WorldWideScience

Sample records for link extension services

  1. The XML approach to implementing space link extension service management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai, W.; Welz, G. A.; Theis, G.; Yamada, T.

    2001-01-01

    A feasibility study has been conducted at JPL, ESOC, and ISAS to assess the possible applications of the eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) capabilities to the implementation of the CCSDS Space Link Extension (SLE) Service Management function.

  2. Links among high-performance work environment, service quality, and customer satisfaction: an extension to the healthcare sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2007-01-01

    Healthcare managers must deliver high-quality patient services that generate highly satisfied and loyal customers. In this article, we examine how a high-involvement approach to the work environment of healthcare employees may lead to exceptional service quality, satisfied patients, and ultimately to loyal customers. Specifically, we investigate the chain of events through which high-performance work systems (HPWS) and customer orientation influence employee and customer perceptions of service quality and patient satisfaction in a national sample of 113 Veterans Health Administration ambulatory care centers. We present a conceptual model for linking work environment to customer satisfaction and test this model using structural equations modeling. The results suggest that (1) HPWS is linked to employee perceptions of their ability to deliver high-quality customer service, both directly and through their perceptions of customer orientation; (2) employee perceptions of customer service are linked to customer perceptions of high-quality service; and (3) perceived service quality is linked with customer satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings, including suggestions of how healthcare managers can implement changes to their work environments, are discussed.

  3. Multi-User Space Link Extension (SLE) System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkins, Toby

    2013-01-01

    The Multi-User Space (MUS) Link Extension system, a software and data system, provides Space Link Extension (SLE) users with three space data transfer services in timely, complete, and offline modes as applicable according to standards defined by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). MUS radically reduces the schedule, cost, and risk of implementing a new SLE user system, minimizes operating costs with a lights-out approach to SLE, and is designed to require no sustaining engineering expense during its lifetime unless changes in the CCSDS SLE standards, combined with new provider implementations, force changes. No software modification to MUS needs to be made to support a new mission. Any systems engineer with Linux experience can begin testing SLE user service instances with MUS starting from a personal computer (PC) within five days. For flight operators, MUS provides a familiar-looking Web page for entering SLE configuration data received from SLE. Operators can also use the Web page to back up a space mission's entire set of up to approximately 500 SLE service instances in less than five seconds, or to restore or transfer from another system the same amount of data from a MUS backup file in about the same amount of time. Missions operate each MUS SLE service instance independently by sending it MUS directives, which are legible, plain ASCII strings. MUS directives are usually (but not necessarily) sent through a TCP-IP (Transmission Control Protocol Internet Protocol) socket from a MOC (Mission Operations Center) or POCC (Payload Operations Control Center) system, under scripted control, during "lights-out" spacecraft operation. MUS permits the flight operations team to configure independently each of its data interfaces; not only commands and telemetry, but also MUS status messages to the MOC. Interfaces can use single- or multiple-client TCP/IP server sockets, TCP/IP client sockets, temporary disk files, the system log, or standard in

  4. 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.

  5. Capability of Poultry Farmers Association for Extension Services ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    dr funmi owolade

    information on poultry management techniques and marketing during in-house ... optimum human and material resources for extension services delivery to its .... vii. investigate the constraints to extension services programme in Oyo state. ..... developing countries in Agricultural Extension in Nigeria S.F. Afolayan (ed) Ilorin.

  6. Extension and Higher Education Service-Learning: Toward a Community Development Service-Learning Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoecker, Randy

    2014-01-01

    This article explores how on-the-ground Extension educators interface with higher education service-learning. Most service-learning in Extension has focused on precollege youth and 4-H. When we look at higher education service-learning and Extension in Wisconsin, we see that there is not as much connection as might be expected. County-based…

  7. Extension agents\\' marketing related services: The relevance to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated the marketing related services provided to farmers by extension agents in Osun State, Nigeria. Data were collected from the extension agents in the services of Osun State Agricultural Development Projects, which is the government outfit to provide such services to farmers on one hand and their ...

  8. 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.

  9. 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

  10. Agricultural Extension: Farm Extension Services in Australia, Britain and the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Donald B.

    By analyzing the scope and structure of agricultural extension services in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States, this work attempts to set guidelines for measuring progress and guiding extension efforts. Extension training, agricultural policy, and activities of national, international, state, and provincial bodies are examined. The…

  11. 1970-1971 Annual Report: Extension Service Program, Silliman University.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maturan, Eulalio G.

    The 1970-1971 annual report of the Extension Service Program of Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines, treats the following projects: Mabinay Agricultural Extension, Mabinay Negrito Action-Research, Reforestation, and Livestock Dispersal. Also discussed are the Rural Publications Center and other extension services--a radio program,…

  12. Assessment of Extension Service Delivery on Improved Cassava ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Extension service delivery is too often merely seen as a vehicle for spreading scientific and technical progress and technology transfer. In the real sense, however, dissemination of knowledge is not a one way affair from scientists to producers. The study was conducted to assess extension service delivery on improved ...

  13. Solid Propulsion Systems, Subsystems, and Components Service Life Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hundley, Nedra H.; Jones, Connor

    2011-01-01

    The service life extension of solid propulsion systems, subsystems, and components will be discussed based on the service life extension of the Space Transportation System Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) and Booster Separation Motors (BSM). The RSRM is certified for an age life of five years. In the aftermath of the Columbia accident there were a number of motors that were approaching the end of their five year service life certification. The RSRM Project initiated an assessment to determine if the service life of these motors could be extended. With the advent of the Constellation Program, a flight test was proposed that would utilize one of the RSRMs which had been returned from the launch site due to the expiration of its five year service life certification and twelve surplus Chemical Systems Division BSMs which had exceeded their eight year service life. The RSRM age life tracking philosophy which establishes when the clock starts for age life tracking will be described. The role of the following activities in service life extension will be discussed: subscale testing, accelerated aging, dissecting full scale aged hardware, static testing full scale aged motors, data mining industry data, and using the fleet leader approach. The service life certification and extension of the BSMs will also be presented.

  14. The role of corporate image and extension similarity in service brand extensions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruyter, de J.C.; Wetzels, M.G.M.

    2000-01-01

    In this article we examine the role of corporate image in extending service brands to new and traditional markets in the telecommunications sector. With regards to corporate image, service brand extensions are primarily associated with innovation-related attributes, such as order of entry (i.e.,

  15. Effect of Privatisation of Agricultural Extension Services on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of ... services of Fadama III project on farmers' productivity in Oyo state, ... Production of poultry meat (r = 0.389, p<0.05) and eggs ... extension staff in non-extension duties; low private sector participation; weak ... Privatization is to enhance efficiency.

  16. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    There is no one set of challenges that justify privatization of extension and advisory services both in developed and developing areas. It is argued that factors that can influence privatization include; limited budget provisions and ineffectiveness of extension and advisory services. Literature is full of lessons on the failure and ...

  17. (ICTs) in Nigeria's agricultural extension service

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nigeria's Agricultural Extension Service has had a long and checkered history of ... and Visit (T&V) System, to reach its diverse clients with their various needs. ... stakeholders, costs, and the country's poor ICT infrastructural development.

  18. Space Link Extension Protocol Emulation for High-Throughput, High-Latency Network Connections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tchorowski, Nicole; Murawski, Robert

    2014-01-01

    New space missions require higher data rates and new protocols to meet these requirements. These high data rate space communication links push the limitations of not only the space communication links, but of the ground communication networks and protocols which forward user data to remote ground stations (GS) for transmission. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, (CCSDS) Space Link Extension (SLE) standard protocol is one protocol that has been proposed for use by the NASA Space Network (SN) Ground Segment Sustainment (SGSS) program. New protocol implementations must be carefully tested to ensure that they provide the required functionality, especially because of the remote nature of spacecraft. The SLE protocol standard has been tested in the NASA Glenn Research Center's SCENIC Emulation Lab in order to observe its operation under realistic network delay conditions. More specifically, the delay between then NASA Integrated Services Network (NISN) and spacecraft has been emulated. The round trip time (RTT) delay for the continental NISN network has been shown to be up to 120ms; as such the SLE protocol was tested with network delays ranging from 0ms to 200ms. Both a base network condition and an SLE connection were tested with these RTT delays, and the reaction of both network tests to the delay conditions were recorded. Throughput for both of these links was set at 1.2Gbps. The results will show that, in the presence of realistic network delay, the SLE link throughput is significantly reduced while the base network throughput however remained at the 1.2Gbps specification. The decrease in SLE throughput has been attributed to the implementation's use of blocking calls. The decrease in throughput is not acceptable for high data rate links, as the link requires constant data a flow in order for spacecraft and ground radios to stay synchronized, unless significant data is queued a the ground station. In cases where queuing the data is not an option

  19. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    production practices and economic viability in order to align extension and farmer ... 1 FSD, Extension and Advisory Services, Central Karoo, Western Cape ..... making, banks, accountants and fellow farmers are playing an important role as.

  20. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ben Stevens

    responsibility over the management of service delivery of government departments including. Department of ... alternative approach that will support knowledge to promote agricultural advisory services. ..... Extension, SA2, The World Bank.

  1. Service Migration Protocol for NFC Links

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nickelsen, Anders; Schwefel, Hans-Peter; Martin, Miquel

    2010-01-01

    of use while preserving state. This paper focuses on the scenario of migration between two devices in which the actual migration procedure is executed over near-field communication (NFC) ad-hoc links. The NFC link is interesting as it gives the user the perception of trust and enables service continuity...

  2. 47 CFR 22.912 - Service area boundary extensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... cellular market or in the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Zone (GMCZ), to allow one or more SAB extensions into the... of the cellular market boundary, but within the service area as calculated using the methods of § 22... section, SABs may be extended into adjacent cellular markets if such extensions are de minimis, are...

  3. the economic benefits of extension services on livestock production ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    MRS FOLA AJAYI

    2007-06-08

    Jun 8, 2007 ... This study examined the impact of extension services on livestock output in six communities in .... Divorced. 3. 2.5. Widowed. 2. 1.7. Total. 120. 100. Educational ... status may be constraints on positive impact of extension on.

  4. Assessment of veterinary extension services to livestock farmers in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined operational modes of providing veterinary extension services to livestock farmers in Egba-Division, Ogun-State Nigeria. Information was obtained from 120 livestock farmers and 8 extension agents selected through multi-stage random sampling technique with the use of both structured questionnaire ...

  5. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ben Stevens

    series of ten country papers that sought to assess and benchmark common challenges linked ... Province of South Africa (gender, marital status, educational qualifications .... Standard of extension in South Africa (Norms and Standards, 2005).

  6. Measuring Journal Linking Success from a Discovery Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenyon Stuart

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Online linking to full text via third-party link-resolution services, such as Serials Solutions 360 Link or Ex Libris’ SFX, has become a popular method of access to users in academic libraries. This article describes several attempts made over the course of the past three years at the University of Michigan to gather data on linkage failure: the method used, the limiting factors, the changes made in methods, an analysis of the data collected, and a report of steps taken locally because of the studies. It is hoped that the experiences at one institution may be applicable more broadly and, perhaps, produce a stronger data-driven effort at improving linking services.

  7. 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.

  8. Commercialization of the British Extension Service: An American View.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harter, Don

    1993-01-01

    Britain's decision to commercialize the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service has implications for extension programs in other countries. If programs now offered were commercialized, extension would no longer be an agency responsive to the public interest as a whole but would be driven by interests of paying clients. (JOW)

  9. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    After independence the government led agricultural extension services slowly started moving away from the Transfer of Technology (ToT) to Training and Visit approach followed by the. Farming System Research and Extension (FSRE) approach. Most of the subsidies that had. 17 PhD Student University of Pretoria, ...

  10. Private sector participation in agricultural extension service in nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The issue of who is to undertake and sustain an efficient agricultural extension service delivery between the public and private sectors in sub-saharan Africa has continued to feature prominently among the extension stakeholders and professionals. This has become pertinent, especially in recent times where government's ...

  11. MBI FRAMEWORK EXTENSION TOWARDS CLOUD SERVICE IMPROVEMENT FROM CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soňa Karkošková

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Cloud computing is changing the way that organizations utilize IT resources with a corresponding impact on the role of IT management. To help organizations with managing their business informatics, Management of Business Informatics (MBI framework has been developed. The problem was that this framework did not explicitly reflect managing cloud services from cloud service consumer perspective and specifically did not address managing of cloud service improvement from consumer perspective. Therefore, analysis of MBI framework was performed from cloud service consumer viewpoint to design extension of MBI framework towards cloud service improvement management. Proposal of MBI framework extension in an output of research process according to Design Science Research Methodology and its evaluation approach is based on methodology for the design and implementation of case studies for scientific purposes and on descriptive evaluation method using scenario.

  12. Three-Dimensional Extension of a Digital Library Service System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Long

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The paper aims to provide an overall methodology and case study for the innovation and extension of a digital library, especially the service system. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the three-dimensional structure theory of the information service industry, this paper combines a comprehensive analysis with the practical experiences…

  13. Linking Service Quality Attributes To Customer Satisfaction in The ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of the study was to determine the service quality dimensions of mobile phone services-network performance, service reliability and service accessibility, and to ex-amine the service quality/customer satisfaction link within the context of mobile phone services. An exploratory research design using a quantitative ...

  14. Impact of Service Extension and Services Interaction on B2b Sales: A Temporal Investigation Into Fuels’ Category

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Inacio Severo de Almeida

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The scope of services marketing has a theoretical and empirical gap that refers to the impact of the provision of services on sales. This research opportunity is routinely highlighted in theoretical proposals such as the Augmented Service Offering (ASO, Innovation in Services (IS and Service Dominant Logic (SDL, which require alternative measures of combinations of product and service and the possible effects that these arrangements may cause. This article aims to investigate the impact of the extension and the interaction of services on Business to Business (B2B sales. Three hypotheses were tested with data from the fuel sector. Research was operationalized based on secondary data, ceded by an energy company, which comprise sales of regular and premium gasoline of this company to 19 gas stations along 27 months, totaling 513 observations. The study involved the construction of a generalized linear model with balanced, long and random effects panel structure. The three hypotheses were supported, identifying how the extensive principle of service contributes to the increased performance and conclude the existence of a direct, linear and positive impact of extension and interaction of services on B2B sales.

  15. Assessment of Extension Service Delivery on Improved Cassava ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SH

    1Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Landmark University, Omu –Aran, Kwara. State. 2Department ... production technologies among cassava farmers in Osun State, Nigeria. Multistage ... included fertilizer procurement, agrochemicals, cooperative facilities, social networks, tractor hiring services,.

  16. Gender Differences in Access to Extension Services and Agricultural Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ragasa, Catherine; Berhane, Guush; Tadesse, Fanaye; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: This article contributes new empirical evidence and nuanced analysis on the gender difference in access to extension services and how this translates to observed differences in technology adoption and agricultural productivity. Approach: It looks at the case of Ethiopia, where substantial investments in the extension system have been…

  17. Critical Challenges of Pre and Post Service Extension Education ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Critical Challenges of Pre and Post Service Extension Education and ... poor policy decision and implementation, rapid development in science and ... problems associated with information/communication echnologies access and utilization.

  18. Factors Influencing Perceptions of Service Quality in Cooperative Extension Workers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anaza, Nwamaka A.; Rutherford, Brian N.; Widdows, Richard

    2012-01-01

    The authors examined the direct and indirect impact of empowerment on service quality as perceived by Extension staff. Using a sample 283 respondents, the results revealed that along with empowerment, constructs such as job satisfaction and organizational identification positively affected service quality. Undoubtedly, each of these variables…

  19. Achieving Impact at Scale through ICT-Enabled Extension Services ...

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

    In Africa, agricultural extension services have the potential to grow markets and enhance ... a program of IDRC undertaken with the financial support of the Government of ... Institution. Farm Radio International/Radios Rurales Internationales.

  20. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ben Stevens

    The paper is based on a case study research process carried out at New ... farmers, such as tractor services, advice, extension and marketing support. .... relationships between concepts, constructs or variables. ..... Strategy for 2010 to 2014.

  1. 75 FR 48303 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Veterinary Services...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-10

    ...] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Veterinary Services; Customer... extension of approval of an information collection to evaluate service delivery by Veterinary Services to... INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Veterinary Services customer service survey, contact Ms. Pam Hart...

  2. Towards Redesigning the Agricultural extension service in South ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The public extension service in the Eastern Cape Province is in vital need of revitalization if it is to transform the unproductive smallholder-agriculture sector into a more commercially-orientated sector. The research used a Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) enquiry to determine the problems smallholder farmers face as well ...

  3. 78 FR 44521 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Veterinary Services...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-24

    ...] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Veterinary Services Customer... an extension of approval of an information collection to evaluate service delivery by Veterinary... coming. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Veterinary Services customer service...

  4. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, as well as at several other universities in East Africa. These are basically in-service degree programmes for field extension .... This could be the importance of maize as a staple food and cash crop.

  5. Current status of agricultural extension services for market oriented ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Current status of agricultural extension services for market oriented agricultural development in Ethiopia: Results from a household baseline ... Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. ... http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v10i3.1.

  6. USER SERVICES AND EXTENSION SERVICES IN SELECTED SPECIAL LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION CENTERS IN THE UNITED STATES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    NONINI, CERISE

    A SURVEY BY QUESTIONNAIRE WAS MADE OF THE PROBLEM OF USER SERVICES AND EXTENSION SERVICES USED IN THE DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS AND INFORMATION TO A SELECTED NUMBER OF INDUSTRIAL LIBRARIES. THE SURVEY RESULTED IN DATA CONCERNING STAFF SIZE, PROFESSIONAL-TO-CLERICAL RATIO, SIZE OF BOOK, DOCUMENT, PERIODICAL AND MICROFORM COLLECTIONS, LIBRARY…

  7. Linking service convenience to satisfaction: Dimensions and key moderators

    OpenAIRE

    Benoit, Sabine; Klose, S; Ettinger, A

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Demand for service convenience, defined as a consumer’s perception of minimized time and effort spent to obtain a service, has increased in conjunction with certain sociocultural and demographic changes. Prior research notes the significance of service convenience, but the importance of different dimensions of service convenience as well as the role of key moderators affecting the link between convenience and satisfaction (like customer psychographic and sociodemograph...

  8. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    8 PhD student, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700. 9 Associate ... make them more financially sustainable and demand-driven as distinct from supply-driven. Market reforms ... delivery also make the service more demand-driven, improve accountability, and empower.

  9. SAFAX - An Extensible Authorization Service for Cloud Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Paul Kaluvuri

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Cloud storage services have become increasingly popular in recent years. Users are often registered to multiple cloud storage services that suit different needs. However, the ad-hoc manner in which data sharing between users is implemented leads to issues for these users. For instance, users are required to define different access control policies for each cloud service they use and are responsible for synchronizing their policies across different cloud providers. Users do not have access to a uniform and expressive method to deal with authorization. Current authorization solutions cannot be applied as-is, since they cannot cope with challenges specific to cloud environments. In this paper, we analyze the challenges of data sharing in multi-cloud environments and propose SAFAX, an XACML based authorization service designed to address these challenges. SAFAX's architecture allows users to deploy their access control policies in a standard format, in a single location, and augment policy evaluation with information from user selectable external trust services. We describe the architecture of SAFAX, a prototype implementation based on this architecture, illustrate the extensibility through external trust services and discuss the benefits of using SAFAX from both the user's and cloud provider's perspectives.

  10. The Knowledge Base as an Extension of Distance Learning Reference Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Anne Marie

    2012-01-01

    This study explores knowledge bases as extension of reference services for distance learners. Through a survey and follow-up interviews with distance learning librarians, this paper discusses their interest in creating and maintaining a knowledge base as a resource for reference services to distance learners. It also investigates their perceptions…

  11. Linked data and user interaction

    CERN Document Server

    Cervone, H Frank

    2015-01-01

    This collection of research papers provides extensive information on deploying services, concepts, and approaches for using open linked data from libraries and other cultural heritage institutions. With a special emphasis on how libraries and other cultural heritage institutions can create effective end user interfaces using open, linked data or other datasets. These papers are essential reading for any one interesting in user interface design or the semantic web.

  12. Knowledge and perception of extension workers towards ict utilization in agricultural extension service delivery in Gazipur district of Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F.A. Prodhan

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The primary purpose of the study was to assess the extent of knowledge and perception of extension workers towards ICT utilization and to determine the relationship between the selected characteristics of the respondents and knowledge and perception of extension workers towards ICT utilization in extension service delivery. The study was conducted in Gazipur district and comprised proportionate random sample of 90 extension workers from five upazila of Gazipur district. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect data from the respondents. To measure the knowledge on ICT utilization 35 statements were selected regarding 7 ICT with five possible answer of each tools and a score of one was given to the right answer and zero to the wrong answer alternatively to measure the perception of the respondents rated each of 10 statements ICT utilization in agriculture on a 5-point Likert type scale and the total of these ratings formed perception index. The result of the study showed that out of seven ICT tools the knowledge of extension workers was highest in case of MS Word this was followed by internet/ web service and the lowest knowledge was found in case of Geographical Information System. It is observed that an overwhelming majority (88.9% of agricultural extension workers in the study area had low to medium knowledge towards ICT utilization. Findings reveal that the respondents had top most perception on the ICT utilization in respect of ‘Extension work can be greatly enhanced by ICT’ followed by on ‘The benefits of ICT use outweigh the financial burden involved’. The result also indicated that more than fourth-fifth (84.4% of the respondents had medium to high perception towards ICT utilization. There were significant relationship between service experience and use of the information sources of the respondents with their knowledge towards ICT utilization conversely innovativeness, cosmopoliteness and job satisfaction of the

  13. Impact of ICT on Agricultural Extension Services Delivery: Evidence from the Catholic Relief Services SMART Skills and Farmbook Project in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tata, Joyous S.; McNamara, Paul E.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The study was carried out to assess the impact of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Skills for Marketing and Rural Transformation (SMART) skills and Farmbook information communication technology (ICT) on agricultural extension service delivery by front-line extension officers in two counties in Kenya. The second objective was to assess…

  14. 7 CFR 2.66 - Administrator, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... extension program through grants to regional rural development centers and competitive grants to land-grant... Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 for USDA (15 U.S.C. 638(e)-(k)). (51) Administer a..., and Extension Service. (1) Administer research and technology development grants related to the...

  15. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    generation of knowledge and information to provide back- up service to Extensionists which in turn should help their clients (Arnon, 1989; Bunting, 1986; Van den Ban & Hawkins,. 1990: 293). Furthermore Extensionists are expected to account for their performance in order to justify the investment of public funds in extension ...

  16. Service delivery and ethical conduct in the public service: the missing links

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Lues

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available There are a multitude of policies, strategies and programmes directed at the rendering of effective services to the citizens of South Africa by public service managers. However, in spite of the pursuit of effectiveness and the condemning of unethical behaviour by public service managers, scandals still occur and allegations are still made. So, where are the missing links? In this article, a brief description is given of some ethical concepts viewed as important in addressing the question posed. The concluding remarks are twofold: public service organisations need to provide continuous commitment, enforcement, and modelling of leadership in professional ethics by means of, among other things, policy structures; and public service managers need to realise the importance of changing their own mindset and accepting the ethical standards that are established by the public service organisation, even if these differ from their own beliefs and culture.

  17. Building a partnership to evaluate school-linked health services: the Cincinnati School Health Demonstration Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Barbara L; Mansour, Mona; Kohake, Kelli

    2005-12-01

    The Cincinnati School Health Demonstration Project was a 3-year collaboration that evaluated school-linked health services in 6 urban elementary (kindergarten to eighth grade) schools. Partners from the Cincinnati Health Department, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati wanted to determine if levels of school-linked care made a difference in student quality of life, school connectedness, attendance, emergency department use, and volume of referrals to health care specialists. School nurses, principals and school staff, parents and students, upper-level managers, and health service researchers worked together over a 2.5-year period to learn about and use new technology to collect information on student health, well-being, and outcome measures. Varying levels of school health care intervention models were instituted and evaluated. A standard model of care was compared with 2 models of enhanced care and service. The information collected from students, parents, nurses, and the school system provided a rich database on the health of urban children. School facilities, staffing, and computer technology, relationship building among stakeholders, extensive communication, and high student mobility were factors that influenced success and findings of the project. Funding for district-wide computerization and addition of school health staff was not secured by the end of the demonstration project; however, relationships among the partners endured and paved the way for future collaborations designed to better serve urban school children in Cincinnati.

  18. EXTENSION EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM: reinventing extension as a resource--what does the future hold?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirando, M A; Bewley, J M; Blue, J; Amaral-Phillips, D M; Corriher, V A; Whittet, K M; Arthur, N; Patterson, D J

    2012-10-01

    The mission of the Cooperative Extension Service, as a component of the land-grant university system, is to disseminate new knowledge and to foster its application and use. Opportunities and challenges facing animal agriculture in the United States have changed dramatically over the past few decades and require the use of new approaches and emerging technologies that are available to extension professionals. Increased federal competitive grant funding for extension, the creation of eXtension, the development of smartphone and related electronic technologies, and the rapidly increasing popularity of social media created new opportunities for extension educators to disseminate knowledge to a variety of audiences and engage these audiences in electronic discussions. Competitive grant funding opportunities for extension efforts to advance animal agriculture became available from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and have increased dramatically in recent years. The majority of NIFA funding opportunities require extension efforts to be integrated with research, and NIFA encourages the use of eXtension and other cutting-edge approaches to extend research to traditional clientele and nontraditional audiences. A case study is presented to illustrate how research and extension were integrated to improve the adoption of AI by beef producers. Those in agriculture are increasingly resorting to the use of social media venues such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter to access information required to support their enterprises. Use of these various approaches by extension educators requires appreciation of the technology and an understanding of how the target audiences access information available on social media. Technology to deliver information is changing rapidly, and Cooperative Extension Service professionals will need to continuously evaluate digital technology and social media tools to appropriately integrate them into learning and

  19. The service quality-satisfaction link revisited : exploring asymetries and dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Falk, T.; Hammerschmidt, M.; Schepers, J.J.L.

    2010-01-01

    This study provides deeper insight in the link between service quality and customer satisfaction. The traditional assumption of a linear relationship is challenged by exploring asymmetries and dynamics. The simultaneous influence of service quality and customer experience on satisfaction is examined

  20. 77 FR 9960 - Final Environmental Impact Statement for Extension of F-Line Streetcar Service to Fort Mason...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-21

    ... Environmental Impact Statement for Extension of F-Line Streetcar Service to Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA... Environmental Impact Statement for the Extension of F-Line Streetcar Service to Fort Mason Center, San Francisco... the extension of the historic streetcar F-line from Fisherman's Wharf to the Fort Mason Center, in San...

  1. METHODS AND RESEARCH CONCERNING SERVICE LIFE EXTENSION OF SUPORTING STRUCTURES OF TRACTION ROLLING STOCK FOR INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. M. Bondarev

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The purpose of work is scientifically grounded introduction of the acquired techniques into works for service life extension of the traction and motor rolling stock for industrial transport. Methodology. To achieve the purpose it was analyzed the acquired techniques for service life extension of the traction and motor rolling stock for mainline transport. The acquired techniques during solution of problems concerning the service life extension of rolling stock units were adapted to the locomotives TGM6A and traction aggregates OPE1. Findings. On the basis of experimental and theoretical complex of studies some results were obtained. They gave the ground to determine the possibility of acquired techniques use when solving the problems on service life extension of rolling stock units concerning locomotives TGM6A and traction aggregates OPE1. Originality. On the basis of conducted experimental and theoretical studies scientific maintenance of the works providing extension of service life of traction and motor units of industrial rolling stock was executed. Practical value. Technical solutions and measures, which have to be carried out during operation within the prolonged appointed service life of traction and motor units of industrial rolling stock enterprises using locomotives and traction aggregates to provide the basic technological cycles were developed.

  2. LINKS to NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MARINE FORECAST OFFICES

    Science.gov (United States)

    ; Organization Search Search Landlubber's forecast: "City, St" or zip code (Pan/Zoom for Marine) Search SERVICE MARINE FORECAST OFFICES (Click on the NWS Forecast Center/Office of interest to link to that Marine Forecasts in text form ) Coastal NWS Forecast Offices have regionally focused marine webpages

  3. Implications of Work Values to Job Satisfaction in the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milliken, W. James; Whaples, Gene C.

    A study was done to determine if work values of the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service faculty were related to Herzberg's job satisfaction elements. The design was ex post facto, exploratory field research. Subjects included 273 extension faculty members. A mail questionnaire composed of Hughes and Flowers'"Values for Working" and an…

  4. Initial community perspectives on the Health Service Extension Programme in Welkait, Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McAuliffe Eilish

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Health Service Extension Programme (HSEP is an innovative approach to addressing the shortfall in health human resources in Ethiopia. It has developed a new cadre of Health Extension Workers (HEWs, who are charged with providing the health and hygiene promotion and some treatment services, which together constitute the bedrock of Ethiopia's community health system. Methods This study seeks to explore the experience of the HSEP from the perspective of the community who received the service. A random sample of 60 female heads-of-household in a remote area of Tigray participated in a structured interview survey. Results Although Health Extension Workers (HEWs had visited them less frequently than planned, participants generally found the programme to be helpful. Despite this, their basic health knowledge was still quite poor regarding the major communicable diseases and their vectors. Participants felt the new HESP represented an improvement on previous health provision. HEWs were preferred over Traditional Birth Attendants for assistance with labour Conclusion While the introduction of HEWs has been a positive experience for women living at the study site, the frequency of visits, extent of effectively imparted health knowledge and affects of HEWs on other health providers needs to be further explored.

  5. Water service delivery - the weakest link

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Wall, K

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available as strong as its weakest link at the time. • An integrated system …. Water and the poverty trap Poor level of water services Disease and sickness Spread of HIV/AIDS High cost for provision of household water and sanitation Limited employment... opportunities Education problems Skills deficiencies Loss of dignity POVERTY POOR WATER SUPPLY POOR SANITATION The poverty trap The poverty trap – Eastern Cape Eastern Cape Provincial “End of Term” Report (2009): • 7 out of 10 people in Eastern...

  6. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    hinged on extension services by helping farmers to identify, analyze and link with research on their production problems. They also create awareness on opportunities for improvement of farm yields leading to increased income and better standard of living (Van den ban and. Hawkins, 1998; Balantyne and Bokre, 2003).

  7. The basics of CrossRef extensible markup language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachael Lammey

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available CrossRef is an association of scholarly publishers that develops shared infrastructure to support more effective scholarly communications. Launched in 2000, CrossRef’s citation-linking network today covers over 68 million journal articles and other content items (books chapters, data, theses, and technical reports from thousands of scholarly and professional publishers around the globe. CrossRef has over 4,000 member publishers who join as members in order to avail of a number of CrossRef services, reference linking via the Digital Object Identifier (DOI being the core service. To deposit CrossRef DOIs, publishers and editors need to become familiar with the basics of extensible markup language (XML. This article will give an introduction to CrossRef XML and what publishers need to do in order to start to deposit DOIs with CrossRef and thus ensure their publications are discoverable and can be linked to consistently in an online environment.

  8. Ecological Production Functions Linking Multiple Stressors to Ecosystem Services – A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    The ecosystem services concept is being used to frame environmental protection goals that guide management of the risks of chemicals. Ecosystem services link changes in ecological systems to the benefits received by people. The use of ecosystem services in risk assessments and th...

  9. Linking Knowledge to Innovation in Government Services : the Case ...

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

    This action research project will study innovation in service delivery by local ... Linking knowledge to innovation in the economy and society : the role of universities in Asia ... IWRA/IDRC webinar on climate change and adaptive water management ... Eleven world-class research teams set to improve livestock vaccine ...

  10. Lexical Link Analysis Application: Improving Web Service to Acquisition Visibility Portal Phase III

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-04-30

    ååì~ä=^Åèìáëáíáçå= oÉëÉ~êÅÜ=póãéçëáìã= qÜìêëÇ~ó=pÉëëáçåë= sçäìãÉ=ff= = Lexical Link Analysis Application: Improving Web Service to Acquisition...2015 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2015 to 00-00-2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Lexical Link Analysis Application: Improving Web Service...processes. Lexical Link Analysis (LLA) can help, by applying automation to reveal and depict???to decisionmakers??? the correlations, associations, and

  11. 78 FR 78342 - Extension of Autism Services Demonstration Project for TRICARE Beneficiaries Under the Extended...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Extension of Autism Services Demonstration Project... (the Department) Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration Project (Autism Demonstration) under the Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) for beneficiaries diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder...

  12. 76 FR 80903 - Extension of Autism Services Demonstration Project for TRICARE Beneficiaries Under the Extended...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Extension of Autism Services Demonstration Project... Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration Project under the Extended Care Health Option for beneficiaries diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Under the demonstration, the Department...

  13. An Analysis of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service's Role in Bridging the Digital Divide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alston, Antoine J.; Hilton, Lashawn; English, Chastity Warren; Elbert, Chanda; Wakefield, Dexter

    2011-01-01

    The study reported here sought to determine the perception of North Carolina County Cooperative Extension directors in regard to the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service's role in bridging the digital divide. It was perceived by respondents that variables such as income, education, gender, disability status, race/ethnicity, age, and…

  14. [Links between non-professional agents and the official Veterinary Services in sub-Saharan Africa].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diop, B A; Bessin, R

    2004-04-01

    Para-professional agents known as auxiliaries, or community animal health workers, provide low-cost basic veterinary services to communities of livestock producers. A 2003 survey of 16 Sub-Saharan African countries, carried out as part of the Pan-African Programme for the Control of Epizootics, showed that in the majority of cases, the official Veterinary Services have no (or very few) links with the auxiliaries, although they are well aware of their existence and in some cases the auxiliaries have been trained by officials of the Veterinary Services. However, there are isolated cases of countries establishing more formal links, for example, recognising the status of an auxiliary, recognising auxiliaries with no definition of a status, attaching auxiliaries to Veterinary Service staff, establishing agreements for the provision of auxiliary services through livestock producer associations, harmonising auxiliary training programmes, issuing professional auxiliary cards, and setting up a consultation framework on the issue of auxiliaries. Unlike private veterinarians, agents of the official services do not generally perceive auxiliaries as competitors, and sometimes collaboration develops at this level. The authors propose several measures to improve links between the official Veterinary Services and auxiliaries, as follows: the fields of competence of auxiliaries should be defined and their curriculum harmonised, the status of auxiliaries should be recognised, a monitoring and assessment mechanism should be established at senior level in the Veterinary Services, training for livestock producers should be improved.

  15. Pre-Service Teachers' Goals and Future-Time Extension, Concerns, and Well-Being

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagger, Hazel; Malmberg, Lars-Erik

    2011-01-01

    Human goal-processes are conceptualised in an action-theoretic model of motivation, in line with discourse on self-directed teachers. Eighty-eight pre-service teachers reported ideographic professionally-related goals "and" concerns, future-time extension of the goals, and well-being (self-esteem and depression). Thirteen goal and fifteen concern…

  16. A new service proposition as a brand extension for P. H. U. Color company

    OpenAIRE

    Weglarz, Jagoda

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis was to study the advertising psychology and the brand image subjects and to apply them in order to provide the brand image enhancement and brand extension combined with the proposition of a new service for Color, company. Moreover, according to the result of marketing research, examining the possible success of the new service and indicate the leading persuasive advertising tools in the market. The outcomes may help Color to verify if the new service can be applied ...

  17. Using ecological production functions to link ecological processes to ecosystem services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecological production functions (EPFs) link ecosystems, stressors, and management actions to ecosystem services (ES) production. Although EPFs are acknowledged as being essential to improve environmental management, their use in ecological risk assessment has received relatively ...

  18. Novel mitochondrial extensions provide evidence for a link between microtubule-directed movement and mitochondrial fission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowes, Timothy; Gupta, Radhey S.

    2008-01-01

    Mitochondrial dynamics play an important role in a large number of cellular processes. Previously, we reported that treatment of mammalian cells with the cysteine-alkylators, N-ethylmaleimide and ethacrynic acid, induced rapid mitochondrial fusion forming a large reticulum approximately 30 min after treatment. Here, we further investigated this phenomenon using a number of techniques including live-cell confocal microscopy. In live cells, drug-induced fusion coincided with a cessation of fast mitochondrial movement which was dependent on microtubules. During this loss of movement, thin mitochondrial tubules extending from mitochondria were also observed, which we refer to as 'mitochondrial extensions'. The formation of these mitochondrial extensions, which were not observed in untreated cells, depended on microtubules and was abolished by pretreatment with nocodazole. In this study, we provide evidence that these extensions result from of a block in mitochondrial fission combined with continued application of motile force by microtubule-dependent motor complexes. Our observations strongly suggest the existence of a link between microtubule-based mitochondrial trafficking and mitochondrial fission

  19. Linking perceived service quality and behavioral intentios : a multi-demensional perspective using structural equation modelling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bloemer, J.M.M.; Ruyter, de J.C.; Wetzels, M.G.M.

    1999-01-01

    In recent research on service quality it has been argued that the relationship between perceived service quality and service loyalty is an issue which requires conceptual and empirical elaboration through replication and extension of current knowledge. Focuses on the refinement of a scale for

  20. HAPS Gateway Link in the 5850-7075 MHz and Coexistence with Fixed Satellite Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ahmed

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Gateway link is essential to connect HAPS platform to terrestrial based networks. This crucial link is incorporated in HAPS fixed service spectrum allocation in considerably high frequencies, renders the link for more attenuations by atmospheric gases, and rain effects, especially when the regional climate is not favorable. However, under the agenda item 1.20 of World Radio Conference-2012 (WRC-12 new HAPS allocation in the 5850-7075 MHz band is proposed. Although, spectrum features are incomparably reliable, on the contrary, Fixed Satellite Service (FSS uplink transmissions will have signal levels much higher than those in HAPS systems and have the potential for causing interference at the HAPS gateway receiver. In this article a key aspect of co-channel interference phenomena is investigated to facilitate optimum frequency sharing in the band in question. By proposing mitigation techniques and statistical method this generic prediction model enhances the capability of the HAPS spectrum sharing and provides flexibility in spectrum planning for different fixed services.

  1. A service life extension (SLEP) approach to operating aging aircraft beyond their original design lives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pentz, Alan Carter

    With today's uncertain funding climate (including sequestration and continuing budget resolutions), decision makers face severe budgetary challenges to maintain dominance through all aspects of the Department of Defense (DoD). To meet war-fighting capabilities, the DoD continues to extend aircraft programs beyond their design service lives by up to ten years, and occasionally much more. The budget requires a new approach to traditional extension strategies (i.e., reuse, reset, and reclamation) for structural hardware. While extending service life without careful controls can present a safety concern, future operations planning does not consider how much risk is present when operating within sound structural principles. Traditional structural hardware extension methods drive increased costs. Decision makers often overlook the inherent damage tolerance and fatigue capability of structural components and rely on simple time- and flight-based cycle accumulation when determining aircraft retirement lives. This study demonstrates that decision makers should consider risk in addition to the current extension strategies. Through an evaluation of eight military aircraft programs and the application and simulation of F-18 turbine engine usage data, this dissertation shows that insight into actual aircraft mission data, consideration of fatigue capability, and service extension length are key factors to consider. Aircraft structural components, as well as many critical safety components and system designs, have a predefined level of conservatism and inherent damage tolerance. The methods applied in this study would apply to extensions of other critical structures such as bridges. Understanding how much damage tolerance is built into the design compared to the original design usage requirements presents the opportunity to manage systems based on risk. The study presents the sensitivity of these factors and recommends avenues for further research.

  2. Technology News; Distance Education Project: Extending Extension Programming via Telecommunications Technology; [and] Fax for Library Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyle, Larry; Spitzer, Kathleen L.

    1992-01-01

    Three articles discuss (1) the numbers of microcomputers installed in elementary and secondary schools; (2) a distance education project in the Minnesota Extension Service that used a satellite delivery system and integrated it with a computer information network; and (3) the use of facsimile machines for library services. (LRW)

  3. Information Needs and Source Information of Agricultural Extension Workers in DIY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Retno Wulandari

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available One of the important factors that contribute to agricultural development is information. As such agricultural extension workers that link agricultural agencies to the farmers must have adequate and up-to-date information about agricultural practices before they could inform, educate and train the farmers in method and techniques of farming. This study aims to determine the types of information needed by agricultural extension workers; to determine the sources of information used by the agricultural extension workers; and to determine the comparison between types of information with information sources used by agricultural extension workers. The present study was a descriptive study using a survey design and conducted at Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY Province. The populations of the study consists 181 agricultural extension workers divisible in the district level, namely Sleman, Kulon Progo, Gunung Kidul dan Bantul. Sampling procedure in this study used cluster sampling. The method for gathering data from the respondents is based on a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was to describe the characteristics of the respondents and the dependent variables of the study. As a result, most of agricultural extension workers strongly needed the innovation information in seeking information followed by extension service information and extension role information. The result of information sources used by agricultural extension worker for extension service information, innovation information and extension role information indicates that agricultural extension workers used interpersonal source. Most of them never sought information use Internet, they use radio more frequently than television and video, agricultural extension worker also used mass media as information source.

  4. Controleum - an independently extensible control system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Martin Lykke Rytter

    2014-01-01

    challenging kind of system to design for independent extension. This thesis presents two new software technologies that improve the extensibility of control systems: First, the concept of dynamic links is introduced and Decouplink – an implementation of dynamic links for Java - is presented. Dynamic links...... is introduced, and an implementation is presented. The extensible controller is a component framework designed to automatically resolve conflicts among mutually unaware components in a control system. The solution is based on the idea that independent components implement different kinds of control concerns...

  5. History of the Kansas Extension Service From 1868 to 1964; (Vol. I, II, III).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teagarden, Earl H., Comp.

    The comprehensive history of the Kansas Extension Service from 1868 is presented in three volumes and includes administration, information dissemination, club work, special area reports, personnel training, and continuing education. Administration involves such aspects as personnel, finances, organizational changes, cooperation with other agencies…

  6. Crop Farmers' Willingness to Pay for Agricultural Extension Services in Bangladesh: Cases of Selected Villages in Two Important Agro-Ecological Zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uddin, Ektear MD.; Gao, Qijie; Mamun-Ur-Rashid, MD.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Globally, many extension professionals and policy-makers are advocating fee based services, in addressing the fund shortage and sustainable provision of agricultural advisory services. Hence, the article attempts to expose the farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) as agricultural extension in Bangladesh is experiencing chronic fund crisis.…

  7. Lexical Link Analysis (LLA) Application: Improving Web Service to Defense Acquisition Visibility Environment (DAVE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-01

    1 LEXICAL LINK ANALYSIS (LLA) APPLICATION: IMPROVING WEB SERVICE TO DEFENSE ACQUISITION VISIBILITY ENVIRONMENT(DAVE) May 13-14, 2015 Dr. Ying...REPORT DATE MAY 2015 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2015 to 00-00-2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Lexical Link Analysis (LLA) Application...Making 3 2 1 3 L L A Methods • Lexical Link Analysis (LLA) Core – LLA Reports and Visualizations • Collaborative Learning Agents (CLA) for

  8. 77 FR 43560 - American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program; Proposed Waivers and Extensions of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-25

    ... Program; Proposed Waivers and Extensions of the Project Periods AGENCY: Office of Special Education and... rehabilitation services to American Indians with disabilities who reside on or near Federal or State reservations... documents published by the Department. Dated: July 19, 2012. Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary for Special...

  9. The Dilemma of Service Productivity and Service Innovation: An Empirical Exploration in Financial Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspara, Jaakko; Klein, Jan F; Luo, Xueming; Tikkanen, Henrikki

    2018-05-01

    We conduct a systematic exploratory investigation of the effects of firms' existing service productivity on the success of their new service innovations. Although previous research extensively addresses service productivity and service innovation, this is the first empirical study that bridges the gap between these two research streams and examines the links between the two concepts. Based on a comprehensive data set of new service introductions in a financial services market over a 14-year period, we empirically explore the relationship between a firm's existing service productivity and the firm's success in introducing new services to the market. The results unveil a fundamental service productivity-service innovation dilemma: Being productive in existing services increases a firm's willingness to innovate new services proactively but decreases the firm's capabilities of bringing these services to the market successfully. We provide specific insights into the mechanism underlying the complex relationship between a firm's productivity in existing services, its innovation proactivity, and its service innovation success. For managers, we not only unpack and elucidate this dilemma but also demonstrate that a focused customer scope and growth market conditions may enable firms to mitigate the dilemma and successfully pursue service productivity and service innovation simultaneously.

  10. Utilization of clean and safe delivery service package of health services extension program and associated factors in rural kebeles of Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayou, Negalign Berhanu; Gacho, Yohannes Haile Michael

    2013-07-01

    In Ethiopia, 94% of births take place at home unattended by trained persons. The government introduced an innovative strategy, Health Services Extension Program in 2003. Clean and safe delivery service is a component of maternal and child healthcare package of the program. However, little is known about the status of uptake of the service. This study thus aimed to assess utilization of clean and safe delivery service and associated factors in rural kebeles of Kafa Zone, Ethiopia. A community based cross sectional survey was conducted in rural kebeles of Kefa Zone from January 21(st) to February 25(th), 2009 using a sample of 229 mothers. Kafa Zone is located 465 kilometres away from Addis Ababa to southwest of Ethiopia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS for windows version 16. OR and 95% CI were calculated. Phistory of abortion, knowledge of danger signs and antenatal care attendance. Educating women and improving their knowledge about danger signs of pregnancy and labor is recommended. Health extension workers should consider antenatal care visits as opportunities for this purpose.

  11. Life extension, power upgrade, and return to service work for Pickering NGS and other PWR and CANDU plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Millman, J.; Idvorian, N.; Schneider, W.

    2002-01-01

    Work on life extension, power upgrade and return to service has been performed and is in progress for a number of PWR and CANDU plants. For PWR plants, power upgrade work has been done for the new replacement steam generators in several cases. This work consists of redoing the formal equipment qualification analysis and reports for the uprated operating conditions to support the application for license adjustment. Life extension assessments have been performed for several CANDU plants. These are highly detailed assessments in which the particular steam generator is reassessed part by part as to the ability of each to sustain full life operation and also extended life operation. Return to service work for Pickering NGSA specifically has included this type of assessment and also specific repair, cleaning and retrofit activities including secondary side inspection, waterlancing, divider plate repair, eddy current inspection, etc. Steam generator modifications and retrofit work have been performed in a number of cases. The paper discusses various life extension, power upgrade, equipment modification and return to service activities all of which are part of the renewed drive in the industry to realise the full potential of nuclear plants by getting more and better performance from the extended service of existing plants. (author)

  12. Multimedia applications in differential services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahfooz, S.; Merabti, M.; Pereira, R.

    2003-01-01

    In this paper we present a mechanism to provide Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees to different multimedia applications that share link bandwidth in IP-based differential services domain. In this mechanism weights are associated with each and to individual users according to their priorities. In order to evaluate the performance of our scheme we conducted simulations. The test data used portray different multimedia applications i.e. MPEG-2, IP telephony. The simulation results obtained show the effectiveness of our scheme for multimedia applications by allocating link share to each multimedia application and minimising end-to-end transmission delay 9Y bringing them in line with the recommended standard acceptable transmission delay for multimedia applications. This paper also presents extension to our proposed Relative Bandwidth Sharing (RES) scheme for differential services. We have identified and highlighted the role of border routers and core routers in differential services domain. Exploring features of Internet Protocol IPv6 in our architecture. (author)

  13. Open Innovation or Innovation in the Open? An Exploration of the Strategy–Innovation Link in Five Scale-Intensive Services

    OpenAIRE

    Breunig, Karl Joachim; Aas, Tor Helge; Hydle, Katja Maria

    2016-01-01

    This chapter explores the strategy–innovation link in open service innovations. The increased attention to the role of the firm's external environment on innovation has important implications for strategy. However, our literature review reveals that the strategy–innovation link is ambiguously treated in extant theory, especially with respect to open- and service-innovations. Therefore, we inductively explore innovation practices in five large scale-intensive service firms to establish the lin...

  14. 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

  15. 76 FR 55708 - Servicing Multi-Piece and Single Piece Rim Wheels; Extension of the Office of Management and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-08

    ...] Servicing Multi-Piece and Single Piece Rim Wheels; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB... concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Standard on Servicing Multi-Piece and Single Piece Rim Wheels (29...

  16. The Dilemma of Service Productivity and Service Innovation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aspara, Jaakko; Klein, Jan F.; Luo, Xueming; Tikkanen, Henrikki

    2017-01-01

    We conduct a systematic exploratory investigation of the effects of firms’ existing service productivity on the success of their new service innovations. Although previous research extensively addresses service productivity and service innovation, this is the first empirical study that bridges the gap between these two research streams and examines the links between the two concepts. Based on a comprehensive data set of new service introductions in a financial services market over a 14-year period, we empirically explore the relationship between a firm’s existing service productivity and the firm’s success in introducing new services to the market. The results unveil a fundamental service productivity-service innovation dilemma: Being productive in existing services increases a firm’s willingness to innovate new services proactively but decreases the firm’s capabilities of bringing these services to the market successfully. We provide specific insights into the mechanism underlying the complex relationship between a firm’s productivity in existing services, its innovation proactivity, and its service innovation success. For managers, we not only unpack and elucidate this dilemma but also demonstrate that a focused customer scope and growth market conditions may enable firms to mitigate the dilemma and successfully pursue service productivity and service innovation simultaneously. PMID:29706764

  17. 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

  18. Lexical Link Analysis Application: Improving Web Service to Acquisition Visibility Portal Phase II

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-30

    bäÉîÉåíÜ=^ååì~ä=^Åèìáëáíáçå= oÉëÉ~êÅÜ=póãéçëáìã= qÜìêëÇ~ó=pÉëëáçåë= sçäìãÉ=ff= = Lexical Link Analysis Application: Improving Web Service to...DATE 30 APR 2014 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2014 to 00-00-2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Lexical Link Analysis Application: Improving...vocabulary or lexicon, to describe the attributes and surrounding environment of the system. Lexical Link Analysis (LLA) is a form of text mining in which

  19. 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...

  20. 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.

  1. Service-Learning Linking Family Child Care Providers, Community Partners, and Preservice Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garner, Pamela W.; Parker, Tameka S.

    2016-01-01

    This article describes the implementation of a service-learning project, which was infused into a child development course. The project linked family child care providers, their licensing agency, and 39 preservice teachers in a joint effort to develop a parent handbook to be used by the providers in their child care businesses and to support…

  2. Using web services for linking genomic data to medical information systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maojo, V; Crespo, J; de la Calle, G; Barreiro, J; Garcia-Remesal, M

    2007-01-01

    To develop a new perspective for biomedical information systems, regarding the introduction of ideas, methods and tools related to the new scenario of genomic medicine. Technological aspects related to the analysis and integration of heterogeneous clinical and genomic data include mapping clinical and genetic concepts, potential future standards or the development of integrated biomedical ontologies. In this clinicomics scenario, we describe the use of Web services technologies to improve access to and integrate different information sources. We give a concrete example of the use of Web services technologies: the OntoFusion project. Web services provide new biomedical informatics (BMI) approaches related to genomic medicine. Customized workflows will aid research tasks by linking heterogeneous Web services. Two significant examples of these European Commission-funded efforts are the INFOBIOMED Network of Excellence and the Advancing Clinico-Genomic Trials on Cancer (ACGT) integrated project. Supplying medical researchers and practitioners with omics data and biologists with clinical datasets can help to develop genomic medicine. BMI is contributing by providing the informatics methods and technological infrastructure needed for these collaborative efforts.

  3. A Resolution in Service: SFX Usage Logs as a Basis for Link Resolver Menu Redesign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Highsmith, Anne L.; Ponsford, Bennett Claire

    2011-01-01

    In this study, three years of SFX usage logs at Texas A&M University were analyzed to determine how patrons use link resolver services. The study contrasts the actions taken by users when full text is and is not available and compares public versus staff usage. The results confirmed users' preference for full-text services but also provided…

  4. Economic Impact of e-Velanmai Model of Extension Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duraisamy Prabha

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available A study was carried out to assess the impact of e-Velanmai project, which is an ICT (Information and Communication Technology enabled extension service implemented by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, in three districts viz., Coimbatore, Tirupur and Villupuram of Tamil Nadu state, with 180 farmer respondents (90 e-Velanmai beneficiaries and 90 non-beneficiaries. Partial budgeting analysis revealed that the beneficiary respondentswith respect to yield, it is noticed that the yield value of beneficiaries was higher than that of the non-beneficiaries. As a result the net-gain for the beneficiaries was Rs. 28,481 per acre. With respect to the constraints faced by beneficiaries, an overwhelming percentage (94.40 % of the beneficiary respondents had expressed that they faced no constraints, while a small percentage (5.50 % indicated that there is no direct contact with TNAU Scientists’, and no follow-up visit by Field Coordinators after giving advice (1.10 %.

  5. An analysis of farm services centre (fsc) approach launched for agricultural extension in NWFP, pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haq, I.; Ali, T.; Zafar, M.I.

    2009-01-01

    Agricultural extension services have a pivotal role in agricultural and rural development. It is the major source of technology dissemination and helps the farmers to rationalize the use of natural resources for a sustainable agricultural development. Globally, public-private partnership approach in Agricultural Extension is considered more effective, efficient, and responsive to different categories of farmers. In Pakistan, government of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has initiated a public-private partnership Extension Programme in the province. This is locally called as Farm Services Centre (FSC). This approach has the inbuilt mechanism of inputs delivery, market facilitation, exchange of experiences and diffusion of knowledge and technology. However, the extent to which this public-private partnership is instrumental in achieving aforementioned objectives is yet to be established. The present study was an attempt to analyze this public-private partnership approach by measuring its strengths and weaknesses. For this purpose, out of 24 districts of NWFP, two districts namely Swabi and Lakimarwat were selected randomly. From these two districts, 491 FSC's member farmers were selected as respondents for interview on random basis. The analysis showed that the most prominent strength of FSC was farmers empowerment with mean 4.05 and SD 1.29, while that of Agriculture Extension Department (AED) was effective message delivery. As per respondents, the major weakness of both (FSC and AED) systems was no marketing facility with mean 4.12 and 4.13 and SD 1.22 and 1.01 respectively. It is essential that the government should ensure the mandated activities at FSC forum particularly the facilitation by line agencies and NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar. It should be a forum of technology dissemination, agricultural surplus produce marketing and cooperative farming. Agricultural Extension Department should provide more facilities to the staff indulged in FSC

  6. User contributions and public extension delivery modes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The high recurrent costs faced by the public extension service constraint the number of visits farmers receive. This study examined a number of extension communication channels through which farmers received farm management services/information from the public extension agent. The idea was, first, to find out the ...

  7. Linked open data for new library services: the example of data.bnf.fr

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romain Wenz

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF develops a new project, bringing together data from catalogues (MARC, archives (EAD and digital resources (DC. It makes links and publishes web pages, available at http://data.bnf.fr, with already about 750.000 linked resources. All the raw data is also displayed in RDF and available with an open licence. The presentation will explain the importance of authority files and identifiers to build this kind of service, an give a first feedback on how users have been reacting to it: what kind of content is being used.

  8. Perspective of agricultural extension in livestock production in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The extension communication methods used were visits, demonstration, workshop, training and excursion. The benefits of extension services were introduction of livestock species, marketing information, feed and feed ingredient supply, disease and pest control, and liaison services. Constraints to the use of extension ...

  9. Regional Approach for Linking Ecosystem Services and Livelihood Strategies Under Climate Change of Pastoral Communities in the Mongolian Steppe Ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojima, D. S.; Galvin, K.; Togtohyn, C.

    2012-12-01

    Dramatic changes due to climate and land use dynamics in the Mongolian Plateau affecting ecosystem services and agro-pastoral systems in Mongolia. Recently, market forces and development strategies are affecting land and water resources of the pastoral communities which are being further stressed due to climatic changes. Evaluation of pastoral systems, where humans depend on livestock and grassland ecosystem services, have demonstrated the vulnerability of the social-ecological system to climate change. Current social-ecological changes in ecosystem services are affecting land productivity and carrying capacity, land-atmosphere interactions, water resources, and livelihood strategies. The general trend involves greater intensification of resource exploitation at the expense of traditional patterns of extensive range utilization. Thus we expect climate-land use-land cover relationships to be crucially modified by the social-economic forces. The analysis incorporates information about the social-economic transitions taking place in the region which affect land-use, food security, and ecosystem dynamics. The region of study extends from the Mongolian plateau in Mongolia. Our research indicate that sustainability of pastoral systems in the region needs to integrate the impact of climate change on ecosystem services with socio-economic changes shaping the livelihood strategies of pastoral systems in the region. Adaptation strategies which incorporate integrated analysis of landscape management and livelihood strategies provides a framework which links ecosystem services to critical resource assets. Analysis of the available livelihood assets provides insights to the adaptive capacity of various agents in a region or in a community. Sustainable development pathways which enable the development of these adaptive capacity elements will lead to more effective adaptive management strategies for pastoral land use and herder's living standards. Pastoralists will have the

  10. Sustainable energy for all? Linking poor communities to modern energy services

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, Emma; Godfrey Wood, Rachel; Garside, Ben

    2012-12-15

    This paper explores energy delivery models that provide sustainable and clean energy services to the poor. Four key building blocks are: the implementation process, including finance, resource sourcing, conversion and end use; support services (additional services such as training or micro-finance facilities); the enabling environment of policies, regulations and incentives; and the socio-cultural context including local norms and preferences, decision-making structures and levels of social cohesion. A range of products and services targeted at communities located in diverse socio-cultural and geographical contexts are covered. Useful experiences are shared that can help to replicate or scale up successful models that link the poor to modern energy markets. The case studies were selected to illustrate a range of energy products and services, diverse socio-cultural contexts, various business models and partnerships, and varying degrees of formality in the markets under consideration. All of the case studies reveal the challenges of reaching the very poorest even with pro-poor innovations put in place. The four case studies explored in the paper are: The Project for Renewable Energy in Rural Markets (PERMER), Argentina; Portable solar product companies (Tough Stuff and d.light) in southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa; The Anagi stove in Sri Lanka; and, Micro-hydro development in Nepal (the Rural Energy Development Programme). Lessons learned are highlighted.

  11. Taking Innovation To Scale In Primary Care Practices: The Functions Of Health Care Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ono, Sarah S.; Crabtree, Benjamin F.; Hemler, Jennifer R.; Balasubramanian, Bijal A.; Edwards, Samuel T.; Green, Larry A.; Kaufman, Arthur; Solberg, Leif I.; Miller, William L.; Woodson, Tanisha Tate; Sweeney, Shannon M.; Cohen, Deborah J.

    2018-01-01

    Health care extension is an approach to providing external support to primary care practices with the aim of diffusing innovation. EvidenceNOW was launched to rapidly disseminate and implement evidence-based guidelines for cardiovascular preventive care in the primary care setting. Seven regional grantee cooperatives provided the foundational elements of health care extension—technological and quality improvement support, practice capacity building, and linking with community resources—to more than two hundred primary care practices in each region. This article describes how the cooperatives varied in their approaches to extension and provides early empirical evidence that health care extension is a feasible and potentially useful approach for providing quality improvement support to primary care practices. With investment, health care extension may be an effective platform for federal and state quality improvement efforts to create economies of scale and provide practices with more robust and coordinated support services. PMID:29401016

  12. Health Extension Workers' and Mothers' Attitudes to Maternal Health Service Utilization and Acceptance in Adwa Woreda, Tigray Region, Ethiopia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth Jackson

    Full Text Available The maternal health system in Ethiopia links health posts in rural communities (kebeles with district (woreda health centres, and health centres with primary hospitals. At each health post two Health Extension Workers (HEWs assist women with birth preparedness, complication readiness, and mobilize communities to facilitate timely referral to mid-level service providers. This study explored HEWs' and mother's attitudes to maternal health services in Adwa Woreda, Tigray Region.In this qualitative study, we trained 16 HEWs to interview 45 women to gain a better understanding of the social context of maternal health related behaviours. Themes included barriers to health services; women's social status and mobility; and women's perceptions of skilled birth attendant's care. All data were analyzed thematically.There have been substantial efforts to improve maternal health and reduce maternal mortality in Adwa Woreda. Women identified barriers to healthcare including distance and lack of transportation due to geographical factors; the absence of many husbands due to off-woreda farming; traditional factors such as zwar (some pregnant women are afraid of meeting other pregnant women, and discouragement from mothers and mothers-in-law who delivered their children at home. Some women experienced disrespectful care at the hospital. Facilitators to skilled birth attendance included: identification of pregnant women through Women's Development Groups (WDGs, and referral by ambulance to health facilities either before a woman's Expected Due Date (EDD or if labour started at home.With the support of WDGs, HEWs have increased the rate of skilled birth attendance by calling ambulances to transfer women to health centres either before their EDD or when labour starts at home. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that health workers at the community level can work with women's groups to improve maternal health, thus reducing the need for emergency

  13. Journal of Agricultural Extension

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scope of journal The Journal of Agricultural Extension" is devoted to the advancement of knowledge of agricultural extension services and practice through the publication of original and empirically based research, ... Vol 22, No 1 (2018) ... Symbol recognition and interpretation of HIV/AIDS pictorial messages among rural ...

  14. Regional Approach for Managing for Resilience Linking Ecosystem Services and Livelihood Strategies for Agro-Pastoral Communities in the Mongolian Steppe Ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojima, D. S.; Togtohyn, C.; Qi, J.; Galvin, K.

    2011-12-01

    Dramatic changes due to climate and land use dynamics in the Mongolian Plateau are affecting ecosystem services and agro-pastoral livelihoods in Mongolia and China. Recently, evaluation of pastoral systems, where humans depend on livestock and grassland ecosystem services, have demonstrated the vulnerability of the social-ecological system to climate change. Current social-ecological changes in ecosystem services are affecting land productivity and carrying capacity, land-atmosphere interactions, water resources, and livelihood strategies. Regional dust events, changes in hydrological cycle, and land use changes contribute to changing interactions between ecosystem and landscape processes which then affect social-ecological systems. The general trend involves greater intensification of resource exploitation at the expense of traditional patterns of extensive range utilization. Thus we expect climate-land use-land cover relationships to be crucially modified by the socio-economic forces. The analysis incorporates information of the socio-economic transitions taking place in the region which affect land-use, food security, and ecosystem dynamics. The region of study extends from the Mongolian plateau in Mongolia and China to the fertile northeast China plain. Sustainability of agro-pastoral systems in the region needs to integrate the impact of climate change on ecosystem services with socio-economic changes shaping the livelihood strategies of pastoral systems in the region. Adaptation strategies which incorporate landscape management provides a potential framework to link ecosystem services across space and time more effectively to meet the needs of agro-pastoral land use, herd quality, and herder's living standards. Under appropriate adaptation strategies agro-pastoralists will have the opportunity to utilize seasonal resources and enhance their ability to process and manufacture products from the available ecosystem services in these dynamic social

  15. extension staffs' perceptions of factors affecting co-ordination

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ian

    organizations involved in delivery of agricultural extension services. To improve service ... extension in Rakai district would improve the performance of the District's agricultural ... their nature (public, private or firm-oriented) and their goals, and.

  16. Hacking 360 Link: A hybrid approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Durno

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available When the University of Victoria Libraries switched from a locally-hosted link resolver (SFX to a vendor-hosted link resolver (360Link, new strategies were required to effectively integrate the vendor-hosted link resolver with the Libraries' other systems and services. Custom javascript is used to add links to the 360Link page; these links then point at local PHP code running on UVic servers, which can then redirect to appropriate local service or display a form directly. An open source PHP OpenURL parser class is announced. Consideration is given to the importance of maintaining open protocols and standards in the transition to vendor-hosted services.

  17. Interdependence and dynamics of essential services in an extensive risk context: a case study in Montserrat, West Indies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sword-Daniels, V. L.; Rossetto, T.; Wilson, T. M.; Sargeant, S.

    2015-05-01

    The essential services that support urban living are complex and interdependent, and their disruption in disasters directly affects society. Yet there are few empirical studies to inform our understanding of the vulnerabilities and resilience of complex infrastructure systems in disasters. This research takes a systems thinking approach to explore the dynamic behaviour of a network of essential services, in the presence and absence of volcanic ashfall hazards in Montserrat, West Indies. Adopting a case study methodology and qualitative methods to gather empirical data, we centre the study on the healthcare system and its interconnected network of essential services. We identify different types of relationship between sectors and develop a new interdependence classification system for analysis. Relationships are further categorised by hazard conditions, for use in extensive risk contexts. During heightened volcanic activity, relationships between systems transform in both number and type: connections increase across the network by 41%, and adapt to increase cooperation and information sharing. Interconnections add capacities to the network, increasing the resilience of prioritised sectors. This in-depth and context-specific approach provides a new methodology for studying the dynamics of infrastructure interdependence in an extensive risk context, and can be adapted for use in other hazard contexts.

  18. Enhanced design, operation and maintenance practices for a longer plant service life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raimondo, E.; Courcoux, A.

    2004-01-01

    Plant service life problems have been under detailed investigation in France and the experience acquired by our company over the past 25 years in the design, construction and maintenance of Pressurized Water Reactors has contributed to develop skills, equipment and capabilities available for efficient plant aging management and component service life extension. The service life of a nuclear power plant is deeply dependant of the provisions made during the design stage, directly linked to good operating conditions and adequate maintenance practices. This paper presents the importance of these three steps (design, operation and maintenance) for plant service life concern. (author)

  19. Health Extension in New Mexico: An Academic Health Center and the Social Determinants of Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Arthur; Powell, Wayne; Alfero, Charles; Pacheco, Mario; Silverblatt, Helene; Anastasoff, Juliana; Ronquillo, Francisco; Lucero, Ken; Corriveau, Erin; Vanleit, Betsy; Alverson, Dale; Scott, Amy

    2010-01-01

    The Agricultural Cooperative Extension Service model offers academic health centers methodologies for community engagement that can address the social determinants of disease. The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center developed Health Extension Rural Offices (HEROs) as a vehicle for its model of health extension. Health extension agents are located in rural communities across the state and are supported by regional coordinators and the Office of the Vice President for Community Health at the Health Sciences Center. The role of agents is to work with different sectors of the community in identifying high-priority health needs and linking those needs with university resources in education, clinical service and research. Community needs, interventions, and outcomes are monitored by county health report cards. The Health Sciences Center is a large and varied resource, the breadth and accessibility of which are mostly unknown to communities. Community health needs vary, and agents are able to tap into an array of existing health center resources to address those needs. Agents serve a broader purpose beyond immediate, strictly medical needs by addressing underlying social determinants of disease, such as school retention, food insecurity, and local economic development. Developing local capacity to address local needs has become an overriding concern. Community-based health extension agents can effectively bridge those needs with academic health center resources and extend those resources to address the underlying social determinants of disease. PMID:20065282

  20. Linking demand and supply factors in identifying cultural ecosystem services of urban green infrastructures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hegetschweiler, K. Tessa; de Vries, Sjerp; Arnberger, Arne

    2017-01-01

    and supply factors together. The aim was to provide an overview of this highly interdisciplinary research, to describe how these linkages are being made and to identify which factors significantly influence dependent variables such as levels of use, activities or health and well-being benefits. Commonly used......Urban green infrastructure provides a number of cultural ecosystem services that are greatly appreciated by the public. In order to benefit from these services, actual contact with the respective ecosystem is often required. Furthermore, the type of services offered depend on the physical...... characteristics of the ecosystem. We conducted a review of publications dealing with demand or social factors such as user needs, preferences and values as well as spatially explicit supply or physical factors such as amount of green space, (bio)diversity, recreational infrastructure, etc. and linking demand...

  1. Extension of Small-Scale Postharvest Horticulture Technologies—A Model Training and Services Center

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Kitinoja

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available A pilot Postharvest Training and Services Center (PTSC was launched in October 2012 in Arusha, Tanzania as part of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID funded project. The five key components of the PTSC are (1 training of postharvest trainers, (2 postharvest training and demonstrations for local small-scale clientele, (3 adaptive research, (4 postharvest services, and (5 retail sales of postharvest tools and supplies. During the years of 2011–2012, a one year e-learning program was provided to 36 young horticultural professionals from seven Sub-Saharan African countries. These postharvest specialists went on to train more than 13,000 local farmers, extension workers, food processors, and marketers in their home countries in the year following completion of their course. Evaluators found that these specialists had trained an additional 9300 people by November 2014. When asked about adoption by their local trainees, 79% reported examples of their trainees using improved postharvest practices. From 2012–2013, the project supported 30 multi-day training programs, and the evaluation found that many of the improved practices being promoted were adopted by the trainees and led to increased earnings. Three PTSC components still require attention. Research activities initiated during the project are incomplete, and successful sales of postharvest goods and services will require commitment and improved partnering.

  2. How to make agricultural extension demand-driven?: The case of India's agricultural extension policy

    OpenAIRE

    Birner, Regina; Anderson, Jock R.

    2007-01-01

    "Many countries have recognized the need to revive agricultural advisory or extension services (the terms are used interchangeably here) as a means of using agriculture as an engine of pro-poor growth; reaching marginalized, poor, and female farmers; and addressing new challenges, such as environmental degradation and climate change. In spite of ample experience with extension reform worldwide, identifying the reform options most likely to make extension more demand-driven remains a major cha...

  3. The Impact Of Information And Communication In Extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The article examines the impact of information and communication in extension services to rural farmers in Niger- Delta. Questionnaire, interview and personal observation methods were employed to elicit information on the impact information and communication in extension services to rural farmers. The study reveals the ...

  4. Differentiated protection services with failure probability guarantee for workflow-based applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Yaoquan; Guo, Wei; Jin, Yaohui; Sun, Weiqiang; Hu, Weisheng

    2010-12-01

    A cost-effective and service-differentiated provisioning strategy is very desirable to service providers so that they can offer users satisfactory services, while optimizing network resource allocation. Providing differentiated protection services to connections for surviving link failure has been extensively studied in recent years. However, the differentiated protection services for workflow-based applications, which consist of many interdependent tasks, have scarcely been studied. This paper investigates the problem of providing differentiated services for workflow-based applications in optical grid. In this paper, we develop three differentiated protection services provisioning strategies which can provide security level guarantee and network-resource optimization for workflow-based applications. The simulation demonstrates that these heuristic algorithms provide protection cost-effectively while satisfying the applications' failure probability requirements.

  5. Improving Disability Awareness among Extension Agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahadevan, Lakshmi; Peterson, Rick L.; Grenwelge, Cheryl

    2014-01-01

    Increasing prevalence rates and legislative mandates imply that educators, parents, and Extension agents will need better tools and resources to meet the needs of special populations. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service addresses this issue by using e-learning tools. Extension agents can take advantage of these courses to gain critical…

  6. Linking Resource-Based Strategies to Customer-Focused Performance for Professional Services: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Lu Wu

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper links professional service firms’ resource-based strategies to their customer-focused performance for formulating service quality improvement priorities. The research applies the structural equation modelling approach to survey data from Hong Kong construction consultants to test some hypotheses. The study validates the various measures of firms’ resource-based strategies and customer-focused performance and bridges the gaps in firms’ organizational learning, core competences and customer-focused performance mediated by their strategic flexibility. The research results have practical implications for professional service firms to deploy resources appropriately to first enhance different competences and then improve customerfocused performance using their different competences.

  7. The Independence Pipeline project : ANR's supply link - Independence Pipeline, Transco's market link

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Persells, T.

    1998-01-01

    An overview of the Independence Pipeline project was presented. The project offers access from Chicago to the U.S. Midwest market, as well as to Ontario via MichCon, Consumers Power, Great Lakes and Panhandle. The project has three components: ANR's Supply Link, the Independence Pipeline and Transco's MarketLink. The three components are budgeted at $ 1.332 billion dollars and projected for completion between Nov 1999 and Nov 2000. Each component (services, access advantages, market links, rates, storage services, etc ) are described separately. figs

  8. Towards designing a new agricultural extension service for the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Financial support; · Institutional support (technical and skills); · Communication; and · Staffing. This paper is aimed at discussing the identified factors, related to organizational and human capital development, that are essential for effective extension and will propose the basis and design framework of an extension model ...

  9. Replacement of major nuclear power plant components for service life extension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novak, S.

    1987-01-01

    Problems are discussed associated with replacement of nuclear power plant components with the aim to extend their original scheduled life. The existing foreign experience shows that it is technically feasible to replace practically all basic components for which the necessity of replacement is established. Data is summed up on the replacement of steam generators in US and West German nuclear power plants showing the duration of the job, the total consumption of manhours, the collective dose equivalent and the cost. Attention is also focused on implemented and projected replacements of circulation pipes in nuclear power plants abroad. Based on these figures, the cost is estimated of the replacement of the reactor vessel and the steam generators for WWER-440 nuclear power plants. The conclusion is arrived at that even based on a conservative estimate, the extension by 20 years of the service life of a nuclear power plant is economically more effective than the construction of a new plant. (Z.M.) 2 tabs., 15 refs., 3 figs

  10. Military service absences and family members' mental health: A timeline followback assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Aubrey J; Margolin, Gayla

    2015-08-01

    Although military service, and particularly absence due to deployment, has been linked to risk for depression and anxiety among some spouses and children of active duty service members, there is limited research to explain the heterogeneity in family members' reactions to military service stressors. The current investigation introduces the Timeline Followback Military Family Interview (TFMFI) as a clinically useful strategy to collect detailed time-linked information about the service member's absences. Two dimensions of parent absence--the extent to which absences coincide with important family events and cumulative time absent--were tested as potential risks to family members' mental health. Data from 70 mother-adolescent pairs revealed that the number of important family events missed by the service member was linked to elevated youth symptoms of depression, even when accounting for the number of deployments and cumulative duration of the service member's absence. However, youth who reported more frequent contact with the service member during absences were buffered from the effects of extensive absence. Mothers' symptoms were associated with the cumulative duration of the service members' time away, but not with family events missed by the service member. These results identify circumstances that increase the risk for mental health symptoms associated with military family life. The TFMFI provides an interview-based strategy for clinicians wishing to understand military family members' lived experience during periods of service-member absence. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Tampa Bay Extension Agents’ Views of Urban Extension: Philosophy and Program Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy Harder

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article was to explore the concept of urban Extension as perceived by Extension agents within the Tampa Bay area, one of Florida’s fastest growing metropolitan areas. From a theoretical perspective, it is critical to understand Extension agents’ beliefs about urban Extension because behaviors are directly related to attitudes (Ajzen, 2012. In 2016, a qualitative investigation was undertaken to explore the perspectives of 23 agents working within the Tampa Bay area. Results showed the majority of agents believed that context and client needs are unique for urban Extension, and that to a lesser extent, unique agent expertise is required. Further, these beliefs impacted how agents reported their approach to programming, with an emphasis on providing convenience and seeking partnerships. Difficulties were identified related to identifying the role of Extension in a resource-rich environment of service providers, which contributed to the existence of a perceived disconnect between urban audiences and Extension. Opportunities exist for Extension leadership to provide strategic organizational support that will enhance agents’ abilities to succeed in the metropolitan environment.

  12. A Quantitative Assessment of an Outsourced Agricultural Extension Service in the Umzimkhulu District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyne, Michael C.; Jonas, Nomonde; Ortmann, Gerald F.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: This study evaluates the impact of an outsourced extension service delivered by Lima Rural Development Foundation (Lima) in the Umzimkhulu district of South Africa. The evaluation is conducted at both the household and program levels. Design/methodology/approach: Household impacts were estimated using two-stage regression with…

  13. Smoking and use of primary care services: findings from a population-based cohort study linked with administrative claims data

    OpenAIRE

    Jorm, Louisa R; Shepherd, Leah C; Rogers, Kris D; Blyth, Fiona M

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Background Available evidence suggests that smokers have a lower propensity than others to use primary care services. But previous studies have incorporated only limited adjustment for confounding and mediating factors such as income, access to services and health status. We used data from a large prospective cohort study (the 45 and Up Study), linked to administrative claims data, to quantify the relationship between smoking status and use of primary care services, including specifi...

  14. Space Link Extension (SLE) Emulation for High-Throughput Network Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murawski, Robert W.; Tchorowski, Nicole; Golden, Bert

    2014-01-01

    As the data rate requirements for space communications increases, significant stress is placed not only on the wireless satellite communication links, but also on the ground networks which forward data from end-users to remote ground stations. These wide area network (WAN) connections add delay and jitter to the end-to-end satellite communication link, effects which can have significant impacts on the wireless communication link. It is imperative that any ground communication protocol can react to these effects such that the ground network does not become a bottleneck in the communication path to the satellite. In this paper, we present our SCENIC Emulation Lab testbed which was developed to test the CCSDS SLE protocol implementations proposed for use on future NASA communication networks. Our results show that in the presence of realistic levels of network delay, high-throughput SLE communication links can experience significant data rate throttling. Based on our observations, we present some insight into why this data throttling happens, and trace the probable issue back to non-optimal blocking communication which is sup-ported by the CCSDS SLE API recommended practices. These issues were presented as well to the SLE implementation developers which, based on our reports, developed a new release for SLE which we show fixes the SLE blocking issue and greatly improves the protocol throughput. In this paper, we also discuss future developments for our end-to-end emulation lab and how these improvements can be used to develop and test future space communication technologies.

  15. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Learn the Link campaign uses TV, print, and Web public service announcements (PSAs), as well as posters, e-cards, ... to misuse drugs. The Learn the Link public service campaign is just one ... site. Sincerely, Nora D. Volkow, M.D. Director ...

  16. Evaluating the Impact of Business Service Expertise and Business Links on the Performance of SMEs in England

    OpenAIRE

    John Bryson; David Ingram; Peter Daniels

    1999-01-01

    The last decade has seen a growing body of research on information-intensive business service firms. These are companies that supply expertise and knowledge which are considered to add value to the output of their clients. This paper explores the impact of business service expertise provided via business link on the performance, profitability and competitiveness of client companies. The authors use a unique survey of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in England as well as case studies...

  17. Nonlinear Optimization-Based Device-Free Localization with Outlier Link Rejection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wendong Xiao

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Device-free localization (DFL is an emerging wireless technique for estimating the location of target that does not have any attached electronic device. It has found extensive use in Smart City applications such as healthcare at home and hospitals, location-based services at smart spaces, city emergency response and infrastructure security. In DFL, wireless devices are used as sensors that can sense the target by transmitting and receiving wireless signals collaboratively. Many DFL systems are implemented based on received signal strength (RSS measurements and the location of the target is estimated by detecting the changes of the RSS measurements of the wireless links. Due to the uncertainty of the wireless channel, certain links may be seriously polluted and result in erroneous detection. In this paper, we propose a novel nonlinear optimization approach with outlier link rejection (NOOLR for RSS-based DFL. It consists of three key strategies, including: (1 affected link identification by differential RSS detection; (2 outlier link rejection via geometrical positional relationship among links; (3 target location estimation by formulating and solving a nonlinear optimization problem. Experimental results demonstrate that NOOLR is robust to the fluctuation of the wireless signals with superior localization accuracy compared with the existing Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI approach.

  18. The Role of Health Extension Workers in Linking Pregnant Women With Health Facilities for Delivery in Rural and Pastoralist Areas of Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Ruth; Hailemariam, Assefa

    2016-09-01

    Women's preference to give birth at home is deeply embedded in Ethiopian culture. Many women only go to health facilities if they have complications during birth. Health Extension Workers (HEWs) have been deployed to improve the utilization of maternal health services by bridging the gap between communities and health facilities. This study examined the barriers and facilitators for HEWs as they refer women to mid-level health facilities for birth. A qualitative study was conducted in three regions: Afar Region, Southern Nations Nationalities and People's Region and Tigray Region between March to December 2014. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 45 HEWs, 14 women extension workers (employed by Afar Pastoralist Development Association, Afar Region) and 11 other health workers from health centers, hospitals or health offices. Data analysis was done based on collating the data and identifying key themes. Barriers to health facilities included distance, lack of transportation, sociocultural factors and disrespectful care. Facilitators for facility-based deliveries included liaising with Health Development Army (HDA) leaders to refer women before their expected due date or if labour starts at home; the introduction of ambulance services; and, provision of health services that are culturally more acceptable for women. HEWs can effectively refer more women to give birth in health facilities when the HDA is well established, when health staff provide respectful care, and when ambulance is available at any time.

  19. Linking the benefits of ecosystem services to sustainable spatial planning of ecological conservation strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Lin; Cao, Wei; Xu, Xinliang; Fan, Jiangwen; Wang, Junbang

    2018-09-15

    The maintenance and improvement of ecosystem services on the Tibet Plateau are critical for national ecological security in China and are core objectives of ecological conservation in this region. In this paper, ecosystem service benefits of the Tibet Ecological Conservation Project were comprehensively assessed by estimating and mapping the spatiotemporal variation patterns of critical ecosystem services on the Tibet Plateau from 2000 to 2015. Furthermore, we linked the benefit assessment to the sustainable spatial planning of future ecological conservation strategies. Comparing the 8 years before and after the project, the water retention and carbon sink services of the forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems were slightly increased after the project, and the ecosystem sand fixation service has been steadily enhanced. The increasing forage supply service of grassland significantly reduced the grassland carrying pressure and eased the conflict between grassland and livestock. However, enhanced rainfall erosivity occurred due to increased rainfall, and root-layer soils could not recover in a short period of time, both factors have led to a decline in soil conservation service. The warm and humid climate is beneficial for the restoration of ecosystems on the Tibet Plateau, and the implementation of the Tibet Ecological Conservation Project has had a positive effect on the local improvement of ecosystem services. A new spatial planning strategy for ecological conservation was introduced and aims to establish a comprehensive, nationwide system to protect important natural ecosystems and wildlife, and to promote the sustainable use of natural resources. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Life extension economic analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smithling, A.P.

    1992-01-01

    Life extension economic analyses of fossil fueled power plants need the development of consistent methods which consider the capital costs associated with component replacement or repair and estimates of normal station capital expenditures over the units remaining life. In order to link capital and production costs, Niagra Mohawk Power Corp. develops most and worst cases. A most case includes capital components that would definitely need replacement or modification for life extension. The worst case scenario contains must case capital costs plus various components which may need replacement or modification. In addition, two forecasted conditions are used, base case capacity and low capacity

  1. transforming agriculture through contracted extension service

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ACSS

    Agribusiness Project (KAPAP) is implementing an innovative service delivery model, whose approaches include ... in Kenya and in other developing nations with minimal modifications. ... declining human and financial capital, lack of.

  2. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    National Agricultural Extension Research Liaison Services (NAERGLS), ... agricultural extension, the organization is meant to serve the extension, ... farm families ratio, extension agents (EAs) training, and the likely causes of the problem.

  3. Decouplink: Dynamic Links for Java

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Martin Lykke Rytter; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

    2011-01-01

    of dimensions of extension that can be exploited without performing modification of existing types. Thus, dynamic links make it possible to enforce the open/closed principle in situations where it would otherwise not be possible. We present Decouplink – a library-based implementation of dynamic links for Java...

  4. The G4R GMES Academy - linking research, academia, service providers and local authorities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeil, Peter; Tramutoli, Valerio

    2013-04-01

    The GMES Academy intends to enhance the role of the academic and R&D communities in the evolution of EO & GI services. The GMES4Regions G4R initiative, aiming to strengthen the link between GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) and European regions, inaugurated the GMES Academy at the University Mozarteum of Salzburg (Austria) on 13th - 14th September 2012. This academy has been created with the objective of fostering a dialogue among the private sector, Local and Regional Administration (LRA) and the academic and research community, in order to improve the development of Earth Observation (EO) and Geographic Information (GI) services. On this occasion, Z_GIS, the Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics of Salzburg University, hosted the round table "Fostering Downstream Services for the Regions - contributions from Research & Academia," during which the participants had the opportunity to discuss with representatives of the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) the future role of the academic community in this domain. Stakeholders from the academic and R&D world adopted the 'Salzburg Declaration on GMES related Research', calling for strengthening connections between research activities and educational programmes to improve GMES services. The Declaration calls mainly for: • fostering education and training on GMES • ensuring cooperation among the academic and research community through the GMES Academy • maintaining a political commitment towards the implementation of such academic initiatives. The GMES Academy is established as a platform with six components: GATEWAY - the directory of Universities and Research Centres BRIDGE - an inventory of research briefs documenting the latest offerings from research to effective applications FACILITATOR - a portal to seek or propose internships or contract research across Europe and addressing outreach and advocacy: LINK - Access to the repository of on-going GMES related

  5. Performance Evaluation of IP Based Multimedia Services in UMTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riri Fitri SARI

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents our work in the performance evaluation of UMTS network based on simulation. Enhanced UMTS Radio Access Network Extensions for NS-2 (EURANE developed by SEACORN has brought us to the higher phase of UMTS simulation in third generation wireless telecommunication system. Wireless 3G is designed to be able to deliver various kind of multimedia package through an IP network for the purpose of easier interconnection with fixed network with various existing multimedia services. Multimedia services with their bandwidth consumption characteristics are able to be sent through a UMTS network with the existence of High Speed Data Packet Access (HSPDA in Release 5. Quality of Service (QoS is a major concern in multimedia services. This paper shows the performance analysis of a number of multimedia services and their QoS using HSDPA in UMTS. The experiments were based on EURANE extension for NS-2. From the simulation conducted, we found that Unacknowledged Mode (UM in Radio Link Control (RLC will perform better for QoS class number 1 (VoIP and 2 (Video Streaming, while Acknowledged Mode (AM mode are more suitable for QoS class number 3 (web server and 4 (FTP.

  6. Service employees give as they get: internal service as a moderator of the service climate-service outcomes link.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrhart, Karen Holcombe; Witt, L A; Schneider, Benjamin; Perry, Sara Jansen

    2011-03-01

    We lend theoretical insight to the service climate literature by exploring the joint effects of branch service climate and the internal service provided to the branch (the service received from corporate units to support external service delivery) on customer-rated service quality. We hypothesized that service climate is related to service quality most strongly when the internal service quality received is high, providing front-line employees with the capability to deliver what the service climate motivates them to do. We studied 619 employees and 1,973 customers in 36 retail branches of a bank. We aggregated employee perceptions of the internal service quality received from corporate units and the local service climate and external customer perceptions of service quality to the branch level of analysis. Findings were consistent with the hypothesis that high-quality internal service is necessary for branch service climate to yield superior external customer service quality. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

  7. Is boundary extension emotionally selective?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ménétrier, Emmanuelle; Didierjean, André; Vieillard, Sandrine

    2013-01-01

    When they have to memorize a picture, people usually build a memory trace including more extensive boundaries than the original picture, a phenomenon known as boundary extension or BE. This article looks at whether the emotion category expressed (i.e., happiness, pleasure, irritation, or anger) by actors in short films could have an influence on the BE effect. The results showed that positively valenced emotions (happiness, pleasure) led to an extension effect, while the negatively valenced ones (anger, irritation) did not produce any significant memory distortion. The arousal dimension of emotions had no significant effect on BE. The current results were discussed in the light of previous studies on the links between BE and emotions.

  8. [A cross-level analysis of the links between service quality and disconfirmation of expectations and customer satisfaction].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Hernández, Rosa M; Martínez-Tur, Vicente; González-Morales, M Gloria; Ramos, José; Peiró, José M

    2009-08-01

    This article examines links between disconfirmation of expectations and functional and relational service quality perceived by employees and customer satisfaction. A total of 156 employees, who were working in 52 work units, participated in the research study. In addition, 517 customers who were assisted by these work units were surveyed. Using a cross-level approach, we used a random coefficient model to test the aforementioned relationships. A strong relationship between disconfirmation of expectations and customer satisfaction was observed. Also, the results confirmed that functional service quality maintains an additional and significant association with customer satisfaction. In contrast, there were no significant relationships between relational service quality and customer satisfaction. The article concludes with a discussion of these results.

  9. Linking ecosystem services with cultural landscape research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schaich, Harald; Biding, Claudia; Plieninger, Tobias

    2010-01-01

    The concept of ecosystem services facilitates the valuation of the multiple services from ecosystems and landscapes, the identification of trade-offs between different land use scenarios, and also informs decision making in land use planning. Unfortunately, cultural services have been mostly...... neglected within the ecosystem services framework. This could result in trade-off assessments which are biased and mislead ecosystem management and landscape planning. However, cultural landscape research approaches have proven valuable in the assessment of different nonmaterial landscape values...... and cultural services. In this paper, we compare the objectives, approaches, and methodologies adopted by ecosystem services research and cultural landscape research through a bibliographic research. Both research communities investigate the human dimension of ecosystems and landscapes and, hence, study...

  10. Linking household and health facility surveys to assess obstetric service availability, readiness and coverage: evidence from 17 low- and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanyangarara, Mufaro; Chou, Victoria B; Creanga, Andreea A; Walker, Neff

    2018-06-01

    Improving access and quality of obstetric service has the potential to avert preventable maternal, neonatal and stillborn deaths, yet little is known about the quality of care received. This study sought to assess obstetric service availability, readiness and coverage within and between 17 low- and middle-income countries. We linked health facility data from the Service Provision Assessments and Service Availability and Readiness Assessments, with corresponding household survey data obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Based on performance of obstetric signal functions, we defined four levels of facility emergency obstetric care (EmOC) functionality: comprehensive (CEmOC), basic (BEmOC), BEmOC-2, and low/substandard. Facility readiness was evaluated based on the direct observation of 23 essential items; facilities "ready to provide obstetric services" had ≥20 of 23 items available. Across countries, we used medians to characterize service availability and readiness, overall and by urban-rural location; analyses also adjusted for care-seeking patterns to estimate population-level coverage of obstetric services. Of the 111 500 health facilities surveyed, 7545 offered obstetric services and were included in the analysis. The median percentages of facilities offering EmOC and "ready to provide obstetric services" were 19% and 10%, respectively. There were considerable urban-rural differences, with absolute differences of 19% and 29% in the availability of facilities offering EmOC and "ready to provide obstetric services", respectively. Adjusting for care-seeking patterns, results from the linking approach indicated that among women delivering in a facility, a median of 40% delivered in facilities offering EmOC, and 28% delivered in facilities "ready to provide obstetric services". Relatively higher coverage of facility deliveries (≥65%) and coverage of deliveries in facilities "ready to provide obstetric

  11. Facilitating mobile service provisioning in IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) using service oriented architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Radovanovic, I.; Ray, A.; Lukkien, J.J.; Chaudron, M.R.V.; Krämer, B.J.; Lin, K.J.; Narasimhan, P.

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents an extension of the IMS software architecture using a service orientation, which provides flexibility of mobile service provisioning. The suggested extension facilitates composition of new mobile services in run-time based on the existing services and enables the end users to

  12. Research-extension-farmer linkages

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    agricultural research and extension services, Government in 1990 set up a number of ... charged with the role of articulating the most appropriate research and ... production of 1800 copies of NARO bulletin, 1000 copies of Uganda Journal of ...

  13. Suggesting a new paradigm for agricultural extension policy: the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In terms of approaches and functions, the study found that public sector extension in West Africa is undergoing transformation including decentralization and outsourcing extension services in the context of adopting a pluralistic system of extension delivery. While up to six models of extension are a commonly applied in the ...

  14. Impacts of extension access and cooperative membership on technology adoption and household welfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wossen, Tesfamicheal; Abdoulaye, Tahirou; Alene, Arega; Haile, Mekbib G; Feleke, Shiferaw; Olanrewaju, Adetunji; Manyong, Victor

    2017-08-01

    This paper examines the impacts of access to extension services and cooperative membership on technology adoption, asset ownership and poverty using household-level data from rural Nigeria. Using different matching techniques and endogenous switching regression approach, we find that both extension access and cooperative membership have a positive and statistically significant effect on technology adoption and household welfare. Moreover, we find that both extension access and cooperative membership have heterogeneous impacts. In particular, we find evidence of a positive selection as the average treatment effects of extension access and cooperative membership are higher for farmers with the highest propensity to access extension and cooperative services. The impact of extension services on poverty reduction and of cooperatives on technology adoption is significantly stronger for smallholders with access to formal credit than for those without access. This implies that expanding rural financial markets can maximize the potential positive impacts of extension and cooperative services on farmers' productivity and welfare.

  15. 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 ...

  16. Linking Land Cover Data and Crop Yields for Mapping and Assessment of Pollination Services in Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Luisa Paracchini

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Pollination is a key ecosystem service as many crops but in particular, fruits and vegetables are partially dependent on pollinating insects to produce food for human consumption. Here we assessed how pollination services are delivered at the European scale. We used this assessment to estimate the relative contribution of wild pollinators to crop production. We developed an index of relative pollination potential, which is defined as the relative potential or relative capacity of ecosystems to support crop pollination. The model for relative pollination potential is based on the assumption that different habitats, but in particular forest edges, grasslands rich in flowers and riparian areas, offer suitable sites for wild pollinator insects. Using data of the foraging range of wild bees with short flight distances, we linked relative pollination potential to regional statistics of crop production. At aggregated EU level, the absence of insect pollination would result in a reduction of between 25% and 32% of the total production of crops which are partially dependent on insect pollination, depending on the data source used for the assessment. This production deficit decreases to 2.5% if only the relative pollination potential of a single guild of pollinators is considered. A strength of our approach is the spatially-explicit link between land cover based relative pollination potential and crop yield which enables a general assessment of the benefits that are derived from pollination services in Europe while providing insight where pollination gaps in the landscape occur.

  17. Public extension agents' need for new competencies: evidence from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Small yield differences between Extension service-recipients and non-recipients indicate that Extension support has minimal effect on farmers' production. Agents need new competencies regarding correct application conservation agriculture. The study recommends the involvement of extension agents, scientists and ...

  18. The Effects of Different Aspects of Tourism Services on Travelers' Quality of Life: Model Validation, Refinement, and Extension

    OpenAIRE

    Neal, Janet Davis

    2000-01-01

    The Effects of Different Aspects of Tourism Services on Travelers' Quality of Life: Model Validation, Refinement, and Extension by Janet Davis Neal ABSTRACT Numerous satisfaction studies have been conducted in both tourism and marketing which have examined various aspects of travelers and/or consumers. Quality of life satisfaction studies look beyond the types of satisfaction experiences that endure for only a short time to those that "spill over" into individuals' life domains ...

  19. Routing protocol extension for resilient GMPLS multi-domain networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manolova, Anna Vasileva; Ruepp, Sarah Renée; Romeral, Ricardo

    2010-01-01

    This paper evaluates the performance of multi-domain networks under the Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching control framework in case of a single inter-domain link failure. We propose and evaluate a routing protocol extension for the Border Gateway Protocol, which allows domains to obtain...... two Autonomous System disjoint paths and use them efficiently under failure conditions. Three main applications for the protocol extension are illustrated: reducing traffic loss on existing connections by xploiting pre-selected backup paths derived with our proposal, applying multi-domain restoration...... as survivability mechanism in case of single link failure, and employing proper failure notification mechanisms for routing of future connection requests under routing protocol re-convergence. Via simulations we illustrate the benefits of utilizing the proposed routing protocol extension for networks employing...

  20. Extensive X-linked adaptive evolution in central chimpanzees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvilsom, Christina; Qian, Yu; Bataillon, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    on the dominance of beneficial (adaptive) and deleterious mutations. Here we capture and sequence the complete exomes of 12 chimpanzees and present the largest set of protein-coding polymorphism to date. We report extensive adaptive evolution specifically targeting the X chromosome of chimpanzees with as much...... to humans, we find that purifying selection is stronger on the X chromosome than on the autosomes in chimpanzees. We therefore conclude that most adaptive mutations are recessive. We also document dramatically reduced synonymous diversity in the chimpanzee X chromosome relative to autosomes and stronger...... purifying selection than for the human X chromosome. If similar processes were operating in the human-chimpanzee ancestor as in central chimpanzees today, our results therefore provide an explanation for the much-discussed reduction in the human-chimpanzee divergence at the X chromosome....

  1. Information Search Behaviors of Indian Farmers: Implications for Extension Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glendenning, Claire J.; Babu, Suresh C.; Asenso-Okyere, Kwadwo

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: In India, a national survey conducted in 2003 showed that only 40% of farmers accessed extension. But little is known of the characteristics of farmers who did not access extension. However, this understanding is needed in order to target approaches to farmers, who differ in their access and use of information, that is their information…

  2. OhioLINK: Implementing Integrated Library Services across Institutional Boundaries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawks, Carol Pitts

    1995-01-01

    Discusses the implementation of the OhioLINK (Ohio Library and Information Network) system, an integrated library system linking 23 public and private academic institutions and the Ohio State Library. Topics include a history of OhioLINK; organizational structure; decision-making procedures; public relations strategies; cooperative circulation;…

  3. SAFAX : an extensible authorization service for cloud environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kaluvuri, S.P.; Egner, A.I.; Den Hartog, J.I.; Zannone, N.

    2015-01-01

    Cloud storage services have become increasingly popular in recent years. Users are often registered to multiple cloud storage services that suit different needs. However, the ad hoc manner in which data sharing between users is implemented lead to issues for these users. For instance, users are

  4. Role of the police in linking individuals experiencing mental health crises with mental health services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background The police are considered frontline professionals in managing individuals experiencing mental health crises. This study examines the extent to which these individuals are disconnected from mental health services, and whether the police response has an influence on re-establishing contact. Methods Police records were searched for calls regarding individuals with acute mental health needs and police handling of these calls. Mental healthcare contact data were retrieved from a Psychiatric Case Register. Results The police were called upon for mental health crisis situations 492 times within the study year, involving 336 individuals (i.e. 1.7 per 1000 inhabitants per year). Half of these individuals (N=162) were disengaged from mental health services, lacking regular care contact in the year prior to the crisis (apart from contact for crisis intervention). In the month following the crisis, 21% of those who were previously disengaged from services had regular care contact, and this was more frequent (49%) if the police had contacted the mental health services during the crisis. The influence of police referral to the services was still present the following year. However, for the majority (58%) of disengaged individuals police did not contact the mental health services at the time of crisis. Conclusions The police deal with a substantial number of individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, half of whom are out of contact with mental health services, and police play an important role in linking these individuals to services. Training police officers to recognise and handle mental health crises, and implementing practical models of cooperation between the police and mental health services in dealing with such crises may further improve police referral of individuals disengaged from mental health services. PMID:23072687

  5. The Resilient Schools Consortium (RiSC): Linking Climate Literacy, Resilience Thinking and Service Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branco, B. F.; Fano, E.; Adams, J.; Shon, L.; Zimmermann, A.; Sioux, H.; Gillis, A.

    2017-12-01

    Public schools and youth voices are largely absent from climate resilience planning and projects in New York City. Additionally, research shows that U.S. science teachers' understanding of climate science is lacking, hence there is not only an urgent need to train and support teachers on both the science and pedagogy of climate change, but to link climate literacy, resilience thinking and service learning in K-12 education. However, research on participation of students and teachers in authentic, civic-oriented experiences points to increased engagement and learning outcomes in science. The Resilient Schools Consortium (RiSC) Project will address all these needs through an afterschool program in six coastal Brooklyn schools that engages teachers and urban youth (grades 6-12), in school and community climate resilience assessment and project design. The RiSC climate curriculum, co-designed by New York City school teachers with Brooklyn College, the National Wildlife Federation, New York Sea Grant and the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, will begin by helping students to understand the difference between climate and weather. The curriculum makes extensive use of existing resources such as NOAA's Digital Coast and the Coastal Resilience Mapping Portal. Through a series of four modules over two school years, the six RiSC teams will; 1. explore and understand the human-induced drivers of climate change and, particularly, the significant climate and extreme weather related risks to their schools and surrounding communities; 2. complete a climate vulnerability assessment within the school and the community that is aligned to OneNYC - the city's resilience planning document; 3. design and execute a school-based resilience project; and 4. propose resilience guidelines for NYC Department of Education schools. At the end of each school year, the six RiSC teams will convene a RiSC summit with city officials and resilience practitioners to share ideas and

  6. The dilemma of service productivity and service innovation : An empirical exploration in financial services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aspara, Jaakko; Klein, Jan; Luo, Xueming; Tikkanen, Henrikki

    2017-01-01

    We conduct a systematic exploratory investigation of the effects of firms’ existing service productivity on the success of their new service innovations. Although previous research extensively addresses service productivity and service innovation, respectively, this is the first empirical study that

  7. Energy extension service pilot program evaluation report: the first year. Volume II: pilot state reports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-09-01

    Volume II of the Energy Extension Service Evaluation presents a discussion of the operations of the ten EES pilot-state programs during the period from October 1, 1977 through September 30, 1978. Each of the ten pilot states - Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming - received a grant of approximately $1.1 million to develop and implement a 19-month program beginning on October 1, 1977. Volume II provides a case-study description of the operations of the pilot program in each state, with special attention given to the two programs selected in each state for more detailed study and survey research. Some survey data and analysis are presented for the emphasis programs.

  8. Assessment of Extension Service Delivery on Improved Cassava ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SH

    credit facilities, improved planting materials and marketing. The mean ... (2010), and to surpass 250 million metric tons for ... the effectiveness of the research system, a number ... link is an effective agricultural system to ..... Strategy for poverty.

  9. Linking Maize Farmers to Market: A Case Study of Private Extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    E M IGBOKWE

    This paper presents the activities of a private extension outfit along maize ... in Africa have focused on how to improve poor farmers' yield, but better yield has .... gaps and challenges, and greater agreement, at least in principle, on the future.

  10. The Effects of Leader-Member Exchanges on the Relationships Between Extension Agents and County Extension Directors in Florida

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matt Benge

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The relationship between a supervisor and employee has a direct effect on the employee’s job satisfaction, work productivity, and efficiency. Understanding the interactions between Extension agents and County Extension Directors is critical to maintaining positive relationships and providing adequate support to Extension supervisors through professional development and training opportunities. This article examined the dyadic relationships between Extension agents and County Extension Directors in Florida. The majority of Florida Extension agents have high-quality relationship with their County Extension Directors. In addition, over half of relationships of five years or less are in the partner phase, suggesting new employees of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service progress through the leadership making process in a relatively short amount of time. UF/IFAS Extension Administration should provide increased leadership training for County Extension Directors to ensure all dyads progress through the leadership-making process to the partner phase, such as relationship building, and management and supervisory training.

  11. 76 FR 4350 - Health Information Technology Extension Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Information Technology Extension Program ACTION: Public Notice. SUMMARY: This notice announces changes to the Health Information Technology Extension... of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 200 Independence Ave, SW., Suite 729D...

  12. Cooperative Extension as a Framework for Health Extension: The Michigan State University Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwyer, Jeffrey W; Contreras, Dawn; Eschbach, Cheryl L; Tiret, Holly; Newkirk, Cathy; Carter, Erin; Cronk, Linda

    2017-10-01

    The Affordable Care Act charged the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to create the Primary Care Extension Program, but did not fund this effort. The idea to work through health extension agents to support health care delivery systems was based on the nationally known Cooperative Extension System (CES). Instead of creating new infrastructure in health care, the CES is an ideal vehicle for increasing health-related research and primary care delivery. The CES, a long-standing component of the land-grant university system, features a sustained infrastructure for providing education to communities. The Michigan State University (MSU) Model of Health Extension offers another means of developing a National Primary Care Extension Program that is replicable in part because of the presence of the CES throughout the United States. A partnership between the MSU College of Human Medicine and MSU Extension formed in 2014, emphasizing the promotion and support of human health research. The MSU Model of Health Extension includes the following strategies: building partnerships, preparing MSU Extension educators for participation in research, increasing primary care patient referrals and enrollment in health programs, and exploring innovative funding. Since the formation of the MSU Model of Health Extension, researchers and extension professionals have made 200+ connections, and grants have afforded savings in salary costs. The MSU College of Human Medicine and MSU Extension partnership can serve as a model to promote health partnerships nationwide between CES services within land-grant universities and academic health centers or community-based medical schools.

  13. EPA Linked Open Data (Collection)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This is a collection item referencing the following EPA Linked Data resources: - EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS) - EPA Substance Registry Service (SRS) -...

  14. Development of extremely low wear cross-link polyethylene for 30 years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oonishi, Hironobu; Fujita, Hiroshi; Kim, Seok-Cheol; Ito, Shigeru; Masuda, Shingo; Clarke, I.C.

    2003-01-01

    In this report we present our long-term developmental and clinical results with both highly cross-linked and extensively cross-linked polyethylene materials. Beginning in 1970s, we performed wear screening studies on ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) (GUR412) sterilized by gamma-irradiation in air (range 0 to 10,000 kGy). From these scientific studies the 1,000 kGy dose (100 Mrad) appeared optimal, and so we began clinical use in 1971, and that continued into 1978. The radiographic wear-rates in patients with 1,000 kGy sockets, assessed by radiography, appeared 6-fold reduced compared to our standard UHMWPE sockets. Note also that we had not used any post-sterilization heat treatment for these pioneering extensively cross-linked polyethylene sockets. With clinical use now over 30 years, it was also clear that there was no adverse oxidation created by any free radicals present in our extensively cross-linked polyethylene sockets. With these encouraging clinical results, we further studied laboratory wear results with the modern UHMWPE resins, using the irradiation doses 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000 kGy and with both saline and serum lubricants in hip simulators. These more recent studies demonstrated that the wear in extensively cross-linked polyethylene sockets was undetectable, less even than the measurement errors in the simulator techniques. It was unfortunate that the physical properties of such extensively cross-linked polyethylene sockets did not meet the current International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Thus, despite the excellent wear performance of these materials, we decided to investigate also the properties of the 60 kGy irradiated UHMWPE. The polyethylene sheet (GUR1050) was first irradiated with 35 kGy under N2 and then heat treated to remove free radicals. The socket liners were then machined to shape and resterilized with 25 kGy under N2 gas. The

  15. A Dynamic Extension of ATLAS Run Query Service

    CERN Document Server

    Buliga, Alexandru

    2015-01-01

    The ATLAS RunQuery is a primarily web-based service for the ATLAS community to access meta information about the data taking in a concise format. In order to provide a better user experience, the service was moved to use a new technology, involving concepts such as: Web Sockets, on demand data, client-side scripting, memory caching and parallelizing execution.

  16. Intra-Arc extension in Central America: Links between plate motions, tectonics, volcanism, and geochemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phipps Morgan, Jason; Ranero, Cesar; Vannucchi, Paola

    2010-05-01

    This study revisits the kinematics and tectonics of Central America subduction, synthesizing observations of marine bathymetry, high-resolution land topography, current plate motions, and the recent seismotectonic and magmatic history in this region. The inferred tectonic history implies that the Guatemala-El Salvador and Nicaraguan segments of this volcanic arc have been a region of significant arc tectonic extension; extension arising from the interplay between subduction roll-back of the Cocos Plate and the ~10-15 mm/yr slower westward drift of the Caribbean plate relative to the North American Plate. The ages of belts of magmatic rocks paralleling both sides of the current Nicaraguan arc are consistent with long-term arc-normal extension in Nicaragua at the rate of ~5-10 mm/yr, in agreement with rates predicted by plate kinematics. Significant arc-normal extension can ‘hide' a very large intrusive arc-magma flux; we suggest that Nicaragua is, in fact, the most magmatically robust section of the Central American arc, and that the volume of intrusive volcanism here has been previously greatly underestimated. Yet, this flux is hidden by the persistent extension and sediment infill of the rifting basin in which the current arc sits. Observed geochemical differences between the Nicaraguan arc and its neighbors which suggest that Nicaragua has a higher rate of arc-magmatism are consistent with this interpretation. Smaller-amplitude, but similar systematic geochemical correlations between arc-chemistry and arc-extension in Guatemala show the same pattern as the even larger variations between the Nicaragua arc and its neighbors. We are also exploring the potential implications of intra-arc extension for deformation processes along the subducting plate boundary and within the forearc ‘microplate'.

  17. 47 CFR 25.258 - Sharing between NGSO MSS Feeder links Stations and GSO FSS services in the 29.25-29.5 GHz Bands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Sharing between NGSO MSS Feeder links Stations and GSO FSS services in the 29.25-29.5 GHz Bands. 25.258 Section 25.258 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Technical Standards § 25...

  18. Individual and Group Extension Methods: Perspectives from Vi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs) tools including semi-structured questionnaires were administrated to 90 randomly selected farmers who had received extension services from the project. In addition, twelve project extension workers were interviewed. Data were analysed using SPSS computer package and descriptive ...

  19. 77 FR 9698 - Notice of Extension of Concession Contracts

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-17

    ...-03 Dudley Food and Gulf Islands Beverage, Inc.. National Seashore. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Extension of Concession Contracts AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Public notice. SUMMARY: The National Park Service hereby...

  20. Role of agricultural extension services in generation and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    OLUWOLE

    2013-02-06

    Feb 6, 2013 ... public and private sectors involvement in agricultural biotechnology, involvement of end users. (farmers) to ... technology validation and dissemination in Nigeria. Participatory ... Research has shown that majority of the information that the public ..... links with private companies in the industrialized countries.

  1. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    there were socio-economic differences between the hybrid user and non-hybrid users. These factors ... through extension strategies, but also through government policies. ..... seed procurement and transportation. .... An Integrated Approach.

  2. Publication, discovery and interoperability of Clinical Decision Support Systems: A Linked Data approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marco-Ruiz, Luis; Pedrinaci, Carlos; Maldonado, J A; Panziera, Luca; Chen, Rong; Bellika, J Gustav

    2016-08-01

    The high costs involved in the development of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) make it necessary to share their functionality across different systems and organizations. Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) have been proposed to allow reusing CDSS by encapsulating them in a Web service. However, strong barriers in sharing CDS functionality are still present as a consequence of lack of expressiveness of services' interfaces. Linked Services are the evolution of the Semantic Web Services paradigm to process Linked Data. They aim to provide semantic descriptions over SOA implementations to overcome the limitations derived from the syntactic nature of Web services technologies. To facilitate the publication, discovery and interoperability of CDS services by evolving them into Linked Services that expose their interfaces as Linked Data. We developed methods and models to enhance CDS SOA as Linked Services that define a rich semantic layer based on machine interpretable ontologies that powers their interoperability and reuse. These ontologies provided unambiguous descriptions of CDS services properties to expose them to the Web of Data. We developed models compliant with Linked Data principles to create a semantic representation of the components that compose CDS services. To evaluate our approach we implemented a set of CDS Linked Services using a Web service definition ontology. The definitions of Web services were linked to the models developed in order to attach unambiguous semantics to the service components. All models were bound to SNOMED-CT and public ontologies (e.g. Dublin Core) in order to count on a lingua franca to explore them. Discovery and analysis of CDS services based on machine interpretable models was performed reasoning over the ontologies built. Linked Services can be used effectively to expose CDS services to the Web of Data by building on current CDS standards. This allows building shared Linked Knowledge Bases to provide machine

  3. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ben Stevens

    ; Jacobson,. 2013:30; Fischer, Van den ... 13 Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, 2520, South. Africa. ..... dissemination media by extension personnel may adversely affect the potential for.

  4. Protocol for a scoping review of post-trial extensions of randomised controlled trials using individually linked administrative and registry data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzpatrick, Tiffany; Perrier, Laure; Tricco, Andrea C; Straus, Sharon E; Jüni, Peter; Zwarenstein, Merrick; Lix, Lisa M; Smith, Mark; Rosella, Laura C; Henry, David A

    2017-02-17

    aim to produce guidance for investigators on the conduct of post-trial extensions using routinely collected data. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  5. Life Saving Apps: Linking Cardiac Arrest Victims to Emergency Services and Volunteer Responders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim Choi Keung, Sarah N; Khan, Mohammed O; Smith, Christopher; Perkins, Gavin; Murphy, Paddie; Arvanitis, Theodoros N

    2016-01-01

    In cases of emergency, such as out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the first few minutes are crucial for victims to receive care and have a positive outcome. However, emergency services often arrive on scene after those first few minutes, making any bridging solutions key. Finding a defibrillator or accessing a trained volunteer responder are some of the technological solutions that are being developed to support the chain of survival. This paper looks at technologies, in particular those linked to mobile apps that have been used to locate defibrillators and responder apps that enable responders to attend to nearby emergencies. We review a selection of apps and also assess the challenges and considerations for such apps.

  6. High capacity hybrid optical fiber-wireless links in 75–300GHz band

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cavalcante, Lucas Costa Pereira; Vegas Olmos, Juan José; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso

    2014-01-01

    Seamless convergence of fiber-optic and the wireless networks is of great interest for enabling transparent delivery of broadband services to users in different locations, including both metropolitan and rural areas. Current demand of bandwidth by end-users, especially using mobile devices......, is seeding the need to use bands located at the millimeter-wave region (30–300 GHz), mainly because of its inherent broadband nature. In our lab, we have conducted extensive research on high-speed photonic-wireless links in the W-band (75–110GHz). In this paper, we will present our latest findings...

  7. Enhancing network performance under single link failure with AS-disjoint BGP extension

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manolova, Anna Vasileva; Romeral, S.; Ruepp, Sarah Renée

    2009-01-01

    In this paper we propose an enhancement of the BGP protocol for obtaining AS-disjoint paths in GMPLS multi-domain networks. We evaluate the benefits of having AS-disjoint paths under single inter-domain link failure for two main applications: routing of future connection requests during routing...... protocol re-convergence and applying multi-domain restoration as survivability mechanism in case of a single link failure. The proposed BGP modification is a simple and effective solution for disjoint path selection in connection-oriented multi-domain networks. Our results show that applying the proper...

  8. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    some 25% of all mammals, 12% of birds, and 20-30% of reptiles and ... 14 Supervisor, Senior Lecturer, Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource ... The nation's biodiversity richness, ... disappearance of endangered plants and animals.

  9. Current Status of Agricultural Extension Services for Market Oriented ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    info

    has been on food security and natural resource management, agricultural extension packages have ... production advice but also a range of information and knowledge support, such as input supply ..... The World Bank, Food and. Agriculture ...

  10. Preserving and maintaining vital Ecosystem Services: the importance of linking knowledge from Geosciences and social-ecological System analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finger, David; Petursdottir, Thorunn

    2013-04-01

    Human kind has always been curios and motivated to understand and quantify environmental processes in order to predict and anticipate the evolution of vital ecosystem services. Even the very first civilizations used empirical correlations to predict outcomes of rains and subsequent harvest efficiencies. Along with the insights into the functioning of ecosystems, humans also became aware that their anthropogenic activities can have positive and negative impact on ecosystem services. In recent years, geosciences have brought forward new sophisticated observations and modeling tools, with the aim to improve predictions of ecological developments. At the same time, the added value of linking ecological factors to the surrounding social structure has received a growing acceptance among scientists. A social-ecological system approach brings in a holistic understanding of how these systems are inevitably interlinked and how their sustainability can be better maintained. We claim that the biggest challenge for geoscience in the coming decades will be to link these two disciplines in order to establish adequate strategies to preserve natural ecosystems and their services, parallel to their utilization. We will present various case studies from more than a decade of research, ranging from water quality in mountain lakes, climate change impacts on water availability and declining fishing yields in freshwaters and discuss how the studies outcomes could be given added value by interpreting them via social-ecological system analysis. For instance, sophisticated field investigations revealed that deep water mixing in lake Issyk-Kul, Kirgizstan, is intensively distributing pollutants in the entire lake. Although fishery is an important sector in the region, the local awareness of the importance of water quality is low. In Switzerland, strict water protection laws led to ologotrophication of alpine lakes, reducing fishing yields. While local fishermen argued that local fishery is

  11. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    Changes occurring in the Extension environment include that of climate. Reduced and .... will allow a system to reduce the risk associated with these hazards by reducing its social vulnerability. ..... vulnerability of small farmers in the Amazon.

  12. PERCEPTION OF PATIENTS ON ART ABOUT THE SERVICES AVAILED AT LINK ART CENTERS IN SELECTED STATES OF INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruchi Sogarwal

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The present study was attempted to assess the perception of patients on ART about the services availed at Link ART Centers (LAC in selected states of India. Methods: A total of 354 PLHAs were selected from 20 systematic randomly selected LACs from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Results: Study reveals that majority (97% of the patients seeking services from LACs made regular visits to the center. It was found that 57 percent of the patients had spent less than 100 rupees during the last visit. More than 95 percent of the clients reported waiting time less than 30 minutes for availing counseling and collection of drugs at LACs. The mean±SD score of patient’s level of satisfaction with the services availed at LACs is 4.7±0.5. Conclusions: Study concludes that while majority of the patients were satisfied with the services at LACs, there is need of strengthening the existing ‘package’ of services in these centers and expand the network across the country.

  13. PERCEPTION OF PATIENTS ON ART ABOUT THE SERVICES AVAILED AT LINK ART CENTERS IN SELECTED STATES OF INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruchi Sogarwal

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The present study was attempted to assess the perception of patients on ART about the services availed at Link ART Centers (LAC in selected states of India. Methods: A total of 354 PLHAs were selected from 20 systematic randomly selected LACs from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Results: Study reveals that majority (97% of the patients seeking services from LACs made regular visits to the center. It was found that 57 percent of the patients had spent less than 100 rupees during the last visit. More than 95 percent of the clients reported waiting time less than 30 minutes for availing counseling and collection of drugs at LACs. The mean±SD score of patient’s level of satisfaction with the services availed at LACs is 4.7±0.5. Conclusions: Study concludes that while majority of the patients were satisfied with the services at LACs, there is need of strengthening the existing ‘package’ of services in these centers and expand the network across the country.

  14. Linking biophysical models and public preferences for ecosystem service assessments: a case study for the Southern Rocky Mountains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagstad, Kenneth J.; Reed, James; Semmens, Darius J.; Sherrouse, Ben C.; Troy, Austin

    2016-01-01

    Through extensive research, ecosystem services have been mapped using both survey-based and biophysical approaches, but comparative mapping of public values and those quantified using models has been lacking. In this paper, we mapped hot and cold spots for perceived and modeled ecosystem services by synthesizing results from a social-values mapping study of residents living near the Pike–San Isabel National Forest (PSI), located in the Southern Rocky Mountains, with corresponding biophysically modeled ecosystem services. Social-value maps for the PSI were developed using the Social Values for Ecosystem Services tool, providing statistically modeled continuous value surfaces for 12 value types, including aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values. Biophysically modeled maps of carbon sequestration and storage, scenic viewsheds, sediment regulation, and water yield were generated using the Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services tool. Hotspots for both perceived and modeled services were disproportionately located within the PSI’s wilderness areas. Additionally, we used regression analysis to evaluate spatial relationships between perceived biodiversity and cultural ecosystem services and corresponding biophysical model outputs. Our goal was to determine whether publicly valued locations for aesthetic, biodiversity, and life-sustaining values relate meaningfully to results from corresponding biophysical ecosystem service models. We found weak relationships between perceived and biophysically modeled services, indicating that public perception of ecosystem service provisioning regions is limited. We believe that biophysical and social approaches to ecosystem service mapping can serve as methodological complements that can advance ecosystem services-based resource management, benefitting resource managers by showing potential locations of synergy or conflict between areas supplying ecosystem services and those valued by the public.

  15. Germany: the government has approved of the extension of the service life of nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2010-01-01

    The German coalition government has decided on 28 september 2009 to expend the service life of the 17 operating nuclear reactors through the approval of the plan 'Energy 2050'. The average extension will be of 12 years. This decision will postpone the shutdown of the last reactor till 2040. The reciprocal arrangement implies that the nuclear plant operators (EON, RWE, Wattenfall and EnBW) will have to pay an annual tax of 2.3*10 9 euros till 2016. The operators will also have to finance a capital for the development of renewable energies: 200*10 6 euros in 2011 and in 2012 then 300*10 6 euros per year between 2013 and 2016 and eventually to pay a tax of 9 euros per MW of nuclear power produced. (A.C.)

  16. Using Coupled Simulation Models to Link Pastoral Decision Making and Ecosystem Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Randall B. Boone

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Historically, pastoral people were able to more freely use the services their semi-arid and arid ecosystems provide, and they adapted to changes in ways that improved their well-being. More recently, their ability to adapt has been constrained due to changes from within and from outside their communities. To compare possible responses by pastoral communities, we modeled ecosystem services and tied those services to decisions that people make at the household level. We created an agent-based household model called DECUMA, joined that model with the ecosystem model SAVANNA, and applied the linked models to southeastern Kajiado District, Kenya. The structure of the new agent-based model and linkages between the models are described, and then we demonstrate the model results using a scenario that shows changes in Maasai well-being in response to drought. We then explore two additional but related scenarios, quantifying household well-being if access to a grazing reserve is lost and if access is lost but those most affected are compensated. In the second scenario, households in group ranches abutting the grazing reserve that lost access had large declines in livestock populations, less food energy from animal sources, increased livestock sales and grain purchases, and increased need for supplemental foods. Households in more distant areas showed no changes or had increases in livestock populations because their herds had fewer animals with which to compete for forage. When households neighboring the grazing reserve were compensated for the lease of the lands they had used, they prospered. We describe some benefits and limitations of the agent-based approach.

  17. A Fine-Grained API Link Prediction Approach Supporting CMDA Mashup Recommendation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, J.; Bao, Q.; Lee, T. J.; Ramachandran, R.; Lee, S.; Pan, L.; Gatlin, P. N.; Maskey, M.

    2017-12-01

    Service (API) discovery and recommendation is key to the wide spread of service oriented architecture and service oriented software engineering. Service recommendation typically relies on service linkage prediction calculated by the semantic distances (or similarities) among services based on their collection of inherent attributes. Given a specific context (mashup goal), however, different attributes may contribute differently to a service linkage. In this work, instead of training a model for all attributes as a whole, a novel approach is presented to simultaneously train separate models for individual attributes. Our contributions are summarized in three-fold. First is that we have developed a scalable attribute-level data model, featuring scalability and extensibility. We have extended Multiplicative Attribute Graph (MAG) model to represent node profiles featuring rich categorical attributes, while relaxing its constraint of requiring a priori knowledge of predefined attributes. LDA is leveraged to dynamically identify attributes based on attribute modeling, and multiple Gaussian fit is applied to find global optimal values. The second contribution is that we have seamlessly integrated the latent relationships between API attributes as well as observed network structure based on historical API usage data. Such a layered information model enables us to predict the probability of a link between two APIs based on their attribute link affinities carrying a variety of information including meta data, semantic data, historical usage data, as well as crowdsourcing user comments and annotations. The third contribution is that we have developed a finegrained context-aware mashup-API recommendation technique. On top of individual models trained for separate attributes, a dedicated layer is trained to represent the latent attribute distribution regarding mashup purpose, i.e., sensitivity of attributes to context. Thus, given the description of an intended mashup, the

  18. Factors affecting extension workers in their rendering of effective ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Factors affecting extension workers in their rendering of effective service to pre and ... Small, micro and medium entrepreneurs play an important role in economic ... such as production, marketing and management to adequately service the ...

  19. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    Key words: Participation, participants, perception, agricultural projects, Extension Officers. 1. INTRODUCTION ... participation of farmers or project participants and other role players is critical to the success and sustainability of ..... respondent categories indicated a financial reason for participating. A project needs to be a.

  20. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ben Stevens

    agriculture in South Africa and to make it more attractive and a profitable venture. ... Successful entrepreneurship requires a strong enabling environment of ... business. Many small-scale farmers and extension organisations understand ... entrepreneurs are not the same and there are obviously major differences between.

  1. Training and in-service training of home economics extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Home economics is traditionally a femaledominated profession. Home economists employed in the KwaZulu-Natal agricultural and rural development extension delivery system are mainly responsible for serving a predominantly female clientele, namely rural women. These home economists focus on women's domestic ...

  2. Job burnout and coping strategies among extension agents in south ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The need to maintain a non-mineral dependent economy and daunting food import bills have been the drive for the provision of extension services, which is dependent on motivated extension work force.. Extension personnel will not stay motivated under circumstances where the risk of job burnout is high. A simple random ...

  3. Coverage Extension via Side-Lobe Transmission in Multibeam Satellite System

    OpenAIRE

    Gharanjik, Ahmad; Kmieciak, Jarek; Shankar, Bhavani; Ottersten, Björn

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we study feasibility of coverage extension of a multibeam satellite network by providing low-rate communications to terminals located outside the coverage of main beams. Focusing on the MEO satellite network, and using realistic link budgets from O3b networks, we investigate the performance of both forward and return-links for terminals stationed in the side lobes of the main beams. Particularly, multi-carrier transmission for forward-link and single carrier transmission for re...

  4. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    challenges facing the agricultural sector in SSA, jointly leading to low ... technology; and incompatibility of current education, training, and extension structures with ... and subsidized credit through government lending institutions is no longer available. Private .... There is so much knowledge and information that we generate.

  5. Linking departmental priorities to knowledge management: the experiences of Santa Cruz County's Human Services Department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindberg, Arley

    2012-01-01

    Federal welfare reform, local service collaborations, and the evolution of statewide information systems inspired agency interest in evidence-informed practice and knowledge sharing systems. Four agency leaders, including the Director, Deputy Director, Director of Planning and Evaluation, and Staff Development Program Manager championed the development of a learning organization based on knowledge management throughout the agency. Internal department restructuring helped to strengthen the Planning and Evaluation, Staff Development, and Personnel units, which have become central to supporting knowledge sharing activities. The Four Pillars of Knowledge framework was designed to capture agency directions in relationship to future knowledge management goals. Featuring People, Practice, Technology and Budget, the framework links the agency's services, mission and goals to the process of becoming a learning organization. Built through an iterative process, the framework was created by observing existing activities in each department rather than being designed from the top down. Knowledge management can help the department to fulfill its mission despite reduced resources. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

  6. Performance of farmers-led extension system in agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mo

    initiate their training needs and the district technical staff train the Extension Link Farmers who in turn transfer the acquired ... whom at least two were women, were randomly selected ... It was noted that farmers did not only receive agricultural.

  7. Building the capacity of agricultural extension personnel for effective ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper strongly recommends immediate recruitment of new hands as well as full implementation of a well-designed capacity building programme so as to ensure a sustainable extension service delivery system where extension personnel can operate in the expected commercial (agriculture-driven) economy. Keywords: ...

  8. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    Taylor, 2000). Establishing the urgent need for intervention, Hilton-Taylor indicates that some 25% of all mammals, 12% of birds, and 20-30% of reptiles and amphibians are at the moment endangered. ... 14 Supervisor, Senior Lecturer, Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource Management, University of. KwaZulu-Natal.

  9. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    the adoption of recommended technologies and practices to achieve its objectives. The farmer-to-farmer extension model has proved a success in Latin America ... beneficiaries assume roles of development facilitators in their own .... farmers in terms of knowledge and innovations leading to better production, the work.

  10. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    author has adopted a desktop study in which literature was reviewed and synthesized ... discusses the meanings of agricultural extension and rural development. ... United States of America (USA) is one of the best known examples of a .... Extensionists usually persuade farmers to adopt new practices mainly because they.

  11. Innovation behaviour and the use of research and extension services in small-scale agricultural holdings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramos-Sandoval, R.; García-Álvarez-Coque, J.M.; Mas-Verdú, F.

    2016-07-01

    Farmers’ views on research and extension services (RES) included in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System are rarely investigated. This study analyses the relationship between key factors of innovation behaviour (market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation attitude) and the use of RES through structural equation modelling, focusing on small-scale agricultural holdings. Market orientation and learning orientation appear to be positively correlated, confirming that synergies between both factors provide a background for innovativeness. Learning orientation and farm-holders’ education level, improve knowledge exchange and make the agriculture innovation process more inclusive. However, farmers’ innovation attitude is not clearly correlated with the use of RES. Motivations about “the will to do innovations” are represented by a construct that does not appear to have a determinant effect as a mediator in farmer’s decisions about using RES.

  12. Innovation behaviour and the use of research and extension services in small-scale agricultural holdings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramos-Sandoval, R.; García-Álvarez-Coque, J.M.; Mas-Verdú, F.

    2016-01-01

    Farmers’ views on research and extension services (RES) included in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System are rarely investigated. This study analyses the relationship between key factors of innovation behaviour (market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation attitude) and the use of RES through structural equation modelling, focusing on small-scale agricultural holdings. Market orientation and learning orientation appear to be positively correlated, confirming that synergies between both factors provide a background for innovativeness. Learning orientation and farm-holders’ education level, improve knowledge exchange and make the agriculture innovation process more inclusive. However, farmers’ innovation attitude is not clearly correlated with the use of RES. Motivations about “the will to do innovations” are represented by a construct that does not appear to have a determinant effect as a mediator in farmer’s decisions about using RES.

  13. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    The Batho Pele Principles, which provide the roles and responsibilities of all public servants;. • The Bill of Rights, which seek to guide public administrators towards improved performance and ethical conduct; and. • The Norms and Standards for Extension Workers, which provide the guiding standards for principles, ethical ...

  14. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    viability of farms and some implications for extension support. Data from ... Stock losses due to problem-animals, together with low reproduction performance ... established and maintained to record physical and financial information in order to .... Farm profit is net farm income less the cost of foreign production factors and.

  15. Linking Ecosystem Services Benefit Transfer Databases and Ecosystem Services Production Function Libraries

    Science.gov (United States)

    The quantification or estimation of the economic and non-economic values of ecosystem services can be done from a number of distinct approaches. For example, practitioners may use ecosystem services production function models (ESPFMs) for a particular location, or alternatively, ...

  16. Linking Marine Ecosystem Services to the North Sea’s Energy Fields in Transnational Marine Spatial Planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina Vogel

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Marine spatial planning temporally and spatially allocates marine resources to different users. The ecosystem approach aims at optimising the social and economic benefits people derive from marine resources while preserving the ecosystem’s health. Marine ecosystem services are defined as the benefits people obtain from marine ecosystems. The aim of this study is to determine which interrelations between marine ecosystem services and the marine energy industry can be identified for use in transnational marine spatial planning exemplified in the North Sea region. As the North Sea is one of the busiest seas worldwide, the risk of impairing the ecosystems through anthropogenic pressures is high. Drawing on a literature-based review, 23 marine ecosystem services provided by the North Sea region were defined and linked to seven offshore energy fields comprising oil and natural gas, wind, tides and currents, waves, salinity gradients, algal biomass, and geothermal heat. The interactions were divided into four categories: dependence, impact, bidirectional, or no interaction. Oil and natural gas, as well as algae biomass, are the fields with the most relations with marine ecosystem services while waves and salinity gradients exhibit the least. Some marine ecosystem services (Conditions for Infrastructure, Regulation of Water Flows, and Cognitive Development are needed for all fields; Recreation and Tourism, Aesthetic and Cultural Perceptions and Traditions, Cognitive Development, and Sea Scape are impacted by all fields. The results of this research provide an improved basis for an ecosystem approach in transnational marine spatial planning.

  17. Relationship-Oriented Software Defined AS-Level Fast Rerouting for Multiple Link Failures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunxiu Li

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Large-scale deployments of mission-critical services have led to stringent demands on Internet routing, but frequently occurring network failures can dramatically degrade the network performance. However, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP can not react quickly to recover from them. Although extensive research has been conducted to deal with the problem, the multiple failure scenarios have never been properly addressed due to the limit of distributed control plane. In this paper, we propose a local fast reroute approach to effectively recover from multiple link failures in one administrative domain. The principle of Software Defined Networking (SDN is used to achieve the software defined AS-level fast rerouting. Considering AS relationships, efficient algorithms are proposed to automatically and dynamically find protection paths for multiple link failures; then OpenFlow forwarding rules are installed on routers to provide data forwarding continuity. Our approach is able to ensure applicability to ASes with flexibility and adaptability to multiple link failures, contributing toward improving the network performance. Through experimental results, we show that our proposal provides effective failure recovery and does not introduce significant control overhead to the network.

  18. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    This paper forms part of a study into the formulation of a new extension model for the Eastern ... turnaround strategy whereby the farmers' objectives were determined and the negative cause- .... Receiving financial assistance; and. 7. Having a good work ethic. In terms of improved farming .... Chapter 21 in: Agribusiness: A.

  19. A Novel Dedicated Route Protection Scheme for Survivability of Link Failure in Elastic Optical Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sridhar Iyer

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The spectrally efficient transportation of the high bit rate(s data is achievable by the Elastic optical networks (EONs. However, in the EONs, owing to the failure occurrence even in an individual simple element, different service(s maybe interrupted. Hence, it is imperative that the schemes for survivability be developed so that the issues due to the possible failure(s can be overcome. In the current work, in view of survivability of the link failure(s in the EONs, we propose the Spectrum Continuity and Contiguity Established DRP (SCC-E-DRP algorithm which is a novel dedicated route protection (DRP scheme that attempts to avoid the problem of trap topology during its exploration for a pair of link disjoint path. Further, to evaluate the link disjoint paths, we resort to the use of the SCC Established Shortest Route (SCC-E-SR algorithm which is a modified Dijkstra’s algorithm based scheme that selects the path(s pair(s based on the end-toend SCC. We conduct extensive simulations considering realistic network topologies, and compare the performance of the SCCE-DRP scheme with the existing techniques. The obtained results show that, compared to the existing schemes, the SCC-E-DRP scheme achieves better results in terms of blocking probability.

  20. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    In rural South Africa, the sustainability of cattle-based livelihoods is threatened by the competition for ... from participating in livestock extension programmes in terms of cattle production and input use were scant. The ... value chain profile estimates that there was a 54 % increase in beef consumption in 2009/10 compared to ...

  1. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    environment. “Sustainability is to leave future generations as many, if not more, opportunities. 7 PhD student, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension, University of the Free ..... (University of the Free State). THI, N. 2008. Migration of youth to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. PhD Thesis submitted to.

  2. Extension Resources for International Trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seal, Susan D.

    2016-01-01

    With the opening of additional trade partnerships, the reduction of global transportation and communication costs, and the increase in demand for U.S. agricultural products and services, international trade is an area of great importance to more and more Extension clients and stakeholders. This article provides information about the primary…

  3. Constraint processing in our extensible language for cooperative imaging system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aoki, Minoru; Murao, Yo; Enomoto, Hajime

    1996-02-01

    The extensible WELL (Window-based elaboration language) has been developed using the concept of common platform, where both client and server can communicate with each other with support from a communication manager. This extensible language is based on an object oriented design by introducing constraint processing. Any kind of services including imaging in the extensible language is controlled by the constraints. Interactive functions between client and server are extended by introducing agent functions including a request-respond relation. Necessary service integrations are satisfied with some cooperative processes using constraints. Constraints are treated similarly to data, because the system should have flexibilities in the execution of many kinds of services. The similar control process is defined by using intentional logic. There are two kinds of constraints, temporal and modal constraints. Rendering the constraints, the predicate format as the relation between attribute values can be a warrant for entities' validity as data. As an imaging example, a processing procedure of interaction between multiple objects is shown as an image application for the extensible system. This paper describes how the procedure proceeds in the system, and that how the constraints work for generating moving pictures.

  4. Information needs related to extension service and community outreach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bottcher, Robert W

    2003-06-01

    Air quality affects everyone. Some people are affected by air quality impacts, regulations, and technological developments in several ways. Stakeholders include the medical community, ecologists, government regulators, industries, technology providers, academic professionals, concerned citizens, the news media, and elected officials. Each of these groups may perceive problems and opportunities differently, but all need access to information as it is developed. The diversity and complexity of air quality problems contribute to the challenges faced by extension and outreach professionals who must communicate with stakeholders having diverse backgrounds. Gases, particulates, biological aerosols, pathogens, and odors all require expensive and relatively complex technology to measure and control. Economic constraints affect the ability of regulators and others to measure air quality, and industry and others to control it. To address these challenges, while communicating air quality research results and concepts to stakeholders, three areas of information needs are evident. (1) A basic understanding of the fundamental concepts regarding air pollutants and their measurement and control is needed by all stakeholders; the Extension Specialist, to be effective, must help people move some distance up the learning curve. (2) Each problem or set of problems must be reasonably well defined since comprehensive solution of all problems simultaneously may not be feasible; for instance, the solution of an odor problem associated with animal production may not address atmospheric effects due to ammonia emissions. (3) The integrity of the communication process must be preserved by avoiding prejudice and protectionism; although stakeholders may seek to modify information to enhance their interests, extension and outreach professionals must be willing to present unwelcome information or admit to a lack of information. A solid grounding in fundamental concepts, careful and fair problem

  5. Gender Sensitivity In Agricultural Extension Services In Imo State ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Gender sensitivity in agricultural practices in general, and extension in particular, suggests that roles should not be ascribed to the females alone, or the males, specifically. In some instances, the males seem to be projected over and above their female counterparts. This is a set back to the progress of agric. practices in the ...

  6. Agricultural Extension. A Reference Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maunder, Addison, H.

    The basic philosophy of agricultural extension was established in the more highly developed countries over the past century. Newly formed nations, the rural population of which formerly maintained a subsistence agriculture with limited industry, found it essential to establish a better-balanced economy. This led to a variety of rural services and…

  7. 76 FR 2706 - Notice of Extension of Concession Contracts

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-14

    ... Florida, Inc. GUIS001-03 Dudley Food and Gulf Islands National Seashore. Beverage. JODR002-90... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE [NPS-WASO-CONC-0111-6327; 2410-OYC] Notice of Extension of Concession Contracts AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Public notice. DATES...

  8. 75 FR 52013 - Notice of Extension of Concession Contract

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service Notice of Extension of Concession Contract AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Public notice. DATES: Effective Date: January 1, 2013. FOR FURTHER... contract for a period of two years through December 31, 2014. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The listed...

  9. ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECONOMIC SAFETY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SECURITY SERVICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. V. Goudkov

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Successful functioning of the industry that provides for safety of organizations and physical entities exercises strategic impacts on development of society and economics of any state including Russia. Economic safety of Russia is directly linked with economic and information safety of itsbusiness structures. Extension of the scope and use of services offered by experienced state and private security enterprises including licensed individuals is one of most important directions of business safety perfection. Further improvement of Russian legislation on non-governmentalsecurity structures and coordination of their activities with those of state law enforcement bodies is obligatory condition of attaining higherpublic and economic safety levels.

  10. The Role of Agricultural Consultants in New Zealand in Environmental Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botha, Neels; Coutts, Jeff; Roth, Hein

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to understand the role that agricultural consultants in New Zealand were undertaking in the Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) system--and in particular in relation to environmental extension. New Zealand does not have a public extension service and hence there is a strong reliance on consultants and regional…

  11. Service life optimization and extension of structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hornet, P.; Venturini, V.; Persoz, M.; Debost-Eymard, I.; Meister, E.

    1998-01-01

    In order to justify its power plants safety which conditions their service life, EDF uses a deterministic approach until now. A probabilistic approach also exists which has a decisive advantage because it quantifies risk and makes it possible to optimize maintenance volume. The application of this approach is illustrated on the case of a reactor vessel; a coupling between the Code Aster tool and a probabilistic analysis software is necessary. (authors)

  12. LEVERAGING AGING MATERIALS DATA TO SUPPORT EXTENSION OF TRANSPORTATION SHIPPING PACKAGES SERVICE LIFE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dunn, K. [Savannah River National Laboratory; Bellamy, S. [Savannah River National Laboratory; Daugherty, W. [Savannah River National Laboratory; Sindelar, R. [Savannah River National Laboratory; Skidmore, E. [Savannah River National Laboratory

    2013-08-18

    Nuclear material inventories are increasingly being transferred to interim storage locations where they may reside for extended periods of time. Use of a shipping package to store nuclear materials after the transfer has become more common for a variety of reasons. Shipping packages are robust and have a qualified pedigree for performance in normal operation and accident conditions but are only certified over an approved transportation window. The continued use of shipping packages to contain nuclear material during interim storage will result in reduced overall costs and reduced exposure to workers. However, the shipping package materials of construction must maintain integrity as specified by the safety basis of the storage facility throughout the storage period, which is typically well beyond the certified transportation window. In many ways, the certification processes required for interim storage of nuclear materials in shipping packages is similar to life extension programs required for dry cask storage systems for commercial nuclear fuels. The storage of spent nuclear fuel in dry cask storage systems is federally-regulated, and over 1500 individual dry casks have been in successful service up to 20 years in the US. The uncertainty in final disposition will likely require extended storage of this fuel well beyond initial license periods and perhaps multiple re-licenses may be needed. Thus, both the shipping packages and the dry cask storage systems require materials integrity assessments and assurance of continued satisfactory materials performance over times not considered in the original evaluation processes. Test programs for the shipping packages have been established to obtain aging data on materials of construction to demonstrate continued system integrity. The collective data may be coupled with similar data for the dry cask storage systems and used to support extending the service life of shipping packages in both transportation and storage.

  13. Linked Health Data: how linked data can help provide better health decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farinelli, Fernanda; Barcellos de Almeida, Maurício; Linhares de Souza, Yóris

    2015-01-01

    This paper provides a brief survey about the use of linked data in healthcare to foster better health decisions and increase health knowledge. We present real cases from the Brazilian experience and emphasize some issues in research. This paper is not intending to be fully comprehensive, we discuss some open issues and research challenges in linked data and the technologies involved. We conclude that even though linked data has been adopted in many countries, some challenges have to be overcome, for example, interoperability between different standards. A defined solution able to foster the semantic interoperability between different standards must be developed. Benefits contributed through linked health data involve better decision making on diagnostics, assertive treatments, knowledge acquisition, improvements in quality healthcare service to citizens.

  14. A review of agricultural extension in Nigeria: the need for an ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Nigerian agricultural extension service, which has its root in, the ... adoption by farms and in 1986 the Training & Visit (T & V) extension system was introduced. ... farmer participation, cost sharing and the strengthening of community based ...

  15. Shuttle Planning for Link Closures in Urban Public Transport Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Hurk, E.; Koutsopoulos, H.; Wilson, N.H.M.; Kroon, L.G.; Maroti, G.

    2016-01-01

    Urban public transport systems must periodically close certain links for maintenance, which can have significant effects on the service provided to passengers. In practice, the effects of closures are mitigated by replacing the closed links with a simple shuttle service. However, alternative shuttle

  16. The impact of service quality and sport-team identification on the repurchase intention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Branimir Oman

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available During the last few decades, the role of the service sector in the overall economic activities has become more significant in many countries, particularly the most developed ones. This has provoked increased scholars' interest so they have begun researching many service markets more extensively. Their interest has been further stimulated by growing competition, development of new technologies and changes in consumer behaviour. These market changes have forced sport clubs' management to focus on providing higher service quality and strengthening team identification among consumers. The research presented in this paper was conducted on the fans of the Croatian football club Hajduk Split and it examines the relationship between service quality and team identification on the one hand and service quality and repurchase intention on the other as well as the intermediary role of word-of-mouth communication in the relationship between service quality and repurchase intentions. The results show that there is an indirect positive influence of service quality on repurchase intention through word-of-mouth communication, as well as a direct positive link between team identification and repurchase intention.

  17. 77 FR 38078 - Notice of Extension of Concession Contract

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-26

    ... Extension of Concession Contract AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the terms of the listed concession contract, the National Park Service hereby gives public notice... INFORMATION: The contract listed below will expire by its terms on October 31, 2013. Pursuant to 36 CFR 51.23...

  18. 77 FR 65169 - Extension of Certain Timber Sale Contracts; Finding of Substantial Overriding Public Interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-25

    ... that are in breach, or (6) contracts when the purchaser's processing facility has not operated during... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Extension of Certain Timber Sale Contracts; Finding of Substantial Overriding Public Interest AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of contract extensions...

  19. Enterprise Linked Data as Core Business Infrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Steve; Ilube, Tom; Tuffield, Mischa

    This chapter describes Garlik's motivation, interest, and experiences of using Linked Data technologies in its online services. It describes the methodologies and approaches that were taken in order to deploy online services to hundreds of thousands of users, and describes the trade-offs inherent in our choice of these technologies for our production systems. In order to help illustrate and aid the arguments for the adoption of SemanticWeb technologies this chapter will focus on two of our customer facing products, DataPatrol, a consumer-centric personal information protection product, and QDOS a Linked Data service that is used to measure peoples' online activity

  20. Changing Roles of a University Cooperative Extension Service in Response to Social Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Thelma C.

    2013-01-01

    Researchers have acknowledged that cooperative extension organizations should rethink dominant agricultural foci and be more inclusive of nontraditional audiences. An extension organization in the southeastern United States has experienced declining workshop participation, requests for technical assistance, and local office visits. These declines…

  1. Evaluation of the agricultural extension programmes of Shell ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development ... Agricultural Extension Services as part of her corporate social responsibilities in Rivers, ... limited by inadequate communication and transport facilities, non-repayment of soft loans ...

  2. Service network analysis for agricultural mental health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fuller Jeffrey D

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Farmers represent a subgroup of rural and remote communities at higher risk of suicide attributed to insecure economic futures, self-reliant cultures and poor access to health services. Early intervention models are required that tap into existing farming networks. This study describes service networks in rural shires that relate to the mental health needs of farming families. This serves as a baseline to inform service network improvements. Methods A network survey of mental health related links between agricultural support, health and other human services in four drought declared shires in comparable districts in rural New South Wales, Australia. Mental health links covered information exchange, referral recommendations and program development. Results 87 agencies from 111 (78% completed a survey. 79% indicated that two thirds of their clients needed assistance for mental health related problems. The highest mean number of interagency links concerned information exchange and the frequency of these links between sectors was monthly to three monthly. The effectiveness of agricultural support and health sector links were rated as less effective by the agricultural support sector than by the health sector (p Conclusion Aligning with agricultural agencies is important to build effective mental health service pathways to address the needs of farming populations. Work is required to ensure that these agricultural support agencies have operational and effective links to primary mental health care services. Network analysis provides a baseline to inform this work. With interventions such as local mental health training and joint service planning to promote network development we would expect to see over time an increase in the mean number of links, the frequency in which these links are used and the rated effectiveness of these links.

  3. LinkMind: link optimization in swarming mobile sensor networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngo, Trung Dung

    2011-01-01

    A swarming mobile sensor network is comprised of a swarm of wirelessly connected mobile robots equipped with various sensors. Such a network can be applied in an uncertain environment for services such as cooperative navigation and exploration, object identification and information gathering. One of the most advantageous properties of the swarming wireless sensor network is that mobile nodes can work cooperatively to organize an ad-hoc network and optimize the network link capacity to maximize the transmission of gathered data from a source to a target. This paper describes a new method of link optimization of swarming mobile sensor networks. The new method is based on combination of the artificial potential force guaranteeing connectivities of the mobile sensor nodes and the max-flow min-cut theorem of graph theory ensuring optimization of the network link capacity. The developed algorithm is demonstrated and evaluated in simulation.

  4. LinkMind: Link Optimization in Swarming Mobile Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trung Dung Ngo

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available A swarming mobile sensor network is comprised of a swarm of wirelessly connected mobile robots equipped with various sensors. Such a network can be applied in an uncertain environment for services such as cooperative navigation and exploration, object identification and information gathering. One of the most advantageous properties of the swarming wireless sensor network is that mobile nodes can work cooperatively to organize an ad-hoc network and optimize the network link capacity to maximize the transmission of gathered data from a source to a target. This paper describes a new method of link optimization of swarming mobile sensor networks. The new method is based on combination of the artificial potential force guaranteeing connectivities of the mobile sensor nodes and the max-flow min-cut theorem of graph theory ensuring optimization of the network link capacity. The developed algorithm is demonstrated and evaluated in simulation.

  5. Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System /TDRSS/ telecommunication services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deerkoski, L. F.

    1975-01-01

    The TDRSS and tracking services define the telecommunication performance of the TDRSS between the RF interface with user spacecraft and the data interface with NASCOM at the ground terminal. Attention is given to system constraints, forward link services, multiple-access signal design parameters, S-band single access signal design parameters, multiple-access return link services, and single-access return link services.

  6. EPA Linked Open Data: Facility Registry Service

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Facility Registry Service (FRS) identifies facilities, sites, or places subject to environmental regulation or of environmental interest to EPA programs or...

  7. EPA Linked Open Data: Substance Registry Service

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Substance Registry Services (SRS) is the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) central system for information about substances that are tracked or regulated by EPA...

  8. Extension's Online Presence: Are Land-Grant Universities Promoting the Tripartite Mission?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Shannon; Hill, Alexandra; Bailey, Nikki; Meyers, Courtney

    2012-01-01

    Land-grant universities were established with a tripartite mission: education, research, and outreach through the Cooperative Extension Service. The purpose of the study reported here was to evaluate the online presence and technological adoptions of Extension on land-grant university, college of agriculture, and state Extension websites. Almost…

  9. Energy Extension Service Pilot Program: evaluation report after two years. Volume II. State reports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1980-04-01

    This report, Vol. II, presents a discussion of the operations of the ten EES pilot state programs during the period from October 1, 1977 through September 30, 1979. Each of the ten pilot states - Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming - received a grant of approximately $1.1 million to develop and implement an 18-month program beginning on October 1, 1977. In September 1978, each State received an additional $370,000 for service-delivery programs for the extension of the pilot program, April 1979 through September 1979. A case-study description of the operations of the pilot program in each State is provided here, with special attention given to the two programs selected in each State for more-detailed study and survey research. Although the thrust of this volume is descriptive, some survey data and analyses are presented for the emphasis programs. Two telephone surveys of clients and a non-client sample were conducted, one at the end of the first year of the pilot program (October 1977 - September 1978) and one at the end of the second year (October 1978 - September 1979).

  10. Prospective of the agricultural extension in Colombia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David Hinestrosa, A.

    1998-01-01

    The situation of the agricultural extension is described in next twenty years, together with the regional programs of investigation and technology transfer, based in the rational use of the natural resources, the exploitation of markets, the former evaluation before and the expert systems. It proves the dynamic participation of producing leaders and their operation inside an outline of decentralization, privatization, sustainability, competitiveness, justness and invigoration and rural signification. It is supposed that the extension rural functional, bound to the investigation processes, transfer, development, technological development and markets. Institutionally it is expected that the extension is a service of regional and private character with an opportune and enough assignment of resources for the improvement of the quality of the rural population's life

  11. Cross support overview and operations concept for future space missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stallings, William; Kaufeler, Jean-Francois

    1994-01-01

    Ground networks must respond to the requirements of future missions, which include smaller sizes, tighter budgets, increased numbers, and shorter development schedules. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) is meeting these challenges by developing a general cross support concept, reference model, and service specifications for Space Link Extension services for space missions involving cross support among Space Agencies. This paper identifies and bounds the problem, describes the need to extend Space Link services, gives an overview of the operations concept, and introduces complimentary CCSDS work on standardizing Space Link Extension services.

  12. Adoption of Lean Thinking and Service Improvement for Care Home Service

    OpenAIRE

    Chuang-Chun Chiou

    2014-01-01

    Ageing population is a global trend; therefore the need of care service has been increasing dramatically. There are three basic forms of service delivered to the elderly: institution, community, and home. Particularly, the institutional service can be seen as an extension of medical service. The nursing home or so-called care home which is equipped with professional staff and facilities can provide a variety of service including rehabilitation service, short-term care, and long term care. Sim...

  13. The Service-profit Chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grønholdt, Lars; Martensen, Anne

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines the links between employee attitudes, customer loyalty and company profitability. From a conceptual point of view, this employee-customer-profit chain, also known as the service-profit chain, is well founded and generally accepted. But for many companies, it seems difficult...... to demonstrate such links, and several issues must be addressed to uncover the links. To investigate these links empirically, a hotel chain provided data matching employee and customer measures with measures of profitability. We have successfully employed a modeling approach, and the paper reports empirical...... evidence of the employee-customer-profit chain. As it is possible to estimate the links, we have demonstrated their effect on company profitability. The research findings provide a better understanding of the service-profit chain and may help practitioners in improving company financial performance....

  14. Sweet Rejuvenation: Linking In-Service and Teacher Induction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNair, Veda; And Others

    This paper describes a collaborative effort between a local education agency (LEA) and an institution of higher education to link inservice education with induction--teachers teaching teachers. The program, based on the Joyce coaching paradigm and recent cognitive development research, posits that long-term training conducted by trained teachers…

  15. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... your Flickr, Pinterest, Instagram or other visually interesting page using pictures from NIDA ... Link campaign uses TV, print, and Web public service announcements (PSAs), as well as posters, ...

  16. A novel mass spectrometric strategy "BEMAP" reveals Extensive O-linked protein glycosylation in Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boysen, Anders; Palmisano, Giuseppe; Krogh, Thøger Jensen

    2016-01-01

    The attachment of sugars to proteins via side-chain oxygen atoms (O-linked glycosylation) is seen in all three domains of life. However, a lack of widely-applicable analytical tools has restricted the study of this process, particularly in bacteria. In E. coli, only four O-linked glycoproteins have...... previously been characterized. Here we present a glycoproteomics technique, termed BEMAP, which is based on the beta-elimination of O-linked glycans followed by Michael-addition of a phosphonic acid derivative, and subsequent titanium dioxide enrichment. This strategy allows site-specific mass......-spectrometric identification of proteins with O-linked glycan modifications in a complex biological sample. Using BEMAP we identified cell surface-associated and membrane vesicle glycoproteins from Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and non-pathogenic E. coli K-12. We identified 618 glycosylated Serine and Threonine residues...

  17. Communication for Strengthening Agricultural Extension and Rural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    chrischisoni

    economy to harness the potential provided by the tourism, mining and service sectors. ... smallholder farmers experience low yields, which would almost double “if technical ..... training, but hardly any training in the social sciences, especially, in development and ... Table 3: Factors Motivating Extension Workers in Malawi ...

  18. Rural Development And Agricultural Extension Administration In ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper reviewed the wide range of policies and approaches formulated and implemented to effect agricultural and rural development in Nigeria. The paper reveals that the common feature of all the strategies is the use of institutionalized agricultural extension service, devoted principally to augment smallholder ...

  19. Service management at CERN with Service-Now

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toteva, Z; Fedorko, I; Hefferman, J; Lemaitre, S; Mira, O Pera; Alonso, R Alvarez; Cheimariou, M-E; Clavo, D Martin; Granda, E Alvarez; Pedreira, P Martinez

    2012-01-01

    The Information Technology (IT) and the General Services (GS) departments at CERN have decided to combine their extensive experience in support for IT and non-IT services towards a common goal – to bring the services closer to the end user based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practice. The collaborative efforts have so far produced definitions for the incident and the request fulfilment processes which are based on a unique two-dimensional service catalogue that combines both the user and the support team views of all services. After an extensive evaluation of the available industrial solutions, Service-now was selected as the tool to implement the CERN Service-Management processes. The initial release of the tool provided an attractive web portal for the users and successfully implemented two basic ITIL processes; the incident management and the request fulfilment processes. It also integrated with the CERN personnel databases and the LHC GRID ticketing system. Subsequent releases continued to integrate with other third-party tools like the facility management systems of CERN as well as to implement new processes such as change management. Independently from those new development activities it was decided to simplify the request fulfilment process in order to achieve easier acceptance by the CERN user community. We believe that due to the high modularity of the Service-now tool, the parallel design of ITIL processes e.g., event management and non-ITIL processes, e.g., computer centre hardware management, will be easily achieved. This presentation will describe the experience that we have acquired and the techniques that were followed to achieve the CERN customization of the Service-Now tool.

  20. Medicare and Medicaid Linked Files

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Medicare-Medicaid Linked Enrollee Analytic Data Source (MMLEADS) has been developed to allow for the examination of all Medicare and Medicaid enrollment and...

  1. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Link Videos NIDA and Scholastic - Heads Up NIDA Media Campaign Postcards Public Service Announcements Other Government Observances for Substance Abuse Education Contact the Press Office Meetings & Events Media Guide ...

  2. Link-layer Jamming Attacks on S-MAC

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Law, Y.W.; Hartel, Pieter H.; den Hartog, Jeremy; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    2004-01-01

    We argue that among denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, link-layer jamming is a more attractive option to attackers than radio jamming is. By exploiting the semantics of the link-layer protocol (aka MAC protocol), an attacker can achieve better efficiency than blindly jamming the radio signals alone.

  3. Link-layer jamming attacks on S-MAC

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Law, Y.W.; Hartel, Pieter H.; den Hartog, Jeremy; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    We argue that among denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, link-layer jamming is a more attractive option to attackers than radio jamming is. By exploiting the semantics of the link-layer protocol (aka MAC protocol), an attacker can achieve better efficiency than blindly jamming the radio signals alone.

  4. Challenges in the Licensing of New Nuclear Power Plant, Service Life Extension of Operating Ones (Safeguards-Safety-Security Aspects)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horvath, K.

    2016-01-01

    The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA), as the Hungarian nuclear regulator is faced with dual challenges meant by the licensing of the planned construction of two AES-2006 type nuclear power plant units and the licensing of the service life extension of the existing units that have been operating for more than 30 years. The HAEA has full regulatory competence; its mission is to oversee the safety and security of all the peaceful applications of atomic energy. Accordingly, the licensing scope covers safeguards, safety as well as security. The paper shows the current status of the Hungarian nuclear programme and the future plans, as well as summarizes the regulatory approach followed by HAEA. (author)

  5. Patients' online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic review in primary care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mold, Freda; de Lusignan, Simon; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; Ellis, Beverley

    2015-03-01

    Online access to medical records by patients can potentially enhance provision of patient-centred care and improve satisfaction. However, online access and services may also prove to be an additional burden for the healthcare provider. To assess the impact of providing patients with access to their general practice electronic health records (EHR) and other EHR-linked online services on the provision, quality, and safety of health care. A systematic review was conducted that focused on all studies about online record access and transactional services in primary care. Data sources included MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EPOC, DARE, King's Fund, Nuffield Health, PsycINFO, OpenGrey (1999-2012). The literature was independently screened against detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria; independent dual data extraction was conducted, the risk of bias (RoB) assessed, and a narrative synthesis of the evidence conducted. A total of 176 studies were identified, 17 of which were randomised controlled trials, cohort, or cluster studies. Patients reported improved satisfaction with online access and services compared with standard provision, improved self-care, and better communication and engagement with clinicians. Safety improvements were patient-led through identifying medication errors and facilitating more use of preventive services. Provision of online record access and services resulted in a moderate increase of e-mail, no change on telephone contact, but there were variable effects on face-to-face contact. However, other tasks were necessary to sustain these services, which impacted on clinician time. There were no reports of harm or breaches in privacy. While the RoB scores suggest many of the studies were of low quality, patients using online services reported increased convenience and satisfaction. These services positively impacted on patient safety, although there were variations of record access and use by specific ethnic and socioeconomic groups

  6. Patients’ online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic review in primary care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mold, Freda; de Lusignan, Simon; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; Ellis, Beverley

    2015-01-01

    Background Online access to medical records by patients can potentially enhance provision of patient-centred care and improve satisfaction. However, online access and services may also prove to be an additional burden for the healthcare provider. Aim To assess the impact of providing patients with access to their general practice electronic health records (EHR) and other EHR-linked online services on the provision, quality, and safety of health care. Design and setting A systematic review was conducted that focused on all studies about online record access and transactional services in primary care. Method Data sources included MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EPOC, DARE, King’s Fund, Nuffield Health, PsycINFO, OpenGrey (1999–2012). The literature was independently screened against detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria; independent dual data extraction was conducted, the risk of bias (RoB) assessed, and a narrative synthesis of the evidence conducted. Results A total of 176 studies were identified, 17 of which were randomised controlled trials, cohort, or cluster studies. Patients reported improved satisfaction with online access and services compared with standard provision, improved self-care, and better communication and engagement with clinicians. Safety improvements were patient-led through identifying medication errors and facilitating more use of preventive services. Provision of online record access and services resulted in a moderate increase of e-mail, no change on telephone contact, but there were variable effects on face-to-face contact. However, other tasks were necessary to sustain these services, which impacted on clinician time. There were no reports of harm or breaches in privacy. Conclusion While the RoB scores suggest many of the studies were of low quality, patients using online services reported increased convenience and satisfaction. These services positively impacted on patient safety, although there were variations of

  7. Decentralising Curriculum Reform: The Link Teacher Model of In-Service Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wildy, Helen; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Presents a (Western Australian) case study of the link teacher model, a decentralized, "train the trainer" approach to inservice education. Discusses the model's perceived effectiveness, the link teachers' role, central authority support, and new experimentation opportunities. Combining centralized syllabus change with decentralized…

  8. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Learn the Link campaign uses TV, print, and Web public service announcements (PSAs), as well as posters, e-cards, and other tools to send the message to America's youth that ...

  9. 75 FR 31746 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Mangoes...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-04

    ... Request: Extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2010-0052... Philippines AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  10. Trials and Triumphs of Expanded Extension Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leavengood, Scott; Love, Bob

    1998-01-01

    Oregon extension faced challenges in presenting programs in the wood products industry. Several traditional tactics, revised to suit a new audience, have proved successful: personal coaching, building partnerships, and providing a high level of service. Newer methods, such as database marketing and distance learning, are also proving to be…

  11. Farmers and Extension Personnel View of Constraints to Effective ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    E M IGBOKWE

    effectiveness of agricultural extension services in Oyo State, Nigeria. ... of farmers but include assisting farmer to form groups, dealing with marketing issues, ... traditional methods of farming system and animal husbandry practice, hence.

  12. Outsourcing cleaning services increases MRSA incidence: Evidence from 126 english acute trusts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toffolutti, Veronica; Reeves, Aaron; McKee, Martin; Stuckler, David

    2017-02-01

    There has been extensive outsourcing of hospital cleaning services in the NHS in England, in part because of the potential to reduce costs. Yet some argue that this leads to lower hygiene standards and more infections, such as MRSA and, perhaps because of this, the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish health services have rejected outsourcing. This study evaluates whether contracting out cleaning services in English acute hospital Trusts (legal authorities that run one or more hospitals) is associated with risks of hospital-borne MRSA infection and lower economic costs. By linking data on MRSA incidence per 100,000 hospital bed-days with surveys of cleanliness among patient and staff in 126 English acute hospital Trusts during 2010-2014, we find that outsourcing cleaning services was associated with greater incidence of MRSA, fewer cleaning staff per hospital bed, worse patient perceptions of cleanliness and staff perceptions of availability of handwashing facilities. However, outsourcing was also associated with lower economic costs (without accounting for additional costs associated with treatment of hospital acquired infections). Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  13. Incites into Citation Linking using the OAI-PMH

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2005-01-01

    deposit process. This highly-distributed approach to citation linking utilises the OAI-PMH to transfer structured citation data between IRs and citation indexing services. OpenURL - a standard for contextual linking using bibliographic data - is now a NISO standard. As well as it's linking role, OpenURL is a useful standard for the transfer of bibliographic data for the purposes of...

  14. Extension of specification language for soundness and completeness of service workflow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viriyasitavat, Wattana; Xu, Li Da; Bi, Zhuming; Sapsomboon, Assadaporn

    2018-05-01

    A Service Workflow is an aggregation of distributed services to fulfill specific functionalities. With ever increasing available services, the methodologies for the selections of the services against the given requirements become main research subjects in multiple disciplines. A few of researchers have contributed to the formal specification languages and the methods for model checking; however, existing methods have the difficulties to tackle with the complexity of workflow compositions. In this paper, we propose to formalize the specification language to reduce the complexity of the workflow composition. To this end, we extend a specification language with the consideration of formal logic, so that some effective theorems can be derived for the verification of syntax, semantics, and inference rules in the workflow composition. The logic-based approach automates compliance checking effectively. The Service Workflow Specification (SWSpec) has been extended and formulated, and the soundness, completeness, and consistency of SWSpec applications have been verified; note that a logic-based SWSpec is mandatory for the development of model checking. The application of the proposed SWSpec has been demonstrated by the examples with the addressed soundness, completeness, and consistency.

  15. Evaluating effectiveness and constraints of private sector agricultural extension services of the Green River Project in Imo and Rivers States, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onyinyechi I. Ogbonna

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Oil exploration operations decreased the cultivable lands of rural people in the study area, leading to the establishment of the Green River Project (GRP. This study assessed the effectiveness and constraints of private sector extension services of GRP in Imo and Rivers States, Nigeria. Objectives: To analyse the roles and effectiveness of, as well as constraints to, the GRP in the area. Method: A multistage sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, chi square and t-test were used to analyse the data. Results: Roles of GRP in farming technologies dissemination included training of farmers on fish pond construction technique and maintenance of good pH levels. There was significant improvement in standard of living (X2 = 15.7; p ≤ 0.05 and size of production (t = 6.398; p ≤ 0.05 of the respondents after participation. In terms of the effectiveness of private sector deliveries on public policies, the programme had effect on beneficiaries’ access to credit, education of wards and poverty reduction. But it is worthy to note that the observed changes may not have been solely caused by the GRP, given that there could be many other factors affecting fish farming, either positively or negatively. Serious implementation constraints to effective performance of GRP included organisational, input and sustainability constraints. Conclusion: It was recommended that there should be timely provision of sufficient inputs to farmers and measures to improve organisation of private sector extension services in the area in order to enhance development.

  16. Service Life Extension of the Propulsion System of Long-Term Manned Orbital Stations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamath, Ulhas; Kuznetsov, Sergei; Spencer, Victor

    2014-01-01

    . There are no representative ground test articles for some of the components. A 'test everything' approach would require manufacturing new test articles. The paper outlines some of the techniques used for selective testing, by way of cherry picking candidate components based on failure mode effects analysis, system level impacts, hazard analysis, etc. The type of testing required for extending the service life depends on the design and criticality of the component, failure modes and failure mechanisms, life cycle margin provided by the original certification, operational and environmental stresses encountered, etc. When specific failure mechanism being considered and the underlying relationship of that mode to the stresses provided in the test can be correlated by supporting analysis, time and effort required for conducting life extension testing can be significantly reduced. Exposure to corrosive propellants over long periods of time, for instance, lead to specific failure mechanisms in several components used in the propulsion system. Using Arrhenius model, which is tied to chemically dependent failure mechanisms such as corrosion or chemical reactions, it is possible to subject carefully selected test articles to accelerated life test. Arrhenius model reflects the proportional relationship between time to failure of a component and the exponential of the inverse of absolute temperature acting on the component. The acceleration factor is used to perform tests at higher stresses that allow direct correlation between the times to failure at a high test temperature to the temperatures to be expected in actual use. As long as the temperatures are such that new failure mechanisms are not introduced, this becomes a very useful method for testing to failure a relatively small sample of items for a much shorter amount of time. In this article, based on the example of the propulsion system of the first ISS module Zarya, theoretical approaches and practical activities of

  17. Corporate brand extensions based on the purchase likelihood: governance implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spyridon Goumas

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper is examining the purchase likelihood of hypothetical service brand extensions from product companies focusing on consumer electronics based on sector categorization and perceptions of fit between the existing product category and image of the company. Prior research has recognized that levels of brand knowledge eases the transference of associations and affect to the new products. Similarity to the existing products of the parent company and perceived image also influence the success of brand extensions. However, sector categorization may interfere with this relationship. The purpose of this study is to examine Greek consumers’ attitudes towards hypothetical brand extensions, and how these are affected by consumers’ existing knowledge about the brand, sector categorization and perceptions of image and category fit of cross-sector extensions. This aim is examined in the context of technological categories, where less-known companies exhibited significance in purchase likelihood, and contradictory with the existing literature, service companies did not perform as positively as expected. Additional insights to the existing literature about sector categorization are provided. The effect of both image and category fit is also examined and predictions regarding the effect of each are made.

  18. A two-state comparative implementation of peer-support intervention to link veterans to health-related services after incarceration: a study protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simmons, Molly M; Fincke, Benjamin G; Drainoni, Mari-Lynn; Kim, Bo; Byrne, Tom; Smelson, David; Casey, Kevin; Ellison, Marsha L; Visher, Christy; Blue-Howells, Jessica; McInnes, D Keith

    2017-09-12

    Approximately 600,000 persons are released from prison annually in the United States. Relatively few receive sufficient re-entry services and are at risk for unemployment, homelessness, poverty, substance abuse relapse and recidivism. Persons leaving prison who have a mental illness and/or a substance use disorder are particularly challenged. This project aims to create a peer mentor program to extend the reach and effectiveness of reentry services provided by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). We will implement a peer support for reentry veterans sequentially in two states. Our outcome measures are 1) fidelity of the intervention, 2) linkage to VA health care and, 3) continued engagement in health care. The aims for this project are as follows: (1) Conduct contextual analysis to identify VA and community reentry resources, and describe how reentry veterans use them. (2) Implement peer-support, in one state, to link reentry veterans to Veterans' Health Administration (VHA) primary care, mental health, and SUD services. (3) Port the peer-support intervention to another, geographically, and contextually different state. This intervention involves a 2-state sequential implementation study (Massachusetts, followed by Pennsylvania) using a Facilitation Implementation strategy. We will conduct formative and summative analyses, including assessment of fidelity, and a matched comparison group to evaluate the intervention's outcomes of veteran linkage and engagement in VHA health care (using health care utilization measures). The study proceeds in 3 phases. We anticipate that a peer support program will be effective at improving the reentry process for veterans, particularly in linking them to health, mental health, and SUD services and helping them to stay engaged in those services. It will fill a gap by providing veterans with access to a trusted individual, who understands their experience as a veteran and who has experienced justice involvement. The outputs from

  19. Building a SuAVE browse interface to R2R's Linked Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, D.; Stocks, K. I.; Arko, R. A.; Zaslavsky, I.; Whitenack, T.

    2017-12-01

    The Rolling Deck to Repository program (R2R) is creating and evaluating a new browse portal based on the SuAVE platform and the R2R linked data graph. R2R manages the underway sensor data collected by the fleet of US academic research vessels, and provides a discovery and access point to those data at its website, www.rvdata.us. R2R has a database-driven search interface, but seeks a more capable and extensible browse interface that could be built off of the substantial R2R linked data resources. R2R's Linked Data graph organizes its data holdings around key concepts (e.g. cruise, vessel, device type, operator, award, organization, publication), anchored by persistent identifiers where feasible. The "Survey Analysis via Visual Exploration" or SuAVE platform (suave.sdsc.edu) is a system for online publication, sharing, and analysis of images and metadata. It has been implemented as an interface to diverse data collections, but has not been driven off of linked data in the past. SuAVE supports several features of interest to R2R, including faceted searching, collaborative annotations, efficient subsetting, Google maps-like navigation over an image gallery, and several types of data analysis. Our initial SuAVE-based implementation was through a CSV export from the R2R PostGIS-enabled PostgreSQL database. This served to demonstrate the utility of SuAVE but was static and required reloading as R2R data holdings grew. We are now working to implement a SPARQL-based ("RDF Query Language") service that directly leverages the R2R Linked Data graph and offers the ability to subset and/or customize output.We will show examples of SuAVE faceted searches on R2R linked data concepts, and discuss our experience to date with this work in progress.

  20. Exploring nomological link between automated service quality, customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions with CRM performance indexing approach: Empirical evidence from Indian banking industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arup Kumar Baksi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Automation in service delivery has increased the consumers’ expectation with regard to service quality and subsequently the perception of the same. Technology-driven services redefined quality dimensions and their subsequent impact on the behavioural outcomes of the consumers with specific reference to attitudinal loyalty and propensity to switch. Customer Relationship Management (CRM has further reinforced the operational aspects of a service provider by integrating the behavioural perspectives with technology. This paper attempts to explore the nomological link between automated service quality and its behavioural consequences with specific reference to consumers’ attitudinal loyalty and their intention to switch or defect from their present service provider. The study further takes into consideration the moderating effects of the performance of the dimensions and attributes of customer relationship management by introducing a novel approach to CRM performance indexing. The cross-sectional study was carried out with the customers of State Bank of India at Asansol, Durgapur, Bolpur and Santiniketan in West Bengal, India. The study used structural equation modeling (SEM to assess and validate the nomological relationship between the variables.

  1. BER and Availability Measured on FSO Link

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kvíčala, R.; Kvičera, V.; Grábner, M.; Fišer, Ondřej

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 16, č. 3 (2007), s. 7-12 ISSN 1210-2512 Grant - others:Ministry of research and technology(DE) 17050531 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30420517 Keywords : free space optical links * quality of service * meteorological optical range * link unavailability * bit error rate Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering

  2. 78 FR 72139 - Forms Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for Extension of Clearance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-02

    ... SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM Forms Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for Extension of Clearance AGENCY: Selective Service System. ACTION: Notice. The following forms have been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for extension of clearance in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35): SSS FOR...

  3. Linking a research register to clinical records in older adults' mental health services: a mixed-methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robotham, Dan; Evans, Joanne; Watson, Andrew; Perdue, Iain; Craig, Thomas; Rose, Diana; Wykes, Til

    2015-01-01

    Patients can provide consent to have their clinical records linked to a research register, a process known as consent for contact (C4C). There is evidence about how to engage people with mental illness in C4C, but nothing specific to older adults. This is a priority area for research (for example, dementia trials), although sign-up rates to C4C are lower than for younger populations. Through this study we seek to understand these disparities. This was a two-stage cross-sectional observational study. In phase one, focus groups with service users, carers and clinicians informed a framework for clinicians to explain C4C to those on their caseload. In phase two, clinicians explained C4C to 26 service users (and carers where applicable). These conversations were recorded, and their content was analysed. Service users and carers were then interviewed to provide further feedback on their conversations with clinicians. A total of 31 service users, 24 carers and 13 clinical staff took part across the two phases. In phase one, service users and carers sought assurance of the right to refuse participation in further studies (after joining C4C). Clinicians expressed concerns over legal and practical implications of ascertaining mental capacity and best interest. In phase two, clinicians' explanations were less thorough than similar explanations given to younger adults with psychosis. Clinicians omitted details of service users' right to stipulate contact arrangements, which was significantly associated with whether service users/carers agreed to join. Common reasons for joining C4C included altruism and the chance to speak to new people. Few participants refused to join, but reasons included avoidance of stress (potentially alleviated through the presence of a carer). Implementing C4C in older adults' services requires clinicians to deliver concise, simple explanations to individuals and their carers where applicable. Older adults can be suspicious of unsolicited contact; thus

  4. Cost-Sharing of Agricultural Technology Transfer in Nigeria: Perceptions of Farmers and Extension Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozor, N.; Agwu, A. E.; Chukwuone, N. A.; Madukwe, M. C.; Garforth, C. J.

    2007-01-01

    Cost-sharing, which involves government-farmer partnership in the funding of agricultural extension service, is one of the reforms aimed at achieving sustainable funding for extension systems. This study examined the perceptions of farmers and extension professionals on this reform agenda in Nigeria. The study was carried out in six geopolitical…

  5. [Public health services between "new public health" and "new public management"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppen, M

    1996-04-01

    Today, a substantial reorientation of the Public Health services in the Federal Republic of Germany is broadly seen necessary. Patterns of functional and organisational restructuring of Public Health services on the regional and the communal level are closely linked with concepts of prevention and health promotion. Hence, a number of agencies have already adopted new tasks and functions like comprehensive and transorganizational planning, coordination and evaluation as well as the establishment of new reporting systems. Presently, the transformation process from the bureaucratic mode of administering matters of health to a new Public Health orientation receives new impacts from the international "New Public Management" movement. Comparatively late, with the beginning of the 1990s, a growing number of German municipalities has introduced new concepts of administration. Local government administrations, of which the Public Health services are a part, follow the model of modern service organizations producing services in a more efficient, professionalized and consumer-oriented way. Specific elements of economising modernisation programmes like re-distribution of tasks, de-centralisation, extension of managerial capacities, setting of stimulating working conditions that provide employees with greater independence of action as well as career opportunities, are at the same time prerequisites for innovative strategies of health protection and coordination policies of Public Health services.

  6. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... people on HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy), for example, who continue to misuse drugs. The Learn the Link public service campaign is just one example of how NIDA continues to respond to the ...

  7. A hidden service model based on HS-HS anonymous network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Yitong; Zhao, Xing; Fei, Jinlong; Zhu, Yuefei

    2017-10-01

    The Hidden Service provided by Tor anonymous network can effectively protect the anonymity and security of the Hidden server, this article through the analysis of the data packet structure of Tor, three jump transmission mechanism and link establishment protocol and Hidden Service communication process, in view of the Hidden node number too much, link building Service for too long and too redundant link problem. An improved hidden service model HS-HS is proposed that incorporating multiple transmission link and reuse, and at the same time will be important transit point for reuse protection link anonymity, through the ExperimenTor simulation environment test, verify the improved model of HS-HS can be more effective in guarantee anonymity and security, improve the overall efficiency of data transmission, to meet the needs of today's anonymous service.

  8. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Link" campaign continues to raise awareness among this generation of the real risks of drug use for ... Resource Center (NWHRC) Mujeres Unidas Contra el SIDA New Mexico AIDS Services African Advocates Against AIDS The ...

  9. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Campaign Overview The Learn the Link campaign uses TV, print, and Web public service announcements (PSAs), as ... CW BET NBC ABC FOX LATV My Network TV Organizations: AIDS.gov AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth ...

  10. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... risky behavior. Drug misuse by any route (not just injection) can put a person at risk for ... The Learn the Link public service campaign is just one example of how NIDA continues to respond ...

  11. Improvement suggestions on license extension management for civil nuclear safety equipment activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Xingjian; Liu Hongji; Han Guoli; Jia Fengcai

    2013-01-01

    Based on the concepts of Clear Requirements, Comprehensive Review, Objective Assessment, Dynamic Management, this paper gives improvement suggestions on license extension management for civil nuclear safety equipment design, manufacture, installation and non-destructive examination activities, which include establishing a relatively unified license extension review standard, combining multi-views and close linking license review and supervision, full utilizing the daily supervision and inspection results, as well as further improving motivation and elimination mechanism. (authors)

  12. Extension of life of nuclear power stations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Hideaki

    1991-01-01

    At the time of designing nuclear power stations, as their service life, generally 40 years are taken, and the basic design specifications of machinery and equipment are determined. In USA where atomic energy has been developed, the new construction of nuclear power stations is cased for a while, however, if this situation continues as it is, since old power stations reach the service life of 40 years and are retired in near future, it is feared that the circumstance of the total amount of power generation becoming short will occur. As one of the countermeasures to this, the research on the extension of life of nuclear power stations has been carried out in many fields in USA, and it is expected that the application for extending the life for the power stations constructed in the initial period of development is submitted in 1991. The researches that have been carried out for solving the technical problems in this extension of life and the situation in Japan are reported. The NEC of USA decided that the operation period of nuclear power stations in USA, which is considered to be 40 years so far, can be extended up to the limit of 20 years. The background and circumstances of this problem in USA, Nuclear Plant Aging Research Program, Plant Life Extension Program and so on are reported. (K.I.)

  13. Cross Country MetroLink Segment I Business Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    1997-12-02

    In the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area, the East-West Gateway Coordinating : Council decided the route for the first MetroLink extension in the Cross-County : Corridor in September 1997. The next phase, reflected in this paper is develop, : dur...

  14. Patients’ Online Access to Their Primary Care Electronic Health Records and Linked Online Services: Implications for Research and Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Freda Mold

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Online access to medical records and linked services, including requesting repeat prescriptions and booking appointments, enables patients to personalize their access to care. However, online access creates opportunities and challenges for both health professionals and their patients, in practices and in research. The challenges for practice are the impact of online services on workload and the quality and safety of health care. Health professionals are concerned about the impact on workload, especially from email or other online enquiry systems, as well as risks to privacy. Patients report how online access provides a convenient means through which to access their health provider and may offer greater satisfaction if they get a timely response from a clinician. Online access and services may also result in unforeseen consequences and may change the nature of the patient-clinician interaction. Research challenges include: (1 Ensuring privacy, including how to control inappropriate carer and guardian access to medical records; (2 Whether online access to records improves patient safety and health outcomes; (3 Whether record access increases disparities across social classes and between genders; and (4 Improving efficiency. The challenges for practice are: (1 How to incorporate online access into clinical workflow; (2 The need for a business model to fund the additional time taken. Creating a sustainable business model for a safe, private, informative, more equitable online service is needed if online access to records is to be provided outside of pay-for-service systems.

  15. Linking families with pre-school children from healthcare services to community resources: a systematic review protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Jacky; Conway, David I; Gnich, Wendy; Macpherson, Lorna M D

    2017-03-08

    Poor health and health inequalities persist despite increasing investment in health improvement programmes across high-income countries. Evidence suggests that to reduce health inequalities, a range of activities targeted at different levels within society and throughout the life course should be employed. There is a particular focus on addressing inequalities in early years as this may influence the experience of health in adulthood. To address the wider determinants of health at a community level, a key intervention which can be considered is supporting patients to access wider community resources. This can include processes such as signposting, referral and facilitation. There is a lack of evidence synthesis in relation to the most effective methods for linking individuals from health services to other services within communities, especially when considering interventions aimed at families with young children. The aim of this study is to understand the way health services can best help parents, carers and families with pre-school children to engage with local services, groups and agencies to address their wider health and social needs. The review may inform future guidance to support families to address wider determinants of health. The study is a systematic review, and papers will be identified from the following electronic databases: Web of Science, Embase, MEDLINE and CINAHL. A grey literature search will be conducted using an internet search engine and specific grey literature databases (TRiP, EThOS and Open Grey). Reference lists/bibliographies of selected papers will be searched. Quality will be assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for quantitative studies and the CASP tool for qualitative studies. Data will be synthesised in a narrative form and weighted by study quality. It is important to understand how health services can facilitate access to wider services for their patients to address the wider

  16. Patients’ online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic interpretative review

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Lusignan, Simon; Mold, Freda; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Gronlund, Toto Anne; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Barker, Fiona; Ellis, Beverley; Koczan, Phil; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; McCarthy, Mary; Jones, Simon; Rafi, Imran

    2014-01-01

    Objectives To investigate the effect of providing patients online access to their electronic health record (EHR) and linked transactional services on the provision, quality and safety of healthcare. The objectives are also to identify and understand: barriers and facilitators for providing online access to their records and services for primary care workers; and their association with organisational/IT system issues. Setting Primary care. Participants A total of 143 studies were included. 17 were experimental in design and subject to risk of bias assessment, which is reported in a separate paper. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria have also been published elsewhere in the protocol. Primary and secondary outcome measures Our primary outcome measure was change in quality or safety as a result of implementation or utilisation of online records/transactional services. Results No studies reported changes in health outcomes; though eight detected medication errors and seven reported improved uptake of preventative care. Professional concerns over privacy were reported in 14 studies. 18 studies reported concern over potential increased workload; with some showing an increase workload in email or online messaging; telephone contact remaining unchanged, and face-to face contact staying the same or falling. Owing to heterogeneity in reporting overall workload change was hard to predict. 10 studies reported how online access offered convenience, primarily for more advantaged patients, who were largely highly satisfied with the process when clinician responses were prompt. Conclusions Patient online access and services offer increased convenience and satisfaction. However, professionals were concerned about impact on workload and risk to privacy. Studies correcting medication errors may improve patient safety. There may need to be a redesign of the business process to engage health professionals in online access and of the EHR to make it friendlier and provide equity of

  17. 76 FR 33780 - Extension of Time for Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [2253-665] Extension of Time for Inventory AGENCY... inventories of Native American human remains and associated funerary objects in their possession or control. Recent regulations (43 CFR 10.13) provide deadlines for completing inventories of human remains and...

  18. What Is Your Library Worth? Extension Uses Public Value Workshops in Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haskell, Jane E.; Morse, George W.

    2015-01-01

    Public libraries are seeing flat or reduced funding even as demands for new services are increasing. Facing an identical problem, Extension developed a program to identify the indirect benefits to non-participants of Extension programs in order to encourage their public funding support. This educational approach was customized to public libraries…

  19. Negative extensibility metamaterials: Occurrence and design-space topology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karpov, Eduard G.; Danso, Larry A.; Klein, John T.

    2017-08-01

    A negative extensibility material structure pulls back and contracts when the external tensile load reaches a certain critical level. In this paper, we reveal basic mathematical features of the nonlinear strain energy function responsible for this unusual mechanical property. A systematic discussion leads to a comprehensive phase diagram in terms of design parameters for a simple unit cell structure that provides a panoramic view of all possible nonlinear mechanical behaviors. A negative extensibility region clearly is identified in the diagram. The sought property is seen to be rare, occurring only for a very narrow range of the design parameters. Nonetheless, due to the simplicity of the studied structure we suggest that the negative extensibility should be a more common phenomenon than previously thought. It can appear in simple bistable cells made of only several linearly elastic links, although at some peculiar combinations of their properties. These bistable unit cells can be used to design periodic mechanical metamaterials whose examples are shown as well as innovative architectural metastructures.

  20. The OceanLink Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narock, T.; Arko, R. A.; Carbotte, S. M.; Chandler, C. L.; Cheatham, M.; Finin, T.; Hitzler, P.; Krisnadhi, A.; Raymond, L. M.; Shepherd, A.; Wiebe, P. H.

    2014-12-01

    A wide spectrum of maturing methods and tools, collectively characterized as the Semantic Web, is helping to vastly improve the dissemination of scientific research. Creating semantic integration requires input from both domain and cyberinfrastructure scientists. OceanLink, an NSF EarthCube Building Block, is demonstrating semantic technologies through the integration of geoscience data repositories, library holdings, conference abstracts, and funded research awards. Meeting project objectives involves applying semantic technologies to support data representation, discovery, sharing and integration. Our semantic cyberinfrastructure components include ontology design patterns, Linked Data collections, semantic provenance, and associated services to enhance data and knowledge discovery, interoperation, and integration. We discuss how these components are integrated, the continued automated and semi-automated creation of semantic metadata, and techniques we have developed to integrate ontologies, link resources, and preserve provenance and attribution.

  1. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    test was done on each of the individual and group media services. There were .... information sharing with other farmers as the most important responsibilities of study ... ii) Motivations for not using the websites were as followed: ... experience and “cross-pollinate” with other Subtrop commodities. .... Tourism Management.

  2. Factors Impacting Program Delivery: The Importance of Implementation Research in Extension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan J. Gagnon

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Cooperative Extension is in a unique position, given its relationship with research-based, Land-Grant Universities, to advance the scholarship of implementation research. A stronger shift towards evidence-based practice has been occurring, oriented towards the assessment of programs for outcomes. This paper explores core concepts related to program implementation and delves into factors that influence successful implementation of Extension programs and services. The importance of implementation within the Extension Program Development Model is explored, along with emerging issues and trends.

  3. Minding the gap between policy and practice amongst extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ) provides the contextual and institutional framework for all of governments activities. As a result, there is a call for extension to increasingly become associated with efficient and effective delivery of services in line with government policy to ...

  4. Failure in Success; An Assessment of Agricultural Extension in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Robert A.

    The United States formalized its cooperative national support program for agricultural extension in 1941. The hope was to increase agricultural production and to help maintain a rural way of life in the United States. The Cooperative Extension Service was unable to strike a balance between these two goals, emphasizing increased production to such…

  5. Health Extension and Clinical and Translational Science: An Innovative Strategy for Community Engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Arthur; Rhyne, Robert L; Anastasoff, Juliana; Ronquillo, Francisco; Nixon, Marnie; Mishra, Shiraz; Poola, Charlene; Page-Reeves, Janet; Nkouaga, Carolina; Cordova, Carla; Larson, Richard S

    Health Extension Regional Officers (HEROs) through the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC) help to facilitate university-community engagement throughout New Mexico. HEROs, based in communities across the state, link priority community health needs with university resources in education, service, and research. Researchers' studies are usually aligned with federal funding priorities rather than with health priorities expressed by communities. To help overcome this misalignment, the UNM Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) provides partial funding for HEROs to bridge the divide between research priorities of UNMHSC and health priorities of the state's communities. A bidirectional partnership between HEROs and CTSC researchers was established, which led to: 1) increased community engaged studies through the CTSC, 2) the HERO model itself as a subject of research, 3) a HERO-driven increase in local capacity in scholarship and grant writing, and 4) development of training modules for investigators and community stakeholders on community-engaged research. As a result, 5 grants were submitted, 4 of which were funded, totaling $7,409,002.00, and 3 research articles were published. Health extension can serve as a university-funded, community-based bridge between community health needs and Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) research capacity, opening avenues for translational research. © Copyright 2017 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

  6. Virtual Web Services

    OpenAIRE

    Rykowski, Jarogniew

    2007-01-01

    In this paper we propose an application of software agents to provide Virtual Web Services. A Virtual Web Service is a linked collection of several real and/or virtual Web Services, and public and private agents, accessed by the user in the same way as a single real Web Service. A Virtual Web Service allows unrestricted comparison, information merging, pipelining, etc., of data coming from different sources and in different forms. Detailed architecture and functionality of a single Virtual We...

  7. 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.

  8. TAPRegExt: a VOResource Schema Extension for Describing TAP Services Version 1.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demleitner, Markus; Dowler, Patrick; Plante, Ray; Rixon, Guy; Taylor, Mark; Demleitner, Markus

    2012-08-01

    This document describes an XML encoding standard for metadata about services implementing the table access protocol TAP [TAP], referred to as TAPRegExt. Instance documents are part of the service's registry record or can be obtained from the service itself. They deliver information to both humans and software on the languages, output formats, and upload methods supported by the service, as well as data models implemented by the exposed tables, optional language features, and certain limits enforced by the service.

  9. Overview of climate change adaptation platforms/services in Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Street, Roger; Sanderson, Hans; Clare, Downing

    2015-01-01

    information on the nature and scope of the links between adaptation services, and climate services and disaster risk management services. The information provided covers the status and drivers for these links, how respective roles can be defined and relationships established, and how to enhance the quality...

  10. Toward the extension of obligations to other intermediaries in the internet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ernesto Rengifo García

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that the copy diminishes the individual value of the creation and discourages the effort of the creator. Because of this, the responsibility of internet service providers (ISP concerning copyright infringement by their users has been a subject of great controversy for more than a decade. This discussion has led to a consensus in the sense that the ISP will not be responsible when their participation in the infringement is limited to transmitting, linking, caching, and disseminating information generated by third parties, as long as other requirements are met, such as adopting and communicating policies intended to prevent infringements. However, the development of new business models and the expansion of services available online have raised the question of whether it is possible to extend the secondary or indirect liability regime to other intermediaries such as internet advertising services and financial transaction providers. In order to analyze the liability regimes that could be applied to these intermediaries,¡ it is important to take into account the following points, which will be developed in this paper: i to understand the operation of online advertising and payments and the economic magnitude of these businesses, ii to understand the liability regime presently applied to the isp, iii to study the objections that have been raised against the extension of such regime to online advertising and financial transaction providers, and finally, iv to analyze how through recent legislative initiatives such as the proposed PIPA, SOPA, and open bills in the United States, efforts have been undertaken to overcome the objections and to offer effective and expeditious mechanisms to protect copyright in the internet.

  11. Linking communities to formal health care providers through village health teams in rural Uganda: lessons from linking social capital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musinguzi, Laban Kashaija; Turinawe, Emmanueil Benon; Rwemisisi, Jude T; de Vries, Daniel H; Mafigiri, David K; Muhangi, Denis; de Groot, Marije; Katamba, Achilles; Pool, Robert

    2017-01-11

    Community-based programmes, particularly community health workers (CHWs), have been portrayed as a cost-effective alternative to the shortage of health workers in low-income countries. Usually, literature emphasises how easily CHWs link and connect communities to formal health care services. There is little evidence in Uganda to support or dispute such claims. Drawing from linking social capital framework, this paper examines the claim that village health teams (VHTs), as an example of CHWs, link and connect communities with formal health care services. Data were collected through ethnographic fieldwork undertaken as part of a larger research program in Luwero District, Uganda, between 2012 and 2014. The main methods of data collection were participant observation in events organised by VHTs. In addition, a total of 91 in-depth interviews and 42 focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with adult community members as part of the larger project. After preliminary analysis of the data, we conducted an additional six in-depth interviews and three FGD with VHTs and four FGD with community members on the role of VHTs. Key informant interviews were conducted with local government staff, health workers, local leaders, and NGO staff with health programs in Luwero. Thematic analysis was used during data analysis. The ability of VHTs to link communities with formal health care was affected by the stakeholders' perception of their roles. Community members perceive VHTs as working for and under instructions of "others", which makes them powerless in the formal health care system. One of the challenges associated with VHTs' linking roles is support from the government and formal health care providers. Formal health care providers perceived VHTs as interested in special recognition for their services yet they are not "experts". For some health workers, the introduction of VHTs is seen as a ploy by the government to control people and hide its inability to provide health

  12. Linking audit and clinical effectiveness in the lung tumour service

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Gorman, Sharon

    2009-05-28

    Clinical Audit plays an important role in the evaluation of care and clinical outcomes for all patients. In conjunction with the respiratory nurse specialist a retrospective chart audit of the regional lung cancer service was undertaken at the Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar (MRHM). The lung cancer service has been established for four years and has set its standards in line with NICE guidelines and Irish guidelines for the clinical management of lung cancer. An audit tool was developed by the audit facilitator in conjunction with the respiratory nurse specialist and key department personnel. The tool aimed to measure length of time taken for key steps in the patients care pathway. A pilot audit was carried out and the tool was evaluated. The audit tool provided accurate recording of information at key points in the patient’s care which allows for a thorough service evaluation. The data collected and analysed gives vital information on the quality of service, and showed where there are deficits in service provision that need to be addressed.

  13. Service Orientation in Manufacturing Firms : Understanding Challenges with Service Business Logic

    OpenAIRE

    Löfberg, Nina

    2014-01-01

    Globalisation and competition from low-cost countries has pushed manufacturing firms towards offering services to remain competitive. However, increasing the service orientation of a manufacturing firm to find new ways of value (co-)creation has presented several challenges, such as the fact that services do not provide the expected revenues, and resistance from both the sales force and from customers towards services. The aim of this thesis is to understand challenges linked to increasing se...

  14. Context based service discovery in unmanaged networks using MDNS/DNS-SD

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stolikj, M.; Cuijpers, P.J.L.; Lukkien, J.J.; Buchina, N.; Bellido, F.J.; Vun, N.C.H.; Dolar, C.; Diaz-Sanchez, D.; Ling, W.-K.

    2016-01-01

    We propose an extension of the mDNS/DNS-SD service discovery protocol, which enables service clients to discover and select services based on their context. The extension improves scalability in large networks, which is of particular importance in future Internet of Things deployments.

  15. The crisis in United States hospital emergency services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Jeffrey P; Ferguson, Emily D

    2011-01-01

    Emergency services are critical for high-quality healthcare service provision to support acute illness, trauma and disaster response. The greater availability of emergency services decreases waiting time, improves clinical outcomes and enhances local community well being. This study aims to assess United States (U.S.) acute care hospital staffs ability to provide emergency medical services by evaluating the number of emergency departments and trauma centers. Data were obtained from the 2003 and 2007 American Hospital Association (AHA) annual surveys, which included over 5000 US hospitals and provided extensive information on their infrastructure and healthcare capabilities. U.S. acute care hospital numbers decreased by 59 or 1.1 percent from 2003 to 2007. Similarly, U.S. emergency rooms and trauma centers declined by 125, or 3 percent. The results indicate that US hospital staffs ability to respond to traumatic injury and disasters has declined. Therefore, US hospital managers need to increase their investment in emergency department beds as well as provide state-of-the-art clinical technology to improve emergency service quality. These investments, when linked to other clinical information systems and the electronic medical record, support further healthcare quality improvement. This research uses the AHA annual surveys,which represent self-reported data by individual hospital staff. However, the AHA expendssignificant resources to validate reported information and the annual survey data are widely used for hospital research. The declining US emergency rooms and trauma centers have negative implications for patients needing emergency services. More importantly, this research has significant policy implications because it documents a decline in the US emergency healthcare service infrastructure. This article has important information on US emergency service availability in the hospital industry.

  16. LOTUS: Adaptive text search for big linked data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ilievski, F.; Beek, Wouter; van Erp, Marieke; Rietveld, Laurens; Schlobach, Stefan

    2016-01-01

    Finding relevant resources on the Semantic Web today is a dirty job: no centralized query service exists and the support for natural language access is limited. We present LOTUS: Linked Open Text Un- leaShed, a text-based entry point to a massive subset of today’s Linked Open Data Cloud. Recognizing

  17. Linking ecosystem service supply to stakeholder concerns on ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Policies to protect coastal resources may lead to greater social, economic, and ecological returns when they consider potential co-benefits and trade-offs on land. In Guánica Bay watershed, Puerto Rico, a watershed management plan is being implemented to restore declining quality of coral reefs due to sediment and nutrient runoff. However, recent stakeholder workshops indicated uncertainty about benefits for the local community. A total of 19 metrics were identified to capture stakeholder concerns, including 15 terrestrial ecosystem services in the watershed and 4 metrics in the coastal zone. Ecosystem service production functions were applied to quantify and map ecosystem service supply in 1) the Guánica Bay watershed and 2) a highly engineered upper multi-watershed area connected to the lower watershed via a series of reservoirs and tunnels. These two watersheds were compared to other watersheds in Puerto Rico. Relative to other watersheds, the Upper Guánica watershed had high air pollutant removal rates, forest habitat area, biodiversity of charismatic and endangered species, but low farmland quality and low sediment retention. The Lower Guánica watershed had high rates of denitrification and high levels of marine-based recreational and fishing opportunities compared to other watersheds, but moderate to low air pollutant removal, soil carbon content, sediment and nutrient retention, and terrestrial biodiversity. Our results suggest that actions in the wat

  18. Linked data-as-a-service: The semantic web redeployed

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rietveld, Laurens; Verborgh, Ruben; Beek, Wouter; Vander Sande, Miel; Schlobach, Stefan

    2015-01-01

    Ad-hoc querying is crucial to access information from Linked Data, yet publishing queryable RDF datasets on the Web is not a trivial exercise. The most compelling argument to support this claim is that the Web contains hundreds of thousands of data documents, while only 260 queryable SPARQL

  19. 78 FR 26638 - Non-Competitive One-Year Extension With Funds for Black Lung/Coal Miner Clinics Program (H37...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Non-Competitive One-Year Extension With Funds for Black Lung/Coal Miner Clinics Program (H37) Current Grantee..., 2013), announcing the issuing of a non-competitive one-year extension with funds for the Black Lung...

  20. Service Learning and Political Socialization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owen, Diana

    2000-01-01

    Discusses the link between political socialization scholarship and service learning. States that information gleaned from socialization research on adolescents' political identities and beliefs can inform service learning, asserting that the relationship between political socialization and service learning needs to be encouraged. (CMK)

  1. Professional development and extension programs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bereznai, G. [University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON (Canada)

    2015-07-01

    Professional Development (PD) refers to the means by which people acquire, develop, maintain and enhance the specialist knowledge and skills needed to practice in their profession. Extension Programs (aka Continuing Education) are offered by most post-secondary degree/diploma/certificate granting institutions.The courses are typically taken on a part-time basis, and course delivery often includes distance learning technology. An important implementation of PD is via workplace training, industry specific seminars, workshops and non-credit courses offered by a wide range of service providers.

  2. Professional development and extension programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bereznai, G.

    2015-01-01

    Professional Development (PD) refers to the means by which people acquire, develop, maintain and enhance the specialist knowledge and skills needed to practice in their profession. Extension Programs (aka Continuing Education) are offered by most post-secondary degree/diploma/certificate granting institutions.The courses are typically taken on a part-time basis, and course delivery often includes distance learning technology. An important implementation of PD is via workplace training, industry specific seminars, workshops and non-credit courses offered by a wide range of service providers.

  3. The programs for lifetime extension by AREVA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knoche, P.

    2014-01-01

    In 2011 AREVA launched 2 worldwide programs to meet the demands of its customers: 'AREVA Safety Alliance' that proposes a set of measures for post-Fukushima safety upgrading and 'AREVA Forward Alliance' that is dedicated to lifetime extension projects. Concerning 'AREVA Safety Alliance' about 150 projects have been carried out for 53 customers in 19 countries, as for 'AREVA Forward Alliance' 60% of the lifetime extension projects in the US have been performed by AREVA. In the framework of lifetime extension projects, upgrading measures and services are proposed such as the installation of hydrogen recombiner units, of filtered ventilation systems for severe accidents, or the upgrading of the reactor control system through the implementation of the digital Teleperm XS technology, or recommendations about the methodology to follow for the repair or replacement of important components. The replacement of steam generators and of the pressurizer and with other upgrading works led to a gain of 18.5% on the output power of the Ringhals-4 unit. (A.C.)

  4. Propagation engineering in radio links design

    CERN Document Server

    Ghasemi, Abdollah; Ghasemi, Farshid

    2013-01-01

    Propagation Engineering in Radio Link Design covers the basic principles of radiowaves propagation in a practical manner.  This fundamental understanding enables the readers to design radio links efficiently. This book elaborates on new achievements as well as recently developed propagation models.  This is in addition to a comprehensive overview of fundamentals of propagation in various scenarios. It examines theoretical calculations, approaches and applied procedures needed for radio links design. The authors study and analysis of the main propagation phenomena and its mechanisms based on the recommendations of International Telecommunications Union, (ITU). The book has been organized in 9 chapters and examines the role of antennas and passive reflectors in radio services, propagation mechanisms related to radar, satellite, short distance, broadcasting and trans-horizon radio links, with two chapters devoted to radio noise and main  parameters of radio link design. The book presents some 278 illustration...

  5. Prediction of transits of Solar system objects in Kepler/K2 images: an extension of the Virtual Observatory service SkyBoT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berthier, J.; Carry, B.; Vachier, F.; Eggl, S.; Santerne, A.

    2016-05-01

    All the fields of the extended space mission Kepler/K2 are located within the ecliptic. Many Solar system objects thus cross the K2 stellar masks on a regular basis. We aim at providing to the entire community a simple tool to search and identify Solar system objects serendipitously observed by Kepler. The sky body tracker (SkyBoT) service hosted at Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides provides a Virtual Observatory compliant cone search that lists all Solar system objects present within a field of view at a given epoch. To generate such a list in a timely manner, ephemerides are pre-computed, updated weekly, and stored in a relational data base to ensure a fast access. The SkyBoT web service can now be used with Kepler. Solar system objects within a small (few arcminutes) field of view are identified and listed in less than 10 s. Generating object data for the entire K2 field of view (14°) takes about a minute. This extension of the SkyBoT service opens new possibilities with respect to mining K2 data for Solar system science, as well as removing Solar system objects from stellar photometric time series.

  6. Diversity Within the O-linked Protein Glycosylation Systems of Acinetobacter Species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scott, N. E.; Kinsella, R. L.; Edwards, A. V. G.

    2014-01-01

    nature of glycan biogenesis we investigated the composition, diversity, and properties of the Acinetobacter glycoproteome. Utilizing global and targeted mass spectrometry methods, we examined 15 strains and found extensive glycan diversity in the O-linked glycoproteome of Acinetobacter. Comparison......-linked glycosylation favors short (three to five residue) glycans with limited branching containing negatively charged sugars such as GlcNAc3NAcA4OAc or legionaminic/pseudaminic acid derivatives. These observations suggest that although highly diverse, the capsule/O-linked glycan biosynthetic pathways generate glycans...

  7. Linking Planning and Budgeting through Business Process Redesign.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inman, Marianne E.

    In the wake of an extensive strategic planning process that refocused institutional values at Northland College, Wisconsin, the administration undertook linking the budget with the newly articulated plan. Incremental budgeting was no longer feasible, and the new budget would have to reflect streamlining and new ways of functioning. Consequently…

  8. The GEOSS Science and Technology Stakeholder Network and Service Suite: Linking S&T Communities and GEOSS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plag, Hans-Peter; Jules-Plag, Shelley

    2015-04-01

    The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) developed by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) aims to provide practice-relevant knowledge in support of decision making in a wide range of societal benefit areas. Generating this practice-relevant knowledge based on Earth observations, socio-economic data and models often depends on research, and utilization of the societal benefits of EOs requires the involvement of science and research communities. Building a GEOSS responding to the needs of a wide range of users necessitates contributions from many science and technology (S&T) communities. In particular, a strong engagement of science and technology (S&T) communities in both the development and use of GEOSS is necessary to address the complex issues associated with the on-going transition out of the Holocene. S&T support is needed to improve interoperability between global observing, modeling, and information systems; to enable data integration across disciplinary boundaries; to facilitate data sharing, archiving, dissemination, and reanalysis; to optimize the recording of observations, assimilation of data into models, and generation of data products; to enhance the value of observations from individual observing systems through their integration in the SBAs; and to harmonize well-calibrated, highly accurate, stable, sustained in-situ and satellite observations of the same variable recorded by different sensors and different agencies. Consequently, the GEO Work Plan includes several Tasks focusing on outreach to S&T communities, and most of the GEO Community of Practice have a strong S&T component. The GEOSS S&T Stakeholder Network facilitates input from S&T communities to GEO. Infrastructure serving and linking S&T users communities and GEOSS has been developed and is integrated into a GEOSS S&T Service Suite (GSTSS). The GSTSS has several outreach components for the demonstration of GEOSS and its value for S&T communities, and for services supporting

  9. Service audit of a forensic rehabilitation ward.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Susan; Gudjonsson, Gisli H; Needham-Bennett, Humphrey; Chick, Kay

    2009-10-01

    An open forensic rehabilitation ward provides an important link bridging the gap between secure and community provisions. This paper provides an audit of such a service by examining the records of an open forensic rehabilitation ward over a five-year period from 1 June 2000 until 31 May 2005. During the audit period there were 51 admissions, involving 45 different patients, and 50 discharges. The majority of the patients came from secure unit facilities, acute psychiatric wards or home. Thirty-nine patients were discharged either into hostels (66%) or their home (12%). The majority of patients (80%) had on admission a primary diagnosis of either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Most had an extensive forensic history. The focus of their admission was to assess and treat their mental illness/disorder and offending behaviour and this was successful as the majority of patients were transferred to a community placement after a mean of 15 months. It is essential that there is a well-integrated care pathway for forensic patients, involving constructive liaison with generic services and a well-structured treatment programme which integrates the key principles of the 'recovery model' approach to care.

  10. Agricultural extension and mass media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perraton, H

    1983-12-01

    To learn more about the use of the mass media for agricultural extension, the World Bank has considered the efforts of 2 units: INADES-formation in West Africa and the Extension Aids Branch of Malawi. The INADES-formation study focuses on Cameroon but also considers work in Rwanda and the Ivory Coast. Some general conclusions emerge from a comparison of the 2 organizations. Malawi operates an extension service which reaches farmers through extension agents, through farmer training centers, and through mass media. The Extension Aids Branch (EAB) has responsibility for its media work and broadcasts 4 1/2 hours of radio each week. Its 6 regular radio programs include a general program which interviews farmers, a music request program in which the music is interspersed with farming advice, a farming family serial, and a daily broadcast of agricultural news and information. The 17 cinema vans show some agricultural films, made by EAB, some entertainment films, and some government information films from departments other than the ministry of agriculture. EAB also has a well-developed program of research and evaluation of its own work. INADES-formation, the training section of INADES, works towards social and economic development of the population. It teaches peasant farmers and extension agents and does this through running face-to-face seminars, by publishing a magazine, "Agripromo," and through correspondence courses. In 1978-79 INADES-formation enrolled some 4500 farmers and extension agents as students. Both of these organizations work to teach farmers better agriculture techniques, and both were created in response to the fact that agricultural extension agents cannot meet all the farmers in their area. Despite the similarity of objective, there are differences in methods and philosophy. The EAB works in a single country and uses a variety of mass media, with print playing a minor role. INADES-formation is an international and nongovernmental organization and its

  11. Patients' online access to their electronic health records and linked online services: a systematic interpretative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Lusignan, Simon; Mold, Freda; Sheikh, Aziz; Majeed, Azeem; Wyatt, Jeremy C; Quinn, Tom; Cavill, Mary; Gronlund, Toto Anne; Franco, Christina; Chauhan, Umesh; Blakey, Hannah; Kataria, Neha; Barker, Fiona; Ellis, Beverley; Koczan, Phil; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; McCarthy, Mary; Jones, Simon; Rafi, Imran

    2014-09-08

    To investigate the effect of providing patients online access to their electronic health record (EHR) and linked transactional services on the provision, quality and safety of healthcare. The objectives are also to identify and understand: barriers and facilitators for providing online access to their records and services for primary care workers; and their association with organisational/IT system issues. Primary care. A total of 143 studies were included. 17 were experimental in design and subject to risk of bias assessment, which is reported in a separate paper. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria have also been published elsewhere in the protocol. Our primary outcome measure was change in quality or safety as a result of implementation or utilisation of online records/transactional services. No studies reported changes in health outcomes; though eight detected medication errors and seven reported improved uptake of preventative care. Professional concerns over privacy were reported in 14 studies. 18 studies reported concern over potential increased workload; with some showing an increase workload in email or online messaging; telephone contact remaining unchanged, and face-to face contact staying the same or falling. Owing to heterogeneity in reporting overall workload change was hard to predict. 10 studies reported how online access offered convenience, primarily for more advantaged patients, who were largely highly satisfied with the process when clinician responses were prompt. Patient online access and services offer increased convenience and satisfaction. However, professionals were concerned about impact on workload and risk to privacy. Studies correcting medication errors may improve patient safety. There may need to be a redesign of the business process to engage health professionals in online access and of the EHR to make it friendlier and provide equity of access to a wider group of patients. A1 SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO

  12. Dissemination of the Linked-benefit Strategy in Sustainable Marketing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wever, R.; Goemans, M.; Bork, S.

    2009-01-01

    Multinationals wanting to sell eco-friendly products are advised by the green-marketing literature to apply a socalled linked-benefit strategy [1, 2, p.121], which describes attributes of a product (or service) that are positive for the environment and links those to benefits for the consumer (e.g.

  13. EarthCube GeoLink: Semantics and Linked Data for the Geosciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arko, R. A.; Carbotte, S. M.; Chandler, C. L.; Cheatham, M.; Fils, D.; Hitzler, P.; Janowicz, K.; Ji, P.; Jones, M. B.; Krisnadhi, A.; Lehnert, K. A.; Mickle, A.; Narock, T.; O'Brien, M.; Raymond, L. M.; Schildhauer, M.; Shepherd, A.; Wiebe, P. H.

    2015-12-01

    The NSF EarthCube initiative is building next-generation cyberinfrastructure to aid geoscientists in collecting, accessing, analyzing, sharing, and visualizing their data and knowledge. The EarthCube GeoLink Building Block project focuses on a specific set of software protocols and vocabularies, often characterized as the Semantic Web and "Linked Data", to publish data online in a way that is easily discoverable, accessible, and interoperable. GeoLink brings together specialists from the computer science, geoscience, and library science domains, and includes data from a network of NSF-funded repositories that support scientific studies in marine geology, marine ecosystems, biogeochemistry, and paleoclimatology. We are working collaboratively with closely-related Building Block projects including EarthCollab and CINERGI, and solicit feedback from RCN projects including Cyberinfrastructure for Paleogeosciences (C4P) and iSamples. GeoLink has developed a modular ontology that describes essential geoscience research concepts; published data from seven collections (to date) on the Web as geospatially-enabled Linked Data using this ontology; matched and mapped data between collections using shared identifiers for investigators, repositories, datasets, funding awards, platforms, research cruises, physical specimens, and gazetteer features; and aggregated the results in a shared knowledgebase that can be queried via a standard SPARQL endpoint. Client applications have been built around the knowledgebase, including a Web/map-based data browser using the Leaflet JavaScript library and a simple query service using the OpenSearch format. Future development will include extending and refining the GeoLink ontology, adding content from additional repositories, developing semi-automated algorithms to enhance metadata, and further work on client applications.

  14. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    The inefficiency of extension service in passing information to farmers is extremely difficult due to the ... It is hoped that information and communication technologies (ICTs) will provide both “new and unique ..... Revolution?”InfoDev Working ...

  15. Drugs + HIV, Learn the Link

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... young people and to parents, teachers, and the media about the link between drug misuse and HIV. We have produced a set of multicultural public service announcements (PSAs) that use text messaging as a means of communication. The "Text Message" PSA features two young girls ...

  16. 75 FR 29306 - Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-25

    ... Market News Branch, Livestock and Seed Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Doc. No. AMS-LS-10-0035] Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing...

  17. Shuttle Planning for Link Closures in Urban Public Transport Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van der Hurk, Evelien; Koutsopoulos, Haris N.; Wilson, Nigel

    2016-01-01

    Urban public transport systems must periodically close certain links for maintenance, which can have significant effects on the service provided to passengers. In practice, the effects of closures are mitigated by replacing the closed links with a simple shuttle service. However, alternative...... cost, which includes transfers and frequency-dependent waiting time costs. This model is applied to a shuttle design problem based on a real-world case study of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority network of Boston, Massachusetts. The results show that additional shuttle routes can reduce...

  18. 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.

  19. 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...

  20. 76 FR 30091 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Accreditation of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-24

    ... 2011. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2011-12751... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0026... Facilities AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  1. 78 FR 58993 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Phytophthora Ramorum...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-25

    ..., this 19th day of September 2013. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0068...; Quarantine and Regulations AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of...

  2. 76 FR 33192 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Phytosanitary Export...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-08

    ... 2011. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2011-14175... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0025... Certification AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  3. Quality of Service over Specific Link Layers: state of the art report

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Zee, Martin; Ait Yaiz, R.; Heijenk, Geert

    The Integrated Services concept is proposed as an enhancement to the current Internet architecture, to provide a better Quality of Service (QoS) than that provided by the traditional Best-Effort service. The features of the Integrated Services are explained in this report. To support Integrated

  4. The urban geography of advanced producer service transaction links in Belgium De stedelijke geografie van zakelijke transactielinks in België

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Hanssens

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to contribute to the literature on the geography of external relations of cities. Our overall purpose thereby is to tease out some of the basic principles of alternative approaches to the study of the spatiality of urban systems in the context of economic globalization. To this end, we present an empirical analysis of the urban geography of producer service procurement by 118 of the 300 largest companies in Belgium. The main features of this urban geography of service procurement include (i the dominance of Brussels as a service city ; (ii the existence of overlapping urban spheres of influence ; and (iii the presence of transaction links with foreign cities. The results of our analysis also suggest that, in addition to space- and quality-related decision factors, the intra-firm distribution of decision-making power in multinational firms equally influences the spatiality of transaction links. The relevance of these results is discussed in the context of theorizations of urban systems.Dit artikel levert een bijdrage tot de literatuur die de geografie van externe stedelijke relaties bestudeert. Onze overkoepelende doelstelling is om enkele van de basisprincipes bloot te leggen van alternatieve benaderingen in de studie van de geografie van stedelijke systemen in de context van economische mondialisering. De empirische analyse die de basis vormt voor deze studie, bestudeert de stedelijke geografie van transactielinks tussen 118 van de de 300 grootste bedrijven in België en hun voornaamste zakenpartners voor een aantal “productieve diensten”. De belangrijkste kenmerken van deze stedelijke geografie van transactielinks zijn (i de dominantie van Brussel als dienstenstad ; (ii de aanwezigheid van overlappende stedelijke invloedssferen ; en (iii de aanwezigheid van transactielinks met steden in het buitenland. De resultaten van onze analyse geven ook aan dat – naast ruimte- en kwaliteitsgerelateerde beslissingsfactoren – de

  5. Final Report - Dynamic Path Scheduling through Extensions to Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Principal Investigator: Dr. Abdella Battou

    2009-05-22

    The major accomplishments of the project are the successful software implementation of the Phase I scheduling algorithms for GMPLS Label Switched Paths (LSPs) and the extension of the IETF Path Computation Element (PCE) Protocol to support scheduling extensions. In performing this work, we have demonstrated the theoretical work of Phase I, analyzed key issues, and made relevant extensions. Regarding the software implementation, we developed a proof of concept prototype as part of our Algorithm Evaluation System (AES). This implementation uses the Linux operating system to provide software portability and will be the foundation for our commercial software. To demonstrate proof of concept, we have implemented LSP scheduling algorithms to support two of the key GMPLS switching technologies (Lambda and Packet) and support both Fixed Path (FP) and Switched Path (SP) routing. We chose Lambda and Packet because we felt it was essential to include both circuit and packet switching technologies as well as to address all-optical switching in the study. As conceptualized in Phase I, the FP algorithms use a traditional approach where the LSP uses the same physical path for the entire service duration while the innovative SP algorithms allow the physical path to vary during the service duration. As part of this study, we have used the AES to conduct a performance analysis using metro size networks (up to 32 nodes) that showed that these algorithms are suitable for commercial implementation. Our results showed that the CPU time required to compute an LSP schedule was small compared to expected inter-arrival time between LSP requests. Also, when the network size increased from 7 to 15 to 32 nodes with 10, 26, and 56 TE links, the CPU processing time showed excellent scaling properties. When Fixed Path and Switched Path routing were compared, SP provided only modestly better performance with respect to LSP completion rate, service duration, path length, and start time deviation

  6. Service Oriented Integration of Distributed Heterogeneous IT Systems in Production Engineering Using Information Standards and Linked Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Navid Shariat Zadeh

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available While design of production systems based on digital models brings benefits, the communication of models comes with challenges since models typically reside in a heterogeneous IT environment using different syntax and semantics. Coping with heterogeneity requires a smart integration strategy. One main paradigm to integrate data and IT systems is to deploy information standards. In particular, ISO 10303 STEP has been endorsed as a suitable standard to exchange a wide variety of product manufacturing data. One the other hand, service-oriented tool integration solutions are progressively adopted for the integration of data and IT-tools, especially with the emergence of Open Services for Lifecycle Collaboration whose focus is on the linking of data from heterogeneous software tools. In practice, there should be a combination of these approaches to facilitate the integration process. Hence, the aim of this paper is to investigate the applications of the approaches and the principles behind them and try to find criteria for where to use which approach. In addition, we explore the synergy between them and consequently suggest an approach based on combination of them. In addition, a systematic approach is suggested to identify required level of integrations and their corresponding approaches exemplified in a typical IT system architecture in Production Engineering.

  7. A study of 60 Gigahertz intersatellite link applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzic, G.; Connolly, D. J.; Haugland, E. J.; Kosmahl, H. G.; Chitwood, J. S.

    Applications of intersatellite links operating at 60 GHz are reviewed. Likely scenarios, ranging from transmission of moderate and high data rates over long distances to low data rates over short distances are examined. A limited parametric tradeoff is performed with system variables such as radiofrequency power, receiver noise temperature, link distance, data rate, and antenna size. Present status is discussed and projections are given for both electron tube and solid state transmitter technologies. Monolithic transmit and receive module technology, already under development at 20 to 30 GHz, is reviewed and its extension to 60 GHz, and possible applicability is discussed.

  8. A study of 60 GHz intersatellite link applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzic, G.; Connolly, D. J.; Haugland, E. J.; Kosmahl, H. G.; Chitwood, J. S.

    Applications of intersatellite links operating at 60 GHz are reviewed. Likely scenarios, ranging from transmission of moderate and high data rates over long distances to low data rates over short distances are examined. A limited parametric tradeoff is performed with system variables such as radiofrequency power, receiver noise temperature, link distance, data rate, and antenna size. Present status is discussed and projections are given for both electron tube and solid state transmitter technologies. Monolithic transmit and receive module technology, already under development at 20 to 30 GHz, is reviewed and its extension to 60 GHz, and possible applicability is discussed.

  9. A study of 60 Gigahertz intersatellite link applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzic, G.; Connolly, D. J.; Haugland, E. J.; Kosmahl, H. G.; Chitwood, J. S.

    1983-01-01

    Applications of intersatellite links operating at 60 GHz are reviewed. Likely scenarios, ranging from transmission of moderate and high data rates over long distances to low data rates over short distances are examined. A limited parametric tradeoff is performed with system variables such as radiofrequency power, receiver noise temperature, link distance, data rate, and antenna size. Present status is discussed and projections are given for both electron tube and solid state transmitter technologies. Monolithic transmit and receive module technology, already under development at 20 to 30 GHz, is reviewed and its extension to 60 GHz, and possible applicability is discussed.

  10. A study of 60 GHz intersatellite link applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anzic, G.; Connolly, D. J.; Haugland, E. J.; Kosmahl, H. G.; Chitwood, J. S.

    1983-01-01

    Applications of intersatellite links operating at 60 GHz are reviewed. Likely scenarios, ranging from transmission of moderate and high data rates over long distances to low data rates over short distances are examined. A limited parametric tradeoff is performed with system variables such as radiofrequency power, receiver noise temperature, link distance, data rate, and antenna size. Present status is discussed and projections are given for both electron tube and solid state transmitter technologies. Monolithic transmit and receive module technology, already under development at 20 to 30 GHz, is reviewed and its extension to 60 GHz, and possible applicability is discussed.

  11. Common planning of operations of and extensions to a nuclear park and a high-voltage network of a service area with the aid of a modified optimization method of dynamic programming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bieselt, R.

    1974-01-01

    While making extensive use of the possibilities dynamic programming as an optimization method has to offer, a planning method for the common operation and the extension of a nuclear park and a high-voltage network for a service area of a large size is worked out in a system-analytical manner in this thesis. With the aid of the computer programmes developed, those decisions concerning construction and operation of power plant and network are looked for which result within appr. 10 years of planning in a minimum of overall generating and transmission costs. (orig./LN) [de

  12. A peptide extension dictates IgM assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasalic, Dzana; Weber, Benedikt; Giannone, Chiara; Anelli, Tiziana; Müller, Roger; Fagioli, Claudio; Felkl, Manuel; John, Christine; Mossuto, Maria Francesca; Becker, Christian F W; Sitia, Roberto; Buchner, Johannes

    2017-10-10

    Professional secretory cells can produce large amounts of high-quality complex molecules, including IgM antibodies. Owing to their multivalency, polymeric IgM antibodies provide an efficient first-line of defense against pathogens. To decipher the mechanisms of IgM assembly, we investigated its biosynthesis in living cells and faithfully reconstituted the underlying processes in vitro. We find that a conserved peptide extension at the C-terminal end of the IgM heavy (Ig-μ) chains, termed the tailpiece, is necessary and sufficient to establish the correct geometry. Alanine scanning revealed that hydrophobic amino acids in the first half of the tailpiece contain essential information for generating the correct topology. Assembly is triggered by the formation of a disulfide bond linking two tailpieces. This induces conformational changes in the tailpiece and the adjacent domain, which drive further polymerization. Thus, the biogenesis of large and topologically challenging IgM complexes is dictated by a local conformational switch in a peptide extension.

  13. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): NCDB

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  14. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): BRAC

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  15. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): BIA

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  16. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): RADINFO

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  17. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): TRI

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  18. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): ICIS

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  19. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): RBLC

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  20. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): NEI

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  1. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): CAMDBS

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  2. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): SDWIS

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  3. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): RMP

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  4. Linking Medicare, Medicaid, and Cancer Registry Data...

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human ServicesLinking Medicare, Medicaid, and Cancer Registry Data to Study the Burden of Cancers in West Virginia In the United States, the elderly carry an unequal burden of...

  5. Transparent ICD and DRG coding using information technology: linking and associating information sources with the eXtensible Markup Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoelzer, Simon; Schweiger, Ralf K; Dudeck, Joachim

    2003-01-01

    With the introduction of ICD-10 as the standard for diagnostics, it becomes necessary to develop an electronic representation of its complete content, inherent semantics, and coding rules. The authors' design relates to the current efforts by the CEN/TC 251 to establish a European standard for hierarchical classification systems in health care. The authors have developed an electronic representation of ICD-10 with the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) that facilitates integration into current information systems and coding software, taking different languages and versions into account. In this context, XML provides a complete processing framework of related technologies and standard tools that helps develop interoperable applications. XML provides semantic markup. It allows domain-specific definition of tags and hierarchical document structure. The idea of linking and thus combining information from different sources is a valuable feature of XML. In addition, XML topic maps are used to describe relationships between different sources, or "semantically associated" parts of these sources. The issue of achieving a standardized medical vocabulary becomes more and more important with the stepwise implementation of diagnostically related groups, for example. The aim of the authors' work is to provide a transparent and open infrastructure that can be used to support clinical coding and to develop further software applications. The authors are assuming that a comprehensive representation of the content, structure, inherent semantics, and layout of medical classification systems can be achieved through a document-oriented approach.

  6. Anaesthesia and hospital links: strengthening healthcare through South-North hospital partnerships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parry, E H O; Percy, D B

    2007-12-01

    Health services can respond to the needs of the poorest people in developing countries if those who work in the front line of health care are supported and motivated and if development needs in services and training programmes can be filled. This can be achieved when a Health Link between a southern hospital and/or training school and its northern counterpart is designed to build a disciplined and long-term programme of staff development including the needs of anaesthetic services, which meets the needs identified by the southern partner. Development of anaesthetic practice is best carried out in the context of an institution-wide Health Link where not only the staff and systems involved in anaesthesia but all the essential 'back office' or support services are also supported and developed.

  7. Identification of hybrid node and link communities in complex networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Dongxiao; Jin, Di; Chen, Zheng; Zhang, Weixiong

    2015-03-02

    Identifying communities in complex networks is an effective means for analyzing complex systems, with applications in diverse areas such as social science, engineering, biology and medicine. Finding communities of nodes and finding communities of links are two popular schemes for network analysis. These schemes, however, have inherent drawbacks and are inadequate to capture complex organizational structures in real networks. We introduce a new scheme and an effective approach for identifying complex mixture structures of node and link communities, called hybrid node-link communities. A central piece of our approach is a probabilistic model that accommodates node, link and hybrid node-link communities. Our extensive experiments on various real-world networks, including a large protein-protein interaction network and a large network of semantically associated words, illustrated that the scheme for hybrid communities is superior in revealing network characteristics. Moreover, the new approach outperformed the existing methods for finding node or link communities separately.

  8. Identification of hybrid node and link communities in complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Dongxiao; Jin, Di; Chen, Zheng; Zhang, Weixiong

    2015-03-01

    Identifying communities in complex networks is an effective means for analyzing complex systems, with applications in diverse areas such as social science, engineering, biology and medicine. Finding communities of nodes and finding communities of links are two popular schemes for network analysis. These schemes, however, have inherent drawbacks and are inadequate to capture complex organizational structures in real networks. We introduce a new scheme and an effective approach for identifying complex mixture structures of node and link communities, called hybrid node-link communities. A central piece of our approach is a probabilistic model that accommodates node, link and hybrid node-link communities. Our extensive experiments on various real-world networks, including a large protein-protein interaction network and a large network of semantically associated words, illustrated that the scheme for hybrid communities is superior in revealing network characteristics. Moreover, the new approach outperformed the existing methods for finding node or link communities separately.

  9. Do services reduce gender inequality in labor markets? The service sector, knnowledge-intensive services and the gender pay gap

    OpenAIRE

    Dueñas, Diego; Iglesias, Carlos; Llorente, Raquel

    2014-01-01

    The expansion of services and the dissemination of information technologies and communication are identified as important factors that can improve employment opportunities for women, reducing labor by gender differences. The objective of the study is to determine the extent to which services and especially those most closely linked with the knowledge and ICTs such as Knowledge Intensive Services (KIS) are changing some of the basics of labor gender differences. To do it: a), we first measure ...

  10. East, West German gas pipeline grids linked

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that Ruhrgas AG, Essen, has started up the first large diameter gas pipeline linking the gas grids of former East and West Germany. Ruhrgas last month placed in service a 40 in., 70 km line at Vitzeroda, near Eisenach, linking a new Ruhrgas pipeline in Hesse state with a 330 km gas pipeline built last year in Thuringia and Saxony states by Erdgasversorgungs GmbH (EVG), Leipzig. The new link enables pipeline operator EVG to receive 70 bcf/year of western European gas via Ruhrgas, complementing the 35 bcf/year of gas coming from the Commonwealth of Independent States via Verbundnetz Gas AG (VNG), Leipzig

  11. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): ACRES

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service consists of location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of sites that link to...

  12. Small Farmers' Habits of Reading Agricultural Extension Publications: The Case of Moshav Farmers in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blum, Abraham; Azencot, Moshe

    1989-01-01

    Interviews farmers in Moshavim, Israel, to examine the need for efficient written communication channels between agricultural extension services and small farmers. Identifies the main problems as a weak distribution system and the necessity for authors of extension pamphlets and brochures to consider the special needs of small farmers. (KEH)

  13. An Investigation on Rheology of Peroxide Cross-linking of Low Density Polyethylene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ghasemi, Ismaeil; Rasmussen, Henrik K.; Szabo, Peter

    2005-01-01

    One of the most important post-reactor modifications of polyethylene is cross-linking. It improves some properties of polyethylene such as environmental stress cracking resistance, chemical and abrasion resistance, and service temperature. In this study, the effect of peroxide cross-linking on th......One of the most important post-reactor modifications of polyethylene is cross-linking. It improves some properties of polyethylene such as environmental stress cracking resistance, chemical and abrasion resistance, and service temperature. In this study, the effect of peroxide cross......-linking on the rheological behaviour of low density polyethylene was investigated by using a combination of creep test and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) in isotherm condition. The used peroxide was di-cumyl peroxide and its concentration was 2 wt%. The experiments were carried out at 150,160, and 170 degrees C...

  14. 78 FR 34636 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Mangoes...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-10

    ... 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2013-13686... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0022... Philippines AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  15. 77 FR 50982 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Foreign Quarantine Notices

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-23

    ... August 2012. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2012... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2012-0062... AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an information...

  16. Intestinal parasite prevalence in an area of ethiopia after implementing the SAFE strategy, enhanced outreach services, and health extension program.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan D King

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The SAFE strategy aims to reduce transmission of Chlamydia trachomatis through antibiotics, improved hygiene, and sanitation. We integrated assessment of intestinal parasites into large-scale trachoma impact surveys to determine whether documented environmental improvements promoted by a trachoma program had collateral impact on intestinal parasites. METHODOLOGY: We surveyed 99 communities for both trachoma and intestinal parasites (soil-transmitted helminths, Schistosoma mansoni, and intestinal protozoa in South Gondar, Ethiopia. One child aged 2-15 years per household was randomly selected to provide a stool sample of which about 1 g was fixed in sodium acetate-acetic acid-formalin, concentrated with ether, and examined under a microscope by experienced laboratory technicians. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A total of 2,338 stool specimens were provided, processed, and linked to survey data from 2,657 randomly selected children (88% response. The zonal-level prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm, and Trichuris trichiura was 9.9% (95% confidence interval (CI 7.2-12.7%, 9.7% (5.9-13.4%, and 2.6% (1.6-3.7%, respectively. The prevalence of S. mansoni was 2.9% (95% CI 0.2-5.5% but infection was highly focal (range by community from 0-52.4%. The prevalence of any of these helminth infections was 24.2% (95% CI 17.6-30.9% compared to 48.5% as found in a previous study in 1995 using the Kato-Katz technique. The pathogenic intestinal protozoa Giardia intestinalis and Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar were found in 23.0% (95% CI 20.3-25.6% and 11.1% (95% CI 8.9-13.2% of the surveyed children, respectively. We found statistically significant increases in household latrine ownership, use of an improved water source, access to water, and face washing behavior over the past 7 years. CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in hygiene and sanitation promoted both by the SAFE strategy for trachoma and health extension program combined with preventive chemotherapy

  17. Intestinal parasite prevalence in an area of ethiopia after implementing the SAFE strategy, enhanced outreach services, and health extension program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Jonathan D; Endeshaw, Tekola; Escher, Elisabeth; Alemtaye, Genetu; Melaku, Sileabatt; Gelaye, Woyneshet; Worku, Abebe; Adugna, Mitku; Melak, Berhanu; Teferi, Tesfaye; Zerihun, Mulat; Gesese, Demelash; Tadesse, Zerihun; Mosher, Aryc W; Odermatt, Peter; Utzinger, Jürg; Marti, Hanspeter; Ngondi, Jeremiah; Hopkins, Donald R; Emerson, Paul M

    2013-01-01

    The SAFE strategy aims to reduce transmission of Chlamydia trachomatis through antibiotics, improved hygiene, and sanitation. We integrated assessment of intestinal parasites into large-scale trachoma impact surveys to determine whether documented environmental improvements promoted by a trachoma program had collateral impact on intestinal parasites. We surveyed 99 communities for both trachoma and intestinal parasites (soil-transmitted helminths, Schistosoma mansoni, and intestinal protozoa) in South Gondar, Ethiopia. One child aged 2-15 years per household was randomly selected to provide a stool sample of which about 1 g was fixed in sodium acetate-acetic acid-formalin, concentrated with ether, and examined under a microscope by experienced laboratory technicians. A total of 2,338 stool specimens were provided, processed, and linked to survey data from 2,657 randomly selected children (88% response). The zonal-level prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm, and Trichuris trichiura was 9.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 7.2-12.7%), 9.7% (5.9-13.4%), and 2.6% (1.6-3.7%), respectively. The prevalence of S. mansoni was 2.9% (95% CI 0.2-5.5%) but infection was highly focal (range by community from 0-52.4%). The prevalence of any of these helminth infections was 24.2% (95% CI 17.6-30.9%) compared to 48.5% as found in a previous study in 1995 using the Kato-Katz technique. The pathogenic intestinal protozoa Giardia intestinalis and Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar were found in 23.0% (95% CI 20.3-25.6%) and 11.1% (95% CI 8.9-13.2%) of the surveyed children, respectively. We found statistically significant increases in household latrine ownership, use of an improved water source, access to water, and face washing behavior over the past 7 years. Improvements in hygiene and sanitation promoted both by the SAFE strategy for trachoma and health extension program combined with preventive chemotherapy during enhanced outreach services are plausible explanations for the

  18. Reliable and Persistent Identification of Linked Data Elements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, David

    Linked Data techniques rely upon common terminology in a manner similar to a relational database'vs reliance on a schema. Linked Data terminology anchors metadata descriptions and facilitates navigation of information. Common vocabularies ease the human, social tasks of understanding datasets sufficiently to construct queries and help to relate otherwise disparate datasets. Vocabulary terms must, when using the Resource Description Framework, be grounded in URIs. A current bestpractice on the World Wide Web is to serve vocabulary terms as Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) and present both human-readable and machine-readable representations to the public. Linked Data terminology published to theWorldWideWeb may be used by others without reference or notification to the publishing party. That presents a problem: Vocabulary publishers take on an implicit responsibility to maintain and publish their terms via the URLs originally assigned, regardless of the inconvenience such a responsibility may cause. Over the course of years, people change jobs, publishing organizations change Internet domain names, computers change IP addresses,systems administrators publish old material in new ways. Clearly, a mechanism is required to manageWeb-based vocabularies over a long term. This chapter places Linked Data vocabularies in context with the wider concepts of metadata in general and specifically metadata on the Web. Persistent identifier mechanisms are reviewed, with a particular emphasis on Persistent URLs, or PURLs. PURLs and PURL services are discussed in the context of Linked Data. Finally, historic weaknesses of PURLs are resolved by the introduction of a federation of PURL services to address needs specific to Linked Data.

  19. Challenges of Decentralized, Farmer-Led and Fee-For-Service ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Agricultural extension services are crucial for the rapid spread of research results to farmers and for transmitting information about farmers' needs, circumstances, and problems to researchers. In developing countries, public extension organizations are dominant. These public extension systems are often inadequately ...

  20. Linking DC together with TRSL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haxthausen, Anne; Yong, Xia

    1999-01-01

    In this talk we present a method for linking the Duration Calculus together with the Timed RAISE Specification Language. Duration Calculus (DC) [ZHR91] is an interval-based real time logic, which can be used naturally in capturing and eliciting users' real time requirements in the form of constra......In this talk we present a method for linking the Duration Calculus together with the Timed RAISE Specification Language. Duration Calculus (DC) [ZHR91] is an interval-based real time logic, which can be used naturally in capturing and eliciting users' real time requirements in the form.......TRSL is a real-time extension of the RAISE Specification Language (RSL) [Rlg92] which together with its associated method [Rmg95]and tools has shown to be very useful in the industrial development of software systems. Therefore, a promising approach for the development of real-time systemscould be to use DC...... for high-level specifications of real-time requirementsand TRSL for specifying real-time implementations in the form of timed communicating concurrent processes.In order to link DC and TRSL together in a well-founded way, we formally define what it means for a TRSL process to satisfy a DC requirement...

  1. Analisis Performansi Agregasi Link dengan Lacp pada SDN menggunakan RYU sebagai Controller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rohmat Tulloh

    2018-11-01

    Full Text Available — As time goes by, the world of communication has flourished quickly, especially in network. One of the network technologies by now called SDN (Software Defined Network, is a new paradigm in network technology that is able to virtualize network device by taking the function of control plane, that is usually taken by controller, and separate between control plane and data plane into a network device. Besides the coming of that new paradigm, the need of bandwidth consumption on data communication by this time has increased. Link aggregation is a method that combines several physical links into a logical link in the form of multiplying the bandwidth capacity. Link aggregation can be implemented in SDN network, that makes bandwidth consumption in network has good effect on service quality. In this research, the writer will show the comparison analysis between link aggregation and not using link aggregation in SDN network. This comparison analysis is done by analyzing some parameters, like throughput, packetloss, jitter and fault tolerance from the service in network, called video streaming.

  2. Emerging semantics to link phenotype and environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne E. Thessen

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the interplay between environmental conditions and phenotypes is a fundamental goal of biology. Unfortunately, data that include observations on phenotype and environment are highly heterogeneous and thus difficult to find and integrate. One approach that is likely to improve the status quo involves the use of ontologies to standardize and link data about phenotypes and environments. Specifying and linking data through ontologies will allow researchers to increase the scope and flexibility of large-scale analyses aided by modern computing methods. Investments in this area would advance diverse fields such as ecology, phylogenetics, and conservation biology. While several biological ontologies are well-developed, using them to link phenotypes and environments is rare because of gaps in ontological coverage and limits to interoperability among ontologies and disciplines. In this manuscript, we present (1 use cases from diverse disciplines to illustrate questions that could be answered more efficiently using a robust linkage between phenotypes and environments, (2 two proof-of-concept analyses that show the value of linking phenotypes to environments in fishes and amphibians, and (3 two proposed example data models for linking phenotypes and environments using the extensible observation ontology (OBOE and the Biological Collections Ontology (BCO; these provide a starting point for the development of a data model linking phenotypes and environments.

  3. Implementation of an alanine dosimetry service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gago Arias, A.; Nunez Pelaez, N.; Peteiro Vilaseco, E.; Gomez Rodriguez, F.; Gonzalez Castano, D. M.

    2011-01-01

    This work facing the implementation of an alanine dosimetry service, linked to the installation of Co 6 0 Radio physics Laboratory (LP) and Paramagnetic Resonance Service of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC).

  4. Application of annealing for WWER vessels life extension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badanin, V.I.; Gorynin, I.V.; Nickolaev, V.A.; Dragunov, Y.G.; Fedorov, V.G.

    1989-01-01

    Safe operation of NPP is greatly dependent on the guarantee of reactor vessel brittle failure strength with account for the effect of radiation embrittlement of vessel material. Recovery of irradiated material properties is principally important way to extend radiation life of reactor vessel. The aim of this report is to demonstrate the efficiency of annealing for recovery of vessel material properties and extension of its service-life

  5. 77 FR 65854 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Irradiation...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-31

    ...: Extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: Under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701....008 hours per response. Respondents: Foreign plant protection services, irradiation facility personnel... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2012-0070...

  6. Willingness to Pay for Rural Telephone Services: Implications for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Global Approaches to Extension Practice: A Journal of Agricultural Extension ... This study assessed Willingness to Pay (WTP) for rural telephone services and the implications for agricultural technology transfer in Southeast Nigeria. ... The sample was made up of 240 agro-based entrepreneurs and 60 extension staff.

  7. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families dealing with dementia: an examination of the experiences and perceptions of multicultural community link workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boughtwood, Desiree; Shanley, Chris; Adams, Jon; Santalucia, Yvonne; Kyriazopoulos, Helena; Pond, Dimity; Rowland, Jeffery

    2011-12-01

    Dementia is a chronic illness involving increasing levels of care, often provided by family members, particularly in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. Multicultural community link workers are often the primary service providers assisting families to access health and welfare services and as such have extensive experience of, and possess in-depth knowledge about, CALD family care-giving for dementia. While research has been undertaken on dementia in CALD communities, this research has not focused on the experiences and perceptions of these multicultural workers with regards to CALD family care-giving. In response to this gap in the research, this paper presents the results of an empirical investigation of multicultural workers' perspectives with regard to the cultural traditions informing CALD family care-giving, CALD families' understandings of the term 'carer' and family arrangements regarding care. Due to their close relationship and knowledge of families, multicultural workers can offer an important perspective that is invaluable in informing the provision of carer education and support within CALD communities.

  8. 77 FR 55451 - Notice of Intent To Request an Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-10

    ..., marketing, technical, and financial resources to carry out the submitted plan. Estimate of Burden: Public... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Research Service Notice of Intent To Request an Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, USDA. [[Page...

  9. 78 FR 37777 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Cooperative...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-24

    .... Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of June 2013. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0041... Survey AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  10. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): RCRA_LQG

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  11. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): AIRS_AFS

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  12. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): RCRA_TRANS

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  13. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): PCS_NPDES

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  14. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): AIRS_AQS

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  15. Programming WCF Services Mastering WCF and the Azure AppFabric Service Bus

    CERN Document Server

    Lowy, Juval

    2010-01-01

    Programming WCF Services is the authoritative, bestselling guide to Microsoft's unified platform for developing modern service-oriented applications on Windows. Hailed as the definitive treatment of WCF, this book provides unique insight, rather than documentation, to help you learn the topics and skills you need for building WCF-based applications that are maintainable, extensible, and reusable. Author Juval Löwy -- one of the world's top .NET experts -- revised this edition to include the newest productivity-enhancing features of .NET Framework 4 and the Azure AppFabric Service Bus, as wel

  16. Indexing Linked Bibliographic Data with JSON-LD, BibJSON and Elasticsearch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Johnson

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Linked Data is a powerful tool for sharing bibliographic metadata. By combining the decentralization of the web with the use of globally defined metadata vocabularies, data from many sources can be treated as a single, aggregated graph. Supporting search across these distributed data sources within the same application, however, requires considerable work in vocabulary alignment and data transformation. Aggregate systems must convert data into a unified model which must (almost inevitably be generic at the expense of the structure and granularity of the original data. This paper presents a novel solution for representing and indexing bibliographic resources that retains the data integrity and extensibility of Linked Data while supporting fast, customizable indexes in an application-friendly data format. The methodology makes use of JSON-LD to represent RDF graphs in JSON suitable for indexing with Elasticsearch. BibJSON is used as a common index format capable of handling a wide range of library resources. Since all three technologies (RDF/JSON-LD, BibJSON and Elasticsearch share an emphasis on extensibility, it is possible to create an index of bibliographic data that is both generalized and flexible enough to handle Linked Data from multiple sources.

  17. Natural resource damage assessments: Linking injury to restoration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newell, M.; Collinson-Kahl, C.

    1993-01-01

    Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), natural resource trustees have the authority to act on behalf of the public to file claims for damages against potentially responsible parties for injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources and related human services caused by releases of hazardous substances or discharges of oil. Damages recovered must be used to restore, replace, or acquire the equivalent of such resources. Therefore, to adequately restore an injured resource and the services it provides, a natural resource restoration proposal should address, as directly as possible, the injuries caused by a hazardous substance release. In other words, the resources restored and services generated by the restoration activities should be commensurate in type and amount with the reduction in services caused by the release. More specifically, the natural resource damage assessment regulations indicate that services should be used as the common currency for linking injury to restoration. The following conceptual steps may be followed to develop a primary restoration program that is linked to the injuries: Define the resources that were injured, and identify the services provided by those resources that were reduced by the injury. Define the baseline levels of the quantity of the resource, and the quantity of the services that would have been provided by the resource if the injury had not occurred. Quantify the interim lost value, which represents the reduction in services (compared to a baseline) from the time of the injury through the time of full recovery of the resources, assuming natural recovery. Evaluate the potential restoration projects for inclusion in the primary restoration program, which is designed to accelerate and enhance natural recovery of the resources and the flow of services from the resources

  18. Extension for Organic Agriculture: A Comparative Study between Baden-Württemberg, Germany and Crete, Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Österle, Nina; Koutsouris, Alex; Livieratos, Yannis; Kabourakis, Emmanuil

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this paper is to compare the extension services offered in the field of organic agriculture (OA) in Baden-Württemberg (BW), Germany and Crete, Greece. Design/methodology approach: 16 in-depth interviews, 10 in BW and 6 in Crete, were carried out with representatives of OA extension providers; interviews were qualitatively…

  19. Turning an Extension Aide into an Extension Agent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seevers, Brenda; Dormody, Thomas J.

    2010-01-01

    For any organization to remain sustainable, a renewable source of faculty and staff needs to be available. The Extension Internship Program for Juniors and Seniors in High School is a new tool for recruiting and developing new Extension agents. Students get "hands on" experience working in an Extension office and earn college credit…

  20. The CCSDS Next Generation Space Data Link Protocol (NGSLP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazz, Greg J.; Greenberg, Edward

    2014-01-01

    next leap in performance for space link communications. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide the capability to incorporate high performance forward error correcting codes implemented within software transponders providing improved performance in data transfer, ranging, link security, and time correlation. Given these synergistic technological breakthroughs, the time has come to take advantage of them in applying them to both on going (e.g., command, telemetry) and emerging (e.g., space link security, optical communication) space link applications. However one of the constraining factors within the Data Link Layer in realizing these performance gains is the lack of a generic transfer frame format and common supporting services amongst the existing CCSDS link layer protocols. Currently each of the four CCSDS link layer protocols (TM, TC, AOS, and Proximity-1) have unique formats and services which prohibits their reuse across the totality of all space link applications of CCSDS member space agencies. For example, Mars missions. These missions implement their proximity data link layer using the Proximity-1 frame format and the services it supports but is still required to support the direct from Earth (TC) protocols and the Direct To Earth (AOS/TM) protocols. The prime purpose of this paper, is to describe a new general purpose CCSDS Data Link layer protocol, the NGSLP that will provide the required services along with a common transfer frame format for all the CCSDS space links (ground to/from space and space to space links) targeted for emerging missions after a CCSDS agency-wide coordinated date. This paper will also describe related options that can be included for the Coding and Synchronization sub-layer of the Data Link layer to extend the capacities of the link and additionally provide an independence of the transfer frame sub-layer from the coding sublayer. This feature will provide missions the option of running either the currently performed

  1. Perceptions of 1987 Master Gardener Participants toward the Use of Satellite Telecommunications for Educational/Extension Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckles, Stephen G.; Miller, W. Wade

    The 1987 Master Gardener program was presented at 16 locations in Iowa, where weekday sessions were supplemented with Saturday satellite telecasts. This cooperative extension service program provided special training in horticulture to members of the local community who would then work as volunteers through their local cooperative extension office…

  2. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension - Vol 39, No 2 (2011)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Towards Redesigning the Agricultural extension service in South Africa: Views and proposals of smallholder farmers in the Estern Cape · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. JA Van Niekerk, A Stroebel, CJ Van Rooyen, KP Whitfield, FCJ Swanepoel ...

  3. Farmer Support and Extension to Land Reform Farms in the Central ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In addition, farm management knowledge, skills and experience are at low levels. Baseline evidence suggests that agricultural extension services and institutions involved in land reform policies need to upscale on farm economics and viability assessments of farm operations. Management information systems need to be ...

  4. Linked Data: what does it offer Earth Sciences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Simon; Schade, Sven

    2010-05-01

    'Linked Data' is a current buzz-phrase promoting access to various forms of data on the internet. It starts from the two principles that have underpinned the architecture and scalability of the World Wide Web: 1. Universal Resource Identifiers - using the http protocol which is supported by the DNS system. 2. Hypertext - in which URIs of related resources are embedded within a document. Browsing is the key mode of interaction, with traversal of links between resources under control of the client. Linked Data also adds, or re-emphasizes: • Content negotiation - whereby the client uses http headers to tell the service what representation of a resource is acceptable, • Semantic Web principles - formal semantics for links, following the RDF data model and encoding, and • The 'mashup' effect - in which original and unexpected value may emerge from reuse of data, even if published in raw or unpolished form. Linked Data promotes typed links to all kinds of data, so is where the semantic web meets the 'deep web', i.e. resources which may be accessed using web protocols, but are in representations not indexed by search engines. Earth sciences are data rich, but with a strong legacy of specialized formats managed and processed by disconnected applications. However, most contemporary research problems require a cross-disciplinary approach, in which the heterogeneity resulting from that legacy is a significant challenge. In this context, Linked Data clearly has much to offer the earth sciences. But, there are some important questions to answer. What is a resource? Most earth science data is organized in arrays and databases. A subset useful for a particular study is usually identified by a parameterized query. The Linked Data paradigm emerged from the world of documents, and will often only resolve data-sets. It is impractical to create even nested navigation resources containing links to all potentially useful objects or subsets. From the viewpoint of human user

  5. Discussion on life extension of nuclear power plant around the world

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Ming; Zhang Yuansi

    2010-01-01

    The very Paper introduces the concept, basic working flow and fundamental elements of the life extension of nuclear power plant (NPP) around the world; and it generally collects and summarizes the status datum of life extension of NPPs. Afterwards, the Paper analyses the present status of life extension of NPP in various countries with strong nuclear power industry, i.e. the United States, France, Germany, Russia Federation, Japan, South Korea and Canada. At the end, the Paper make a conclusion that whether an operating NPP will adopt life extension at the end of its design life, this issue depends on the factor of economy, safety and technical feasibility of life extension on the NPP. According to latest datum collected in 2009, the nuclear power units around the world, which have exceeded the design lives or are close to design life ends, most of them (about 64%) have selected to extend their service lives; based on this statistical data, we concludes that when an operating nuclear unit is facing with the issue of to extend life or to retire itself, it will be apt to make life extension. (authors)

  6. A Stable-Matching-Based User Linking Method with User Preference Order

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuzhong Wang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available With the development of social networks, more and more users choose to use multiple accounts from different networks to meet their needs. Linking a particular user’s multiple accounts not only can improve user’s experience of the net-services such as recommender system, but also plays a significant role in network security. However, multiple accounts of the same user are often not directly linked to each other, and further, the privacy policy provided by the service provider makes it harder to find accounts for a particular user. In this paper, we propose a stable-matching-based method with user preference order for the problem of low accuracy of user linking in cross-media sparse data. Different from the traditional way which just calculates the similarity of accounts, we take full account of the mutual influence among multiple accounts by regarding different networks as bilateral (multilateral market and user linking as a stable matching problem in such a market. Based on the combination of Game-Theoretic Machine Learning and Pairwise, a novel user linking method has been proposed. The experiment shows that our method has a 21.6% improvement in accuracy compared with the traditional linking method and a further increase of about 7.8% after adding the prior knowledge.

  7. PERBANDINGAN ANTARA “BIG” WEB SERVICE DENGAN RESTFUL WEB SERVICE UNTUK INTEGRASI DATA BERFORMAT GML

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adi Nugroho

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Web Service with Java: SOAP (JAX-WS/Java API for XML Web Services and Java RESTful Web Service (JAX-RS/Java RESTful API for XML Web Services are now a technology competing with each other in terms of their use for integrates data residing in different systems. Both Web Service technologies, of course, have advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, we discuss the comparison of the two technologies is a Java Web Service in relation to the development of GIS application (Geographic Information System integrates the use of data-formatted GML (Geography Markup Language, which is stored in the system database XML (eXtensible Markup Language.

  8. 78 FR 23883 - Marketing Orders for Fruit Crops; Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-23

    ... Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service... submitted through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Marketing... Request: Extension and Revision of a currently approved information collection. Abstract: Marketing orders...

  9. Linking private, for-profit providers to public sector services for HIV and tuberculosis co-infected patients: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Mollie; Rutherford, George W; Weiser, Sheri; Fair, Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of infectious disease deaths worldwide and is the leading cause of death among people with HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for collaboration between public and private healthcare providers to maximize integration of TB/HIV services and minimize costs. We systematically reviewed published models of public-private sector diagnostic and referral services for TB/HIV co-infected patients. We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, Science Direct, CINAHL and Web of Science. We included studies that discussed programs that linked private and public providers for TB/HIV concurrent diagnostic and referral services and used Review Manager (Version 5.3, 2015) for meta-analysis. We found 1,218 unduplicated potentially relevant articles and abstracts; three met our eligibility criteria. All three described public-private TB/HIV diagnostic/referral services with varying degrees of integration. In Kenya private practitioners were able to test for both TB and HIV and offer state-subsidized TB medication, but they could not provide state-subsidized antiretroviral therapy (ART) to co-infected patients. In India private practitioners not contractually engaged with the public sector offered TB/HIV services inconsistently and on a subjective basis. Those partnered with the state, however, could test for both TB and HIV and offer state-subsidized medications. In Nigeria some private providers had access to both state-subsidized medications and diagnostic tests; others required patients to pay out-of-pocket for testing and/or treatment. In a meta-analysis of the two quantitative reports, TB patients who sought care in the public sector were almost twice as likely to have been tested for HIV than TB patients who sought care in the private sector (risk ratio [RR] 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88-2.08). However, HIV-infected TB patients who sought care in the public sector were

  10. Linking private, for-profit providers to public sector services for HIV and tuberculosis co-infected patients: A systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Mollie; Rutherford, George W.; Weiser, Sheri; Fair, Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    Background Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of infectious disease deaths worldwide and is the leading cause of death among people with HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for collaboration between public and private healthcare providers to maximize integration of TB/HIV services and minimize costs. We systematically reviewed published models of public-private sector diagnostic and referral services for TB/HIV co-infected patients. Methods We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, Science Direct, CINAHL and Web of Science. We included studies that discussed programs that linked private and public providers for TB/HIV concurrent diagnostic and referral services and used Review Manager (Version 5.3, 2015) for meta-analysis. Results We found 1,218 unduplicated potentially relevant articles and abstracts; three met our eligibility criteria. All three described public-private TB/HIV diagnostic/referral services with varying degrees of integration. In Kenya private practitioners were able to test for both TB and HIV and offer state-subsidized TB medication, but they could not provide state-subsidized antiretroviral therapy (ART) to co-infected patients. In India private practitioners not contractually engaged with the public sector offered TB/HIV services inconsistently and on a subjective basis. Those partnered with the state, however, could test for both TB and HIV and offer state-subsidized medications. In Nigeria some private providers had access to both state-subsidized medications and diagnostic tests; others required patients to pay out-of-pocket for testing and/or treatment. In a meta-analysis of the two quantitative reports, TB patients who sought care in the public sector were almost twice as likely to have been tested for HIV than TB patients who sought care in the private sector (risk ratio [RR] 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88–2.08). However, HIV-infected TB patients who sought care

  11. Decoupling Identification for Serial Two-Link Two-Inertia System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oaki, Junji; Adachi, Shuichi

    The purpose of our study is to develop a precise model by applying the technique of system identification for the model-based control of a nonlinear robot arm, under taking joint-elasticity into consideration. We previously proposed a systematic identification method, called “decoupling identification,” for a “SCARA-type” planar two-link robot arm with elastic joints caused by the Harmonic-drive® reduction gears. The proposed method serves as an extension of the conventional rigid-joint-model-based identification. The robot arm is treated as a serial two-link two-inertia system with nonlinearity. The decoupling identification method using link-accelerometer signals enables the serial two-link two-inertia system to be divided into two linear one-link two-inertia systems. The MATLAB®'s commands for state-space model estimation are utilized in the proposed method. Physical parameters such as motor inertias, link inertias, joint-friction coefficients, and joint-spring coefficients are estimated through the identified one-link two-inertia systems using a gray-box approach. This paper describes accuracy evaluations using the two-link arm for the decoupling identification method under introducing closed-loop-controlled elements and varying amplitude-setup of identification-input. Experimental results show that the identification method also works with closed-loop-controlled elements. Therefore, the identification method is applicable to a “PUMA-type” vertical robot arm under gravity.

  12. 75 FR 31748 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-04

    ..., this 28\\th\\ day of May 2010. Kevin Shea Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2010-0053... Dwarfed Plants AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of...

  13. Self-adjointness and spectral properties of Dirac operators with magnetic links

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Portmann, Fabian; Sok, Jérémy; Solovej, Jan Philip

    2018-01-01

    We define Dirac operators on $\\mathbb{S}^3$ (and $\\mathbb{R}^3$) with magnetic fields supported on smooth, oriented links and prove self-adjointness of certain (natural) extensions. We then analyze their spectral properties and show, among other things, that these operators have discrete spectrum...

  14. Extensive Variation in Chromatin States Across Humans

    KAUST Repository

    Kasowski, M.

    2013-10-17

    The majority of disease-associated variants lie outside protein-coding regions, suggesting a link between variation in regulatory regions and disease predisposition. We studied differences in chromatin states using five histone modifications, cohesin, and CTCF in lymphoblastoid lines from 19 individuals of diverse ancestry. We found extensive signal variation in regulatory regions, which often switch between active and repressed states across individuals. Enhancer activity is particularly diverse among individuals, whereas gene expression remains relatively stable. Chromatin variability shows genetic inheritance in trios, correlates with genetic variation and population divergence, and is associated with disruptions of transcription factor binding motifs. Overall, our results provide insights into chromatin variation among humans.

  15. Extensive Variation in Chromatin States Across Humans

    KAUST Repository

    Kasowski, M.; Kyriazopoulou-Panagiotopoulou, S.; Grubert, F.; Zaugg, J. B.; Kundaje, A.; Liu, Y.; Boyle, A. P.; Zhang, Q. C.; Zakharia, F.; Spacek, D. V.; Li, J.; Xie, D.; Olarerin-George, A.; Steinmetz, L. M.; Hogenesch, J. B.; Kellis, M.; Batzoglou, S.; Snyder, M.

    2013-01-01

    The majority of disease-associated variants lie outside protein-coding regions, suggesting a link between variation in regulatory regions and disease predisposition. We studied differences in chromatin states using five histone modifications, cohesin, and CTCF in lymphoblastoid lines from 19 individuals of diverse ancestry. We found extensive signal variation in regulatory regions, which often switch between active and repressed states across individuals. Enhancer activity is particularly diverse among individuals, whereas gene expression remains relatively stable. Chromatin variability shows genetic inheritance in trios, correlates with genetic variation and population divergence, and is associated with disruptions of transcription factor binding motifs. Overall, our results provide insights into chromatin variation among humans.

  16. Role of the USDA Forest Service experimental forest: an extension point of view

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eric L. Taylor; C. Darwin Foster; Diomy Zamora

    2013-01-01

    The expansive network of experimental forests (EF) facilitated by the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) encompasses a fairly complete representation of the forest ecotypes in the nation. The network, 101 years old this year (2009), has provided researchers with a wealth of long-term data on silviculture, watershed protection, and restoration. However, our nation’s...

  17. Why should we publish Linked Data?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blower, Jon; Riechert, Maik; Koubarakis, Manolis; Pace, Nino

    2016-04-01

    We use the Web every day to access information from all kinds of different sources. But the complexity and diversity of scientific data mean that discovering accessing and interpreting data remains a large challenge to researchers, decision-makers and other users. Different sources of useful information on data, algorithms, instruments and publications are scattered around the Web. How can we link all these things together to help users to better understand and exploit earth science data? How can we combine scientific data with other relevant data sources, when standards for describing and sharing data vary so widely between communities? "Linked Data" is a term that describes a set of standards and "best practices" for sharing data on the Web (http://www.w3.org/standards/semanticweb/data). These principles can be summarised as follows: 1. Create unique and persistent identifiers for the important "things" in a community (e.g. datasets, publications, algorithms, instruments). 2. Allow users to "look up" these identifiers on the web to find out more information about them. 3. Make this information machine-readable in a community-neutral format (such as RDF, Resource Description Framework). 4. Within this information, embed links to other things and concepts and say how these are related. 5. Optionally, provide web service interfaces to allow the user to perform sophisticated queries over this information (using a language such as SPARQL). The promise of Linked Data is that, through these techniques, data will be more discoverable, more comprehensible and more usable by different communities, not just the community that produced the data. As a result, many data providers (particularly public-sector institutions) are now publishing data in this way. However, this area is still in its infancy in terms of real-world applications. Data users need guidance and tools to help them use Linked Data. Data providers need reassurance that the investments they are making in

  18. Pollution and International Trade in Services

    OpenAIRE

    Arik Levinson

    2009-01-01

    Two central topics in recent rounds of international trade negotiations have been environmental concerns, and services trade. While each is undoubtedly important, they are unrelated. In this paper I show that the services-environment link is small, for two reasons. First, services account for only a small fraction of overall pollution. For none of five major air pollutants does the service sector account for even four percent of total emissions; for three of the five services account for less...

  19. XCEDE: an extensible schema for biomedical data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadde, Syam; Aucoin, Nicole; Grethe, Jeffrey S; Keator, David B; Marcus, Daniel S; Pieper, Steve

    2012-01-01

    The XCEDE (XML-based Clinical and Experimental Data Exchange) XML schema, developed by members of the BIRN (Biomedical Informatics Research Network), provides an extensive metadata hierarchy for storing, describing and documenting the data generated by scientific studies. Currently at version 2.0, the XCEDE schema serves as a specification for the exchange of scientific data between databases, analysis tools, and web services. It provides a structured metadata hierarchy, storing information relevant to various aspects of an experiment (project, subject, protocol, etc.). Each hierarchy level also provides for the storage of data provenance information allowing for a traceable record of processing and/or changes to the underlying data. The schema is extensible to support the needs of various data modalities and to express types of data not originally envisioned by the developers. The latest version of the XCEDE schema and manual are available from http://www.xcede.org/ .

  20. Thwarting plague and pestilence in the Australian sugar industry : Crop protection capacity and resilience built by agricultural extension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hunt, Warren; Birch, Colin; Vanclay, Frank

    This paper investigates how Australian sugar industry extension services over the last decade have overcome historical pest management challenges in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). The industry has done this by building increased capacity amongst its extension agents and farmers. This paper considers

  1. Regulatory Approach To and Lessons Learned with Licensing of Service Life Extension at PAKS NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petofi, G.

    2012-01-01

    Paks Nuclear Power Plant of Hungary decided to extend the original design lifetime of the plant by 20 years, which expires on December 31, 2012 concerning unit 1. The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority established the legal environments in order to license the extension using an approach similar to that followed in the United States. The regulation specifies the pre-conditions for the extension, defines the scoping and screening process for the passive and long lived systems, structures and components to be involved in the licensing and the respective methods of treatment and also determines how the active components shall be dealt with during the extended lifetime. The regulatory procedure is a two-step process including the oversight of the preparatory programme of the operator for the extension that started 4 years before the expiry of the lifetime and the licensing process itself, which is currently under way for unit 1 after the submittal of the licensee's application at the end of 2011. The first experiences with the regulatory assessment of the application are available yet and presented in this paper. (author)

  2. jORCA: easily integrating bioinformatics Web Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martín-Requena, Victoria; Ríos, Javier; García, Maximiliano; Ramírez, Sergio; Trelles, Oswaldo

    2010-02-15

    Web services technology is becoming the option of choice to deploy bioinformatics tools that are universally available. One of the major strengths of this approach is that it supports machine-to-machine interoperability over a network. However, a weakness of this approach is that various Web Services differ in their definition and invocation protocols, as well as their communication and data formats-and this presents a barrier to service interoperability. jORCA is a desktop client aimed at facilitating seamless integration of Web Services. It does so by making a uniform representation of the different web resources, supporting scalable service discovery, and automatic composition of workflows. Usability is at the top of the jORCA agenda; thus it is a highly customizable and extensible application that accommodates a broad range of user skills featuring double-click invocation of services in conjunction with advanced execution-control, on the fly data standardization, extensibility of viewer plug-ins, drag-and-drop editing capabilities, plus a file-based browsing style and organization of favourite tools. The integration of bioinformatics Web Services is made easier to support a wider range of users. .

  3. 76 FR 37055 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Baby...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-24

    ...] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Baby Squash and Baby Courgettes From Zambia AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension... importation of baby squash and baby courgettes from Zambia. DATES: We will consider all comments that we...

  4. 77 FR 5481 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Special Need Requests...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-03

    ... Plant Protection Act AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of...: For information on special need requests under the Plant Protection Act, contact Ms. Lynn Evans...: Special Need Request Under the Plant Protection Act. OMB Number: 0579-0291. Type of Request: Extension of...

  5. Service systems concepts, modeling, and programming

    CERN Document Server

    Cardoso, Jorge; Poels, Geert

    2014-01-01

    This SpringerBrief explores the internal workings of service systems. The authors propose a lightweight semantic model for an effective representation to capture the essence of service systems. Key topics include modeling frameworks, service descriptions and linked data, creating service instances, tool support, and applications in enterprises.Previous books on service system modeling and various streams of scientific developments used an external perspective to describe how systems can be integrated. This brief introduces the concept of white-box service system modeling as an approach to mo

  6. Breaking the Code: The Creative Use of QR Codes to Market Extension Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Paul; Mills, Rebecca; Peterson, GaeLynn; Smith, Janet

    2013-01-01

    The use of smartphones has drastically increased in recent years, heralding an explosion in the use of QR codes. The black and white square barcodes that link the physical and digital world are everywhere. These simple codes can provide many opportunities to connect people in the physical world with many of Extension online resources. The…

  7. Linking DC together with TRSL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haxthausen, Anne Elisabeth; Yong, X.

    2000-01-01

    in a method for real-time developments. An operational semantics with behavior is specified for TRSL. It is defined what its means for a TRSL process to satisfy a DC requirement, and a method for verifying whether the satisfaction relation holds or not is provided. Our contribution also demonstrates a general......Duration Calculus (DC) is an interval-based real-time logic, which can be used in capturing and eliciting users' real-time requirements. The Timed RAISE Specification Language (TRSL) is an extension of the RAISE Specification Language with real-time features. This paper links DC and TRSL together...

  8. 78 FR 32233 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-29

    .... Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of May 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0036... Dwarfed Plants AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of...

  9. Identifying Student Traits and Motives to Service-Learn: Public Service Orientation among New College Freshmen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Robert K.; Stritch, Justin M.; Kellough, J. Edward; Brewer, Gene A.

    2015-01-01

    Among college students, public service motives influence choice of major or job. Although the link between public service motives and prosocial behavior has been established among working adults, researchers have not adequately examined how these motives affect the reported behavior of precareer students. In this article, the authors explored how…

  10. Deconstructing "Good Practice" Teaching Videos: An Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers' Reflections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ineson, Gwen; Voutsina, Chronoula; Fielding, Helen; Barber, Patti; Rowland, Tim

    2015-01-01

    Video clips of mathematics lessons are used extensively in pre-service teacher education and continuing professional development activities. Given course time constraints, an opportunity to critique these videos is not always possible. Because of this, and because pre-service teachers make extensive use of material found during internet searches,…

  11. Using linked data to evaluate collisions with fixed objects in Pennsylvania : Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) linked data demonstration project

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-10-01

    This report uses police-reported motor vehicle crash data linked to Emergency Medical Services data and hospital discharge data to evaluate the relative risk of injury posed by specific roadside objects in Pennsylvania. The report focuses primarily o...

  12. Amazon Web Services- a Case Study

    OpenAIRE

    Narendula, Rammohan

    2012-01-01

    The Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a set (more than 25) of proprietary web-based services owned by Amazon.com. All these services ranging from simple storage to sophisticated database services constitute the cloud platform oered by Amazon. An extensive list of customers for AWS include Dropbox, UniLever, Airbnb, Nasdaq, Netflix. As of 2007, there are more than 300K developers actively using AWS. It is one of the pioneers which brought the cloud computing closer to masses helping number of start...

  13. Quality of Service Control Based on Virtual Private Network Services in a Wide Area Gigabit Ethernet Optical Test Bed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rea, Luca; Pompei, Sergio; Valenti, Alessandro; Matera, Francesco; Zema, Cristiano; Settembre, Marina

    We report an experimental investigation about the Virtual Private LAN Service technique to guarantee the quality of service in the metro/core network and also in the presence of access bandwidth bottleneck. We also show how the virtual private network can be set up for answering to a user request in a very fast way. The tests were performed in a GMPLS test bed with GbE core routers linked with long (tens of kilometers) GbE G.652 fiber links.

  14. A Tiered Control Plane Model for Service Function Chaining Isolation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Håkon Gunleifsen

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available This article presents an architecture for encryption automation in interconnected Network Function Virtualization (NFV domains. Current NFV implementations are designed for deployment within trusted domains, where overlay networks with static trusted links are utilized for enabling network security. Nevertheless, within a Service Function Chain (SFC, Virtual Network Function (VNF flows cannot be isolated and end-to-end encrypted because each VNF requires direct access to the overall SFC data-flow. This restricts both end-users and Service Providers from enabling end-to-end security, and in extended VNF isolation within the SFC data traffic. Encrypting data flows on a per-flow basis results in an extensive amount of secure tunnels, which cannot scale efficiently in manual configurations. Additionally, creating secure data plane tunnels between NFV providers requires secure exchange of key parameters, and the establishment of an east–west control plane protocol. In this article, we present an architecture focusing on these two problems, investigating how overlay networks can be created, isolated, and secured dynamically. Accordingly, we propose an architecture for automated establishment of encrypted tunnels in NFV, which introduces a novel, tiered east–west communication channel between network controllers in a multi-domain environment.

  15. Evaluation of the Dawson College Shooting Psychological Intervention: Moving Toward a Multimodal Extensive Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Séguin, Monique; Chawky, Nadia; Lesage, Alain; Boyer, Richard; Guay, Stéphane; Bleau, Pierre; Miquelon, Paule; Szkrumelak, Nadia; Steiner, Warren; Roy, Denise

    2013-01-01

    In 2006, following the shooting at Dawson College, the authorities implemented an intervention plan. This provided an opportunity to analyze the responses to services offered, and afforded a learning opportunity, which led to the proposal of an extensive multimodal short- and long-term psychological plan for future needs. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered 18 months after the event, involving the participation of 948 students and staff. Mental health problems and the perception of services offered after the shooting were investigated, using standardized measures. Second, focus groups and individual interviews were conducted among a subgroup of participants (support team members; teachers and employees; students and parents) and permitted to gather data on services received and services required. Individual report of events, the extent of psychological impact and services offered and received were analyzed in terms of the following dimensions: intervention philosophy, training, ongoing offer of services and finally, detection and outreach. A significant incidence of disorders and a high rate of exacerbation of preexisting mental disorders were observed within the 18 months following the shooting. Postimmediate and short-term intervention appeared adequate, but the long-term collective vision toward community support and availability of mental health services were lacking. Lessons learned from this evaluation and other school shootings suggest that preparedness and long-term community responses are often overlooked. A multimodal extensive plan is proposed based on a theoretical model from which interventions strategies could be drawn. PMID:24795790

  16. Current state of seagrass ecosystem services: Research and policy integration

    KAUST Repository

    Ruiz-Frau, A.; Gelcich, S.; Hendriks, I.E.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Marbà , N.

    2017-01-01

    areas; a type of service research bias, provisioning and regulating services have received extensive attention while cultural services remain understudied; a type of discipline bias, the ecological aspects of SGES have been well documented while economic

  17. A Robust Optimization Approach for Improving Service Quality

    OpenAIRE

    Andreas C. Soteriou; Richard B. Chase

    2000-01-01

    Delivering high quality service during the service encounter is central to competitive advantage in service organizations. However, achieving such high quality while controlling for costs is a major challenge for service managers. The purpose of this paper is to present an approach for addressing this challenge. The approach entails developing a model linking service process operational variables to service quality metrics to provide guidelines for service resource allocation. The approach en...

  18. Living waters: Linking cultural knowledge, ecosystem services, and wilderness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda Moon Stumpff

    2013-01-01

    American Indian tribes value pristine water sources that often originate in wilderness areas to support provisioning and cultural benefits. Based on interviews with four traditional leaders, this article focuses on the concept of living waters in ways that connect ecosystem service benefits to wilderness. Cultural knowledge connects indigenous water stewardship and...

  19. A Survivable Wavelength Division Multiplexing Passive Optical Network with Both Point-to-Point Service and Broadcast Service Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xuejiao; Gan, Chaoqin; Deng, Shiqi; Huang, Yan

    2011-11-01

    A survivable wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network enabling both point-to-point service and broadcast service is presented and demonstrated. This architecture provides an automatic traffic recovery against feeder and distribution fiber link failure, respectively. In addition, it also simplifies the protection design for multiple services transmission in wavelength division multiplexing passive optical networks.

  20. 78 FR 7738 - Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an Information Collection...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-04

    ... hour per response. Respondents: Growers, importers, and foreign national plant protection organizations... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2012-0102... Brown Rot AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Revision to and extension of...

  1. EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS): AIRS_AFS_MAJOR

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This web feature service contains location and facility identification information from EPA's Facility Registry Service (FRS) for the subset of facilities that link...

  2. 78 FR 8149 - Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection; Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-05

    ... to be evaluated, including those funded under Section 105 of The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Extension of a... Children's Bureau's Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers and National Child Welfare...

  3. School Health Services

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    School health services reduce absenteeism and improve academic achievement according to research. If you have school-aged children, you'll want to listen to this podcast to learn more about healthy school environments and the link between health and academic achievement.

  4. Security Concepts for Satellite Links

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tobehn, C.; Penné, B.; Rathje, R.; Weigl, A.; Gorecki, Ch.; Michalik, H.

    2008-08-01

    The high costs to develop, launch and maintain a satellite network makes protecting the assets imperative. Attacks may be passive such as eavesdropping on the payload data. More serious threat are active attacks that try to gain control of the satellite, which may lead to the total lost of the satellite asset. To counter these threats, new satellite and ground systems are using cryptographic technologies to provide a range of services: confidentiality, entity & message authentication, and data integrity. Additionally, key management cryptographic services are required to support these services. This paper describes the key points of current satellite control and operations, that are authentication of the access to the satellite TMTC link and encryption of security relevant TM/TC data. For payload data management the key points are multi-user ground station access and high data rates both requiring frequent updates and uploads of keys with the corresponding key management methods. For secure satellite management authentication & key negotiation algorithms as HMAC-RIPEMD160, EC- DSA and EC-DH are used. Encryption of data uses algorithms as IDEA, AES, Triple-DES, or other. A channel coding and encryption unit for payload data provides download data rates up to Nx250 Mbps. The presented concepts are based on our experience and heritage of the security systems for all German MOD satellite projects (SATCOMBw2, SAR-Lupe multi- satellite system and German-French SAR-Lupe-Helios- II systems inter-operability) as well as for further international (KOMPSAT-II Payload data link system) and ESA activities (TMTC security and GMES).

  5. A Framework for Linking Population Model Development with Ecological Risk Assessment Objectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    The value of models that link organism‐level impacts to the responses of a population in ecological risk assessments (ERAs) has been demonstrated extensively over the past few decades. There is little debate about the utility of these models to translate multiple organism&#...

  6. 76 FR 81467 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Baby...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-28

    ...] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Baby Corn and Baby Carrots From Zambia AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of... importation of baby corn and baby carrots from Zambia. DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on...

  7. Characterization of in-containment cables for nuclear plant life extension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DuCharme, A.R.; Bustard, L.D.

    1988-01-01

    Electrical cable is made by a large number of manufacturers and used for a variety of applications in nuclear plants. cables have been identified in the Monticello and Surry Pilot Plant life extension studies and the NRC Nuclear Plant Aging Research Program as components important to the economic and safety aspects of life extension. Currently, fitness for service is largely determined by preoperational testing. The US Department of Energy is supporting work at Sandia National Laboratories to assess the technical basis for the life extension of cables found inside containment at US nuclear plants. The work is being performed in coordination with the Nuclear Management and Resource Council's (NUMARC) NUPLEX Working Group. The initial task of this effort is to characterize the design attributes of in-containment cables. This has been completed via development of a data base depicting the manufacturer, type, material composition, use, qualification, and relative popularity of cables installed in containment. Other ongoing work is focused on a review of cable operational experience and assessment of the issues affecting cable life extension. In the long term, the work aims to identify the technical criteria and life extension strategies needed to support continued cable qualification by nuclear plant owner/operators. 7 refs., 4 tabs

  8. The Union Health Center: a working model of clinical care linked to preventive occupational health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbert, R; Plattus, B; Kellogg, L; Luo, J; Marcus, M; Mascolo, A; Landrigan, P J

    1997-03-01

    As health care provision in the United States shifts to primary care settings, it is vital that new models of occupational health services be developed that link clinical care to prevention. The model program described in this paper was developed at the Union Health Center (UHC), a comprehensive health care center supported by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (now the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) serving a population of approximately 50,000 primarily minority, female garment workers in New York City. The objective of this paper is to describe a model occupational medicine program in a union-based comprehensive health center linking accessible clinical care with primary and secondary disease prevention efforts. To assess the presence of symptoms suggestive of occupational disease, a health status questionnaire was administered to female workers attending the UHC for routine health maintenance. Based on the results of this survey, an occupational medicine clinic was developed that integrated direct clinical care with worker and employer education and workplace hazard abatement. To assess the success of this new approach, selected cases of sentinel health events were tracked and a chart review was conducted after 3 years of clinic operation. Prior to initiation of the occupational medicine clinic, 64% (648) of the workers surveyed reported symptoms indicative of occupational illnesses. However, only 42 (4%) reported having been told by a physician that they had an occupational illness and only 4 (.4%) reported having field a workers' compensation claim for an occupational disease. In the occupational medicine clinic established at the UHC, a health and safety specialist acts as a case manager, coordinating worker and employer education as well as workplace hazard abatement focused on disease prevention, ensuring that every case of occupational disease is treated as a potential sentinel health event. As examples of the success

  9. Life extension of semi-submersible drilling unit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hadley, I.; Sinclair, C.I.K. [TWI, Cambridge (United Kingdom). Structural Integrity Dept.; Magne, E. [Schlumberger Sedco Forex, Montrouge (France)

    1995-12-31

    This paper describes the life extension of a semi-submersible drilling rig built in the early 1970`s. A nominal design life of 20 years was estimated at the time of building; however, in the interim period, numerous improvements have been made in fatigue life estimation ad life improvement techniques, raising the possibility that a further 20 years of operation could be considered. The life extension strategy made use of a number of aspects of offshore technology which were not available at the time of construction of the rig. Finite element studies and results from offshore research programs were used to gauge the effect of fatigue life improvement techniques. The program demonstrated the feasibility of extending the operation of the rig for a further 20 years, with the interval between in-service inspection increased to every five years. It also provided a valuable database of fracture toughness data for the rig materials, which may be used in future work to address reliability issues.

  10. Nitric oxide-induced interstrand cross-links in DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caulfield, Jennifer L; Wishnok, John S; Tannenbaum, Steven R

    2003-05-01

    The DNA damaging effects of nitrous acid have been extensively studied, and the formation of interstrand cross-links have been observed. The potential for this cross-linking to occur through a common nitrosating intermediate derived from nitric oxide is investigated here. Using a HPLC laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) system, the amount of interstrand cross-link formed on nitric oxide treatment of the 5'-fluorescein-labeled oligomer ATATCGATCGATAT was determined. This self-complimentary sequence contains two 5'-CG sequences, which is the preferred site for nitrous acid-induced cross-linking. Nitric oxide was delivered to an 0.5 mM oligomer solution at 15 nmol/mL/min to give a final nitrite concentration of 652 microM. The resulting concentration of the deamination product, xanthine, in this sample was found to be 211 +/- 39 nM, using GC/MS, and the amount of interstrand cross-link was determined to be 13 +/- 2.5 nM. Therefore, upon nitric oxide treatment, the cross-link is found at approximately 6% of the amount of the deamination product. Using this system, detection of the cross-link is also possible for significantly lower doses of nitric oxide, as demonstrated by treatment of the same oligomer with NO at a rate of 18 nmol/mL/min resulting in a final nitrite concentration of 126 microM. The concentration of interstrand cross-link was determined to be 3.6 +/- 0.1 nM in this sample. Therefore, using the same dose rate, when the total nitric oxide concentration delivered drops by a factor of approximately 5, the concentration of cross-link drops by a factor of about 4-indicating a qausi-linear response. It may now be possible to predict the number of cross-links in a small genome based on the number of CpG sequences and the yield of xanthine derived from nitrosative deamination.

  11. Determinants of Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality-The Case of Romanian Public Services-

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Horia Mihai RABOCA

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study portrays customer satisfaction and service quality as a multidimensional construct and investigates the link between customer satisfaction determinants and service quality determinants. Based on arguments that customer satisfaction should be operationalized along the same determinants/factors and dimensions (and the corresponding items on which service quality is operationalized, the results of study indicate that the two constructs are indeed independent but closely related, implying that an increase in one is likely to lead to an increase in another.

  12. Life extension of the BR2 aluminium vessel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koonen, E.; Fabry, A.; Chaouadi, R.; Verwerft, M.; Raedt, C. de; Winckel, S. van; Wacquier, W.; Dadoumont, J.; Verwimp, A.

    2000-01-01

    The BR2 reactor has recently undergone a major refurbishment comprising the replacement of all vessel internals. The vessel itself however was not replaced. An important requalification programme has been executed to prove that the vessel would remain fit during the contemplated life extension period of BR2. Representative material samples could be obtained from the shroud surrounding the vessel. A comprehensive in-service inspection was carried out and a vessel surveillance programme has been established. (author)

  13. Transactions Concurrency Control in Web Service Environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alrifai, Mohammad; Dolog, Peter; Nejdl, Wolfgang

    2006-01-01

    an engineering point of view as it does not change the way consumers or clients of web services have to be programmed. Furthermore, it avoids direct communication between transaction coordinators which preserves security by keeping the information about business transactions restricted to the coordinators which......Business transactions in web service environments run with relaxed isolation and atomicity property. In such environments, transactions can commit and roll back independently on each other. Transaction management has to reflect this issue and address the problems which result for example from...... concurrent access to web service resources and data. In this paper we propose an extension to the WS-Transaction Protocol which ensures the consistency of the data when independent business transactions access the data concurrently under the relaxed transaction properties. Our extension is based...

  14. Applying an ecosystem service approach to unravel links between ecosystems and society in the coast of central Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Juan, Silvia; Gelcich, Stefan; Ospina-Alvarez, Andres; Perez-Matus, Alejandro; Fernandez, Miriam

    2015-11-15

    Ecosystem-based management implies understanding feedbacks between ecosystems and society. Such understanding can be approached with the Drivers-Pressures-State change-Impacts-Response framework (DPSIR), incorporating stakeholders' preferences for ecosystem services to assess impacts on society. This framework was adapted to six locations in the central coast of Chile, where artisanal fisheries coexist with an increasing influx of tourists, and a set of fisheries management areas alternate with open access areas and a no-take Marine Protected Area (MPA). The ecosystem services in the study area were quantified using biomass and species richness in intertidal and subtidal areas as biological indicators. The demand for ecosystem services was elicited by interviews to the principal groups of users. Our results evidenced decreasing landings and a negative perception of fishermen on temporal trends of catches. The occurrence of recreational fishing was negligible, although the consumption of seafood by tourists was relatively high. Nevertheless, the consumption of organisms associated to the study system was low, which could be linked, amongst other factors, to decreasing catches. The comparison of biological indicators between management regimens provided variable results, but a positive effect of management areas and the MPA on some of the metrics was observed. The prioritising of ecosystem attributes by tourists was highly homogenous across the six locations, with "scenic beauty" consistently selected as the preferred attribute, followed by "diversity". The DPSIR framework illustrated the complex interactions existing in these locations, with weak linkages between society's priorities, existing management objectives and the state of biological communities. Overall, this work improved our knowledge on relations between components of coastal areas in central Chile, of paramount importance to advance towards an ecosystem-based management in the area. Copyright © 2015

  15. 78 FR 36506 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Plants...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-18

    ... 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2013-14466... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0035] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Plants for...

  16. 76 FR 81466 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Small...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-28

    ..., this 19th day of December 2011. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0118... Seed AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  17. 78 FR 48644 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Plum Pox Compensation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-09

    ... Washington, DC, this 5th day of August, 2013. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0066...: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an information...

  18. 76 FR 37054 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Longan...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0053... Taiwan AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an... approval of an information collection associated with regulations for the importation of longan from Taiwan...

  19. Design and development of linked data from the National Map

    Science.gov (United States)

    Usery, E. Lynn; Varanka, Dalia E.

    2012-01-01

    The development of linked data on the World-Wide Web provides the opportunity for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to supply its extensive volumes of geospatial data, information, and knowledge in a machine interpretable form and reach users and applications that heretofore have been unavailable. To pilot a process to take advantage of this opportunity, the USGS is developing an ontology for The National Map and converting selected data from nine research test areas to a Semantic Web format to support machine processing and linked data access. In a case study, the USGS has developed initial methods for legacy vector and raster formatted geometry, attributes, and spatial relationships to be accessed in a linked data environment maintaining the capability to generate graphic or image output from semantic queries. The description of an initial USGS approach to developing ontology, linked data, and initial query capability from The National Map databases is presented.

  20. Performance management of the public healthcare services in Ireland: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesabbah, Mohammed; Arisha, Amr

    2016-01-01

    Performance Management (PM) processes have become a potent part of strategic and service quality decisions in healthcare organisations. In 2005, the management of public healthcare in Ireland was amalgamated into a single integrated management body, named the Health Service Executive (HSE). Since then, the HSE has come up with a range of strategies for healthcare developments and reforms, and has developed a PM system as part of its strategic planning. The purpose of this paper is to review the application of PM in the Irish Healthcare system, with a particular focus on Irish Hospitals and Emergency Services. An extensive review of relevant HSE's publications from 2005 to 2013 is conducted. Studies of the relevant literature related to the application of PM and of international best practices in healthcare performance systems are also presented. PM and performance measurement systems used by the HSE include many performance reports designed to monitor performance trends and strategic goals. Issues in the current PM system include inconsistency of measures and performance reporting, unclear strategy alignment, and deficiencies in reporting (e.g. feedback and corrective actions). Furthermore, PM processes have not been linked adequately into Irish public hospitals' management systems. The HSE delivers several services such as mental health, social inclusion, etc. This study focuses on the HSE's PM framework, with a particular interest in acute hospitals and emergency services. This is the first comprehensive review of Irish healthcare PM since the introduction of the HSE. A critical analysis of the HSE reports identifies the shortcomings in its current PM system.

  1. Linking ecosystem services with state-and-transition models to evaluate rangeland management decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohani, S.; Heilman, P.; deSteiguer, J. E.; Guertin, D. P.; Wissler, C.; McClaran, M. P.

    2014-12-01

    Quantifying ecosystem services is a crucial topic for land management decision making. However, market prices are usually not able to capture all the ecosystem services and disservices. Ecosystem services from rangelands, that cover 70% of the world's land area, are even less well-understood since knowledge of rangelands is limited. This study generated a management framework for rangelands that uses remote sensing to generate state and transition models (STMs) for a large area and a linear programming (LP) model that uses ecosystem services to evaluate natural and/or management induced transitions as described in the STM. The LP optimization model determines the best management plan for a plot of semi-arid land in the Empire Ranch in southeastern Arizona. The model allocated land among management activities (do nothing, grazing, fire, and brush removal) to optimize net benefits and determined the impact of monetizing environmental services and disservices on net benefits, acreage allocation and production output. The ecosystem services under study were forage production (AUM/ac/yr), sediment (lbs/ac/yr), water runoff (inches/yr), soil loss (lbs/ac/yr) and recreation (thousands of number of visitors/ac/yr). The optimization model was run for three different scenarios - private rancher, public rancher including environmental services and excluding disservices, and public rancher including both services and disservices. The net benefit was the highest for the public rancher excluding the disservices. A result from the study is a constrained optimization model that incorporates ecosystem services to analyze investments on conservation and management activities. Rangeland managers can use this model to understand and explain, not prescribe, the tradeoffs of management investments.

  2. CMD2RDF: Building a Bridge from CLARIN to Linked Open Data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Windhouwer, M.; Indarto, E.; Broeder, D.; Odijk, Jan; Van Hessen, Arjan

    2017-01-01

    Metadata can be represented in many different ways. CLARIN’s Component Metadata Infrastructure (CMDI) uses the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) as the representation format for metadata records. However, the Resource Description Format (RDF) as used by Linked Open Data (LOD) is gaining more

  3. Feasibility assessment of optical technologies for reliable high capacity feeder links

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witternigg, Norbert; Schönhuber, Michael; Leitgeb, Erich; Plank, Thomas

    2013-08-01

    Space telecom scenarios like data relay satellite and broadband/broadcast service providers require reliable feeder links with high bandwidth/data rate for the communication between ground station and satellite. Free space optical communication (FSOC) is an attractive alternative to microwave links, improving performance by offering abundant bandwidth at small apertures of the optical terminals. At the same time Near-Earth communication by FSOC avoids interference with other services and is free of regulatory issues. The drawback however is the impairment by the laser propagation through the atmosphere at optical wavelengths. Also to be considered are questions of eye safety for ground personnel and aviation. In this paper we assess the user requirements for typical space telecom scenarios and compare these requirements with solutions using optical data links through the atmosphere. We suggest a site diversity scheme with a number of ground stations and a switching scheme using two optical terminals on-board the satellite. Considering the technology trade-offs between four different optical wavelengths we recommend the future use of 1.5 μm laser technology and calculate a link budget for an atmospheric condition of light haze on the optical path. By comparing link budgets we show an outlook to the future potential use of 10 μm laser technology.

  4. PROVIDING GEOGRAPHIC DATASETS AS LINKED DATA IN SDI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Hietanen

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a prototype service to provide data from Web Feature Service (WFS as linked data is implemented. At first, persistent and unique Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI are created to all spatial objects in the dataset. The objects are available from those URIs in Resource Description Framework (RDF data format. Next, a Web Ontology Language (OWL ontology is created to describe the dataset information content using the Open Geospatial Consortium’s (OGC GeoSPARQL vocabulary. The existing data model is modified in order to take into account the linked data principles. The implemented service produces an HTTP response dynamically. The data for the response is first fetched from existing WFS. Then the Geographic Markup Language (GML format output of the WFS is transformed on-the-fly to the RDF format. Content Negotiation is used to serve the data in different RDF serialization formats. This solution facilitates the use of a dataset in different applications without replicating the whole dataset. In addition, individual spatial objects in the dataset can be referred with URIs. Furthermore, the needed information content of the objects can be easily extracted from the RDF serializations available from those URIs. A solution for linking data objects to the dataset URI is also introduced by using the Vocabulary of Interlinked Datasets (VoID. The dataset is divided to the subsets and each subset is given its persistent and unique URI. This enables the whole dataset to be explored with a web browser and all individual objects to be indexed by search engines.

  5. AMBIT RESTful web services: an implementation of the OpenTox application programming interface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeliazkova Nina

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The AMBIT web services package is one of the several existing independent implementations of the OpenTox Application Programming Interface and is built according to the principles of the Representational State Transfer (REST architecture. The Open Source Predictive Toxicology Framework, developed by the partners in the EC FP7 OpenTox project, aims at providing a unified access to toxicity data and predictive models, as well as validation procedures. This is achieved by i an information model, based on a common OWL-DL ontology ii links to related ontologies; iii data and algorithms, available through a standardized REST web services interface, where every compound, data set or predictive method has a unique web address, used to retrieve its Resource Description Framework (RDF representation, or initiate the associated calculations. The AMBIT web services package has been developed as an extension of AMBIT modules, adding the ability to create (Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR models and providing an OpenTox API compliant interface. The representation of data and processing resources in W3C Resource Description Framework facilitates integrating the resources as Linked Data. By uploading datasets with chemical structures and arbitrary set of properties, they become automatically available online in several formats. The services provide unified interfaces to several descriptor calculation, machine learning and similarity searching algorithms, as well as to applicability domain and toxicity prediction models. All Toxtree modules for predicting the toxicological hazard of chemical compounds are also integrated within this package. The complexity and diversity of the processing is reduced to the simple paradigm "read data from a web address, perform processing, write to a web address". The online service allows to easily run predictions, without installing any software, as well to share online datasets and models. The

  6. AMBIT RESTful web services: an implementation of the OpenTox application programming interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeliazkova, Nina; Jeliazkov, Vedrin

    2011-05-16

    The AMBIT web services package is one of the several existing independent implementations of the OpenTox Application Programming Interface and is built according to the principles of the Representational State Transfer (REST) architecture. The Open Source Predictive Toxicology Framework, developed by the partners in the EC FP7 OpenTox project, aims at providing a unified access to toxicity data and predictive models, as well as validation procedures. This is achieved by i) an information model, based on a common OWL-DL ontology ii) links to related ontologies; iii) data and algorithms, available through a standardized REST web services interface, where every compound, data set or predictive method has a unique web address, used to retrieve its Resource Description Framework (RDF) representation, or initiate the associated calculations.The AMBIT web services package has been developed as an extension of AMBIT modules, adding the ability to create (Quantitative) Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) models and providing an OpenTox API compliant interface. The representation of data and processing resources in W3C Resource Description Framework facilitates integrating the resources as Linked Data. By uploading datasets with chemical structures and arbitrary set of properties, they become automatically available online in several formats. The services provide unified interfaces to several descriptor calculation, machine learning and similarity searching algorithms, as well as to applicability domain and toxicity prediction models. All Toxtree modules for predicting the toxicological hazard of chemical compounds are also integrated within this package. The complexity and diversity of the processing is reduced to the simple paradigm "read data from a web address, perform processing, write to a web address". The online service allows to easily run predictions, without installing any software, as well to share online datasets and models. The downloadable web application

  7. A Runtime System for Interactive Web Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brabrand, Claus; Møller, Anders; Sandholm, Anders

    1999-01-01

    Interactive web services are increasingly replacing traditional static web pages. Producing web services seems to require a tremendous amount of laborious low-level coding due to the primitive nature of CGI programming. We present ideas for an improved runtime system for interactive web services...... built on top of CGI running on virtually every combination of browser and HTTP/CGI server. The runtime system has been implemented and used extensively in , a tool for producing interactive web services....

  8. Forest Ecosystem services and development pressures

    Science.gov (United States)

    David N. Wear

    2006-01-01

    Ecosystem services from forests on private lands are often under-produced because landowners bear the cost of restoring, preserving, and managing their lands to produce ecological services that benefit all members of the community or larger society. Over the last two decades, a variety of federal and state programs have applied a combination of regulations, extension,...

  9. Delivering Library Services to Remote Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casado, Margaret

    2001-01-01

    Discusses library services at the University of Tennessee to reach off-campus and distance education students. Topics include online research; email; library instruction for faculty and students; Web interfaces; fax; telephone service; chat technology; the library's Web page; virtual classrooms; library links from a course management system; and…

  10. 78 FR 34636 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Unshu...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-10

    ... Washington, DC, this 5th day of June 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0027... From Japan AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of...

  11. How Elsevier is supporting the value and usefulness of data with Cross-linking and Research Data Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keall, Bethan; Koers, Hylke; Marques, David

    2013-04-01

    Research in the Earth & Planetary Sciences is characterized by a wealth of observational data - ranging from observations by satellites orbiting the Earth, to borehole measurements at the bottom of the ocean, and also includes data from projects like the Rover Curiosity Landing. Thanks to technological advancements, it has become much easier for researchers over the last few decades to gather large volumes of data, analyze, and share with other researchers inside and outside the lab. With data serving such an important role in the way research is carried out, it becomes a crucial task to archive, maintain, organize, and disseminate research data in a dependable and structured manner. Subject-specific data repositories, often driven by the scientific community, are taking an increasingly prominent role in this domain, getting traction amongst researchers as the go-to place to deposit raw research data. At the same time, the scientific article remains an essential resource of scientific information. At Elsevier, we strive to continuously adapt the article format to meet the needs of modern-day researchers. This includes better support for digital content (see, e.g., http://www.elsevier.com/googlemaps), but also bidirectional linking between online articles and data repositories. In this spirit, Elsevier is collaborating with several leading data repositories, such as PANGAEA, IEDA, and NERC, to interlink articles and data for improved visibility and discoverability of both primary research data and research articles. In addition, Elsevier has formed a new group, Research Data Services, with three primary goals: • help increase the sharing and archiving of research data in discipline-specific repositories • help increase the value of shared data, particularly with annotation and provenance metadata and linking discipline-specific datasets together • help create a credit and impact assessment infrastructure to make research data independently important in its own

  12. In the Hands of Service Robots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peronard, Jean-Paul

    the benefits of applying robots in professional service e.g. healthcare are extensive, the research into consumer motivation is limited. There is a need for a greater understanding of the individual differences in beliefs and perception in relation to service technology in general and in particular for service...... robots. Therefore, this article proposes a general typology of consumer attitudes and expectations towards service robots. Four types of values are identified and labelled critical, practical, affectionate, and desirable. Based on these values four consumer types are then theoretically develop and may...

  13. A service and value based approach to estimating environmental flows

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Korsgaard, Louise; Jensen, R.A.; Jønch-Clausen, Torkil

    2008-01-01

    at filling that gap by presenting a new environmental flows assessment approach that explicitly links environmental flows to (socio)-economic values by focusing on ecosystem services. This Service Provision Index (SPI) approach is a novel contribution to the existing field of environmental flows assessment...... of sustaining ecosystems but also a matter of supporting humankind/livelihoods. One reason for the marginalisation of environmental flows is the lack of operational methods to demonstrate the inherently multi-disciplinary link between environmental flows, ecosystem services and economic value. This paper aims...

  14. Conceptions of health service robots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lystbæk, Christian Tang

    2015-01-01

    Technology developments create rich opportunities for health service providers to introduce service robots in health care. While the potential benefits of applying robots in health care are extensive, the research into the conceptions of health service robot and its importance for the uptake...... of robotics technology in health care is limited. This article develops a model of the basic conceptions of health service robots that can be used to understand different assumptions and values attached to health care technology in general and health service robots in particular. The article takes...... a discursive approach in order to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the social values of health service robots. First a discursive approach is proposed to develop a typology of conceptions of health service robots. Second, a model identifying four basic conceptions of health service robots...

  15. Mapping N-linked Glycosylation Sites in the Secretome and Whole Cells of Aspergillus niger Using Hydrazide Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Lu; Aryal, Uma K.; Dai, Ziyu; Mason, Alisa C.; Monroe, Matthew E.; Tian, Zhixin; Zhou, Jianying; Su, Dian; Weitz, Karl K.; Liu, Tao; Camp, David G.; Smith, Richard D.; Baker, Scott E.; Qian, Weijun

    2012-01-01

    Protein glycosylation is known to play an essential role in both cellular functions and the secretory pathways; however, little information is available on the dynamics of glycosylated N-linked glycosites of fungi. Herein we present the first extensive mapping of glycosylated N-linked glycosites in industrial strain Aspergillus niger by applying an optimized solid phase enrichment of glycopeptide protocol using hydrazide modified magnetic beads. The enrichment protocol was initially optimized using mouse plasma and A. niger secretome samples, which was then applied to profile N-linked glycosites from both the secretome and whole cell lysates of A. niger. A total of 847 unique N-linked glycosites and 330 N-linked glycoproteins were confidently identified by LC-MS/MS. Based on gene ontology analysis, the identified N-linked glycoproteins in the whole cell lysate were primarily localized in the plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi apparatus, lysosome, and storage vacuoles. The identified N-linked glycoproteins are involved in a wide range of biological processes including gene regulation and signal transduction, protein folding and assembly, protein modification and carbohydrate metabolism. The extensive coverage of glycosylated N-linked glycosites along with identification of partial N-linked glycosylation in those enzymes involving in different biochemical pathways provide useful information for functional studies of N-linked glycosylation and their biotechnological applications in A. niger.

  16. Journal of Agricultural Extension http://dx.doi.org/10.4314.jae.v19i1 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    Emerging Role of Information Communication Technologies in Extension Service Delivery in Nigeria: A Review .... technology and Telecommunication/computer technology. Broadcast .... integrated cassava project. Its information is based on ...

  17. GLPP: A Game-Based Location Privacy-Preserving Framework in Account Linked Mixed Location-Based Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhuo Ma

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In Location-Based Services (LBSs platforms, such as Foursquare and Swarm, the submitted position for a share or search leads to the exposure of users’ activities. Additionally, the cross-platform account linkage could aggravate this exposure, as the fusion of users’ information can enhance inference attacks on users’ next submitted location. Hence, in this paper, we propose GLPP, a personalized and continuous location privacy-preserving framework in account linked platforms with different LBSs (i.e., search-based LBSs and share-based LBSs. The key point of GLPP is to obfuscate every location submitted in search-based LBSs so as to defend dynamic inference attacks. Specifically, first, possible inference attacks are listed through user behavioral analysis. Second, for each specific attack, an obfuscation model is proposed to minimize location privacy leakage under a given location distortion, which ensures submitted locations’ utility for search-based LBSs. Third, for dynamic attacks, a framework based on zero-sum game is adopted to joint specific obfuscation above and minimize the location privacy leakage to a balanced point. Experiments on real dataset prove the effectiveness of our proposed attacks in Accuracy, Certainty, and Correctness and, meanwhile, also show the performance of our preserving solution in defense of attacks and guarantee of location utility.

  18. Transformation of nursing services in selected Gauteng hospitals

    OpenAIRE

    2012-01-01

    M.Cur. It is explicit that the change in the South African government since 1994 accompanied by the transformation of nursing services with its new policies and practices is inevitable, and poses challenges for the nursing service managers in Gauteng hospitals. The transformation of nursing services can be a difficult process creating a period of fear, uncertainty, stress and role ambiguity for the nursing service managers. The transformation has been so extensive that the nursing service ...

  19. Social Factors That Influence Use of ICT in Agricultural Extension in Southern Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joyous S. Tata

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Farmbook is a novel information communication technology (ICT tool for agricultural extension that is currently being field tested by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS in Southern and East Africa. Farmbook enables extension agents to assess productivity and profitability of farming enterprises in a faster and more reliable manner, so as to increase farmer incomes and achieve food security. This study looked at the relationship between challenges faced by extension agents testing the Farmbook application and select socio-economic indicators influencing their work. Specific objectives were to identify and categorize the challenges facing extension agents in the field as they used Farmbook, assess gender differences in the use of Farmbook by extension agents, understand the relationship between socio-economic status of extension agents and the challenges faced in using Farmbook. Data were collected through document reviews, administration of a structured questionnaire and focus group meetings with field agents. Descriptive statistics and multivariate techniques were used to analyze data. The results show that personal and wider socio-economic conditions do have an impact on the proficiency of extension agents using Farmbook. The study goes on to recommend measures to improve the training and ICT proficiency of extension agents adopting Farmbook.

  20. Towards a managerially useful approach to classifying services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Valk, W.; Axelsson, B.

    The topic of service classification has received extensive scholarly attention. The efforts put in have resulted in a wide array of service classifications. At the same time, there has been little discussion of similarities and differences between classifications. Furthermore, use of individual

  1. VPLS: an effective technology for building scalable transparent LAN services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Ximing; Yu, Shaohua

    2005-02-01

    Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) is generating considerable interest with enterprises and service providers as it offers multipoint transparent LAN service (TLS) over MPLS networks. This paper describes an effective technology - VPLS, which links virtual switch instances (VSIs) through MPLS to form an emulated Ethernet switch and build Scalable Transparent Lan Services. It first focuses on the architecture of VPLS with Ethernet bridging technique at the edge and MPLS at the core, then it tries to elucidate the data forwarding mechanism within VPLS domain, including learning and aging MAC addresses on a per LSP basis, flooding of unknown frames and replication for unknown, multicast, and broadcast frames. The loop-avoidance mechanism, known as split horizon forwarding, is also analyzed. Another important aspect of VPLS service is its basic operation, including autodiscovery and signaling, is discussed. From the perspective of efficiency and scalability the paper compares two important signaling mechanism, BGP and LDP, which are used to set up a PW between the PEs and bind the PWs to a particular VSI. With the extension of VPLS and the increase of full mesh of PWs between PE devices (n*(n-1)/2 PWs in all, a n2 complete problem), VPLS instance could have a large number of remote PE associations, resulting in an inefficient use of network bandwidth and system resources as the ingress PE has to replicate each frame and append MPLS labels for remote PE. So the latter part of this paper focuses on the scalability issue: the Hierarchical VPLS. Within the architecture of HVPLS, this paper addresses two ways to cope with a possibly large number of MAC addresses, which make VPLS operate more efficiently.

  2. Law-Based Ontology for E-Government Services Construction - Case Study: The Specification of Services in Relationship with the Venture Creation in Switzerland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khadraoui, Abdelaziz; Opprecht, Wanda; Léonard, Michel; Aïdonidis, Christine

    The compliance of e-government services with legal aspects is a crucial issue for administrations. This issue becomes more difficult with the fast-evolving dynamics of laws. This chapter presents our approach to describe and establish the link between e-government services and legal sources. This link is established by an ontology called “law-based ontology.” We use this ontology as means to define and to construct e-government services. The proposed approach is illustrated with one case study: the specification of services in relationship with the venture ­creation in Switzerland and in the State of Geneva. We have selected the Commercial Register area which mainly encompasses the registration of a new company and the modification of its registration.

  3. Service quality and clinical outcomes: an example from mental health rehabilitation services in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Killaspy, Helen; Marston, Louise; Omar, Rumana Z; Green, Nicholas; Harrison, Isobel; Lean, Melanie; Holloway, Frank; Craig, Tom; Leavey, Gerard; King, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Current health policy assumes better quality services lead to better outcomes. To investigate the relationship between quality of mental health rehabilitation services in England, local deprivation, service user characteristics and clinical outcomes. Standardised tools were used to assess the quality of mental health rehabilitation units and service users' autonomy, quality of life, experiences of care and ratings of the therapeutic milieu. Multiple level modelling investigated relationships between service quality, service user characteristics and outcomes. A total of 52/60 (87%) National Health Service trusts participated, comprising 133 units and 739 service users. All aspects of service quality were positively associated with service users' autonomy, experiences of care and therapeutic milieu, but there was no association with quality of life. Quality of care is linked to better clinical outcomes in people with complex and longer-term mental health problems. Thus, investing in quality is likely to show real clinical gains.

  4. 76 FR 78229 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Hass...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-16

    ... Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to restrict... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0106... From Peru AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  5. Expected role of psychologists in rural extension in the Argentine Northeast

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Pablo Landini

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Rural extension is a complex practice that involves the provision of technical assistance and advisory services to farmers and other rural actors with the aim of improving agricultural production as well as organizational and commercial dynamics. Thus, it is clear that rural extension as an interdisciplinary practice that requires contributions from different social sciences. In consequence, it can be argued that psycholog y has a great potential to contribute to rural extension. Nonetheless, it has been mentioned that its contributions to the topic have been scarce. Aiming to understand the potential role of psychologists in the context of rural extension, a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive research was conducted. A total of 40 extensionists from the Argentine northeast provinces were interviewed. Interviews were recorded and latter analyzed following grounded theory’s guidelines and using Atlas Ti software. The findings allow concluding that most rural extensionists consider that psycholog y could contribute to their practice, but without being able to clarify its specificities. Additionally, exten-sionists highlight potential contributions in the area of group dynamics, conflict management and the understanding of farmers’ behavior.

  6. Dynamic Copy Number Evolution of X- and Y-Linked Ampliconic Genes in Human Populations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lucotte, Elise A; Skov, Laurits; Jensen, Jacob Malte

    2018-01-01

    we explore the evolution of human X- and Y-linked ampliconic genes by investigating copy number variation (CNV) and coding variation between populations using the Simons Genome Diversity Project. We develop a method to assess CNVs using the read-depth on modified X and Y chromosome targets containing...... related Y haplogroups, that diversified less than 50,000 years ago. Moreover, X and Y-linked ampliconic genes seem to have a faster amplification dynamic than autosomal multicopy genes. Looking at expression data from another study, we also find that XY-linked ampliconic genes with extensive copy number...

  7. Linked Data Evolving the Web into a Global Data Space

    CERN Document Server

    Heath, Tom

    2011-01-01

    The World Wide Web has enabled the creation of a global information space comprising linked documents. As the Web becomes ever more enmeshed with our daily lives, there is a growing desire for direct access to raw data not currently available on the Web or bound up in hypertext documents. Linked Data provides a publishing paradigm in which not only documents, but also data, can be a first class citizen of the Web, thereby enabling the extension of the Web with a global data space based on open standards - the Web of Data. In this Synthesis lecture we provide readers with a detailed technical i

  8. Zika Virus Infection and Microcephaly: Evidence for a Causal Link.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jin-Na; Ling, Feng

    2016-10-20

    Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus related to the Dengue, yellow fever and West Nile viruses. Since the explosive outbreaks of ZIKV in Latin America in 2015, a sudden increase in the number of microcephaly cases has been observed in infants of women who were pregnant when they contracted the virus. The severity of this condition raises grave concerns, and extensive studies on the possible link between ZIKV infection and microcephaly have been conducted. There is substantial evidence suggesting that there is a causal link between ZIKV and microcephaly, however, future studies are warranted to solidify this association. To summarize the most recent evidence on this issue and provide perspectives for future studies, we reviewed the literature to identify existing evidence of the causal link between ZIKV infection and microcephaly within research related to the epidemics, laboratory diagnosis, and possible mechanisms.

  9. Journal of Agricultural Extension http://dx.doi.org/10.4314.jae.v19i1 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    only be achieved through effective extension effort and services and fisher ... means of fish production, processing, storage and marketing was introduced ..... Indigenous Knowledge; paper presented at the UNCTAD Conference on Traditional.

  10. Leveraging Available Data to Support Extension of Transportation Packages Service Life

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dunn, K.; Abramczyk, G.; Bellamy, S.; Daugherty, W.; Hackney, B.; Hoffman, E.; Skidmore, E.; Stefek, T.

    2012-06-12

    Data obtained from testing shipping package materials have been leveraged to support extending the service life of select shipping packages while in nuclear materials transportation. Increasingly, nuclear material inventories are being transferred to an interim storage location where they will reside for extended periods of time. Use of a shipping package to store nuclear materials in an interim storage location has become more attractive for a variety of reasons. Shipping packages are robust and have a qualified pedigree for their performance in normal operation and accident conditions within the approved shipment period and storing nuclear material within a shipping package results in reduced operations for the storage facility. However, the shipping package materials of construction must maintain a level of integrity as specified by the safety basis of the storage facility through the duration of the storage period, which is typically well beyond the one year transportation window. Test programs have been established to obtain aging data on materials of construction that are the most sensitive/susceptible to aging in certain shipping package designs. The collective data are being used to support extending the service life of shipping packages in both transportation and storage.

  11. Leveraging Available Data to Support Extension of Transportation Packages Service Life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunn, K.; Abramczyk, G.; Bellamy, S.; Daugherty, W.; Hackney, B.; Hoffman, E.; Skidmore, E.; Stefek, T.

    2012-01-01

    Data obtained from testing shipping package materials have been leveraged to support extending the service life of select shipping packages while in nuclear materials transportation. Increasingly, nuclear material inventories are being transferred to an interim storage location where they will reside for extended periods of time. Use of a shipping package to store nuclear materials in an interim storage location has become more attractive for a variety of reasons. Shipping packages are robust and have a qualified pedigree for their performance in normal operation and accident conditions within the approved shipment period and storing nuclear material within a shipping package results in reduced operations for the storage facility. However, the shipping package materials of construction must maintain a level of integrity as specified by the safety basis of the storage facility through the duration of the storage period, which is typically well beyond the one year transportation window. Test programs have been established to obtain aging data on materials of construction that are the most sensitive/susceptible to aging in certain shipping package designs. The collective data are being used to support extending the service life of shipping packages in both transportation and storage.

  12. Extending access to essential services against constraints: the three-tier health service delivery system in rural China (1949-1980).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Xing Lin; Martinez-Alvarez, Melisa; Zhong, Jun; Xu, Jin; Yuan, Beibei; Meng, Qingyue; Balabanova, Dina

    2017-05-23

    China has made remarkable progress in scaling up essential services during the last six decades, making health care increasingly available in rural areas. This was partly achieved through the building of a three-tier health system in the 1950s, established as a linked network with health service facilities at county, township and village level, to extend services to the whole population. We developed a Theory of Change to chart the policy context, contents and mechanisms that may have facilitated the establishment of the three-tier health service delivery system in rural China. We systematically synthesized the best available evidence on how China achieved universal access to essential services in resource-scarce rural settings, with a particular emphasis on the experiences learned before the 1980s, when the country suffered a particularly acute lack of resources. The search identified only three peered-reviewed articles that fit our criteria for scientific rigor. We therefore drew extensively on government policy documents, and triangulated them with other publications and key informant interviews. We found that China's three-tier health service delivery system was established in response to acute health challenges, including high fertility and mortality rates. Health system resources were extremely low in view of the needs and insufficient to extend access to even basic care. With strong political commitment to rural health and a "health-for-all" policy vision underlying implementation, a three-tier health service delivery model connecting villages, townships and counties was quickly established. We identified several factors that contributed to the success of the three-tier system in China: a realistic health human resource development strategy, use of mass campaigns as a vehicle to increase demand, an innovative financing mechanisms, public-private partnership models in the early stages of scale up, and an integrated approach to service delivery. An

  13. Link importance incorporated failure probability measuring solution for multicast light-trees in elastic optical networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xin; Zhang, Lu; Tang, Ying; Huang, Shanguo

    2018-03-01

    The light-tree-based optical multicasting (LT-OM) scheme provides a spectrum- and energy-efficient method to accommodate emerging multicast services. Some studies focus on the survivability technologies for LTs against a fixed number of link failures, such as single-link failure. However, a few studies involve failure probability constraints when building LTs. It is worth noting that each link of an LT plays different important roles under failure scenarios. When calculating the failure probability of an LT, the importance of its every link should be considered. We design a link importance incorporated failure probability measuring solution (LIFPMS) for multicast LTs under independent failure model and shared risk link group failure model. Based on the LIFPMS, we put forward the minimum failure probability (MFP) problem for the LT-OM scheme. Heuristic approaches are developed to address the MFP problem in elastic optical networks. Numerical results show that the LIFPMS provides an accurate metric for calculating the failure probability of multicast LTs and enhances the reliability of the LT-OM scheme while accommodating multicast services.

  14. 75 FR 70128 - 2011 Changes for Domestic Mailing Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-17

    ...LOT, RDI, and Five-Digit ZIP. The Postal Service certifies software meeting its standards until the... Delivery Point Validation (DPV) service in conjunction with CASS-Certified address matching software... interface between address-matching software and the LACS \\Link\\ database service. 1.21.2 Interface...

  15. Sociologists in Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christenson, James A.; And Others

    1977-01-01

    The article describes the work activities of the extension sociologist, the relative advantage and disadvantage of extension roles in relation to teaching/research roles, and the relevance of sociological training and research for extension work. (NQ)

  16. Automatically exposing OpenLifeData via SADI semantic Web Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González, Alejandro Rodríguez; Callahan, Alison; Cruz-Toledo, José; Garcia, Adrian; Egaña Aranguren, Mikel; Dumontier, Michel; Wilkinson, Mark D

    2014-01-01

    Two distinct trends are emerging with respect to how data is shared, collected, and analyzed within the bioinformatics community. First, Linked Data, exposed as SPARQL endpoints, promises to make data easier to collect and integrate by moving towards the harmonization of data syntax, descriptive vocabularies, and identifiers, as well as providing a standardized mechanism for data access. Second, Web Services, often linked together into workflows, normalize data access and create transparent, reproducible scientific methodologies that can, in principle, be re-used and customized to suit new scientific questions. Constructing queries that traverse semantically-rich Linked Data requires substantial expertise, yet traditional RESTful or SOAP Web Services cannot adequately describe the content of a SPARQL endpoint. We propose that content-driven Semantic Web Services can enable facile discovery of Linked Data, independent of their location. We use a well-curated Linked Dataset - OpenLifeData - and utilize its descriptive metadata to automatically configure a series of more than 22,000 Semantic Web Services that expose all of its content via the SADI set of design principles. The OpenLifeData SADI services are discoverable via queries to the SHARE registry and easy to integrate into new or existing bioinformatics workflows and analytical pipelines. We demonstrate the utility of this system through comparison of Web Service-mediated data access with traditional SPARQL, and note that this approach not only simplifies data retrieval, but simultaneously provides protection against resource-intensive queries. We show, through a variety of different clients and examples of varying complexity, that data from the myriad OpenLifeData can be recovered without any need for prior-knowledge of the content or structure of the SPARQL endpoints. We also demonstrate that, via clients such as SHARE, the complexity of federated SPARQL queries is dramatically reduced.

  17. A General Method for Targeted Quantitative Cross-Linking Mass Spectrometry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan D Chavez

    Full Text Available Chemical cross-linking mass spectrometry (XL-MS provides protein structural information by identifying covalently linked proximal amino acid residues on protein surfaces. The information gained by this technique is complementary to other structural biology methods such as x-ray crystallography, NMR and cryo-electron microscopy[1]. The extension of traditional quantitative proteomics methods with chemical cross-linking can provide information on the structural dynamics of protein structures and protein complexes. The identification and quantitation of cross-linked peptides remains challenging for the general community, requiring specialized expertise ultimately limiting more widespread adoption of the technique. We describe a general method for targeted quantitative mass spectrometric analysis of cross-linked peptide pairs. We report the adaptation of the widely used, open source software package Skyline, for the analysis of quantitative XL-MS data as a means for data analysis and sharing of methods. We demonstrate the utility and robustness of the method with a cross-laboratory study and present data that is supported by and validates previously published data on quantified cross-linked peptide pairs. This advance provides an easy to use resource so that any lab with access to a LC-MS system capable of performing targeted quantitative analysis can quickly and accurately measure dynamic changes in protein structure and protein interactions.

  18. Extension Service :: Calendar

    Science.gov (United States)

    meeting 10:30am CC Master Gardener Board Meeting 5:30pm Beaverton | Science on Tap - Man's Best Friends 4 Exhibits Festivals / Fairs / Cultural Events Lectures / Seminars Music Student Activities Theater / Film

  19. Good to Great in IT Service Management: A Case Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gilbert Gilbert Silvius; Eric Brugh, van der

    2009-01-01

    For IT services companies, delivering high quality IT services is of eminent importance. IT service quality drives customer satisfaction, which in its turn drives firm performance. It is this link that is addressed in this paper: How can the performance of customer service delivery teams be

  20. Programming portlets from JSR 168 to IBM WebSphere portal extensions

    CERN Document Server

    Bernal, Joey; Lynn, Ron; Marston, Cayce; Memon, Usman

    2012-01-01

    Portals have evolved from simple Web applications with multiple links to an enterprise application delivery platform that serves composite applications. In a world where organizations are gearing up with service-oriented architecture (SOA) strategies and re-working existing apps to fit the Web 2.0 programming model, portals are strategic infrastructure components on every CIO's radar. As companies move toward SOA, portlets become an even hotter topic. Portlets provide the user interface for these services. IBM's unwavering commitment to open standards such as Java Specification Request (JSR 16