conservation status (G1, G2, G3) species, IUCN listed reptiles, threatened and endangered species, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation listed reptiles, and rare species. These metrics were analyzed with the Protected Areas Database of the United States to

  20. 78 FR 8030 - Misuse of Internet Protocol (IP) Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-05

    ... Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals With Hearing and Speech Disabilities AGENCY: Federal... Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis... speech disability to engage in communication by wire or radio with one or more individuals, in a manner...

  1. Key populations and human rights in the context of HIV services rendition in Ghana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laar, Amos; DeBruin, Debra

    2017-08-02

    In line with its half century old penal code, Ghana currently criminalizes and penalizes behaviors of some key populations - populations deemed to be at higher risk of acquiring or transmitting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Men who have sex with men (MSM), and sex workers (SWs) fit into this categorization. This paper provides an analysis of how enactment and implementation of rights-limiting laws not only limit rights, but also amplify risk and vulnerability to HIV in key and general populations. The paper derives from a project that assessed the ethics sensitivity of key documents guiding Ghana's response to its HIV epidemic. Assessment was guided by leading frameworks from public health ethics, and relevant articles from the international bill of rights. Ghana's response to her HIV epidemic does not adequately address the rights and needs of key populations. Even though the national response has achieved some public health successes, palpable efforts to address rights issues remain nascent. Ghana's guiding documents for HIV response include no advocacy for decriminalization, depenalization or harm reduction approaches for these key populations. The impact of rights-restricting codes on the nation's HIV epidemic is real: criminalization impedes key populations' access to HIV prevention and treatment services. Given that they are bridging populations, whatever affects the Ghanaian key populations directly, affects the general population indirectly. The right to the highest attainable standard of health, without qualification, is generally acknowledged as a fundamental human right. Unfortunately, this right currently eludes the Ghanaian SW and MSM. The paper endorses decriminalization as a means of promoting this right. In the face of opposition to decriminalization, the paper proposes specific harm reduction strategies as approaches to promote health and uplift the diminished rights of key populations. Thus the authors call on Ghana to remove impediments to

  2. Putting your human resource department to work for you.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McConnell, C R

    1991-06-01

    As a staff function, human resources is organized as a service activity. Service activities render no patient care; they do not advance the work of the organization. However, they support the performance of the organization's work and in a practical sense become necessary. For example, if a pure service, such as building maintenance, did not exist, the facility's physical plant would gradually self-destruct. Similarly, without human resources to see to the maintenance of the work force, the overall suitability and capability of that work force will steadily erode. Recognize human resources for what it is--an essential service function required to help the organization run as efficiently as possible. Learn what the HR department does, and especially learn why the department does what it does. Provide input to the human resource department. Forge a continuing working relationship with the HR department, making it clear that you expect service from this essential service department. Challenge the HR department to do more, to do better, and to continually improve service--and put the human resource department to work for you and your employees.

  3. The exploration of service quality and its measurement for private ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Kirstam

    2014-09-01

    Sep 1, 2014 ... 7The strategic importance of service excellence for service industries places the focus ... need for service quality management and measurement at PHEIs, and ... financial services, hospitality (tourism), human services, ... 1The focus of this paper was to gain insight into service quality concepts and the need.

  4. Human uses of forested watersheds and riparian corridors: hazard mitigation as an ecosystem service, with examples from Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, M. C.

    2015-12-01

    Humans have long favored settlement along rivers for access to water supply for drinking and agriculture, for transport corridors, and for food sources. Additionally, settlement in or near montane forests include benefits such as food sources, wood supply, esthetic values, and high quality water resources derived from watersheds where upstream human disturbance and environmental degradation is generally reduced. However, the advantages afforded by these riparian and montane settings pose episodic risks for communities located there as floods, landslides, and wildfires cause loss of life, destroy infrastructure, and damage or destroy crops. A basic understanding of flood probability and magnitude as well as hillslope stability by residents in these environments can mitigate these risks. Early humans presumably developed some degree of knowledge about these risks by means of their long periods of occupation in these environments and their observations of seasonal and storm rainfall patterns and river discharge, which became more refined as agriculture developed over the past 10,000 years. Modern global urbanization, particularly in regions of rapid economic growth, has resulted in much of this "organic" knowledge being lost, as rural populations move into megacities, many of which encroach on floodplains and mountain fronts. Moreover, the most likely occupants of these hazardous locations are often economically constrained, increasing their vulnerabity. Effective stewardship of river floodplains and upstream montane forests yields a key ecosystem service, which in addition to the well-known services, ie. water, hydroelectric energy, etc., provides a risk mitigation service, by reducing hazard and vulnerability. Puerto Rico, Panama, and Venezuela illustrate a range of practices and results, providing useful examples for planners and land use managers.

  5. IRIS Toxicological Review of Tetrahydrofuran (THF) (Final Report)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA has released the Toxicological Review of Tetrahydrofuran: in support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Now final, this assessment may be used by EPA’s program and regional offices to inform decisions to protect human health.

  6. Adaptive Software Architecture Based on Confident HCI for the Deployment of Sensitive Services in Smart Homes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vega-Barbas, Mario; Pau, Iván; Martín-Ruiz, María Luisa; Seoane, Fernando

    2015-01-01

    Smart spaces foster the development of natural and appropriate forms of human-computer interaction by taking advantage of home customization. The interaction potential of the Smart Home, which is a special type of smart space, is of particular interest in fields in which the acceptance of new technologies is limited and restrictive. The integration of smart home design patterns with sensitive solutions can increase user acceptance. In this paper, we present the main challenges that have been identified in the literature for the successful deployment of sensitive services (e.g., telemedicine and assistive services) in smart spaces and a software architecture that models the functionalities of a Smart Home platform that are required to maintain and support such sensitive services. This architecture emphasizes user interaction as a key concept to facilitate the acceptance of sensitive services by end-users and utilizes activity theory to support its innovative design. The application of activity theory to the architecture eases the handling of novel concepts, such as understanding of the system by patients at home or the affordability of assistive services. Finally, we provide a proof-of-concept implementation of the architecture and compare the results with other architectures from the literature. PMID:25815449

  7. Service Mediation and Negotiation Bootstrapping as First Achievements Towards Self-adaptable Cloud Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandic, Ivona; Music, Dejan; Dustdar, Schahram

    Nowadays, novel computing paradigms as for example Cloud Computing are gaining more and more on importance. In case of Cloud Computing users pay for the usage of the computing power provided as a service. Beforehand they can negotiate specific functional and non-functional requirements relevant for the application execution. However, providing computing power as a service bears different research challenges. On one hand dynamic, versatile, and adaptable services are required, which can cope with system failures and environmental changes. On the other hand, human interaction with the system should be minimized. In this chapter we present the first results in establishing adaptable, versatile, and dynamic services considering negotiation bootstrapping and service mediation achieved in context of the Foundations of Self-Governing ICT Infrastructures (FoSII) project. We discuss novel meta-negotiation and SLA mapping solutions for Cloud services bridging the gap between current QoS models and Cloud middleware and representing important prerequisites for the establishment of autonomic Cloud services.

  8. Aerial service robotics: the AIRobots perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marconi, L.; Basile, F.; Caprari, G.; Carloni, Raffaella; Chiacchio, P.; Hurzeler, C.; Lippiello, V.; Naldi, R.; Siciliano, B.; Stramigioli, Stefano; Zwicker, E.

    This paper presents the main vision and research activities of the ongoing European project AIRobots (Innova- tive Aerial Service Robot for Remote Inspection by Contact, www.airobots.eu). The goal of AIRobots is to develop a new generation of aerial service robots capable of supporting human beings

  9. 78 FR 29755 - Human Immunodeficiency Virus Patient-Focused Drug Development and Human Immunodeficiency Virus...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0473] Human Immunodeficiency Virus Patient-Focused Drug Development and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Cure... an opportunity for public comment on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Patient-Focused Drug...

  10. IRIS Toxicological Review of Ethylene Glycol Mono Butyl Ether (Egbe) (Final Report)

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA has finalized the Toxicological Review of Ethylene Glycol Mono Butyl Ether: in support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Now final, this assessment may be used by EPA’s program and regional offices to inform decisions to protect human health.

  11. IT service management - key to the quality of IT service delivering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Recky, M.

    2004-01-01

    Objective of the contribution is to introduce IT service management (ITSM) as an approach to services quality improvement provided by IT departments of enterprises. As a result of massive application of information technologies in the past, the enterprises have become increasingly dependent on processes within IT of which many are critical for the business operations. Therefore it appears to be inevitable for IT organizations to become customer-oriented. ITSM's objective is to implement standardized and measurable IT services in every enterprise, to enable accurate service cost allocation and increase accuracy of planning of IT budget and investments. This method is based on processes definition, necessary technologies implementation and restructuralisation of human resources in IT organisations. It requires a change of attitude towards IT users who become IT department customers as well as cost-balanced utilization of in-sourcing and out-sourcing etc. Hewlett-Packard is a global leader offering its consulting and integration services in the area of IT service management together with an extensive portfolio of related technologies based on HP OpenView software platform. (author)

  12. HOW GOOD IS GOODS AND SERVICES TAX

    OpenAIRE

    Dr. Sreemoyee Guha Roy

    2016-01-01

    Goods and Services Tax is a broad based and a single comprehensive tax levied on goods and services consumed in an economy. GST is levied at every stage of the production-distribution chain with applicable set offs in respect of the tax remitted at previous stages. It is basically a tax on final consumption. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a value added tax to be implemented in India, the decision on which is pending. GST is the only indirect tax that directly affects all sectors and sect...

  13. CaPiTo: protocol stacks for services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gao, Han; Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis

    2011-01-01

    CaPiTo allows the modelling of service-oriented applications using process algebras at three levels of abstraction. The abstract level focuses on the key functionality of the services; the plug-in level shows how to obtain security using standardised protocol stacks; finally, the concrete level...... allows to consider how security is obtained using asymmetric and symmetric cryptographic primitives. The CaPiTo approach therefore caters for a variety of developers that need to cooperate on designing and implementing service-oriented applications. We show how to formally analyse CaPiTo specifications...

  14. Claims Procedure for Plans Providing Disability Benefits. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-19

    This document contains a final regulation revising the claims procedure regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for employee benefit plans providing disability benefits. The final rule revises and strengthens the current rules primarily by adopting certain procedural protections and safeguards for disability benefit claims that are currently applicable to claims for group health benefits pursuant to the Affordable Care Act. This rule affects plan administrators and participants and beneficiaries of plans providing disability benefits, and others who assist in the provision of these benefits, such as third-party benefits administrators and other service providers.

  15. The Human Genome Project: Information access, management, and regulation. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McInerney, J.D.; Micikas, L.B.

    1996-08-31

    The Human Genome Project is a large, internationally coordinated effort in biological research directed at creating a detailed map of human DNA. This report describes the access of information, management, and regulation of the project. The project led to the development of an instructional module titled The Human Genome Project: Biology, Computers, and Privacy, designed for use in high school biology classes. The module consists of print materials and both Macintosh and Windows versions of related computer software-Appendix A contains a copy of the print materials and discs containing the two versions of the software.

  16. Human factors review of nuclear power plant control room design. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Gonzalez, W.R.; Parsons, S.O.

    1976-11-01

    The human factors aspects of five representative nuclear power plant control rooms were evaluated using such methods as a checklist guided observation system, structured interviews with operators and trainers, direct observations of operator behavior, task analyses and procedure evaluation, and historical error analyses. The human factors aspects of design practices are illustrated, and many improvements in current practices are suggested. The study recommends that a detailed set of applicable human factors standards be developed to stimulate a uniform and systematic concern for human factors in design considerations

  17. 42 CFR 136.30 - Payment to Medicare-participating hospitals for authorized Contract Health Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INDIAN HEALTH... responsible after the provider of services has coordinated benefits and all other alternative resources have... consistent with part 136 of this title or section 503(a) of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA...

  18. Management to Insulate Ecosystem Services from the Effects of Catchment Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gell Peter

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Natural ecosystems provide amenity to human populations in the form of ecosystem services. These services are grouped into four broad categories: provisioning – food and water production; regulating – control of climate and disease; supporting – crop pollination; and cultural – spiritual and recreational benefits. Aquatic systems provide considerable service through the provision of potable water, fisheries and aquaculture production, nutrient mitigation and the psychological benefits that accrue from the aesthetic amenity provided from lakes, rivers and other wetlands. Further, littoral and riparian ecosystems, and aquifers, protect human communities from sea level encroachment, and tidal and river flooding. Catchment and water development provides critical resources for human consumption. Where these provisioning services are prioritized over others, the level and quality of production may be impacted. Further, the benefits from these provisioning services comes with the opportunity cost of diminishing regulating, supporting and cultural services. This imbalance flags concerns for humanity as it exceeds recognised safe operating spaces. These concepts are explored by reference to long term records of change in some of the world’s largest river catchments and lessons are drawn that may enable other communities to consider the balance of ecosystems services in natural resource management.

  19. Geologic and hydrologic research at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, West Valley, New York. Final report, August 1982-December 1983

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albanese, J.R.; Anderson, S.L.; Fakundiny, R.H.; Potter, S.M.; Rogers, W.B.; Whitbeck, L.F.; LaFleur, R.G.; Boothroyd, J.C.; Timson, B.S.

    1984-06-01

    This report is the last in a series by the New York State Geological Survey on studies funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The report covers five important aspects of the geology and hydrology of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, near West Valley, New York: geomorphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, surface water, and radionuclide analyses. We reviewed past research on these subjects and present new data obtained in the final phase of NYSGS research at the site. Also presented are up-to-date summaries of the present knowledge of geomorphology and stratigraphy. The report contains a significant bibliography of previous West Valley studies. Appendices include a report on the Fall 1983 Drilling Project and the procedures used, history and prognosis of Cattaraugus Creek and tributaries down cutting, and bar modification and landslide processes of Buttermilk Valley. 100 references, 7 figures, 7 tables

  20. 78 FR 46969 - Human Immunodeficiency Virus Patient-Focused Drug Development and Human Immunodeficiency Virus...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0473] Human Immunodeficiency Virus Patient-Focused Drug Development and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Cure... for the notice of public meeting entitled ``Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Patient-Focused Drug...

  1. Final report for CCQM-K107: total elements and selenomethionine in human serum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goenaga Infante, Heidi

    2016-01-01

    Routine tests that measure the concentration of electrolytes in serum are needed for diagnosis and management of renal, endocrine, acid-base, water balance and other conditions such as screening D- and A-vitamin disorders, kidney insufficiency, bone diseases and leukaemia. The diagnostic concentration ranges for many such markers are narrow, requiring reference methods with small uncertainty. Serum concentration of total selenium (Se) is important in health studies but there is increasing interest in the speciation of selenium compounds in clinical samples such as serum and individual Se- Species are bio-indicators of Se status. The last CCQM IAWG key comparison for elements in the clinical area (CCQM-K14: Ca in human serum) was organized in 2003 and the previous key comparison (CCQM-K60) for Se and Se species used a wheat flour sample. Therefore, the CCQM IAWG agreed that CCQM-K107 and a parallel pilot study CCQM-P146 should be carried out. The candidate human serum sample used for both CCQM-K107 and P146 is of high complexity and contains approximately 1000-fold lower concentrations of selenium methionine (SeMet) than those encountered in the CCQM-K60 wheat flour. This significantly broadens the scope and degree of difficulty of earlier measurements in this field. A total of eleven institutes participated in CCQM-K107 (11 participants for total elements and 7 for SeMet). The performance of the majority of the K107 participants for all the measurands was very good, illustrating their ability to obtain accurate results for analytes such as electrolytes at mg kg-1 level, essential elements at µg kg-1 level and selenium species at µg kg-1 level in a complex biological fluid. The range of agreement between participants was within the interval of ± 0.1% for Ca and up to ± 1.8% for Fe. CMC claims based on total elements in this study may include other elements with similar core competencies (e.g. Se, Cu, Zn) in a wide range of biological materials (including liquids

  2. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant disposal phase final supplemental environmental impact statement. Summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-09-01

    The purpose of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS-II) is to provide information on environmental impacts regarding the Department of Energy''s (DOE) proposed disposal operations at WIPP. The Proposed Action describes the treatment and disposal of the Basic inventory of TRU waste over a 35-year period. The Action Alternatives proposed the treatment of the Basic Inventory and an Additional Inventory as well as the transportation of the treated waste to WIPP for disposal over a 150- to 190-year period. The three Action Alternatives include the treatment of TRU waste at consolidation sites to meet WIPP planning-basic Waste Acceptance Criteria, the thermal treatment of TRU waste to meet Land Disposal Restrictions, and the treatment of TRU waste by a shred and grout process. SEIS-II evaluates environmental impacts resulting from the various treatment options; the transportation of TRU waste to WIPP using truck, a combination of truck and regular rail service, and a combination of truck and dedicated rail service; and the disposal of this waste in the repository. Evaluated impacts include those to the general environment and to human health. Additional issues associated with the implementation of the alternatives are discussed to provide further understanding of the decisions to be reached and to provide the opportunity for public input on improving DOE''s Environmental Management Program

  3. INTERRUPTION TO COMPUTING SERVICES, SATURDAY 9 FEBRUARY

    CERN Multimedia

    2002-01-01

    In order to allow the rerouting of electrical cables which power most of the B513 Computer Room, there will be a complete shutdown of central computing services on Saturday 9 February. This shutdown affects all Central Computing services as well as the general purpose site wide network (137.138), and hence desktop connectivity will also be cut. In order for the physical intervention to start at 07:30, services will be run down as follows (which has been planned to allow the completion of the Friday night backups of AFS and Oracle): Friday 08/02 17:00 Scheduling of batch jobs suspended 18:00 HPSS services shutdown Saturday 09/02 01:00 Any batch jobs that have not ended will be terminated 04:00 Rundown of general purpose services including Mail, Web, NICE, Unix interactive services, ACB, CASTOR, Tape Service and finally Oracle 06:30 AIS services shutdown (including EDH, BHT and HRT) 07:00 AFS service shutdown 07:30 End of guaranteed service on the general purpose site-wide network (137.138) Services will be res...

  4. Customer service: the key to market differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, D A

    1997-06-01

    Fierce competition in the subacute care environment makes customer service orientation essential. Four steps help to achieve quality customer service are: (1) institute core values; (2) identify your customers; (3) understand human resources; and (4) establish an efficient system.

  5. Implementation of a Shoe-Embedded Human Interface and Collaborative Supplementation of Service Requirements on Smartphone System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaname Takaochi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Although a handsfree man-machine interface is useful when the user’s hands are not free, existing handsfree input devices are not the type of device that are normally worn by people. We have focused on a shoe as an input device because people normally wear it when they go out, and proposed a shoe-embedded interface. The input device is a sensor shoe. Weight sensors have been attached at three positions on a sole: the first metatarsal, the fifth metatarsal, and the calcaneal tuberosity. These positions have been selected based on the characteristics of the human foot skeleton. Two types of foot operation have been used: tap and push. By combining these operations, 10 commands have been defined. To make it possible to use web applications with a limited number of commands, we have proposed a method of supplementing the user’s service requirements using collaborative filtering. The sensor shoe houses an insole with hetero-core optical fiber sensor elements attached to it. These elements are sensitive to weight. We have built an experimental system that runs on a smartphone and provides the shoe-embedded interface, and conducted experiments with three test subjects to evaluate the system. The average rate of successful command identification was 89 %. We have also evaluated this service requirements supplementation method theoretically, and confirmed that the proposed service recommendation function can be applied to smartphone systems.

  6. Food & Fitness. Directory. Human Nutrition Activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

    Activities of the following regulatory and food service agencies of the Department of Agriculture are described: (1) Agricultural Research Service; (2) Cooperative State Research Service; (3) Economic Research Service; (4) Human Nutrition Information Service; (5) Office of Grants and Program Systems; (6) Office of International Cooperation and…

  7. Service and obligations of public service in the electrical sector law; Servicio universal y obligaciones de servicio publico en la Ley del Sector Electrico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cuetara Martinez, J.M. de la; Gonzalez Sanfiel, A.

    1998-12-01

    Our article starts from the need of reconsidering the traditional public service concept; to this goal, the new categories universal service and public service obligations are useful instruments. After defining its notes, we identify them as different kinds of a common gender and separate then from other next categories, as are general interest services and policy obligations. Finally, we applied the obtained findings to the Electricity Sector, identifying an universal service in the supply of electrical energy to all the claimants and various concrete public service obligations in its principal sub sectors (production, transportation, distribution, trading and supply). (Author)

  8. 76 FR 35162 - Service Dogs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-16

    ... veterans diagnosed with mental health conditions. Upon the completion of the study and analysis of its...), this proposed rule is exempt from the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of..., SENSORY, AND REHABILITATIVE AIDS'', to read as follows: Sec. 17.148 Service dogs. (a) Definitions. For the...

  9. Payment or Reimbursement for Certain Medical Expenses for Camp Lejeune Family Members. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-05-05

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopts as final an interim final rule addressing payment or reimbursement of certain medical expenses for family members of Camp Lejeune veterans. Under this rule, VA reimburses family members, or pays providers, for medical expenses incurred as a result of certain illnesses and conditions that may be associated with contaminants present in the base water supply at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (Camp Lejeune), North Carolina, from August 1, 1953, to December 31, 1987. Payment or reimbursement is made within the limitations set forth in statute and Camp Lejeune family members receive hospital care and medical services that are consistent with the manner in which we provide hospital care and medical services to Camp Lejeune veterans. The statutory authority has since been amended to also include certain veterans' family members who resided at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, for no less than 30 days (consecutive or nonconsecutive) between August 1, 1953, and December 31, 1987. This final rule will reflect that statutory change and will address public comments received in response to the interim final rule.

  10. Nursing service innovation: A case study examining emergency nurse practitioner service sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Amanda; Gardner, Glenn; Osborne, Sonya

    2018-02-01

    This research aimed to explore factors that influence sustainability of health service innovation, specifically emergency nurse practitioner service. Planning for cost effective provision of healthcare services is a concern globally. Reform initiatives are implemented often incorporating expanding scope of practice for health professionals and innovative service delivery models. Introducing new models is costly in both human and financial resources and therefore understanding factors influencing sustainability is imperative to viable service provision. This research used case study methodology (Yin, ). Data were collected during 2014 from emergency nurse practitioners, emergency department multidisciplinary team members and documents related to nurse practitioner services. Collection methods included telephone and semi-structured interviews, survey and document analysis. Pattern matching techniques were used to compare findings with study propositions. In this study, emergency nurse practitioner services did not meet factors that support health service sustainability. Multidisciplinary team members were confident that emergency nurse practitioner services were safe and helped to meet population health needs. Organizational support for integration of nurse practitioner services was marginal and led to poor understanding of service capability and underuse. This research provides evidence informing sustainability of nursing service models but more importantly raises questions about this little explored field. The findings highlight poor organizational support, excessive restrictions and underuse of the service. This is in direct contrast to contemporary expanding practice reform initiatives. Organizational support for integration is imperative to future service sustainability. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Model-driven development of smart grid services using SoaML

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kosek, Anna Magdalena; Gehrke, Oliver

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a model-driven software devel- opment process which can be applied to the design of smart grid services. The Service Oriented Architecture Modelling Language (SoaML) is used to describe the architecture as well as the roles and interactions between service participants....... The individual modelling steps and an example design of a SoaML model for a voltage control service are presented and explained. Finally, the paper discusses a proof-of-concept implementation of the modelled service in a smart grid testing laboratory....

  12. Personal Capacity Building for the Human Services: The Roles of Curriculum and Individual Differences in Predicting Self-Concept in College/University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Philip D.; Martin, Andrew J.

    2008-01-01

    While much research has outlined the importance of intra-psychic factors in predicting workplace success, it is rare that attention is given to the development of these factors in training for human service professions (e.g. psychology, clergy, nursing). Accordingly, the present study explores differences in self-concept, a key intra-psychic…

  13. Virtualized Network Control. Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ghani, Nasir [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2013-02-01

    This document is the final report for the Virtualized Network Control (VNC) project, which was funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. This project was also informally referred to as Advanced Resource Computation for Hybrid Service and TOpology NEtworks (ARCHSTONE). This report provides a summary of the project's activities, tasks, deliverable, and accomplishments. It also provides a summary of the documents, software, and presentations generated as part of this projects activities. Namely, the Appendix contains an archive of the deliverables, documents, and presentations generated a part of this project.

  14. Ecosystem goods and services at the neighborhood scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mapping ecosystem functions and articulating the ecosystem goods and services (EGS) they provide to human beneficiaries are important aspects that: link human actions to human costs and benefits from ecosystem, and ultimately provide this information to the general public, public...

  15. Final Energy Consumption Trends and Drivers in Czech Republic and Latvia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiqian Yu

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the trends of final energy consumption in Latvia and Czech Republic. Analysis of final energy consumption during 2000-2013 period indicated the main driving forces of final energy consumption during and after world financial crisis of 2008. The paper aimed to evaluate the impact of economic activity and other factors on final energy consumption. The decomposition of the final energy consumption is assessed by analyzing effect of different drivers by the main end-users sector (industry, transport, households, agriculture, services, activity, demography, lifestyles, structural effects, energy savings etc. The results show that the reduction in final energy consumption in most EU members states before and after year 2008 can be related to the decline in energy intensities within endusers sectors. At the same time, the increase in final energy intensity after the year 2008 is attributed to expansion of energy demand sectors. Comparison of final energy consumption trends and drivers in Latvia and Czech Republic indicated that Czech Republic implemented more policies and measures in industry and tertiary sector and this provided for final energy consumption decreased and huge energy savings in these sectors.

  16. Fuel cycle services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruber, Gerhard J.

    1990-01-01

    TRIGA reactor operators are increasingly concerned about the back end of their Fuel Cycle due to a new environmental policy in the USA. The question how to close the Fuel Cycle will have to be answered by all operators sooner or later. Reprocessing of the TRIGA fuel elements is not available. Only long term storage and final disposal can be considered. But for such a storage or disposal a special treatment of the fuel elements and of course a final depository is necessary. NUKEM plans to undertake efforts to assist the TRIGA operators in this area. For that reason we need to know your special needs for today and tomorrow - so that potential processors can consider whether to offer these services on the market. (orig.)

  17. Hospital Service Area File

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This file is derived from the calendar year inpatient claims data. The records contain number of discharges, length of stay, and total charges summarized by provider...

  18. A process-based framework for soil ecosystem services study and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Changhong; Liu, Huifang; Wang, Shuai

    2018-06-15

    Soil provides various indispensable ecosystem services for human society. Soil's complex structure and property makes the soil ecological processes complicated and brings about tough challenges for soil ecosystem services study. Most of the current frameworks on soil services focus exclusively on services per se, neglecting the links and underlying ecological mechanisms. This article put forward a framework on soil services by stressing the underlying soil mechanisms and processes, which includes: 1) analyzing soil natural capital stock based on soil structure and property, 2) disentangling the underlying complex links and soil processes, 3) soil services valuation based on field investigation and spatial explicit models, and 4) enacting soil management strategy based on soil services and their driving factors. By application of this framework, we assessed the soil services of sediment retention, water yield, and grain production in the Upper-reach Fenhe Watershed. Based on the ecosystem services and human driving factors, the whole watershed was clustered into five groups: 1) municipal area, 2) typical coal mining area, 3) traditional farming area, 4) unsustainable urbanizing area, and 5) ecological conservation area. Management strategies on soils were made according to the clustering based soil services and human activities. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Research and development of service robot platform based on artificial psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xueyuan; Wang, Zhiliang; Wang, Fenhua; Nagai, Masatake

    2007-12-01

    Some related works about the control architecture of robot system are briefly summarized. According to the discussions above, this paper proposes control architecture of service robot based on artificial psychology. In this control architecture, the robot can obtain the cognition of environment through sensors, and then be handled with intelligent model, affective model and learning model, and finally express the reaction to the outside stimulation through its behavior. For better understanding the architecture, hierarchical structure is also discussed. The control system of robot can be divided into five layers, namely physical layer, drives layer, information-processing and behavior-programming layer, application layer and system inspection and control layer. This paper shows how to achieve system integration from hardware modules, software interface and fault diagnosis. Embedded system GENE-8310 is selected as the PC platform of robot APROS-I, and its primary memory media is CF card. The arms and body of the robot are constituted by 13 motors and some connecting fittings. Besides, the robot has a robot head with emotional facial expression, and the head has 13 DOFs. The emotional and intelligent model is one of the most important parts in human-machine interaction. In order to better simulate human emotion, an emotional interaction model for robot is proposed according to the theory of need levels of Maslom and mood information of Siminov. This architecture has already been used in our intelligent service robot.

  20. The Public Health Service guidelines. Governing research involving human subjects: An analysis of the policy-making process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankel, M. S.

    1972-01-01

    The policy making process which led to development of the Public Health Service Guidelines governing research involving human subjects is outlined. Part 1 examines the evolution of PHS Guidelines, tracing (1) evolution of thought and legal interpretation regarding research using human subjects; (2) initial involvement of the Federal government; (3) development of the government's research program; (4) the social-political environment in which formal government policy was developed; and (5) various policy statements issued by the government. Part 2 analyzes the process by which PHS Guidelines were developed and examines the values and other underlying factors which contributed to their development. It was concluded that the evolution of the Guidelines is best understood within the context of a mixed-scanning strategy. In such a strategy, policy makers make fundamental decisions regarding the basic direction of policy and subsequent decisions are made incrementally and within the contexts set by the original fundamental decisions.